Key figures of the Amnokgang Forestry Company, executive director F. A. Lybov (& Fcy;. & Acy;. & Lcy;& softcy;& vcy;& ocy;& vcy;) and Russian minister to Korea N. G. Matyunin (& Ncy;. & Gcy;. & Mcy;& acy;& tcy;& yucy;& ncy;& icy;& ncy;), provided explanations for the causes of the Russo-Japanese War. Lybov, the executive director of the Company, argued that the war resulted from two main factors. First, the Company shifted from a private-oriented policy to a state-centered approach. Second, the Company established the Yongampo branch during a period of heightened international attention. In contrast, Matyunin emphasized that the company functioned as a military defense shield, preventing Japanese attacks on the southern branch of Russias' Chinese Eastern Railway. Matyunin argued that the Russian Finance Ministry, by pushing forward with the railways' southward expansion, had provoked the war. Furthermore, he criticized the Russian Finance Ministry and Foreign Ministry for manipulating public opinion by blaming the Amnokgang Forestry Company for the conflict. Ultimately, the Russian government promoted the Amnokgang Forestry Company as a private enterprise, intending to establish the Amnok River as a military boundary with Japan. However, Japan interpreted the companys' activities as part of Russias' broader ambitions to dominate Korea. Thus, the Russo-Japanese War stemmed from the conflict between Russia and Japan over the Korean Peninsula, with Japan using the Amnokgang Forestry Company as a pretext for war.
This study historicizes Korean film culture in the 1990s through the framework of two theques-the cinematheque as an idealized vision of a film archive modeled after the West and the videotheque as its practical counterpart. The driving force behind the transformation of Korean film culture during this period was the emergence of a new generation of young cinephiles who, armed with video media, developed curatorial practices. As no proper public cinematheque had been established, private cinematheques emerged to fill the void. These institutions effectively assumed the role of a national film archive, but functionally operated in the form of videotheques. In response to this evolving cultural landscape, the Korean Film Archive began expanding its role as a public cinematheque. Throughout the 1990s, amidst dynamic shifts between aspirations and realities, the two theques did not exist as separate domains, nor did videotheques simply transition into cinematheques. Rather, they functioned in a complementary manner, fulfilling different yet interconnected roles. This study highlights the advantages of this coexistence- namely, the flexible synergy between the two forms and the dynamism driven by young cinephiles. In doing so, it also offers insights into how the Korean Film Archive can engage new generations in the rediscovery of Korean classic cinema.
This study examines kindergarten education in Korea during the 1910s, a pivotal period characterized by cultural transformation and colonial influence. Drawing primarily on missionary educator Edwin W. Koons' 1918 article in The Korea Magazine, this study offers a glimpse into the pedagogical practices, institutional structures, and cultural implications of early childhood education. Kindergartens during this period functioned not only as early learning institutions but also as sites of cultural formation and social discipline. This pedagogical principles, especially those derived from Friedrich Froebel and John Dewey, while also promoting values of hygiene, obedience, and moral discipline, aligning with colonial discourse and Christian ideals. By investigating curricular content, student demographics, and gendered access to education, this study reveals how these institutions reflected broader colonial and social dynamics. This research contributes to the historiography of colonial education by highlighting the roles of missionaries not only as agents of Christianization but also as significant figures in shaping Koreas' modern educational landscape through early childhood institutions.
In the early 1960s, North Korean women, particularly figures like Yi Sinja, were frequently depicted in Chinese media as ideal socialist role models, serving as exemplars for the Chinese people to follow. This article explores the portrayal of North Korean women in China during this period, using sources such as the People's Daily and Huang Gangs' reportage, Young Lady Yi Sinja. Within the framework of Chinese state discourse, these media and literary works highlighted the labor and socialist principal role of North Korean women, offering them as models for integration into the socialist order and as state subjects. This analysis reveals two key sociocultural dynamics. First, labor was of paramount importance in 1950s and 1960s socialist China. Second, following the Great Leap Forward, China faced economic adjustments and labor shortages, prompting authorities to reduce gender disparities in labor and emphasize womens' contributions. Under these conditions, Chinese media and writers focused on the female role in advancing socialist construction, portraying North Korean women as dedicated members of the Korean Workers' Party. This approach underscored the importance of womens' labor in national development and its positive impact on the formation of women's identity.
