• Journal of the Korean Association of African Studies
• /
• v.43
• /
• pp.89-111
• /
• 2014

This article deals with the characteristics and limitations of Edwin W. Smith's study of African religions. He was born as son of British Primitive Methodist missionary in South Africa, 1876. He was trained to become a Bible translator. After marriage he moved to Africa with his wife and translated the Bible into the Ila language. Most Western missionaries despised African cultures and religions, but Smith proposed a new way to study African cultures and religions on the anthropological basis of respect and understanding. Though he kept the mission mind to convert Africans to Christians and supported the fulfillment theology, he accepted the values and significance of African religions. With scientific and object approaches, Smith regarded Africans as rational and philosophical human beings. He rejected the traditional concept of mission that Western form of Christianity should be forced upon the mind and heart of Africans. Rather Smith encouraged Africans to build up their own churches and theologies with creative and dynamic worldviews including magic, Dynamism, Spiritism, ancestor worship and the faith to the Supreme Being. In conclusion, despite his limitations as missionary, Smith has been remembered as 'the founder of African Studies' and 'the ancestor of British phenomenological school.' His missionary experience became the solid foundation for becoming scholar of African religions.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
• /
• v.25 no.5
• /
• pp.3-15
• /
• 2016

Between various ideological experiences, such as spatial, artistic and religious experiences, a consistent and transcendental sense exists, which is difficult to systemize or establish, in all the senses human beings experience. It shows that the depth of essence may be much deeper than that of religion or science in limits of humans' thinking and experiences. On the premise that we need to rationally understand and systemize such a sublime experience, it is thought that we will be able to expand the system of our senses through a new approach breaking away from the previous concepts used to interpret a spatial experience. Rudolf Otto, a German philosopher and comparative religion scholar, explains such an essential sense through Numinose Theory. As his theoretical analysis and approach are used to explore the mechanism of such a transcendental emotion, which is impossible to express with such words as 'sanctity', 'sublimity' and 'reverence', from various perspectives, but intend to exclude dogmatic logic. Therefore, they seem to become new and useful tools in aesthetically understanding space design and objects of arts. Thus, this study aims to examine what value Numinose Theory has in the aspect of understanding space design, based on which this study intends to use the Numinose concept as a concept of interpreting 'Jongmyo Jeongjeon'.

• Acta Via Serica
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.55-70
• /
• 2023

Carpets are a useful tool for highlighting the cultural uniqueness of a region because their characteristic usage often reveals distinctive natural features of the place or the unique cultural identity of a group. Investigating anecdotes and associated patterns found in three medieval trans-Eurasian travelogues, this paper focuses on observations made by the Chinese Buddhist monk, Faxian, the Sunni pilgrim and scholar, Ibn Battuta, and Marco Polo, the Venetian merchant examining their thoughts, observations, and perspectives on carpet-related customs in their experienced contexts. In particular, this manuscript touches on the controversies, impacts, and narratives associated with carpet practices observed in each travel writer's context respectively, concluding that each traveler shows several things in common rather than showing different patterns depending on the characteristics of their religion. Overall, they observed the uses of carpets according to their jobs and travel purposes and appropriately detailed related episodes if the intended purpose and context matched the uses.

• The Critical Review of Religion and Culture
• /
• no.29
• /
• pp.101-133
• /
• 2016

The term 'myth' is modern terminology. It was introduced to the East Asia from late 19th century to early 20th century. Under the rule of Japanese imperialism, some Japanese historians insisted that Dangun(檀君) has no relation with Kochoson(古朝鮮). Some Korean historians have refuted their conjecture. The arguments between Japanese and Korean historians bring about the motives of making the concept of Shinwa(神話) The purpose of this study is to investigate the historical procedures of making myth of Homogeneous Korean as a case study of "teaching religion". For the scholar the historic beginning is to be distinguished from later myths of origins. The scholars, particularly among the historians of China, Japan and Korea take it as the beginning of the history to investigate myths, for the ending parts of narratives are in themselves involved in a social constructs in order to give legitimacy to the story. It is apparent to satisfy for the current social demands of the nation-states building. It is also an act of casting and projecting their national values into the far distant past which is considered to be authentic and authorative. The western term 'myth' had been made up in Japanese historical context in order to build "nation-state concept". In Korea, the myth of homogeneous ethnicity of Koreans had been also reconstructed as modern myth during the late 19th and the early 20th century. We can call it the invention of the tradition accordingly.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.57-64
• /
• 2017

