• Journal of Korean Philosophical Society
• /
• v.137
• /
• pp.277-321
• /
• 2016

Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy embraces characteristics of existential philosophy and philosophical anthropology. In his book "Thus Spoke Zarathustra", Nietzsche defined human beings as an existence with innate possibility for change, beings that stand at the borderline between "the last man" and "the ${\ddot{u}}bermensch$", raising a question over the meaning of human being's existential healthiness. The anthropological symptoms that Nietzsche's philosophy deals with trigger existential problems, and healing these anthropological symptoms is a precedent to healing an existence. In Nietzsche's philosophy, the ${\ddot{u}}bermensch$ is presented as a prototype of practical man with a healthy existence, born from endeavors to heal the last man prototype of a decadence that was prevalent throughout Europe at the time. Nietzsche found the root cause of nihilism found in Europe in philosophy, religion, metaphysics, and Christianity, and attempted a genealogical investigation on this aspect. In so doing, a philosophical problem surfaced whereby only one truth was used to force diverse existential styles into a uniform style. Nietzsche intensively criticized philosophy and philosophers that only studied truths from metaphysical-Christian-moral perspectives, as they overlooked the foundation of true existence and presented human beings of a feeble mind and will as a result. Nietzsche emphasized the practical role of philosophy that can contribute to the human being's ascent and growth based on realistic conditions of human existence described as the earth, that philosophy that can serve as a basis for existential transformation of human beings and their lives. The task of philosophers is to lay the groundwork for the possibility of changes for all human beings and their realization. This existential practical foundation of philosophy can be called the ${\ddot{u}}bermensch$, as it is healthy man, the "greatest reality" as Nietzsche desired.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
• /
• v.26
• /
• pp.45-75
• /
• 2016

The aim of this study is to explain characteristics of Maitreya and Maitreya belief from a point of view that 'Jeungsan is the very Maitreya(甑山卽彌勒)'. In 『Jeon-gyeong』, Maitreya is mentioned several times. Thus, new religions of Jeungsan of Daesoonjinrihoe take 'Jeungsan is the very Maitreya' belief for truth. Due to the fact that characteristics of Maitreya are so multi-layered and complicated, it is necessary to explain clearly what kind of feature Maitreya has in 『Jeon-gyeong』. If believing and following 'Jeungsan is the very Maitreya' without clarifying it, they will be faced with a problem that they regard Jeungsan of Supreme being of the Ninth Heaven as one of Maitreya and take its belief for truth. Furthermore, with respect to the characteristics of 'Jeungsan is the very Maitreya' belief, while believing in Mireukasaeng, longed-for Millenarian movement by people through Messianism and Mireukasaeng belief is found in Daesoon Thought, whereas there is a need how to understand the point that we cannot finped Messianism and Millenarian movement in Daesoon Thought. To solve this problem, I draw a conclusion that 'Jeungsan is the very Maitreya' in 『Jeon-gyeong』 has to be understood with two meanings by four demonstrations. First of all, the people perceived late Joseon dynasty as the age of decadence but Maitreya's divinity which is desired by the people is not divinity of Maitreya Sutra(Mileuggyeong). Maitreya's divinity is reflected in the people's cherished desire and it is newly created as the Messiah. Thus, the idea of Jeungsan being the very Maitreya was developed in a way that the people desired the Messiah, encompassing this inclination. That is the Messiah of the people and the divinity of Jeungsan. Although Jeungsan as Supreme being of the Ninth Heaven satisfied the people's desire, it shows a different way to salvation from the way in Maitreya Sutra(Mileuggyeong). It is 'the Great Reordering of the Universe' and 'the Great Reordering of the Three Realms'. Reordering in Jeungsan shows that divinity of Jeungsan is not limited to the people's Messiah. In other words, divinity of Jeungsan is established as The Messiah, surpassing divinity of Maitreya Sutra(Mileuggyeong). And following statements prove this divinity of Jeungsan. Jeungsan's emphasis is not only the people's desire and the Gods' appeal. Jeungsan's emphasis is that only does Supreme being of the Ninth Heaven correct heaven and earth, which is the Gods' appeal. Therefore, 'Jeungsan is the very Maitreya' belief embraces the people's Messianism and at the same time it runs with he Gods' appeal. Thus, Reordering through the Great Reordering of the Universe and the Great Reordering of the Three Realms builds up a new ideal world.

