• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.19
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• pp.125-143
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• 2005

This study offers an analysis of how Protestant Christianity in South Korea incorporated many beliefs and practices of Korean traditional religions in order to make the new faith more appealing to the masses. The paper also examines the way in which specific Protestant doctrines and practices were modified or accentuated to suit the disposition of the Korean people. In agreement with Confucianism, for example, Protestant churches in general emphasized the values of diligence, self-cultivation, righteous living, and, most importantly, filial piety. By overtly and subtly permitting ancestral rites to be conducted by Christians, moreover, Protestant Christianity evaded successfully the potential alienation of the tradition-bound Koreans. From Buddhism, Protestant Christianity syncretized such elements as the daily dawn prayer and all-night prayer as well as the practices of baekilgido ("a hundred-day prayer") and chunilgido ("a thousand-day prayer"). Hundreds of prayer centers that exist deep in the mountains also manifest a Buddhist influence. Shamanistic influences are also evident in Korean Protestantism, replete with the latter's emphasis on this-worldly success (health, prosperity, long life, etc.), faith healing, and conceptualization of God as being merciful and generous. What all of this reveals is that Christian conversion in South Korea did not involve an exclusivistic change of religious affiliation, meaning that it did not require the repudiation of traditionally held beliefs. Instead, millions of South Koreans eagerly embraced Protestant Christianity precisely because the new faith was advanced as an extension or continuation of traditional religious practices.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.18
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• pp.53-79
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• 2004

This paper explores the relationship between Korean immigrants to the United States and their religious identity from the cultural point of view. Most scholarly studies on Korean immigrants in the United States have been dominated by sociological approach and ethnic studies in examining the social dimension of the Korean immigrant communities while neglecting issues concerning their religious identity and cultural heritage. Most Korean immigrants to America attend Korean churches regardless their religious affiliation before they came to America. One of the reasons for this phenomenon is the fact that Korean church has provided a necessary social service for the newly arrived immigrants. Korean churches have been able to play a key role in the life of Korean immigrants. Korean immigrants, however, have shown a unique aspect regarding their religious identity compared to other immigrants communities in the United States. America is a nation of immigrants, coming from different parts of the world. Each immigrant community has brought their unique cultural heritage and religious persuasion. Asian immigrants, for example, brought their own traditional religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism. People from the Middle Eastern countries brought Islamic faith while European Jews brought the Jewish tradition. In these immigrant communities, religious identity and cultural heritage were homo genously harmonized. Jewish people built synagogue and taught Hebrew, Jewish history, culture, and faith. In this case, synagogue was not only the house of worship for Jews but also the center for learning Jewish history, culture, faith, and language. In short, Jewish cultural history was intimately related to Jewish religious history; for Jewish immigrants, learning their social and political history was indeed identical with leaning of their religious history. The same can be said about the relationship between Indian community and Hinduism. Hindu temples serve as the center of Indian immigrantsin providing the social, cultural, and spiritual functions. Buddhist temples, for that matter, serve the same function to the people from the Asian countries. Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Tibetans, and Thais have brought their respective Buddhist traditions to America and practice and maintain both their religious faith and cultural heritage. Middle Eastern people, for example, have brought Islamic faith to the United States, and Mosques have become the center for learning their language, practicing their faith, and maintaining their cultural heritage. Korean immigrants, unlike any other immigrant group, have brought Christianity, which is not a Korean traditional religion but a Western religion they received in 18th and 19th centuries from the West and America, back to the United States, and church has become the center of their lives in America. In this context, Koreans and Korean-Americans have a unique situation in which they practice Christianity as their religion but try to maintain their non-Christian cultural heritage. For the Korean immigrants, their religious identity and cultural identity are not the same. Although Korean church so far has provides the social and religious functions to fill the need of Korean immigrants, but it may not be able to become the most effective institution to provide and maintain Korean cultural heritage. In this respect, Korean churches must be able to open to traditional Korean religions or the religions of Korean origin to cultivate and nurture Korean cultural heritage.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.579-591
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• 2022

Today's Fourth Industrial Revolution is now showing a huge trend that cannot be rejected or ignored. Historically, the Industrial Revolution has always had a significant impact on the function and form of cities, so it is very necessary for modern Christianity to establish the right cultural perspective in urban settings and seek ways to contribute socially in the public domain. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to find the right role of Christianity in new urban spaces and structures based on the following three questions. First, what is a sustainable 'good' city in a new era? What are the principles and conditions of the 'good' city? Second, what is the relationship between the city and Christianity? Third, what role should Christianity in the city play for co-prosperity and community? In response to the third question, the study presented the following applications: First, it is necessary to restore and practice Christian civic culture. Second, Christianity should also take the lead in restoring morality in the market economy. Third, it is necessary to implement Christian values beyond caring and charity. Fourth, the church needs a role and cooperation as a civil society that restores humanity and faith.