The purpose of this article is to clarify the limitations and implications of John Deweys' educational ideas in South Korean education since liberation in 1945. Following liberation, South Korea rectified the demise of its traditional and Japanese colonial period education and pursued Deweys' ideas for a democratic society through new educational perspectives. To this end, we examine how Dewey's ideology developed during three periods. From the period of US military rule of Korea and the decades after (1945-1960), there were nationalistic attempts by a few pedagogists who had studied in the United States to free Korea from the repressive education of the Japanese regime and embrace Dewey's ideas. In the subsequent industrialization period (1961-1994), the state-led Dewey educational philosophy was incorporated into public education policy and served as an alternative to the traditional entrance examination's culture of excessive competition. From the neoliberal period (1995-), South Korean educational policies such, as innovative schools, were pursued that sought to democratize school education for the majority. As a result of our analysis, it was confirmed that even though 70 years have passed since Dewey's educational philosophy was accepted in Korea, the country's education field has not realized the desired change. In consideration of Koreas' special historical background , it seems necessary to reflect on Dewey's ideas and apply them from a long-term perspective.
This study analyzes South Koreans' perceptions of North Korean defectors (NKDs) from three points: positive, othering, and neoliberal. The positive perspective accentuates a shared ethnic identity, fostering inclusive attitudes toward NKDs as fellow citizens. Conversely, the othering perspective, rooted in framing them as pitiable or criminal. This perception, linked to the view that welfare and educational support for NKDs constitutes reverse discrimination, fuels negative attitudes. A neoliberal perspective often portrays defectors as competitors within a capitalist society, leading to expressions of discontent among South Koreans regarding the perceived privileges afforded to them. This sentiment suggests a broader tendency to prioritize support for South Koreans. This study implicates that fostering a spirit of hospitality towards NKDs can serve as a catalyst for strengthening social integration.
This study examines Kim Ki-changs' The Life of Jesus through Andrew Walls' translation theory. Just as God was translated into human form in 1st-century Palestine, Kim translates biblical figures into Joseon dynasty social roles to express spiritual hierarchy. Kim translates Jesus as a yangban with a halo, symbolizing divine authority. Peter appears first as a commoner but later wears yangban attire as he follows Jesus, reflecting spiritual transformation. Kim also creates historical distance by placing his biblical scenes in the peaceful Joseon era rather than the wartime Korea he lived through. Notably, Kim used his own face in painting Peter sinking in the waves, expressing his personal anguish over the Korean War while preserving a distance. Although Kim's portrayal of the stories of Jesus Christ had limits due to Joseon class structure, it was a creative and bold attempt to translate the Christian narratives into a Korean visual idiom, thereby deepening their relevance and offering a distinctly Korean interpretation that resonates beyond their original setting.
The present research explores North Koreas' sartorial consumption during the post-crisis period in the 2000s to evaluate the impact of transnational/ transsystemic cultural influence in a state socialist context. Based on interviews with North Korean refugees, we examine how the increasing desire for foreign consumer goods such as clothing, including those from capitalist countries, affected the practice of socialist identity. The testimonies revealed a particular sartorial hierarchy and hybridity formed since the Arduous March, effecting a transition from scarcity to style under which official ideology was both depreciated and appreciated. Two factors emerged from the interviews to explain this outcome: first, the lack of Chinas' cultural appeal; and second, the ambivalent consequences of marketization. While recognizing the quantity of Chinese economic clout, North Koreans did not regard China as a yardstick of quality. Struggling to achieve basic subsistence, the North Korean population held de-politicized and pragmatic outlooks, adopting means of self-expression in compliance with state controls. Marketization and external cultural influence as experienced in the illiberal, impoverished, and ultranationalist setting resulted in distinct notions of aesthetics and affluence. Given the interview findings, the significance of the market as a vehicle for reinforcing capitalist culture and values should not yet be overstated.
The Korean Wave (Hallyu) has significantly influenced female audiences in Japan. While in the early 2000s the main audience of this cultural phenomenon consisted of middle-aged women, it has recently shifted toward a younger demographic. This study explores how Hallyu has been perceived by and has influenced young Japanese women, particularly in their decisions to study or live in Korea. Through semi-structured interviews with ten Japanese women, findings reveal that early interest in K-pop, amplified by Korean dramas and social media, fosters a positive image of Korea and a strong emotional connection. This connection not only deepens their enjoyment of Korean media but also motivates some to experience life in Korea, with some hoping to meet a Korean partner. Participants' exposure to Hallyu across its generational phases-from the early wave to more recent, digitally mediated forms-further strengthens their connection, prompting significant life choices. These findings suggest broader implications for Korea-Japan relations in the contemporary era of Hallyu.
The Boxer Rebellion was an international conflict involving military clashes between China and eight foreign powers. This event encompassed complex layers of conflict between Western and Eastern civilizations, as well as between Christianity, Confucianism, and Daoism. In 1900, when the Boxer Rebellion was taking place in China, there were two Korean newspapers that were published by Koreans in circulation: the Jeguk sinmun and the Hwangseong sinmun. The Jeguk sinmun held a Western-centric view of civilization and a Protestant-centric religious perspective, while the Hwangseong sinmun maintained a view with respect for different civilizations and a Confucian-centered religious stance. The multifaceted nature of the conflicts within the Boxer Rebellion was interpreted in different ways by these two newspapers. The Boxer Rebellion significantly influenced how the Korean press came to understand both Northeast Asian geopolitics and Western civilization, fundamentally transforming their perspectives on these matters.