• The Journal of Art Theory & Practice
• /
• no.4
• /
• pp.57-76
• /
• 2006

From the late 1920s to the 1930s, Korea's fine art community focused on traditional viewpoints as their main topic. The traditional viewpoints were discussed mainly by Korean students studying in Japan, especially oil painters. Such discussions on tradition can be divided into two separate halves, namely the pre- and post-Sino-Japanese War (1937) periods. Before the war, the modernists among Korea's fine art community tried to gain a fuller understanding of contemporary Western modern art, namely, expressionism, futurism, surrealism, and so forth, on the basis of Orientalism, and borrow from these schools' in order to create their own works. Furthermore, proponents of Joseon's avant-garde fine arts and artists of the pro-fine art school triggered debate on the traditional viewpoints. After the Sino-Japanese War, these artists continued to embrace Western modern art on the basis of Orientalism. However, since Western modern fine art was regressing into Oriental fine art during this period, Korean artists did not need to research Western modern fine art, but sought to study Joseon's classics and create Joseon's own avant- garde fine art in a movement led by the Munjang group. This research reviews the traditional view espoused by the Munjang group, which represented the avant-garde fine art movement of the post-war period. Advocating Joseon's own current of avant-garde fine art through the Munjang literary magazine, Gil Jin - seop, Kim Yong-jun and others accepted the Japanese fine art community's methodology for the restoration of classicism, but refused Orientalism as an ideology, and attempted to renew their perception of Joseon tradition. The advocation of the restoration of classicism by Gil Jin-seop and Kim Yong-jun appears to be similar to that of the Yasuda Yojuro-style restoration of classicism. However, Gil Jin-seop and Kim Yong-jun did not seek their sources of classicism from the Three-Kingdoms and Unified Silla periods, which Japan had promoted as a symbol of unity among the Joseon people; instead they sought classicism from the Joseon fine art which the Japanese had criticized as a hotbed of decadence. It was the Joseon period that the Munjang group chose as classicism when Japan was upholding Fascism as a contemporary extremism, and when Hangeul (Korean writing system) was banned from schools. The group highly evaluated literature written in the style of women, especially women's writings on the royal court, as represented by Hanjungnok (A Story of Sorrowful Days). In the area of fine art, the group renewed the evaluation of not only literary paintings, but also of the authentic landscape paintings refused by, and the values of the Chusa school criticized as decadent by, the colonial bureaucratic artists, there by making great progress in promoting the traditional viewpoint. Kim Yong-jun embraced a painting philosophy based on the painting techniques of Sasaeng (sketching), because he paid keen attention to the tradition of literary paintings, authentic landscape paintings and genre paintings. The literary painting theory of the 20th century, which was highly developed, could naturally shed both the colonial historical viewpoint which regarded Joseon fine art as heteronomical, and the traditional viewpoint which regarded Joseon fine art as decadent. As such, the Munjang group was able to embrace the Joseon period as the source of classicism amid the prevalent colonial historical viewpoint, presumably as it had accumulated first-hand experience in appreciating curios of paintings and calligraphic works, instead of taking a logical approach. Kim Yong-jun, in his fine art theory, defined artistic forms as the expression of mind, and noted that such an artistic mind could be attained by the appreciation of nature and life. This is because, for the Munjang group, the experience of appreciating nature and life begins with the appreciation of curios of paintings and calligraphic works. Furthermore, for the members of the Munjang group, who were purists who valued artistic style, the concept of individuality presumably was an engine that protected them from falling into the then totalitarian world view represented by the Nishita philosophy. Such a 20th century literary painting theory espoused by the Munjang group concurred with the contemporary traditional viewpoint spearheaded by Oh Se-chang in the 1910s. This theory had a great influence on South and North Korea's fine art theories and circles through the Fine Art College of Seoul National University and Pyongyang Fine Art School in the wake of Korea's liberation. In this sense, the significance of the theory should be re-evaluated.

• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
• /
• no.69
• /
• pp.179-204
• /
• 2017

Hojil(虎叱) and Yangbanjeon(兩班傳) reveal the characteristic styles of Park Jiwon(朴趾源)'s writing, which is combining styles of unofficial history/biography(外傳) and allegory(寓言), and full of the senses of satire and humour which form another characteristc of his writing style or tone. This paper reexamines narrative styles, meaning structures and themes of these two works which combine the styles of unofficial history/biography and allegory, and researches methods and techniques of allegory and satire which presents the subversive and critical themes and thoughts of the author. In Hojil, combining of the two styles, the author constructs the narrative world and plot, manipulates allegoric figures to symbolize and present multilayered meaning, and criticize the decadence of confucian aristocracy [Sadaebu: 士大夫] and it's abuses. In Yangbanjeon by combining of two styles, the author weave a biography of Yangban(兩班) in general, which presents the attributes and historical position of the Yangban class. And by the nonsensical fictional event which caricatures crisis of the Yangban class, and tedious description of the manners and behaviors of the Yangban, the author and satires the snobbery of the Yangban and the absurdity of their classical privileges. As he did in Hojil, the author urges the self-examination of the reader raising a question about the position and the function or duty of the Yangban class in the changing world. And the various skills of satire together with the irony, paradox, parody and pun were used dexterously in above two works.

• Asia Marketing Journal
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.1-22
• /
• 2013

This case focuses on Shanghai Tang, the first truly Chinese luxury brand that appeals to both Westerners and, more recently, to Chinese consumers worldwide. A visionary and wealthy businessman Sir David Tang created this company from scratch in 1994 in Hong Kong. Its story, spanned over almost two decades, has been fascinating. It went from what best a Chinese brand could be in the eyes of Westerners who love the Chinese culture, to a nearly-bankrupted company in 1998, before being acquired by Richemont, the second largest luxury group in the world. Since then, its turnaround has been spectacular with a growing appeal among Chinese luxury consumers who represent the core segment of the luxury industry today. The main objective of this case study is to formally examine how Shanghai Tang overcame its downfall and re-emerged as one the very few well- known Chinese luxury brands. More specifically, this case highlights the ways with which Shanghai Tang made a transitional change from a brand for Westerners who love the Chinese culture, to a brand for both, Westerners who love the Chinese culture and Chinese who love luxury. A close examination reveals that Shanghai Tang has followed the brand identity concept that consists of two major components: functional and emotional. The functional component for developing a luxury brand concerns all product characteristics that will make a product 'luxurious' in the eyes of the consumer, such as premium quality of cachemire from Mongolia, Chinese silk, lacquer, finest leather, porcelain, and jade in the case of Shanghai Tang. The emotional component consists of non-functional symbolic meanings of a brand. The symbolic meaning marks the major difference between a premium and a luxury brand. In the case of Shanghai Tang, its symbolic meaning refers to the Chinese culture and the brand aims to represent the best of Chinese traditions and establish itself as "the ambassador of modern Chinese style". It touches the Chinese heritage and emotions. Shanghai Tang has reinvented the modern Chinese chic by drawing back to the stylish decadence of Shanghai in the 1930s, which was then called the "Paris of the East", and this is where the brand finds inspiration to create its own myth. Once the functional and emotional components assured, Shanghai Tang has gone through a four-stage development to become the first global Chinese luxury brand: introduction, deepening, expansion, and revitalization. Introduction: David Tang discovered a market gap and had a vision to launch the first Chinese luxury brand to the world. The key success drivers for the introduction and management of a Chinese luxury brand are a solid brand identity and, above all, a creative mind, an inspired person. This was David Tang then, and this is now Raphael Le Masne de Chermont, the current Executive Chairman. Shanghai Tang combines Chinese and Western elements, which it finds to be the most sustainable platform for drawing consumers. Deepening: A major objective of the next phase is to become recognized as a luxury brand and a fashion or design authority. For this purpose, Shanghai Tang has cooperated with other well-regarded luxury and lifestyle brands such as Puma and Swarovski. It also expanded its product lines from high-end custom-made garments to music CDs and restaurant. Expansion: After the opening of his first store in Hong Kong in 1994, David Tang went on to open his second store in New York City three years later. However this New York retail operation was a financial disaster. Barely nineteen months after the opening, the store was shut down and quietly relocated to a cheaper location of Madison Avenue. Despite this failure, Shanghai Tang products found numerous followers especially among Western tourists and became "souvenir-like" must-haves. However, despite its strong brand DNA, the brand did not generate enough repeated sales and over the years the company cumulated heavy debts and became unprofitable. Revitalizing: After its purchase by Richemont in 1998, Le Masne de Chermont was appointed to lead the company, reposition the brand and undertake some major strategic changes such as revising the "Shanghai Tang" designs to appeal not only to Westerners but also to Chinese consumers, and to open new stores around the world. Since then, Shanghai Tang has become synonymous to a modern Chinese luxury lifestyle brand.