• Journal of Christian Education in Korea
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• v.66
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• pp.209-241
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to provide Christian educational implications for young adult ministry by analyzing the reasons why young people move to church and give up their faith. In this study, data from ARRC research in 2021 were used, and 1017 youths(male: 409, female:608) nationwide were used as analysis targets. Through this study, the reasons for the intention of young people to move to church and give up their religious life were identified. Through this study, it was investigated that young people in Korean churches left the church or gave up their faith due to the factor of pastor, the factor of youth community, the factor of personal faith, the factor of church culture, and the factor of compulsory devotion. Based on these results, five important Christian educational implications for youth ministry were suggested.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.34
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• pp.323-351
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• 2020

The purpose of this paper is to reveal how Christian ideas are indicative of Theocentricity (God-centeredness) whereas Daesoon Jinrihoe ideas are indicative of anthropocentrism (human-centeredness). This task will be accomplished through comparing incarnation theology from the Bible and The Canonical Scripture. Both Christianity and Daesoon Jinrihoe affirm that there is another world above the human world that cannot be touched by human sense organs. And they both acknowledge a supreme deity who exists in that above world. Furthermore, they share the notion that the supreme deity came into the human world after being born from a woman. Where they depart is that in Christianity, this belief refers to Jesus, the one who was born in Bethlehem more than 2,000 years ago, whereas in Daesoon Jinrihoe, it is instead believed to be Kang Jeungsan (secular name: Kang Il-Sun) who was born in Gaekmang Village in Korea more than 100 years ago. The Christian God came to the human world as an atonement for humanity and died on the cross; The God of Daesoon Jinrihoe came to the human world to help mankind settle all enmities. To this end, he traveled through the realms of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, to recalibrate the faulty Degree Numbers. The sin mentioned in Christianity means treachery against the supreme deity. It is implied that sin is not tolerated in the world of God. Due to this, the first man, Adam, was driven out of Eden after betraying God, and afterwards, there came to be an infranchissable boundary between the world of God and the world of man. By way of comparison the faulty Degree Numbers, mentioned in Daesoon Jinrihoe, were produced naturally. In other words, the faulty Degree Number existed not only in the human world, but also in the world of divinities, and those two worlds not only interact but also affect each other. Therefore, it can be said that the two worlds of Christianity are worlds in which order and systems are completely different, and that the two worlds of Daesoon Jinrihoe are worlds that operate under the same order and systems. Both explain via this two-part division to emphasize one part as more important than the other. Christianity regards the world of God as the ultimate source and ultimate concern of the human world and emphasizes the absolute faith and worship of God is the highest value in life. But Daesoon Jinrihoe, on the other hand, argues that the human world determines the value of the divine world, and that the co-prosperity of man and his surroundings are the core values of the human era (The Era of Human Nobility). Therefore, the root cause of Christianity's theocentricity is that among the two worlds that are completely cut off from one another, they believe in God's world as the ultimate source and purpose of the human world. The root cause of Daesoon Jinrihoe's anthropocentrism is that among the two worlds that interact and influence each other, they believe the human world determines the meaning of the divine world.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.642-657
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• 2017

The Protestant Reformation that erupted 500 years ago has influenced all aspects of society and have become a crucial stepping stone to modern times from the Middle Ages. The purpose of this study was to show the reformational characteristics of the social welfare revealed in the process of the Reformation in the 16th century and how they apply to the Modern Christianity, especially from the view of the missional church. Therefore, in the main body, the two doctrines of Justification by Faith only and the Priesthood of All Believers were based on the Luther's Reformation were examined. A researcher confirmed that his Reformational characteristics concerned about second-class citizens and disadvantaged such as the weak faith, women, and the social situations were considered all the time in his Reformation. There were three characteristics of Luther's social welfare reforms: relief activities, education businesses, and economic policies. In addition, a researcher discussed some suggestions that the missional church can apply to its ministry for creating a healthier community.

• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
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• no.41
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• pp.385-406
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• 2010

Lee Byeong-hun was introduced to Hanjuhak when he was taught by Myeonwoo Gwak Jong-seok. It is assumed that Hanjuhak circles had a certain influence on formation of his ideas in that they had liberal tendency at that time. Lee Byeong-hun accepted Geummungyonghak developed by Gang Yu-wee of China and participated in Confucian Science Movement while excluding Confucianism. After he accepted western civilization and the ideas of Gang Yu-wee, no traces of Hanjuhak was found in his writing, but it is assumed that Hanjuhak might work as a nutritious element for his ideas. He thought that religious nature of Confucianism could be revived only when he left Neo-confucianism which changed Confucianism into a philosophy by insisting reason instead of God. So, he respected Confucius as a religious founder and left such concepts as reason and respect which were considered important in Neo-confucianism and valued disposition and faith in "Jungyong", a doctrine of the Mean. He considered Confucianism as religious and joined in religious practices such as praying and reciting scriptures. He insisted that filial piety indicates a filial son of the Heaven when interpreting the following passage: Shun (Chinese leader) is a filial duty, which is assumed that he was influenced by Christianity. He respected Confucius as the only religious founder and God as the God to make Confucianism a religion. It is believed that he considered only Confucius as a founder instead of traditional Confucian sages as religion such as Buddhism and Christianity has one founder. God he thought is related with the God in Christianity and furthermore accepted reincarnation of Buddhism which is contrary to Confucian ideas. According to "Gyeongseol" by Lee Byeong-hun, it was believed that he was engaged in religion based on a faith that Confucianism is a religion rather than he pursued Confucianism as a religion to find out a way of its survival.

