• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.32
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• pp.77-108
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• 2019

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the characteristics of 'Podeok' in Daesoon Jinrihoe. The term Podeok can cause some misunderstanding as the same word Deok (德 virtue) has long been used in the Eastern Tradition. In other words, for most people who are used to traditional thought, Podeok may be conflated with the similar word 'Deok (virtue)' as used within Confucianism. People who are familiar with Confucian culture might thereby misunderstand the term Podeok as an aspect of Confucian moral ethics, or they could misconstrue Daesoon Jinrihoe as having appropriated and misused Confucian ideas. Furthermore, there are other problems that could arise if people compare Daesoon Jinrihoe's 'Podeok' with 'Deok (virtue)' as used by Laozi. While Deok in Laozi's usage represents the ability of an individual who can exercise his or her rationality with excellence, Deok in Daesoon Jinrihoe indicates the idea of actualizing Mutual Beneficence and the conditions that enable Mutual Beneficence. If one understands Deok as used by Laozi to contain the meaning of Mutual Beneficence, then it is possible to think that the two tradition share a similar meaning of Deok as Podeok in Daesoon Jinrihoe pursues Mutual Beneficence as its ultimate value. In order to preemptively correct these misunderstandings, I need to clarify how the idea of Deok was born out of traditional thought and what meanings it embodies. Additionally, it is necessary to examine how it became meaningful in Confucianism, and how it was criticized and ascribed new meanings in Laozi's thought. Through these clarification, it will become clear that Deok originally indicated a religious ritual that the king of the Zhou Dynasty performed after receiving the heavenly mandate and assuming rule over the nation. Later, this idea was transformed into a moral virtue and norm by Confucius. This moral virtue and norm was criticized by Laozi as an unnatural form of control as it was understood by Laozi as a teleological argument justifying whether or not lives were to be saved or sustained based on the perceived merits of each individual. On the contrary, Deok in Daesoon Jinrihoe and traditional thought stand on a totally different theological bases. Deok in Daesoon Jinrihoe is a means to practice and realize the truth of the earthly paradise of the Later World and the truth of Mutual Beneficence which were posited to the world through Kang Jeungsan's Works of Haewon (grievance resolution) that resolved the pattern of mutual conflict that characterized the Former World. Therefore, the idea of Podeok in Daesoon Jinrihoe gains completion only on the premises of Haewon Sangsaeng (resolution of grievances for mutual beneficence) and Boeun Sangsaeng (reciprocation of favors for mutual beneficence), and the way to practice Podeok is to practice Haewon Sangsaeng and Boeun Sangsaeng. In addition, the subordinate virtues such as loyalty, filial piety, and faithfulness that exist within Daesoon Jinrihoe's religious practice are not same as those of traditional thought. They are new concepts of virtues drawn from the cosmological laws of Daesoon Jinrihoe. To be specific, the virtues of Daesoon Jinrihoe are not rules that create discrimination and mutual conflict, but are instead ethical rules established upon the basis of Heaven and Earth having been newly organized, and thus, they will bring virtuous concordance, harmonious union, and mutual beneficence. The idea of 'Podeok' in Daesoon Jinrihoe can be understood as a religious practice that requires doctrinal understanding and tangible practice in daily life of followers. In other words, it is not the same Deok of earlier traditional thought in East Asia, but is instead a religious truth by which practitioners realize the truth of Sangje's Works of Haewon in human world as they practice Haewon Sangsaeng and Boeun Sangsaeng.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.28
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• pp.73-102
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• 2017

