• The Southeast Asian review
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.163-191
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• 2017

This article aims to review the recent, especially focusing on the year of 2016, situations and prospects of the Vietnamese politics, economy, and international relations. Politically, Vietnam completed the election of members for the National Assembly and organized new leadership at the 12th National Congress of the Vietnamese Communist Party in 2016. One characteristic of the new leadership is that the politicians, especially the members of politburo, from the North continue to occupy the position of majority. The other one is that the new leadership promised to carry out the restructuring of economy toward industries producing higher value-added commodities even though Vietnam industries admittedly need to accelerate present industrialization and modernization as a developing country under the seemingly contradictory slogan of "the development of market economy for socialism." The declared goals of the new leadership in Vietnam are inevitable in a sense since the development of Vietnamese economy has been heavily dependent upon Foreign Direct Investment(FDI) taking advantage of Vietnamese cheap labor and simultaneously it is evident that its future is unsecure if it maintains status quo. In fact, the Vietnamese economy has impressively showed high growth rate by the help of foreign capitals since 1990s despite the repetitive recessions of global economy but its growth is not likely to be sustainable anymore if it will not reduce foreign dependency and social economic inequality in a long term. In a short run, global economic recession, the financial and monetary policies of global powers, and recent protectionism and uncertainty of trade agreements will be three crucial variables to affect Vietnamese economy. In terms of international relations, Vietnam is continuously expected to practise the policy of checks and balances among the powerful countries. Vietnam has seriously disputed with China on islands sovereignty in the South China Sea and attempted to maintain close relationship with other powerful countries including especially America. However, mainly due to the new protectionism by the regime of American president Donald Trump, the Vietnamese government also need to keep close relationship with China increasingly for both economic and diplomatic security. Under the circumstances, Vietnam is expected to maintain more practical and balanced international relations.

• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
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• no.70
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• pp.257-301
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• 2018

The purpose of the study is to examine righteous army activity and combat in Hapcheon during the Imjin invasion period. The resulting conclusions are as follows. First, Chung In-hong raised a righteous army in Hapcheon and Kim Myeon raised an army in Goryeong. Chung In-hong commanded the army and fought against Japanese army with a leadership of knowing the enemy and himself, and Kim Myeon commanded the army and fought against Japanese military with a leadership of harmony. Second, battles of Chung In-hong's righteous army are the first Mugye battle, the ambush battle in Sawon-dong, the Chogye Majin battle, the Aneon battle, and the third Seongju Castle battle. Battles of Kim Myeon's righteous army are the Yeongang battle, the Gaesanpo battle, the second Mugye battle, the Ucheok-hyeon battle, the Jirye battle, and the Sarangam battle. Battles that Chung In-hong and Kim Myeon united and fought are the first and second Seongju Castle battles. In Jeongyu Jaeran, Chung In-hong played a role of Jodosa who takes charge of provisions in the right area of Gyeongsang. In addition, Hapcheon was the access road and transport route where Japanese army entered Jeolla-do. Third, participation and role of Ming troops are part of restraint device against Japanese army with military tactics of ii chei(using foreigners to control foreigners) to remove Japanese army from Joseon and defend Yodong. After a victory of Li Rusong in Pyeongyang Castle in January, 1593(the 26th year of Seongjo), Ming troops pursued practical interest through peace talks rather than active battles. When there was practically Siege of Jinju, Yujeong troops of Ming entered with hand-to-hand martial arts of Sacheon soldiers in late June, 1593, but did not participate because they should wait for orders of Gyeongnyak Song Eung-chang and Admiral Li Rusong. Fourth, in the Imjin invasion period, Joseon suffered terrible damage such as ruin of the whole country by invasion of Japanese army and in need of aid of military rice from Ming troops, but righteous armies and the royal forces in each area cooperated so defeated Japanese army. It is understood through a case of Hapcheon in the right area of Gyeongsang. Especially, Joseon did not succumb to pressure of Ming troops that used full powers to two aspects such as settlement and battle with Japan during the war, and did not lose national confidence and pride by showing a fighting will to fight against Japanese army to the end with independence. Such a spiritual culture originated from homeland protection and loyalty to the king, and is national spirit of resistance that sublimates the united mind and spirit of community to protect a country against foreign invasion.