Modern Christian spaces are developing from the past architectural styles to the phenomenological aspects. This study was conducted since it was judged that research and analysis is desirable with the application of religious phenomenological theories which fit the characteristics of religious spaces. A scholar of religion, M. Eliade studied religious phenomenology based on religious studies. This study analyzed the characteristics of religious phenomenology of the Christian spaces based on his theory. As a research method, this study analyzed the category of religious studies and religious phenomenology derived from them and selected M. Eliade as one of the theorists in the field of religious phenomenology. Study drew out the characteristics of Christian spaces from the perspective of M. Eliade's religious phenomenology as follows; In the Christian spaces, characteristics of experiential spatiality and ambiguous spatiality appeared in relation to the spaces of 'Sacred' and 'Profane' which M. Eliade aimed to explain. The characteristics of Christian spaces drawn out from the time of 'Sacred' and 'Profane', which is M. Eliade's theory, were fundamental temporality, environmental temporality and subjective temporality. From the structure and form of 'Sacred' and 'Profane', which is M. Eliade's theory, the characteristics of Christian spaces can be considered to be formative symbolism and physical naturalness. Various characteristics of Christian spaces materialize the concepts of 'hierophany' and 'sublimity' vaguely felt in religious spaces. The results of this study is expected to provide researchers, religious people and general public who study Christian spaces with research basis to further objectify results of their studies as well as basic data on the phenomenological methodology of religion.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
• /
• v.27
• /
• pp.245-282
• /
• 2016

Currently, the whole world is being swept away by spiritual movements seeking divinity in oneself. Yet there are terror attacks, religious disputes and other conflicts continuously taking place on larger and larger scales as well as expanding further and further throughout the world. Interreligious harmony seems like a distant ideal. What is the ultimate cause of religious conflicts? Is interreligious communication truly that difficult? Even among different cultures, said cultures' varieties of ritual expressions, and various religious doctrines, there are points of general common to be appreciated if a deep perspective is adopted. When we find the common ground and understand each other's difference, it will be easier to communicate since everyone will be learning from each other. What could serve as common ground for different religions? Many scholars speak about the state of 'oneness' that is claimed by mysticism throughout a large array of religions. This state of oneness is typically not achieved overnight, but it serves as a prospective state which is pluralistically inclusive. This "religion of enlightenment" emphasizes the process of reaching comprehensive interreligious agreement would be characterized by a deep religious perspective. If superficial religious perspectives focuses only on faith to attain blessings and engage in blind belief, then, by contrast, deep religious perspectives emphasize inner divinity, the true self, orthe higher self. The words, 'superficial religious perspective' and 'deep religious perspective' were defined for personal convenience by O Gang-nam, a scholar of comparative religion. Consequently, this classification is a relative binary concept lacking hard and fast rules with regards to distinctions. But the concept of superficial religious perspectives and deep religious perspectives has its advantage in allowing clearer and easier discussion about religions because it could embrace all aspects of religious life and the development of various religious sentiment. In this way, the terms surface religious perspectives and deep religious perspectives will be used in limited framework. I both borrow this concept and reconsider it by referring to other scholars' methods of classification. From that point, I explore and these views in relation to religious experience. How does religiosity develop, maturity of religious faith take place, deep awareness of truth reveal itself, or an attitude of open-mindedness arise? After these states are realized, is interreligious agreement possible? Most religious studies scholars point out 'religious experience.' They say people could develop their faith from superficial religious beliefs into a more mature and deeper faith through religious experience while continuously aspiring towards enlightenment and practicing their religion in daily life. This study will try to examine aspects of superficial religious perspectives and deep religious perspectives represented in each religion and also explore criticism of each religion. With this view of superficial religious perspectives and deep religious perspectives, some cases documenting the religious experience of Daesoonjinrihoe disciples will be analyzed to see how their religiosity develops from superficial religious perspectives into deep religious perspectives through certain religious experiences. The characteristics of those experiences will also be investigated.

• Journal of Korean Classical Literature and Education
• /
• no.15
• /
• pp.329-353
• /
• 2008

Tasan Jeong Yak-yong is great scholar, who makes a synthesis of Sil-hak[實學, Practical Science of Korea], reformer of society, and a poet in the Joseon Dynasty. He expressed contradiction and conflict of those days by intellectual language, and reperceived basic ideology of the Joseon society. Also he theorized dissatisfaction of the people about those days and its system as form of religion. We can divide Tasan's life into two times. The first part is his ages 16~39 in the period of Jeong-jo(1777~1800). The second part is in the period of Sun-jo(1801~1834). In this period, he was exiled into Gang-jin for 17 years. After banishment, he lived a quiet life for the rest of his life in his hometown. His allegoric poetry were written in this second period. The special feature of allegoric poetry is strong satire. An allegory would be that is 'king's ear', which the barber has sight, or the barber's voice, which has divulged king's secret among the bamboos. Otherwise it would be that is the sound 'king's ear is donkey's ear' in the bamboos. This sound is divulging of the true donkey's ear. It doesn't travel to audiences, but travels trough wind in the bamboos. The narration exists just as story that barber can't stand to keep silence about king's secret. There are exposure of true and critical motive as allegoric expression. Tasan's allegoric poetry stand on the basis of his love for the people. Also there reveals his thought deeply with an enormous amount of reading and self-communion. Moreover there are his warm mind with his sharp insight in which captures alive lives as allegoric materials. Most of allegoric poetry satirize actuality of those days to make an excuse for external distinguishing marks of animals and plants. However Tasan's poetry are different from them. After he grasped serious problems from his contemporary actuality, and then choosed allegoric media to express correctly. Because he grasped the special features of lives after minute observation, he could exposure controversial point of the actual. His sharp insight was not limited to allegoric media. He noticed his period and the current of his society sensitively. It made his allegoric poetry as important materials to make us to know the condition of the people in the Joseon Dynasty. Tasan's allegoric poetry is inherited by Baek Seok[白石, 1912~1995] as regular juvenile literature. Baek Seok's juvenile stories are the results of expansion and transition for Tasan's allegoric poetry. Allegoric poetry was the shout of barber to prosecute about social irregularities and contradiction, and the sound of the bamboos to travel moaning of the people in the past. Now allegoric poetry create new emotion to make us to speculate ourselves with our surrounding. This changes are caused by special feature of allegoric poetry as a form to reflect our general lives.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.313-320
• /
• 2022

