• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.223-246
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• 2015

This study examined the characteristics of Buddhist books printed using metal type during the Joseon Dynasty period from a bibliographical perspective. It was found that there are 36 kinds of Buddhist books published using metal type during the Joseon Dynasty period that currently exist. In terms of the types used for publication, there were 9 kinds of printed editions by Gapinja, 13 kinds of printed editions by Eulhaeja, 2 kinds of printed editions by Jeongchukja, 3 kinds of printed editions by Eulyuja and 9 kinds of printed editions by Jeonsaja. Among them, The Buddhist books printed using Eulhaeja were 36 % of total with the highest quantity of 13 kinds. In terms of periods of publication, it was found that 27 kinds and 9 kinds of Buddhists books were published respectively in the first and latter parts of Joseon Dynasty periods. Among them, there were 19 kinds of metal type book editions published during the King Sejo period that occupied 70% of total. It appears that such phenomenon was a result of King Sejo's abnormal enthronement and Buddhism-friendly tendency.