This paper is an attempt to find commonality and complementarity between psychanalysis and Daesoon thought, while understanding the practical meaning of the Haewon-Sangsaeng, which is one of the religious doctrines of Daesoon Jinrihoe, in terms of the theory of desire posited by psychoanalysis. There is a common point between Daesoon thought and psychoanalytic theory since both ideas give importance to desire. The Haewon idea is similar to that of psychoanalytic theory, which emphasizes restoring desire through mourning and realizing it within a structure of inter-subjectivity. Of course, the meaning of desire in Daesoon thought, given its status as a religious doctrine, is polysemous, and the orientation of this type of desire is also different from that of psychoanalysis given psychoanalysis's role as a therapeutic discourse. However, Daesoon thought explains that the pain and unhappiness suffered by human beings occurs because of mutual overcoming which is a relational style wherein desire can not be solved properly for either party involved in an interaction. Mutual overcoming is a state of mutual beneficience beyond the previous state of mutual overcoming. Likewise, psychoanalysis seems to accept the loss of the object through mourning, and in this way, desire is reactivated. Daesoon thought emphasizes the importance of social and cosmic systems like mutual beneficience and the reordering of the Universe and these systems have a commonality with psychoanalysis as psychoanalysis sees desire positively within the structure of inter-subjectivity. The direction of social practice in Daesoon thought and psychoanalysis both aim at the realization of a new universality. The inter-subjectivity structure suggests desire of recognition and recognition of desire as a way of practice because desire is not personal but rather social. In conclusion, we should not stop at resolving our own individual desires, but should instead go forward in solidarity toward the achieving the common good.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.48
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• pp.375-406
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• 2024

This study aims to define the meaning of 'Sangsaeng (mutual beneficence)' within the context of 'Sangsaeng ecological theory,' a form of discourse of that has emerged from Daesoon Jinrihoe's perspective on ecology. Sangsaeng ecological theory applies the concept of interdependence to ecology in order to explain how Sangsaeng, which is commonly used as an ethical system for humans, can be applied to the realm of ecology such that it extends its scope of application to include non-human beings. Interdependence, when applied to ecology, is formed via relationships between individuals. Such relationships can be positive, negative, or neutral, and the type of interdependence that emerges can be competitive, predatory, parasitc, and symbiotic. Even if the relationship between individuals ends negatively, it can still exert a positive effect on the ecosystem. Consequently, all of these produce a type of 'dependence'. However, relationships that end negatively can generate grievances, and from the perspective of Sangsaeng ethics, this type of interdependence is to be avoided. Therefore, by way of contrast, ecological Sangsaeng may include both relationships of positive interdependence and relationships of predation, parasitism, and competition in so far as there no grievances. Ecological theory requires a perspective that enables an understand of the relationship between nature and humans in an integrated way that does not separate them. One view of universe, known as Cheonji-saengin-yongin (Heaven and Earth give produce humans make use of them) provides insights into the relationship between the universe and humans and nature and humans from an interdependent perspective. Heaven and Earth take humans as the basis of their existence, and only after humans discover the law of nature and the sacredness behind it can a deep interdependence between Heaven and Earth and humans and nature and humans be established. However, as modern humans emerge, the interdependence between Heaven and Earth and humans collapses as they destroy nature and lower the authority of Shindo (divine order). Haewon Sangsaeng (the resolution of grievances for mutual beneficence) and Boeun Sangsaeng (the reciprocation of favors for mutual beneficence) is the solution to reestablish the interdependence that has been disconnected between Heaven and Earth and humans and nature and humans. The practice of Haewon Sangsaeng through Gongbu rituals is the way to restore interdependence between nature and humans. The process of humans achieving Dotong (mastery of the Dao) through religious practices is the practice of Boeun Sangsaeng, and humans will be reborn into Injon (Human Nobility or 'divine humans') with ecological nature and enjoy an eternal interdependent relationship with nature. In summary, Sangsaeng in the context of Sangsaeng ecological theory is the idea and practice of allowing nature and humans to restore their interdependence and live on eternally.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.22
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• pp.87-131
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• 2014

