This paper deals with the sudden change in the mood, themes and style of Korean literature in the 1990s, which was brought on by the inauguration of the first civilian government in three decades and the lifting of the oppressive shadow of military dictatorship. Under military dictatorship, serious Korean writers all felt obligated to be the conscience of the nation, so the emphasis of their works tended to be on social and political injustice and the lives of (...) the exploited workers or helpless and powerless citizens. Their tone, therefore, was that of harsh protest. However, with the demise of military dictatorship, Korean writers felt free to focus on personal relationships and the inner psyche. Shin Kyoung-suuk and Choi Yoon are just two among the many new talents who emerged in the Korean literary scene since the end of the 1980s. They awakened the deep-seated repression of the Korean psyche and fueled the exuberance of psychic liberation. (shrink)

The study reveals the political and ideological journey of Beom-do Hong, a Korean independence fighter and general as reflected in the historical novel of Soviet Korean writer Kim Se-il. Due to to the lack of historical records on Beom-do Hong, stories on his deeds before and after the Japan's annexation of Korea remained at the level of legends. In Korean society, his figure is seen within opposing positions and discourses; to some he is a national hero; to (...) others a communist collaborator. This investigation of the historical novel as a medium for the transmission of shared memories based on the protagonist's battle diary and the recollections of his comrades will fill the gap in the historical memory and contribute to alleviating social political conflicts. Memorial heritage is closely linked to the intangible aspects of heritage, which is an essential driver of development. (shrink)

This study investigates the relationship among ethical philosophy, thinking style, and managerial ethical decision-making. Based on the premise that business ethics is a function of culture and time, we attempt to explore two important questions as to whether the national differences in managerial ethical philosophies remain over time and whether the relationship between thinking style and ethical decision-making is consistent across different national contexts. We conducted a survey on Korean managers’ ethical decision-making and thinking style and made a (...) cross-cultural, cross-temporal comparison with the results presented by previous studies that surveyed Korean and US managers with the same questionnaire at different points in time. Our analysis revealed that Korean managers have become more reliant on rule utilitarianism for ethical decision-making over the last two decades, which is dominantly used by US managers, corroborating our convergence hypothesis built on social contracts theory. However, as opposed to previous research, we found that managers with a balanced linear and nonlinear thinking style do not necessarily make more ethical decisions compared to those with a predominantly linear or nonlinear thinking style. This study contributes to international business ethics literature by presenting a theoretical framework that may explain the convergence of ethical philosophies employed by managers in different national contexts over time, and that the relationship between thinking style and managerial ethical decision-making may not be universal, but contingent on contextual factors. (shrink)

This paper analyses the attitudes of different genders and age groups toward Italian food in Korea. By asking who consumes it, and with whom, how, when, and why, this paper examines the cross-cultural meaning of Italian food and how it is differently perceived by men and women of different ages in Korea. It argues that Italian food is perceived by consumers as sharing female traits and that this, in turn, lends a particular eating experience.

The fast levels of industrialization, urbanization, globalization, and expansion of mass consumption that most countries in the world are experiencing today have led to environmental destruction and climate change, eventually threatening the survival of the Earth and humanity. Especially in the case of South Korea, where per capita greenhouse gas emissions have risen to the third highest in the world, there is an urgent need to raise public awareness of the risks of climate change and initiate a more active societal (...) response. This study examines Korean news media trends related to sustainability and explore suggestions for sustainable measures in the Anthropocene. In this way, a total of 1,203 articles was collected, including material from the news archives of newspapers, broadcasting TV, and Internet news channels. The articles have been analyzed by means of word-count-based analysis and topic modeling. The results of this study suggest that there is a need to develop and activate articles that contain more information about the effectiveness of the social response to sustainability and climate change in the Anthropocene. (shrink)

Yi Hwang (1501–1570)—best known by his literary name, T’oegye—is one of the most eminent thinkers in the history of East Asian philosophy and religion. His Chasŏngnok (Record of self-reflection) is a superb Korean Neo-Confucian text: an eloquent collection of twenty-two scholarly letters and four essays written to his close disciples and junior colleagues. These were carefully selected by T’oegye himself after self-reflecting (chasŏng) on his practice of personal cultivation. The Chasŏngnok continuously guided T’oegye and inspired others on the (...) true Confucian way (including leading Neo-Confucians in Tokugawa Japan) while it criticized Buddhism and Daoism. Its philosophical merit rivals T’oegye’s monumental Sŏnghak sipto (Ten diagrams on sage learning) and “Four-Seven Debate Letters”; however, as a testament of T’oegye’s character, scholarship, and teaching, the Chasŏngnok is of greater interest. The work engages with his holistic knowledge and experience of self-cultivation by articulating textual and historical material on various key doctrines and ideas. It is an inspiring practical guide that reveals the depth of T’oegye’s learning and spirituality. The present volume offers a fully annotated translation of the Chasŏngnok. Following a groundbreaking discussion of T’oegye’s life and ideas according to the Chasŏngnok and his other major writings, it presents the core of his thought in six interrelated sections: “Philosophy of Principle,” “Human Nature and Emotions,” “Against Buddhism and Daoism,” “True Learning,” “Self-Cultivation,” and “Reverence and Spiritual Cultivation.” The bibliography offers a current catalogue of primary sources and modern works in Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and English. As the first comprehensive study of the Chasŏngnok, this book is a welcome addition to current literature on Korean classics and East Asian philosophy and religion. By presenting T’oegye’s thought-provoking contributions, it sheds new light on the vitality of Confucian wisdom, thereby affording scholars and students with an excellent primary source for East Asian studies in general and Confucian studies in particular. (shrink)

