• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.155-165
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• 2013

Koreans' traditional view on death has been much influenced by Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and shamanism since ancient times. Confucianism emphasizes the importance of the real life in this world and highly praises doing good deeds for the family and the community. It also praises people who are enlightened by education and self-discipline. Confucian scholars admit that death cannot be understood by rational thinking although it is unavoidable as a cosmic order. Taoism sees life as the same entity as death; Both are two different aspects of the same cosmos or the wholeness. However, the disciples of Taoism became much interested in a long life and well being that may be achieved by harmonizing with the cosmic order. Buddhism thinks that death and life are an "illusion". It says that people can be enlightened by recognizing the fact that "Nothing is born and nothing is dying in this world. Everything is the product of your mind occupied with false belief." However, secular Buddhists believe in the afterlife and metempsychosis of the soul. This belief is sometimes connected with the view of the traditional shamanism. Shamanism dichotomizes the world between "this world" and "that world". After death, the person's soul travels to "that world", where it may influence life of people who reside in "this world". And shamans who are spiritual beings living in "this world" mediate souls and living people. In conclusion, there are various views and beliefs regarding death, which are influenced by a number of religions and philosophies. They should be seriously considered when making a medical decision regarding the end of patients' life.

• Journal of English Language & Literature
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• v.58 no.4
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• pp.611-632
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• 2012

Beckett's life-long struggling with death may be illuminated in terms of the Western tradition of thanatology as well as Philippe Ariès's anthropological classification of death. Among the Western tradition, Beckett's oeuvre incarnates memento mori, timor mori, nihilism, theatrum mundi, life as afterlife, and the transsubstantiation of the self. Among the five views of death Ariès suggests, Beckett appears to foreground the death of the self and the invisible dirty death. In a world devoid of transcendental Signified, Beckett's resident is "a poor player/That struts and frets his hour upon the stage." Our contemporary vision of death is dominated by the dirty death and timor mori resurrected from the cultural icon of danse macabre in the late Mediaeval age as vividly dramatized in W;t by Margaret Edson. Beckett stands in no man's land: Lucky complains of divine aphathia as well as scopes at the possibility of God's existence like Hamm. Beckett's way of getting out of the dilemma is laughing a mirthless and dianoetic laugher. To bourgeois class who shudder at the sight of Grim Death after forgettable years of indulgence and addiction to capitalist consumption, Beckett seems to preach, your life is a death-in-life, you are not born yet until you are baptized with existential awakening as Gregor Samsa in Kafka's Verwandlung, or Tolstoy in Confession.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.170-181
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to provide a more persuasive organ donation campaign based on the understanding of the public based on the personal characteristics and value factors of various age groups. The influence of personal characteristics and value factors (organ donation attitude, organ donation knowledge, self - efficacy, internal medicine, attitude toward discontinuation of life - saving treatment) on the intention of organ donation among 20s to 60s or older was examined. Demographic variables that were predicted to affect individual behavioral intentions such as gender, age, and religion were included. The value factors were also included attitudes toward life-sustaining treatment and afterlife view to identify potential factors. The results showed that attitude toward organ donation, knowledge of organ donation, self-efficacy, attitudes toward life-sustaining treatment had a significant positive effect on organ donation intention.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.50-57
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• 1999

Folk belief, which originated with the rise of human existence is a fundamental and comprehensive mode of living that reflects sociocultural conditions. Adherents of folk belief accept a certain thing to be true and real without scientific authority and absolute certainty. Taboo can be seen as a king of folk belief. The object of this study is to examine the taboos in relation to the manufacturing process and the quality of the shroud and to shrouding customs. I will also try to find out the meaning and significance in this. Through this task, I hope to contribute to the enhanced understanding of the cultural characteristics, the spiritual life, and the views on after life of the Korean people. In Korea, it is considered to be propitious to prepare the shroud on the intercalary month of the leap year , as it allows one to enjoy longevity healthy and sound. Moreover, as this belief gives credence and repose while preparing for the “final departure”, this custom is relatively well observed. From the taboo concerning leap months, we infer that death as viewed as a commencement of a new life, which reveals a positive view on afterlife. This can be seen as a return to the origin of anti-universal space in this “bonus” month of anti-universal time. Taboos on the manufacturing process of the shroud is related to the belief that it allows the deceased to go the nest world without any hesistation or disturbances. This symbolizes the immortality of the human soul: I. e. that the human spirit does not end in this world but continues on to the next. Taboos concerning the preparation process of the shroud as well as various other taboos are related to the belief that preparation for the shroud should be done in sincerity and secredness with a thoughtful consideration for the deceased. This can be perceived as an implication to sanctity for the dead.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.40
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• pp.155-185
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to compare death the Korean Buddhist understanding of death with that of Daesoon Jinrihoe. Various concepts, including reincarnation (輪廻), myeongbu (冥府, 'the postmortem offices' or 'afterworld') and the Ten Kings (十王) of the afterworld are used to explain views on death in both religions. However, these concepts differ not only in their content and categorization, but also in terms of the meaning they occupy within the doctrines of each religion. In other words, although many similarities can be found between Buddhism and Daesoon Jinrihoe's concept of reincarnation, at the same time, differences between them can also be pointed out. The differences include the period of time between one's death and reincarnation and also the importance of reliance upon other people or divine powers during the reincarnation process. With regard to ideas involving myŏngbu, there are far more differences than similarities. Both Buddhism and Daesoon Jinrihoe shares a similar notion of an afterlife judgment presided over by the Ten Kings. However, many differences can be found when it comes to Daesoon Jinrihoe other view of myŏngbu, known as 'myeongbu gongsa (the Reordering Works of Myeongbu).' These works are considered to be of great doctrinal importance in Daesoon Jinrihoe. Therefore, the concepts of reincarnation and myeongbu that appear in both traditions should not be considered identical and need to be redefined accordingly in comparative contexts. In other words, the concepts of reincarnation, myeongbu, and the Ten Kings as they appear in the Daesoon Thought should first be differentiated from their counterparts found in Buddhism and then be redefined in the context of the new and independent system of thought in which they exist. These concepts should then be applied to broader theoretical discourse on religion.