한국은 백 년 이래로 군사적 침략과 경제적 대변혁을 맞았으며, 또한 종교와 문화적 측면에서 전통의 중흥기와 서학의 유입에 대한 문제를 경험하게 되었다. 이런 점에서 한국의 역사적 경험은 주변 국가의 국민들이 배울 만한 의미가 있다고 생각된다. 이와 연관하여 대순진리회가 역사를 계승하고 창신을 이루어나가는 측면의 문제는 정리해볼 만한 가치가 있다. 대순진리회의 종지는 '음양합덕, 신인조화, 해원상생, 도통진경'이다. 특히 대순진리회는 해원상생 사상으로 조화정신을 집중적으로 잘 나타내고 있다. 대순진리회의 해원은 고대 단주로부터의 원을 푸는 것에서 시작되며, 인류가 근본적으로 여러 세대에 걸친 원한을 풀어야만 행복하고 안락한 시대에 진입할 수 있다는 역사관을 보여주고 있다. 대순진리회가 해원을 푸는 방책으로 제시하는 상생은 당시의 갑오동학혁명이나 역사상 많은 종교에서 원한을 해결하는 방법과 구별되는 것이다. 과거에 있어서는 상극의 방법으로 원한을 해결하여 왔으나, 상극의 방식은 오히려 새로운 원한을 더욱 만들어 낼 수 있기 때문에, 현대에 있어 원한을 제거할 수 있는 방법은 악을 선으로써 대하는 것이라고 한다. 증산 성사 및 그 후학들은 사회의 질서를 새롭게 세우는 문제와 전통사회에서 인간 간의 조화를 방해하고 원한을 용인하는 구습을 개조하고 원을 소멸하는 문제에 주의를 기울였다. 이러한 변혁은 평등의 관념을 나타내고 있다. 증산께서는 전 세계적인 관점에서 민족과 국가 그리고 종교 간의 조화를 실현해야 할 것을 강조하셨다. 당시 동아시아 국가는 매우 폐쇄적인 상황에서 서양 국가의 침략을 받던 시기였는데, 증산 성사께서 미래의 세계는 마땅히 화합을 이루고 서로의 장점을 배우는 세계가 될 것임을 예견하셨다는 것은 그의 위대함을 보여주는 대목이다. 증산의 후천개벽사상 역시 조화의 정신을 나타내고 있다. 후천개벽사상은 전통적 참위를 현대적으로 개조한 것으로 민중을 적극적으로 인도하기 위한 것이다. 다음으로, 증산께서는 각 종교에 대해 관용적인 태도를 표하셨고, 또한 매우 진지한 태도로 타 종교로부터 자신이 주창하는 사상과 관련한 자원을 흡수하셨다. 동양의 전통적인 유불선 삼교를 가장 중요한 종교와 문화형태로 인정하시고, 그 삼교의 내용을 두로 포용하셨으며, 심지어 예수교와 서양문화까지 모두 아우르는 태도를 보여주셨다. 서양의 문화 역시 증산께서 추구하시는 신세계의 한 부분이었기 때문이다. 이러한 사실은 증산께서 당시 세계의 역사적 방향에 대해 통찰하고 있었고 이 통찰 속에서 종교 간의 관계가 조화롭게 되어야 함을 주창했음을 말해 준다. 대순사상에는 민간 무교의 내용 역시 풍부하게 들어있다. 부뚜막신, 사명, 아표신, 마장군, 백의군왕, 황천신 등 민간에서 유행했던 다양한 신령숭배의 내용을 흡수했을 뿐만 아니라, 주문과 부를 태우는 법술로 신명과 관련된 내용을 표현하고 있으며, 칠성과 관우의 신앙까지 수용하고 있다. 또한 증산 성사는 동학과 같은 신종교까지 받아들이셨다. 증산께서는 동학혁명의 비참한 최후를 완화시켰던 위대한 역사적 공적을 이루셨으며, 신종교 운동의 사회적 형태를 변화시켰을 뿐 아니라, 서로 다른 내력을 지닌 교도들간의 관계를 조화롭게 하였다. 이로 볼 때 결국 증산께서 주창한 대순사상은 사람들 간의 충돌과 모순을 소멸시키고, 조화와 상생의 사회 환경을 창조하고자 하는 것이었다고 할 수 있다.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.33
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• pp.147-177
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• 2019