This article interrogates the question "Is Confucianism a religion?" by shifting attention from definitional debates to the epistemological dynamics that shaped the historical emergence of this question in early 20th-century East Asia. Rather than evaluating Confucianism's compatibility with standard definitions of religion, the study explores why such a framing was pursued in the first place. It argues that the encounter between Confucianism and the Western category of "religion" was not merely a matter of terminological translation, but a conceptual collision that gave rise to new epistemic categories and practical responses. Seung-hui, and Yi Byeong-heon-appropriated the concept of religion, the paper shows that the religionization of Confucianism functioned as a civilizational strategy amid national crisis. These thinkers did not adopt religion as a passive label, but as an active framework to rearticulate Confucian values, institutions, and missions within a modern register. However, their efforts also produced a categorical inversion, where Confucianism was subordinated under the very religious framework it sought to instrumentalize. Ultimately, this study demonstrates that the Confucian religion movement was not a misapplication of Western ideas, but an epistemological and practical response triggered by the encounter with the civilized Other. In doing so, it offers an interpretive account of Confucianisms' refracted trajectory in modern society-a path forged by its historical encounter with the category of "religion."
As taekwondo gained global prominence, the Kukkiwon was established as the World Taekwondo Headquarters in 1972 to meet the needs of its time. However, in due course, it became evident that the Kukkiwons' facilities were inadequate to support taekwondos' continued international growth. This realization led to the conceptualization of a Taekwondo Park, later renamed Taekwondowon. Despite the significant investment and opulence of the Taekwondowon, it has been plagued by questionable decisions regarding its purpose and location, remote in the Deokyusan mountain region near Muju town. This article begins by providing a brief overview of the founding of the Korea Taekwondo Association contextualization. It then examines the conceptualization, political maneuvering, and objectives behind the creation of the Taekwondowon. Finally, it analyzes the languishing state of the Taekwondowon, primarily attributed to conflicts among the various taekwondo institutions.
This article examines the ojadeung gwaja program of the Joseon dynasty, which institutionalized rewards for families with five sons who passed the civil service examinations. Rooted in Confucian values, this unique reward system, unlike similar achievements in China, emphasized the role of family education in fostering academic excellence. By analyzing historical records, this study explores how the program developed, highlighting its significance in promoting learning and virtue in Korean society. The research also compares similar Chinese traditions, offering a nuanced understanding of the cultural and educational context of both regions.
During the period of Japanese colonial rule, many indigenous new religions in Joseon disseminated diverse apocalyptic landscapes based on secret texts collectively referred to as Jeonggamnok. Until now, these prophecies have been regarded as depicting apocalyptic landscapes of Japan's defeat and Korea's independence in a fixed, formulaic pattern. However, when comparing the specific apocalyptic landscapes depicted by each new religion, we can see that the prophecies of Jeonggamnok functioned not only as tools of resistance and revolution but also as means of helpless resignation and survival to adapt to the real world. This article aims to show that from the 1910s to the 1930s, prophecies based on Jeonggamnok circulated different forms of apocalyptic landscapes, moving between resistance and compromise. The apocalypse was the approaching end of the universe and history, a future already partially realized through colonization and modernization, and also an inner world where a mind withdrawn from the external found happiness. We need to closely examine the diverse apocalyptic landscapes based on Jeonggamnok in order to capture the eschatology of new religions, which has been described only in terms such as gaebyeok (cosmic renewal or great awakening) or hucheon (Later Heaven), in a more dynamic and historical context.
This study analyzes the concepts of the threefold heavens, threefold spiritual natures, and three minds in Son Byeong-hui's thought and examines their interrelations. Son classified the inner Heaven of human beings into Formless Heaven ((sic)(sic)(sic)), Sentient Heaven ((sic)(sic)(sic)), and Habitual Heaven ((sic)(sic)(sic)), and correspondingly identified threefold spiritual capacities: Wongakseong ((sic)(sic)(sic)), Bigakseong ((sic)(sic)(sic)), and Hyeolgakseong ((sic)(sic)(sic)). This structure shows that the spirituality of Heaven may manifest transparently in accordance with its essence or appear in a distorted form. Drawing on Neo-Confucian notions of seongni (sic) (sic) and simgi (sic)(sic) and the Buddhist idea of tranquil state of emptiness, freedom, and equality. Son systematized the process by which spirituality becomes actualized through the workings of the mind. He also clarified the distinction between seongni and simgi through the dictum "cultivating both nature and mind" ((sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)) and presented the transformation of the body ((sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)) as the path to a sanctified personality grounded in desirelessness and the principle of non-action. This article argues that such spiritual-philosophical dimensions of Son's thought reveal the modern significance of Donghak, contributing to a reinterpretation of the intersection between religion and philosophy in modern Korean intellectual history.