If we inspect closely the works that ascend to world literature from the peripheral, David Damrosch’s well-recognized argument that “world literature is writing that gains in translation” may need some revision, because apparently translation is not the sole factor that decides the formation of world literature. Translated works do not necessarily represent the best part in one national literature. Damrosch’s overemphasis on translation differences and untranslatability in world literature tends to overlook the syncretism of heterogeneous (...) literatures: The influence of Roman Empire on Indian Buddhism, the influx of elements from Indian, Arabic, and Persian stories into European writers’ creation, the genres of China’s ancient literature influenced by Buddhism, etc. Furthermore, a great deal of Chinese idioms and allusions appearing in Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese literatures provide us a general view of how world literature forms through exchange and syncretism. On this account, Damrosh’s argument may be reformulated as “world literature is writing that gains in variation.” Variation reflects the ability to absorb otherness and then to create something new. Meanwhile, the perspective of literary syncretism will help us reasonably distinguish world literature and national canons. (shrink)

This paper investigates the contexts on the grand narrative and the memory manipulation of the media in the case of Soviet Korean migrants. The study focuses on the forced migration of Soviet Koreans and how their memories were covered up by dominant Soviet narratives. Specifically, the paper explores LeninKichi, a Korean newspaper that became the mouth of institutional power. The research brings to light part of the history of Soviet Koreans migrants, whose memories were buried by a socio-cultural (...) system that encouraged narratives of victory and progress through an oppositional symbolism of glorious patriots versus enemies and traitors. (shrink)

This paper investigates microcultural imperialism upon Eastern cultural heritage. In particular, it exposes the loss of Korean cultural artifacts during wars, and also during imperial cultural expeditions, visits of scholarly research groups, and diplomatic encournters. The paper argues that imperialist domination is sometimes concealed in the name of Oriental Studies projects and the assumed superiority of certain nations in terms of knowledge and technology.

Mutual interest and cooperation between Korea and several Arab countries is increasing. Each country’s perceptions of each other serve as critical factorsin the development of mutual success in business and trade fields. Their perceptions also affect diplomatic and cultural affairs in the public and private sectors. The news media serve as the public faces of these countries’ daily lives. The news media also serve as primary information sources that determine these countries’ national images. This study attempted to discover whether news (...) coverage related to Arabs published by Korean newspapers contributed to the Korean public’s negative perceptions of Arab axiological images. The results revealed that the strongest news coverage published in Korean newspapers related Arabs with “war, terror, and dangerous region.” The majority of the articles published in both newspapers were negative. However, the results revealed that, in general, Korean respondents did not possess negative perceptions of Arabs and Arab culture. Korean respondents were well aware that Arab individuals are kind, affectionate, well-mannered, and easygoing. In fact, the results reinforced the notion that Koreans possessed positive perceptions of Arab individuals’ “devout Islamic religious lifestyles,” as well as Arab individuals’ efforts to “inherit and develop Islamic cultural traditions.”. (shrink)

This study examines the dynamics of cultural politics in reality television shows featuring North Korean resettlers in South Korea. As existing studies focus on the role of media representation reproducing a dominant ideology for the resettlers, this paper focuses on the specific media rituals of NKR2 programs, which can be seen as a product of the neoliberalist localization process of the global media industry. In doing so, this paper demonstrates how NKR2 programs interrupt the current dynamics of emotions in (...) regard to North Korean resettlers in South Korea. We argue that in shaping civic identity as an effect of the NKR2 show, cultural politics of citizenship in South Korea on North Korean resettlers serve the formation of relatively conservative and sexist civic identity. (shrink)