This article attempts to examine the fundamental perceptions and attitudes of human beings towards others utilizing the concept of 'precariat,' a new word recently created to designate people affected by the inequality and instability brought about by neoliberal globalization. Especially, the precariats within South Korean society noted in this article will be North Korean migrants. When leaving North Korea, they have entered into South Korean society with hurting bodies and minds as they made their way through China or third party countries. After arriving in South Korea, they face difficulties such as inadequate jobs and low-level welfare benefits. Also, considering the social discrimination, exclusion, and indifference towards North Korean migrants which are commonplace, they come to live their lives as precariats. Given their situation, I would like to seek wisdom for North Korean migrants to apply as they escape from insecure lives, and perhaps Sangsaeng (mutual beneficence) would allow them to do that within South Korean society. In this light, I think that the concept of hospitality and Haewon Sangsaeng (the resolution of grievances for mutual beneficence), a code of practical ethics within the Daesoon Thought, as a basis for discussion with other philosophies that are practical in enabling North Korean migrants and South Korean citizens to coexist within modern day South Korean society. This can be achieved because 'Haewon (grievance-resolution)' lowers the boundary between self and others through sharing, and consequently, daily mutual interactions can unfold as 'Sangsaeng', which stands as a new ethical and practical system of values available to all modern individuals. In fact, contrary to the religious implications of Daesoon Thought, the philosophical and existential significance of Daesoon Thought has not received much attention. However, if we pay attention to the question of why human subjects should be hospitable to others, we can grasp how Daesoon Thought presents values that are existential in nature and also consider the specific context that accompanies the religious aspects of this system of thought.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.43
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• pp.67-102
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to analyze the human rights found in the North Korean Constitution and their core problem by focusing on elements of human rights suggested by Daesoon Jinrihoe's doctrine of Haewon-sangsaeng (解冤相生 the Resolution of Grievances for Mutual Beneficence). Haewon-sangsaeng is seemingly the only natural law that could resolve human resentment lingering from the Mutual Contention of the Former World while leading humans work for the betterment of one another. Haewon-sangsaeng, as a natural law, includes the right to life, the right to autonomous decision-making, and duty to act according to human dignity (physical freedom, the freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of press, etc.), the right to equal treatment in one's social environment, and the right to ensure the highest level of health through treatment. The North Korean Constitution does not have a character as an institutional device to guarantee natural human rights, the fundamental principle of the Constitution, and stipulates the right of revolutionary warriors to defend dictators and dictatorships. The right to life is specified so that an individual's life belongs to the life of the group according to their socio-political theory of life. Rights to freedom are stipulated to prioritize group interests over individual interests in accordance with the principle of collectivism. The right to equality and the right to health justify discrimination through class discrimination. The right to life provided to North Koreans is not guaranteed due to the death penalty system found within the North Korean Criminal Code and the Criminal Code Supplementary Provisions. The North Korean regime deprives North Koreans of their right to die with dignity through public executions. The North Korean regime places due process under the direction of the Korea Worker's Party, recognizes religion as superstition or opium, and the Korea Worker's Party acknowledge the freedoms of bodily autonomy, religion, media, or press. North Koreans are classified according to their status, and their rights to equality are not guaranteed because they are forced to live a pre-modern lifestyle according to the patriarchal order. In addition, health rights are not guaranteed due biased availability selection and accessibility in the medical field as well as the frequent shortages of free treatments.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.35
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• pp.295-330
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• 2020

This paper examines the current state of the field wherein theoretical issues of ecology are still in need of concentration. Ecological texts are reconsidered from a religious worldview by extracting eco-friendly notions within religion and discourse is also essential in the practical field. As a case study on this matter, this paper aims to describe various aspects of ecological theory in Daesoon Jinrihoe, a new religious movement in Korea. In short, in its view of the natural world, Daesoon Jinrihoe values that all things originated from the Supreme God who presides over them, and the two are organically interrelated. Hence, the principle of nature is cherished. Especially as the Later World draws near, the fundamental basis of nature is slated to undergo change, and this also features heavily in Daesoon Jinrihoe's view of the natural world. Furthermore, the Supreme God reforms nature, and human beings live lives in conformity and resonance with that reformed nature. Above all else, the doctrines of haewon sangsaeng (the resolution of grievances for mutual beneficence) and boeun sangsaeng (the reciprocation of favors for mutual beneficence) are advocated in Daesoon Jinrihoe. Each supports its own form of ecological discourse, and together, they can be called Sangsaeng Ecological Theory (the Ecological Theory of Mutual Beneficence). Specific discussions of Daesoon Jinrihoe and ecology should be considered in light of this finding.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.42
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• pp.143-165
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• 2022