• The Journal of Korean Philosophical History
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• no.54
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• pp.153-184
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• 2017

During the Pre-Qin(秦) Dynasty era, there were the records that there had been many calendar systems, such as $g{\check{u}}-li{\grave{u}}-l{\grave{i}}$(古六曆 : six ancient calendar systems). Then, the fact that particularly $zh{\bar{o}}u-l{\grave{i}}$(周曆) and $xi{\grave{a}}-l{\grave{i}}$(夏曆) were mainly discussed among them resulted from a lot of discussions from the differences in the calendar system in "$Ch{\bar{u}}n-qi{\bar{u}}$(春秋)" known to have been written by Confucius from the calendar system in "$X{\acute{i}}ng-xi{\grave{a}}-zh{\bar{i}}-sh{\acute{i}}$(行夏之時 : implement the calendar of Ha dynasty.)" that Confucius mentioned himself to his disciple. $zh{\bar{o}}u-l{\grave{i}}$(周曆) with $d{\bar{o}}ngzh{\grave{i}}-yu{\grave{e}}$(冬至月 : the 11th month of the lunar calendar) as the first month of a year had the system of the lunar calendar, and $xi{\grave{a}}-l{\grave{i}}$(夏曆) called as the calendar of Ha(夏) dynasty had the system of $ji{\acute{e}}-q{\grave{i}}-l{\grave{i}}$(節氣曆 : a kind of the solar calendar that divides one year of 365 days into 24 solar terms) with $y{\acute{i}}n-yu{\grave{e}}$(寅月 :one month from the present Feb 5) as the first month of a year. These two calendars had definite differences in the first months of a year, names of seasons, and the lunar calendar and the solar calendar. The fundamental reason why Confucius recommended the performance of $xi{\grave{a}}-l{\grave{i}}$(夏曆) as a way to run the nation was not that it started from the philosophical view of the universe that among the 'three $zh{\bar{e}}ng$'(三正)' of $ti{\bar{a}}n-zh{\bar{e}}ng$(天正 : the first month of a year with the heaven as the standard), $d{\grave{i}}-zh{\bar{e}}ng$(地正 : the first month of a year with the earth as the standard) and $r{\acute{e}}n-zh{\bar{e}}ng$(人正 : the first month of a year with humans as the standard), but that he wanted to emphasize the importance of practical national economic policies to enhance agricultural productivity. It becomes the criterion that even though Confucius emphasized that politicians should not have moral flaws ideally, with regard to public policies, he wanted to stress politicians' duties based on the reality a lot.

• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
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• no.70
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• pp.495-524
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• 2018

This study investigated the literary theory of Jang Jiyeon and his compilation consciousness of the historical biography, and based on this, the study examined the aspect and characteristic of the personage adoption of "Ilsayusa". To figure out the characteristic of "Ilsayusa", this study attempted to investigate the Jang Jiyeon's cognition on epic literature first. Jang Jiyeon had interest in the historical biography in his early days. But he clearly expressed the negative position about the novels which had been handed down from old times, mentioning about their harmful effect, even though they were in a big popularity. The good readings he thought was supposed to be helpful for person's work, study, personality and even the custom, so it is thought that the compilation of "Ilsayusa" was planned as a part of a usefulness to help readers' actual lives by summarizing Jang Jiyeon's philosophy as the form of a historical biography of personages who had actually existed. The direct motivation and the awareness of the problem to compile "Ilsayusa" could be confirmed by the postscript he left. Pointing that Joseon's policy of appointing persons of ability resulted in the loss of the nation, Jang Jiyeon paid attention to the classical scholars from low class, people from under middle class and the local figures in Hamgyeongdo and Pyeongando in the process of compiling "Ilsayusa". Along with this, a kind of a sense of duty that the old heritage must be examined by descendents was manifested as the compilation of "Ilsayusa". Through this, Jang Jiyeon tried to show the good model to the readers of "Ilsayusa" what the way of living would be for raising their volition and keeping the fundamentals. The tendency and characteristic of compiling personages in "Ilsayusa" could be sorted in a few ways as written below. First, it includes all kinds of all actually existed episodes while he was collecting various historical biographies published before. Second, it includes the new kinds of personages paying particular attention to figures of middle class and commoners. Third, it compiled the female figures in a great volume and described new model of woman. Fourth, for areas, it has episodes of all areas in the nation including Pyeongando and Hamgyeongdo. Thinking about all the discussion above, we could estimate that "Ilsayusa" is the definitive edition of these kinds of books which inherited all performances of the biographical literature in better way, which had been accomplished in 19th century.

• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
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• no.66
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• pp.331-362
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• 2017

The paintings of the Eight Drunken Immortals refer to the paintings based on an influential poem called "The Song of the Eight Drunken Immortals" by Du Fu, a Chinese poet from the Tang Dynasty. This poem is about the eccentricity of the Eight Immortals known for their love of drinking. The Eight Drunken Immortals have been widely appreciated among East Asian intellectuals, and their stories have also been translated into paintings. Greatly influenced by Li Gonglin's Painting of the Eight Drunken Immortals, people in China have the tendency to create similar scroll paintings, using contour drawing tools. Meanwhile, in Korea, the paintings of the Eight Drunken Immortals have been widely appreciated both as a type of visual art embodying the Drunken Immortals' taste for the arts and as a meaningful object conveying the people's wish for longevity and eternal friendship. According to historical records, the paintings of the Eight Drunken Immortals from the Ming Dynasty were drawn on eight-fold folding screens using a sophisticated ink wash painting technique. In the meantime, the Painting of the Eight Drunken Immortals appreciated by King Jeongjo from the Joseon Dynasty was a colored landscape painting with small human figures on an eight-fold folding screen. Since the recent discovery of Yi Han-cheol's Painting of the Eight Drunken Immortals on an eight-fold folding screen, it has now become possible to imagine how renowned artists such as Kim Hong-do and Kim Yang-gi would have made the narrative figure paintings. In particular, the story of Li Bai, one of the Eight Immortals, was the most famous one often told in the paintings. After the 19th century, there was even an entire panel of narrative folding screen made about Li Bai. As painting manuals and outline drawings were pervasively used, the narrative paintings on Li Bai were mass-produced among commoners. As you can see from this, the Eight Drunken Immortals have been visually represented as thirsty souls who are not disconnected from the world, as honest men of refined taste for the arts, and as protagonists of an object that conveys the people's wish for longevity and eternal friendship. In other words, the paintings of the Eight Drunken Immortals embody multiple undertones: as paintings based on Du Fu's poems and as narrative paintings on the Eight Immortals.

• The Journal of Korean Philosophical History
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• no.50
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• pp.201-234
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• 2016

This thesis examined interpreting methodology of Do Won Lew Seung Kug(1923~2011) is based on the principle of Juhng-yaug. His lifelong academic aim was searching for the theory that enables global community to co-exist peacefully through humanitarianism that leads to reconciliation and mutual benefits. The research of the history of Korean thoughts provided him with the clue for his theory. According to Do Won, Korean thoughts pursue the Juhng-yaug's value of 'Yin and Yang accordance' rather than the I-Ching's value of 'suppress Yin and elevate Yang'. He furthermore asserts the concept of the middle (中), which harmonizes the two extremes by human beings as main agents, has been consistently observed from the action of divination during the ancient period through Juhng-yaug in the late 19th century. Do Won identifies 'human maturity that integrates the extremely conflicting insistences and values and seeks to be reconciled' as the basic character of Korean thoughts. He explains 'Hongikingan[弘益人間, becoming beneficial to the human world] is the idea that embraces the conflicting values symbolized by heaven and the earth. He also illuminates that Choe Chi Won(崔致遠)'s created Poongliu Do by integrating heterogeneity among Confucianism, Buddhim, and Daoism and it was attainable through the various works of mature human beings. Both Toe Gye' s philosophy of Ingeuk(人極, the Great Ultimate of Person) and the concept of Innaecheon(人乃天, Human Being right is Heaven) of Donghak are excellent examples of Humanitarianism that sublate two extremes. In Korea, the prototype of this thought has penetrated its entire history in the various circumstances of the period. The grand finale is Juhng-yaug of which the pursued values are 'Yin and Yang accordance' and mature humanitarianism revealed by the thoughts of the Person of the Central Ultimate (皇極人,至人) and Central Ultimate (皇極). Therefore, Humanitarianism in Korean thoughts clearly makes its appearance by the time of Juhng-yaug and it functions as a keyword to illuminate the entire history of Korean thoughts in reverse.

• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
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• no.49
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• pp.225-260
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• 2012

The poetry of Haseo Jo Gyeong is first characterized by its fantasy content with mysterious and strange beings such as mountain wizards, gods of flowers, ghosts, Jujos and dragons. Such works imply the huge gap between his political ideal of Neo-Confucianism and the reality of society and are expressions of his resulting sorrow. Of course, he did not just look at reality pessimistically. Like other Neo-Confucianism scholars, he used the symbol of "spring" in his poems, which indicates that he did have optimistic belief in the world in spite of despair. In his poems, the symbol of "spring" implies the political world where the noble man grabbed the power and the sinister groups were extracted or the world where the political ethics of Neo-Confucianism was implemented. His works depicting the essence of natural objects, mountains, and rivers exhibit the characteristics of his poetry more clearly. He described the law of the universe behind natural objects and the vibrant aspects of natural objects by depicting their movements in a clear and sharp manner. Unlike the old Neo-Confucianism scholars that often created poems on the topic of acquirement of natural law and nature, he expanded his poetic world in a direction of revealing the secrets of objects. His works describing the spirit of mountains and rivers are especially noteworthy in that they implied a life attitude of moving forward in an deteriorating world bravely by manifesting strong and dynamic power. Paying attention to the secrets of natural objects, Haseo displayed his life ideal in richer ways by painting the new forms of ume flowers. Unlike the old ume flowers poems in the past, his ume flowers poems present ume flowers as ascetics that obtained truth, men of virtue that inspired contemporary people, or retired gentlemen that revealed the profound secrets of nature. While it is unique that he manifested the forms of ume flowers in ascetics and men of virtue while perceiving the dark reality of society, it is more noteworthy that he described ume flowers as the beings revealing the profound secrets of nature. It was the expression of his yearning for an innocent personality and his fear for losing the personality, clearly depicting a human form of his ego. He created a more human and realistic personality ideal by embracing the contemporary thinking based on the profound secrets of nature in his Dohak poetry[道學詩], which is a significant achievement in that it showed new changes to Dohak poetry in the 18th century.

• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
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• no.59
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• pp.93-120
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to explore the source of appealing which Gusadang Kim Nakhaeng's writing for ancestral rites is equipped with. Gusadang was one of the Confucianists in Yeongnam during the 18th century and was praised for his scholarly virtue of jihaenghapil and silcheongunghaeng. Although Gusadang's writing for ancestral rites and his teacher Milam Lee Jaeui's letters were even specially named as 'gujemilchal', there has been almost no research on Gusadang's writing for ancestral rites yet. Therefore, this study selects three pieces of Gusadang's writing for ancestral rites which are especially rich in emotional expression for discussion. Chapter 2 titled as 'the Reconstruction of Memory in a Microscopic Perspective' presents the reason why Gusadang's writing for ancestral rites is recognized even as a piece of work equipped with appealing. Writing for ancestral rites begins from the point that there exists memory that can be shared by both the living and the dead. In reconstructing the anecdote with the dead on the stage of ritual writing in detail, the writer's memory plays an important role. Chapter 3 titled as 'the Rhetorical Reconstruction of Elevated Sensitivity' examines rhetorical devices needed for writing for ancestral rites. Proper rhetoric is needed to upgrade the dignity of the ritual writing and arouse sympathy from the readers. Although writing for ancestral rites is supposed to express sadness in terms of its formal characteristics, it should not end up being a mere outlet of emotion. Chapter 4 looks into 'the Descriptive Reconstruction of Lamenting Sentiment'. There should be a clear focus of description to make the gesture of the living towards the being not existing in the world any longer an appealing story. While maintaining a distinct way of description, Gusadang organizes the noble character of the dead, pitiable death, the precious bond in the past, and the longing of those left for the dead systematically. Writing for ancestral rites is a field to mourn over the death and reproduce the sadness of the living through writing. To make the text written in that way get to work as ritual writing properly, it should be appealing necessarily. This study has found the fact that such appealing that gives life to ritual writing is grounded on authenticity.

