Japanese Mythology’ (1930) were representative (Jang Suk-man 2004). He also
tried to clarify the origin of Korean ‘religion’ from philological and religio-
anthropological perspectives in his ‘A Study of Bulham(Korea, Manchuria,
and Japan) Culture’ (1925) (Jang Suk-man 2005).
Until this time there were no generally accepted descriptive categories and
concepts for religion, even if the word was commonly used. However, it was
a very significant change that allowed Koreans to review their traditional
religious culture from a novel perspective. Nevertheless, Koreans had to wait
until they were liberated from Japan in 1945 before religious studies could
begin in earnest.
The development of a study of religion
Confusion. With liberation in 1945, Korea was divided into North and South,
supported by the Soviet Union and the United States, respectively. In 1950,
war broke out between the two sides, and tension has continued up to the
present, despite an official ceasefire. North Korea has tolerated no religion,
and religion was taught within the limits of Marxism-Leninism, although an
appeasement policy now seems to be underway.
In South Korea, one of the most notable phenomena was a rapid expansion
of Christianity, which had come to Korea at the end of the Joseon dynasty
(Korea Institute 1998: 404–409). Simultaneously, in the course of moderniza-
tion, traditional Buddhism, Confucianism, and folk belief were criticized as
parts of an out-dated culture that hindered modernization. In the years
immediately following liberation, the only university to have a department of
religious studies was Seoul National University (SNU, formerly Gyeongseong
Imperial University). However, the curriculum of the department was largely
defined in terms of Christian theology (Lee J. 2000: 288).
Developments. In the mid 1950s the situation began to change. Lectures
on Buddhism, Confucianism, and folk belief appeared in the curriculum of the
SNU Department of Religious Studies. Various theories of the study
of religions were also introduced. Gradually, the study of religions acquired a
place in the academic world. In the middle of this change was Chang Byeongkil
(1919–2005), appointed a professor at Seoul National University in 1957. In
his A Study of Korean Indigenous Beliefs(1970), Chang arduously labored to
describe the religious phenomenon not only through factual description but
also through the semantics implied in it. In 1975 he wrote An Introduction to
the Study of Religion, which has since become a foundation for the study of
religions in Korea. The work was well organized and inclusive enough to cover
the basic concepts and theories related to the study of religions in general.
Topics included theories of the origin of religion, a sociological approach to
religion, a history of the world’s religions, the religious institution, and a short
history of the study of religions in the West.
1111
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1011
1
2
3111
4 5 6 7 8 9
20111
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
30111
1
2
3
4
35
6
7
8
9
40111
42222
3
411
CONTINENTAL EAST ASIA
179