Recently, the keyword 'convergence' has emerged in the education field. The voice of demand for the humanities is also increasing. The range of convergence of the humanities is gradually spreading to various fields such as science, technology, engineering, and the arts field. And also, the trend is to nurture the future creative convergence talent with logical, comprehensive, and creative thinking through the fusion of humanities, scientific, and empirical theories. Myths and legends contain the content of humanity's culture creation and deal with matters such as religion, philosophy, art, and science. Therefore, through the consciousness of the ancients who lived in the so-called convergence era when academic differentiation did not occur, it will be possible to reflect on the appearance of sages. In this paper, we propose a method for educating Chinese culture through the analysis of by Wen Yi-Duo, a famous Chinese scholar. He sought to find the origin of Chinese culture through myths and legends and to find national identity by restoring the concept of national culture in the period of origin. The myths and legends of China are closely related to the cultural phenomena of modern China, which will further enhance our understanding of China.

• The Journal of Korean Philosophical History
• /
• no.52
• /
• pp.185-211
• /
• 2017

Lee Neung Hwa is a scholar of the late Joseon Dynasty, renowned for his studies of Korean studies. In this thesis, the study of Confucianism and Buddhism removed the research and teachings of Confucianism as a traditional study of Confucianism. Lee Neung Hwa criticized the social functioning of Confucian texts during the late Joseon Dynasty. His criticisms reflect the historical consciousness of the late Joseon Dynasty. Lee Neung Hwa is also known as the Buddhist religion. The History of Chosun Buddhism is his masterpiece. He pointed out the differences between the Buddhist scriptures of the Joseon Dynasty and the Japanese Buddhist scriptures. Moreover, the Joseon Dynasty felt more integrated into the Japanese Buddhist kingdom than in Japan. And ineunghwa also studied the mythology of Korea. He established a universal cultural phenomenon as a universal cultural phenomenon, which belongs to any ethnic Koreans. He insisted that the Sin Gyo of Dan Gun is the identity of Korean culture. His Founding Myth was not a matter of historical fact. His Founding Myth was a tool of ideological struggle to fight against Japanese imperialism.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
• /
• v.38
• /
• pp.115-151
• /
• 2021

According to Lee Young-geum, the ideas of grievance resolution and mutual beneficence were already present in shamanism. She also insists that Jeungsan merely theorized upon these ideas by inheriting them and his religious activities must be identified from within a shamanistic worldview. Contrary to Lee's claim, Cha Seon-keun argues that the grievance resolution of Jeungsan is far beyond the contents and level of development found in shamanism. He also insists that Jeungsan's religious activities must be identified as having a certain orderly uniqueness distinct from shamanism. The argument between these two different perspectives has not attracted other researchers besides those who are directly involved. However, this debate deserves attention with regard to the problem of how one approaches a given religion and which academic perspective should be applied. Based on the perspective of the Daesoon Jinrihoe, this study examines their debate by considering four issues. Firstly, whether Jeungsan inherited or expanded upon the subject of grievance resolution and its range remains undetermined. Secondly, the ethics of mutual beneficence and grateful reciprocation in Jeungsan's concept of grievance resolution should be analyzed as to whether that idea reasserts the ethics of shamanism. Thirdly, it is necessary to study whether his method of grievance resolution fully embraced the methods of grievance resolution that exist in shamanism. Lastly, it should be determined whether or not Jeungsan's religious activities and system of thought should be identified within a shamanistic worldview. Through this review, Lee and Cha can be shown to have different opinions on the academic approach to research on religion. Accordingly, this study concludes that Lee's method of only interpreting Jeungsan's religious thought via a shamanic worldview is incompatible with academic methodology. A scholar of religious studies should discuss Jeungsan on his own merits rather than just imply that Jeungsan thoroughly reflects the worldview of shamanism, doctrinal studies of Buddhism, and Daoist thought as well as other theologies. In other words, if certain tangible and intangible elements found in shamanism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and Christianity are also observed in Jeungsan's religious thought, it is necessary to comprehend how different or similar those elements are or whether they are re-interpreted in any manner. In the case of Lee, her method of overemphasizing similarities is now criticized as outdated. Nowadays, it is necessary to demonstrate awareness of modern religious studies tendency to pay equal attention to similarities and differences.