This study is a novel attempt at a fusion of female-authored Chinese poetry and Daesoon Thought. Notably, this has style of fusion has never been attempted in classical literature studies or in studies on Daesoon Thought. This study will also clarify the the key concept of grievance-resolution (解冤 haewon) in Daesoon Jinrihoe through comparison with classical works. Choi Song-seoldang's poetry that was composed in the early 20th century, contemporaneous the emergence of Daesoon Thought, is analyzed here via the concepts of 'tranquility (平 pyeong)' and 'harmony (和 hwa)' under the framework of grievance-resolution for women. An effort is made to find a point of progression towards familial harmony (家和 gahwa) and Mutual Beneficence (相生 sangsaeng). Resentment (恨 han) from the perspective of a woman was expressed in her works such as Wang So-gun's Resentment (昭君怨 sogunwon), Self-Report (自述 Jasul), and An Original Rhyme of Song Seol-dang (松雪堂原韻 Song Seol-dang Won-un). Works such as Wishes on the First Day of New Year (元朝祝 wonjochuk) and A Spontaneous Poem (偶吟 Ueum) expressed the contents of wishing for familial peace. In the process of trying to resolve the grievances (冤 won) of her family, Song Seol-dang faced limitations, and felt resentment (恨 han) for her inability to become a man. She strived her whole life to embody 'tranquility' and 'harmony' as both are crucial components of achieving familial harmony. This thesis has an important significance in terms of academic expansion via the convergence of literature and ideas. In terms of Daesoon Thought, it is meaningful to examine concepts and literature within a context of fusion because this goes beyond research that focuses only on theory or ideology. It is also meaningful to confirm aspects of Daesoon Thought through the life and culture of the still traditional early modern era and to reveal how it still has the present-day significance that transcends time.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.4
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• pp.25-80
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• 1998

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.27
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• pp.283-317
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• 2016

This research is an attempt to detail the multi-layered ethical characteristics of 'mutual beneficence', shown in the principle of 'guarding against self-deception' in Daesoon Thought while focusing on its major differences as well as the similarities with Kantian and Utilitarian ethical views. In these Western ethical perspectives, the concept of self-deception has received a considerable amount of attention, centering on the context of natural rights and contract theory. Meanwhile, in Daesoon Thought, 'guarding against self-deception' is presented as one of the principal objectives as well as the method or deontological ground for practice. It further encompasses the features of virtue ethics oriented toward the perfection of Dao. Here, the deontological aspect is interlinked with the concept of cultivation and the pursuit of ethics and morals. Hence this makes it a necessary condition for achieving the perfection of Dao, and likewise renders the practice of 'guarding against self-deception' more active through facilitating mutual relations based on the expansion model wherein human nature is characterized as possessing innate goodness. With regard to the tenet of 'resolution of grievances for mutual beneficence,' this concept is presented as a positive ground for practicing virtues toward others without forming grudges. Furthermore, as long as it reveals the great principle of humanity built on conscience, it will come to harmonize practitioners with others and spirits in an expression of beneficence. Moreover, originating in the Dao of Deities, guarding against self-deception is expressed as a form of life ethics and can be suggested as a new alternative for the model of virtue ethics proposed by Nussbaum. All in all, there is a natural causal relationship by which 'guarding against self-deception' in accord one's own conscience and the principle of humanity as a pursuit of perfect virtues in Dao result in the fulfillment of mutual beneficence. This readily akin to how gravity causes water to flow from high ground to low ground. Consequently, these relational features of mutual beneficence can serve an effective alternative to the Western ethical views which also address the need to overcome the egoistic mind which is liable to self-interest and alienation.