본 논문은 다산 정약용에 대한 북한 학술의 연구 동향과 담론 가능성을 살펴본 것이다. 다산 정약용의 철학과 사상은 남한과 북한의 학술에서 중요한 역할을 하고 있다. 일제강점기 조선학운동의 전개에 따라 발굴된 정약용이란 인물과 그의 저술은 이른바 실학과 근대를 설명하는 데에 적합하였고, 특히 분단 이후 그의 철학, 사회정치사상, 실학파문학은 북한 학술의 핵심이었다고 해도 과언이 아니다. 여기에서 중요한 인물은 면우 곽종석의 제자였던 창해 최익한이다. 정약용이란 인물과 그의 저술에 대한 최익한의 이해가 남한은 물론, 북한에도 상당한 영향력을 행사하고 있기 때문이다. 본 논문에서는 정약용에 대한 북한 학술의 (...) 연구동향을 첫째 마르크스주의와 주체사상, 정약용의 철학과 사회정치사상, 정약용의 문학과 실학파문학으로 구분하여 살펴보았다. 북한 학술은 마르크스주의에 대한 주체적 재해석을 통해 진행되었고, 주석제 신설에 따라 김일성 교시라고 할 수 있는 주체철학에 따른 저술들이 간행되었다. 그 저술 내용 가운데 핵심적인 것이 바로 정약용의 철학과 사회정치사상이다. 그의 실학파문학 또한 정약용의 철학과 사회정치사상 범주에서 인식되었다. 사회의 개혁과 인민의 현실을 사실주의적으로 접근하고 있기 때문이다. 남북 학술의 담론 가능성도 이러한 이해를 전제로 논의될 수 있으며, 이른바 통일 시대를 희망하는 남북 학계는 공동연구를 통해 이른바 ‘한반도학술사’를 정리해낼 수 있을 것이다. (shrink)

1. Yesul esŏŭi poiji annŭn kŏt -- 2. Mom ŭi chŏngch'i wa munhak ŭi mijongmal.

철학적 사유를 통해 자기만의 삶을 긍정하라! 사랑과 자유를 찾아가는 유쾌한 사유『철학적 시 읽기의 괴로움』. 의 후속작으로, 전작에서 미처 다루지 못했던 시인 14명과 철학자 14명을 이번 책에서 다룬다. 노장사상을 전공한 동양철학자이면서 서양철학의 흐름에도 해박한 저자 강신주는 시는 짧지만, 그 속에 철학책 한 권 못지않은 무한한 고뇌와 사유의 세계를 담고 있다고 말한다. 이 책은 이성복과 라캉, 최승호와 짐멜, 문정희와 이리가레이, 고정희와 시몬 베유, 김행숙과 바흐친, 채호기와 맥루한, 신동엽과 클라스트르, 한용운과 바르트 등 전편에서 다루지 못해 못내 아쉬웠던 시인들을 포함했다. 또한 사랑, 돈, 여성, (...) 그리스도, 타자, 자유, 역사, 대중문화, 글쓰기, 감각, 관계 등을 다루고 있는 각 장의 내용은 우리의 삶과 더욱 밀착되는 주제들로 채웠다. 이 책을 통해 삶을 정직하게 응시하는 철학자와 시인들을 만남으로써, 시와 철학을 읽는 진정한 이유를 알 수 있다. (shrink)

우리 시 21편을 통해 현대 철학을 쉽고 재미있게 배운다! 김수영, 김춘수, 황동규, 황지우, 기형도, 최영미 등 우리에게 친숙한 현대 시인의 시를 통해 현대 철학의 주요 개념을 알기 쉽게 설명한 『철학적 시 읽기의 즐거움』. 노장사상을 전공한 동양철학자이면서 서양철학의 흐름에도 해박한 저자, 강신주는 시는 짧지만, 그 속에 철학책 한 권 못지않은 무한한 고뇌와 사유의 세계를 담고 있다고 말한다. 이 책은 우리에게 신선한 충격과 사고의 전환을 가져다준 들뢰즈, 푸코, 사르트르 같은 현대 철학자들의 사유가 우리 현대 시인들의 시와 어떻게 행복하게 만나는지 보여준다. 그리고 그 (...) 철학자들이 고뇌했던 문제들이 우리 현대 시인들이 고민했던 문제들과 다르지 않다는 점을 감각적인 문장으로 녹여낸다. (shrink)