• Journal of Christian Education in Korea
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• v.72
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• pp.293-316
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• 2022

This paper argues that Christian education for sustainability should be a spiritual education that fosters the spirituality of contentment, poverty, sharing, and justice through a critical review of the concept of "Sustainable Development" (SD), which emerged to overcome today's climate and ecological crisis. To this end, first of all, the efforts and limitations of international cooperation to overcome the deepening environmental problems will be considered. That is, economic interests have been prior to the environmental issues. When it comes to the 'Green Revolution,' there has been a huge gap between the ideal and the reality, so a sustainable society has become distant. Faced with this situation, Christian theology has been trying to build a new theological paradigm, breaking away from the limits of anthropocentric and afterlife-centered theology based on the dichotomy between the physical and the spiritual. Through such theological reflections, Christian education needs to carry out spiritual education focusing on how to deal with the problem of human greed for the restoration of the created world. In this regard, this paper presents the spirituality of contentment, poverty, sharing, and justice. For developing it, this article suggests deep theological reflection and repentance on human greed, listening to the victim's voice, moderation in consumption, investigation of alternative cases, and decisive action to reveal the truth from the victim's point of view.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.27
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• pp.1-34
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• 2016

This paper aims to understand how Daesoonjinrihoe perceives the Later World. Daesoonjinrihoe supports to establish an earthly paradise through the re-creation of the real world unlike other religions which tend to relegate ultimate fulfillment to the afterlife. In other words, Daesoonjinrihoe endeavors to achieve their objectives in the human world rather than outside of it in a potential act of escapism. The new religions in Korea have been characterized by ethnocentrism and doctrines which present Koreans as the new chosen people by emphasizing Korea's crucial role in world leadership. However, the doctrine of Daesoonjinrihoe differ with other new religions of Korea in this regard as its purpose is to redeem the whole world. Daesoonjinrihoe proposes an open embrace of the religious diversity found in Korean society. Daesoonjinrihoe argues that the Later World has not come yet, even though the Former World is over and progress towards the Later World has already been set in motion. The meaning of human nobility is akin to anthropocentricity. According to a variety of myths and legends, animals and supernatural often attempt to become human. Moreover, it would not be an overstatement to assert that the re-creation of the real world and the Daesoon concept of human nobility correspond with these myths and legends. There were not definite interpretations regarding heaven in Confucianism historically, yet Daesoonjinrihoe differentiates clearly that heaven and Sangje are cosmic structures. Buddhism perceives that heaven separately exists as a cosmic structure and that Buddha is a transcendental entity, however; that entity is not accessible for intercession. On the contrary, the ways to save the world have been adduced in Daesoonjinrihoe. In addition, the earthly paradise of the Later World has likewise been introduced. Specifically, it is Sangje that opens the door to that paradise. Unresolved issues in the formation of a world view still persist. There are no shortage of studies on the notion of gods or divine beings, however; most of these studies focus on genealogical classification, forms, functions and other such topics. The concept of god, ghost, or soul does not seem to have been clearly defined in these studies nor has the relationship among these entities and humanity been satisfactorily examined. For example, if human beings become either gods or divine beings, questions regarding divine beings who have acted as protectors or guardians of human beings then arises. The Daesoon cosmology should be specifically compared to cosmology in Daoism. By conducting additional studies such as a comparative research with Daoism, it will be possible to interpret mantras and Daoist art as they appear in Daesoonjinrihoe in a thought-provoking way which can in turn be compared with other religions.

• 기호학연구
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• no.54
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• pp.119-145
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• 2018

This paper attempts to divide the narrative into three levels and review the approach methodology to understand Princess Bari as a narrative. If the stratification of the narrative, the analysis of each levels, and the integrated approach to them are made, this can contribute to suggesting new directions and ways to understand and study Princess Bari. The story level of Princess Bari, the surface structure, is shaped by the space movement and the chronological sequential structure of the life task that started from the birth of the main character. This story shows how a woman who was denied her existence by her father as soon as she was born finds an ontological transformation and identities through a process. Especially, the journey of finding identity is mainly formed through the events that occur through the relationship with family members. This structure, which can be found in the narrative level, forms a deep structure with the oppositional paradigm of family members' conflict and reconciliation, life and death. The thought structure revealed in this story is the problem of life is the problem of family composition, and the problem of death is also the same. In response to how to look at the unified world of coexistence of life and death, this tradition group of myths makes a relationship with man and God. This story is mainly communicated in the Korean shamanistic ritual(Gut) that sent the dead to the afterlife. Although the shaman is the sender and the participants in the ritual are the receivers, the story is well known a message that does not have new information repeated in certain situations. In gut, the patrons and participants do not simply accept the narrative as a message, but accept themselves as codes for reconstructing their lives and behavior through autocommunication. By accepting the characters and events of as a homeomorphism relationship with their lives, people accept the everyday life as an integrated view of life and death, disjunction and communication, conflict and reconciliation, and the present viewpoint. It can not change the real world, but it changes the attitude of 'I' about life. And it is a change and transformation that can be achieved through personal communication like the transformation of Princess Bari into god in myth. Thus, Princess Bari shows that each meaning and function in the story level, composition level, and communication level is related to each other. In addition, the structure revealed by this narrative on three levels is also effective in revealing the collective consciousness and cultural system of the transmission group.