The Donghak Concept of God/Heaven [Hardcover]

Kiyul Chung (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 2007

The Donghak Concept of God/Heaven: Religion and Social Transformation philosophically and theologically attempts to initiate, invent, and invoke inter-religious dialogues between Korean religious and intellectual traditions and non-Korean traditions, particularly Western traditions. For numerous reasons, there has been a virtual absence of authentic Korean studies in Western academia. By presenting Donghak as a case study of religion for social transformation, this book examines why Korean religious and intellectual traditions have been almost nonexistent and, if existent, distorted, misrepresented, a or misunderstood in Western religious and philosophical studies.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"Kiyul Chung was known as a 'rabble rouser' when a chaplain at the Uni-versity of Maryland in the 1980s and 1990s. In this book he reflects upon the meaning for Koreans today of the mostly peasant rabble rousers who sparked the Donghak rebellion in the context of 'religion and social trans-formation.' An important part of that revolt was a religious ideology in which the distance between God, human, and the material world as con-ceived in the West is narrowed and brought into dialectical synthesis of holism: thus 'God/Heaven' and 'Human as God.' Kiyul is an activist and a scholar seeking to bridge the distance-political and economic but also profoundly spiritual-between East and West. He is an important voice in Korean liberation movement." John C. Raines, Professor of Religion, Temple University

"In his first book, Chung persuasively demonstrates how the Donghak's holistically inclusive concept of God/Heaven, the most traditionally repre-sentative Korean thought tradition, resulted in great social change during upheaval of the Donghak Peasant Revolution in late 19th Century. Even though more than 10 dissertations have been written on Donghak in the United States, those works mainly focused on either historical issues in colonial Korea or comparative studies with Chinese peasant revolutions. Dr. Chung's work is very rare and precious because he aims to explore the quintessence of Korean traditional thought, which can play a crucial role in a dialogue between the East and the West. Furthermore, he has paid special attention to the active and positive driving force of religion it-self, which can give rise to social transformation. His conclusions are very meaningful because they sound an alarm for many established reli-gious institutions enjoying their vested rights." Dr. Sang Yil Kim, Visiting Professor, Center for Process Studies,Claremont School of Theology

About the Author

Kiyul Chung is Adjunct Professor at Methodist Theological Seminary, Seoul, Korea. He received his Ph.D. in religious philosophy from Temple University. In addition to numerous articles in professional journals and magaizes both in Korea and the United States, he is the author of two books in Korean: From Programmed to Deprogramming: A New Methodology for History Education and A Holistic Understanding of the American History and the World .

Product Details

• Hardcover: 146 pages
• Publisher: Peter Lang Publishing; First. edition (March 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0820488216
• ISBN-13: 978-0820488219
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,151,027 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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