• The Journal of Korean Philosophical History
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• no.56
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• pp.9-46
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• 2018

Seongdeokdaewang-Shinjong, the 29th National Treasure, is highly valuable as a study material in various aspects including the histories of ideology, Buddhism, politics, art-craft, Chinese character study, calligraphy, epigraphy and so on of the mid-time of Shinra. Compared with the people's interest in the Shinjong, however, the studies on the words carved on it have not been yet deepened. Such studies have not been yet overcoming the phase of decoding and translation of the words. Today, it is required to analyze and study the words systematically. This article starts with such critical mind. That is why the subtitle of this article is Research on the Background of Thoughts considering that this study must be followed by its 2nd study. This study has totally reviewed the decoding and annotation works that have been done so far. Byeonryeomun (騈儷文: a writing style of Chinese character) has been also studied on its written patterns. As a result, approximately 20 problems have been found and corrected. Especially, such key phrases as '工匠?模' and '日月?暉' have been translated in a new way to spotlight the importance of translation of the carved words. The words carved on the Shinjong are highly valuable to study in the aspect of ideology history. The words fully show not only Buddhist thoughts, Confucian thoughts and Taoist thoughts but also Korea's own unique thoughts, which are all melted in the words without any obstacle to each other. In general, they are highly philosophical words. The words are unique especially in the aspect: They give a meaning to the Shinjong based on the keyword Won-Gong (圓空: circle and empty) and suggest the key point of Buddhist thoughts and governing philosophy altogether. That is, they imply that King Seongdeok's political ideology and governing principle are connected to Pungryudo (風流道), Korea's own unique philosophy. This implication is key evidence that makes it possible to trace the context of transmission of Pungryudo. You should not miss also the phrases implying that there was a big argument between reform group based on Confucian thoughts and conservative group based on Korea's own unique thoughts.

• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
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• no.66
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• pp.129-162
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• 2017

This article examines the form of hell and the nature of literary works in the late Joseon period. 'Hoeshimgok(回心曲)' divides a sinner into a man and a woman, and presents a virtue of goodness to a man and an item of evil to a woman. The elements of virtue and malice are both Buddhist ethical norms and Confucian ethical norms. Hell-related novels have common features that emphasize the ethical norms that should be kept in daily life through the causes of hell, though the patterns of punishment and their reasons are slightly different depending on the works. And 'Hoeshimgok(回心曲)' and these works are generally shown by reducing the punishment pixel of hell compared to the cause of hell. This characteristic shows that the literary works of the late Joseon literature related to hell were mainly aimed at providing or educating ethical virtues centered on 'Samgangwol(三綱五倫)' through sanctions of 'Hell' widely known to the general public. The emphasis on Confucian ethics is not limited to works of literature related to hell. In the nineteenth century, when these works were created and circulated, there is a surge in the number of chapters and publications of books for Confucian Indoctrination, Didactic Gasa, and Goodness Books, which emphasize Confucian ethics. Such a strengthening of the Confucian ethical consciousness can be attributed to the crisis of the 19th century Joseon society about the social confusion that threatens the existing system. In particular, the creation and circulation of literary works related to hell in the late Joseon period is related to the dissemination and spread of Catholicism. In the end, the hell shape of the late Joseon literature reflects the crisis of social confusion faced by Joseon society in the nineteenth century. Therefore, it can be said that it has the character of literary response to the prevalent diffusion of Catholicism.