This article examines the relationship between medical science and the population problem (ingu munje) in colonial Korea. In the Autumn 2022 issue of the Korea Journal, historian John DiMoia proposed that the genealogy of population research and discourse in Korea be reconceptualized. While most research on population and fertility studies has focused on family planning (FP) and related subjects in the postwar and Cold War eras, DiMoia suggests that we observe the scientific study of these issues and related policies on the Korean Peninsula over a much longer interval, arguing that concerns about the population and population studies date back to the mobilization period of the late 1930s. He further demonstrates the involvement and role of medical scientists and demographers in FP population implementations. In response to DiMoias' proposal, this study explores the origins of discourses and studies on population, beginning as early as the protectorate years (1905-1910) and the 1910s under Japans' colonial rule (1910-1945). It focuses on population research by two medical scientists: the military physician Sato Tsunemaru and Kud & omacr; Takeki, an obstetrician-gynecologist. By scrutinizing the development of population discourses in early 20th-century Korea, this article sheds light on the colonial trajectory of the population problem and its management.
This article examines the transformation of Buddhism and the problem of religious modernity in Won Buddhism, one of the indigenous new religions that arose in colonial Korea in the early 20th-century. Amid an era of colonial domination and social upheaval, Sotaesan Bak Jung-bin (1891-1943)- honored as Daejongsa-founded a new religious movement grounded in the Buddhadharma while seeking to reform contemporary Korean Buddhism. His thought synthesized elements of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism with cosmological insights drawn from late 19th-century movements such as Donghak (Eastern Learning), particularly the doctrine of the Later Heaven Great Awakening (hucheon gaebyeok). While affirming the Buddhadharma as the central truth of Won Buddhism, Sotaesan did not merely accommodate the spirit of modernity but sought to address and transcend the spiritual crisis of his age. Observing the rapid expansion of material civilization, he advocated a "Great Opening of Spirit" (jeongsin gaebyeok) as a religious response to the profound transformations of the modern world. This study first delineates three major ways in which Sotaesan reinterpreted Buddhist ideals in dialogue with modern change and then considers how the doctrines of Won Buddhism illuminate a distinctive trajectory of religious modernity in early 20th-century Korea.
This article examines Jessie's Diary, a unique parenting diary co-written by Korean Provisional Government (KPG) member Yang U-jo and his wife Choe Seon-hwa from 1938 to 1946. As intellectuals doubly displaced by Japanese colonial rule and wartime violence, their diary provides an intimate account of exile, family life, and survival. While existing scholarship has largely emphasized the diarys' historical significance in documenting the KPGs' experiences, this study foregrounds its literary dimensions, analyzing the form, conditions, and effects of writing. Placing Jessie's Diary within broader literary discourse on modern diaries, this article identifies it as a diary of situation, sharing characteristics with late Joseon exile diaries and early Holocaust diaries of World War II. Through close textual analysis, this study explores how the diary functioned as a textual and material home, stabilizing the family amid displacement, reinforcing notions of modern familyhood, and preserving visions of the Korean homeland. Additionally, it demonstrates how the act of co-writing a parenting diary sustained both abstract and concrete hope during wartime upheaval. Bridging history and literary studies in its approach, this article highlights the significance of Jessie's Diary for transnational scholarship on the meaning of self-writing under extreme conditions of war and exile.
Modern Korean indigenous new religions were originally peripheral faiths-Buddhism, Seondo (immortal Daoist practice), Daoism, folk belief, shamanism, etc.-that had been fragmented and pushed to the margins in a traditional Confucian society. They emerged amid the external threat of Western imperialism and the internal contradictions of late Joseon Confucian society, at a time when the Confucian tradition of yangban aristocratic men dominated the social hierarchy as the official religion. This article examines the family resemblances of modern Korean indigenous new religions through four key aspects: (1) the modern transformation of the concept of the divine- a dynamic revitalization of transcendent reality and an enhancement of direct communication with it; (2) the faith-oriented transformation of religious practice-as Confucian self-cultivation centered on sincerity (seong (sic)) and reverence (gyeong (sic)) was inherited and then reappropriated into the practice of "sincerity, reverence, and faith" (seong-gyeong-sin (sic)(sic)(sic)), emphasizing "faith" (sin (sic)); (3) the divergence of practice into meditative disciplines versus magical-ritual practices; and (4) the presentation and implementation of an alternative religious ideal of "Later Heaven Gaebyeok" as a utopian vision aimed at overthrowing the oppression of the ruling class and replacing the existing order.