• English & American cultural studies
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.163-188
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• 2018

Through the action of Major Barbara, Shaw advocates the improvement of human race and civilization through fabian eugenic socialism in the based on the Galtonian eugenics and social Darwinism in late Victorian period. In the play, Shaw contrasts two ideologies, Barbara's spiritual institutionalized Christianity with Undershaft's worldly power to control the conventional society. For the dramatic purpose, Shaw symbolically combines the power of the munitions maker, the intellect of the scholar and the faith of the Salvationist. Shaw seems to believe that the best way of improving the human society can be comprised by effective eugenic agencies regarded Shavian trinities. In relation to the eugenic discourses for social betterment, this essay explores how Shaw's ideas on social eugenic is perceived in Major Barbara through main characters as spiritual, intellectual and economic agencies in terms of social Darwinism for the progress of the human society. As always, Shaw's evolutionary agencies are disillusionized from the idealistic faith through the realistic awareness of economic facts, which is manifested in their practices to advance the institutional society Shaw attacked. It is obvious that the significant facts of eugenic socialism/social eugenics based on social Darwinism are promoted by Barbara, Cusins and Undershaft in Major Barbara to maintain a worthy evolution of society and humanity.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society of Design Studies Conference
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• 1999.05a
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• pp.72-73
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• 1999

1-1. 디자인은 종합과학이다. 아래 도표는 디자인이 종합과학의 두엇을 만족시켜야 할 것인가에 대한 설명이다. 1-2. 종교(학)적 연구 접근의 구체적 사유ㆍ첫째, 모든 과학이 궁극적으로 인간의 행복추구에 목적이 있다면 산업디자인학도 과학의 한 분야로서 인간의 행복추구를 위한 방편이 되는 종교와 신학을 마땅히 연구의 대상으로 받아들여야 하며, ㆍ 둘째, 이 세상은 무신론자들뿐만 아니라, 유신론자들에 의해서도 제품은 디자인되고, 생산되고, 교환되고, 분배되고, 소비되는 사회이기 때문에 이들에 의한 종교와 신학에 바탕한 디자인의 논리는 설득력을 가지며, ㆍ 셋째, 비록 종교적 견해를 달리함으로 인한 수긍될 수 없는 부분이 있을지라도, 그것은 어디까지나 종교적 견해가 다름으로 파생되는 문제이지, 논제가 그 자체의 논리성을 갖고있다면 마땅히 배타되어 져서는 아니 될 것으로 보아진다.(중략)

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.28-40
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• 2004

The purpose of this study is to identify the characteristics of monuments in the Seoul Foreigners′ cemetery at Yanghwajin, a place where many prominent Christian missionaries and other Christians have been buried near Choltusan. In considering the characteristics of gravestone details, the researcher has divided the details into 4 analysis categories: forms, symbols, epitaphs, and materials. For this research, 281 monuments were selected including 68 of missionaries, 26 of U. S. Army Soldiers, and 13 of teachers. The analysis revealed that there were 26 types of monuments. This includes simple and standardized types like the tablet, headstone, marker, and monolith. These were used more often than other shaped types such as the Cross, obelisk, sculpture, etc. Standardized types made in Korea have been preferred after the 1950s even though the beauty of the gravestones has been degraded. Symbolical decorations related to religious, social, professional or military emblems were also introduced to strengthen their symbolical objectives. Among them, fie Cross was the most predominant Christian symbol and emblem. The families wanted to inscribe epitaphs, the greater part of which originated from the Bible, poems, idioms related to tribute, rest, supplications to deity, love, achievement, to express human sentiment and religious faith. When using materials for making monuments, monument makers have mostly used stone because of its durability. Until the 1950s, various stones had been used to make monuments, for most marble and granite were brought from foreign countries. These were very different from the Korean white marble stone used for many monuments. After the 1950s, the source of stone has been limited to Korean stone, for Korean could make stone monuments that foreigners were agreeable. Especially, a black marble stone called "O-Suk" which means black stone, has been used as a main material. The study identified the following characteristics of monument details in the Seoul foreigners′ cemetery at Yanghwajin. First, Christianity has been applied as the main concept, while symbolizing the homogeneity of religious, family, social, professional or military groups by having the symbolic form, symbol, and epitaph in common. Second, monuments made after the 1950s have been standardized into unattractive and monotonous forms by the limited materials, and so the beauty of the monuments has been degraded.