1. Hyŏngmyŏng, ideollogi p'yŏn -- 2. Sigan, ŏnŏ p'yŏn.

This paper concerns broadly with the works of such ethical postmodern theorists as Jacques Derrida, Emmanuel Levinas, Giles Deleuze, focusing on how we can contribute to the development of their ideas by discussing Laozi and Zhuanzi’s Taoism, Buddhism, and modern Korean Neo-Confucianism of Toe-gae Lee. I claim that for criticism and art, literature, film and culture as well as philosophy itself, we are now facing this new need of another notion of subjectivity that not only accepts difference (...) but takes the position of whole positivity toward the Other. This different view of subjectivity that can be called "the sublime subjectivity" or the sublime totality of a human being or a society is essentially an aesthetic one, rather than one that depends upon logic, and it is vital to take advantage of Oriental ideas. From the perspective of the ethics of Levinas, I first place the sublime, jouissance, or pure enjoyment, at the heart of literary criticism. The pure sensibility of the sublime, or jouissance, unlike the raw feelings of pleasure, is an aesthetic sensibility beyond the ontological unity of feelings of pleasures and pains. Then with the Oriental thought, I make an attempt to contribute to the development of the ideas on the ethics of the relation of the reader and the literary text’s language. Laozi’s Taote Ching, Chuanzi, Diamond Sutra, and Toe-gae Lee’s notion of Taeguk are briefly explored in view of the aesthetic transphenomenal dimension and the sublime totality. (shrink)

Philosophy in Minutes distils 200 of the most important philosophical ideas into easily digestible, bite-sized sections. The core information for every topic - including debates such as the role of philosophy in science and religion, key thinkers from Aristotle to Marx, and introductions to morality and ethics - is explained in straightforward language, using illustrations to make the concepts easy to understand and remember. Whether you are perplexed by existentialism or pondering the notion of free will, this accessible (...) small-format book will help any reader to quickly grasp the basics of this highly nuanced subject. Chapters include: Truth and logic, Marxism, Communism and Socialism, Ontology, Philosophy and literature, Existence of God, Feminist theory, Consciousness, The future of philosophy. (shrink)

This volume is the first comprehensive and in-depth discussion written in English of the Confucian tradition in the context of the intellectual history of Korea. It deals with the historical, social, political, philosophical and spiritual dimensions of Korean Confucianism, arguably the most influential intellectual tradition, ethical and religious practice, and political-ideological system in Korea. This volume analyzes the unique aspects of the Korean development of the Confucian tradition by examining the role of Confucianism as the ruling ideology of (...) the Choson Dynasty. It investigates Confucianism’s social and cultural construction, and intellectual foundation in highlighting the Korean achievement of the Neo-Confucian discussion on "human nature and its principle" in light of the Chinese Neo-Confucian development. The volume also surveys the most influential Korean Confucian scholars discussing their philosophical significance in relation to one of the most fundamental Neo-Confucian discourses, namely the li and qi debates, to elucidate how metaphysical theories shaped the socio-political factions of the Choson Dynasty. Furthermore, issues concerning the relationship between Confucianism and Buddhism and other native traditional belief systems are also included in this volume. The volume explores the Confucian confrontation with modernity, encounter with the "Western Learning" including Western science and Catholicism, and the Confucian struggle with modernity in dealing with issues such as democracy, human rights, and gender in modern Korea. Individual contributors of this volume are either well established senior scholars or promising young scholars in the field. (shrink)

Der Band bietet einen systematischen Überblick über das Verhältnis von Literatur und Philosophie. Philosophische, literarische und literaturwissenschaftliche Ansätze kommen gleichberechtigt zu Wort. Die Beiträge loten die Bedeutung von Literatur aus und präsentieren gattungstheoretische Überlegungen zu literarischen Formen der Philosophie. Studien über philosophierende Literatur und philosophische Reflexionen über Literatur beschließen den Band.

Beyond the Ancient Quarrel brings together contributions from leading scholars to explore the boundaries between literature, philosophy, and literary criticism in the work of J.M. Coetzee.

A distinguished group of authors reflects on problems currently enlivening the space shared by philosophy and literary theory in a series of chapters that range in scope from Plato to postmodernism.

Arthur Danto's philosophical writing is replete with literary references. Philosophy is purely a conceptual enterprise, aimed at solving problems about the natures of things precisely where no empirical information is available to settle what they are. Danto chose the philosophy of literature, and in particular the relations between literature and philosophy, as the topic of his 1983 APA Presidential Address. Danto describes “the bottom‐line view of philosophy” that undertakes to develop only via impersonal theses (...) and arguments, and that requires “the suppression of voice” as “abstract, distorted, and surrealistic” in being too severed from our actual experiences as historical and embodied beings. Philosophy, at least as a matter of its defining ambitions and at the highest reach of its achievements, is, in Danto's perception, essentially written for the sake of transfiguration; its very life is lost when its texts are “flattened into papers”. (shrink)

Absolute devaluation : Friedrich Nietzsche -- Homelessness : Martin Heidegger -- Fatal positivities : Theodor Adorno -- The naive calculation of the negative : Maurice Blanchot -- Bad violence : Jacques Derrida -- The fracture : Giorgio Agamben -- Distortions, or, Nihilism against itself : Gianni Vattimo -- The denial of (Greek) thought : Alain Badiou.