Less than 30% of the South Korean population is Christian. Nevertheless, you cannot understand Korea’s modern religious culture unless you take into account the impact Christianity has had on how religion in general is defined today and on how modern religious communities, both Christian and non-Christian, express their beliefs and values. Over the last three centuries, due to the influence of Christianity, monotheism has become an important feature of Korea’s religious landscape. Moreover, Koreans are much more likely now than they were three centuries ago to form distinct communities composed of both clerics and laity who meet together on a regular basis to affirm their shared beliefs through communal ritual displays of those beliefs. In addition, Christianity has had impact on the secular realm as well. The increased visibility of women in the public sphere today compared to the cloistered lives most of them lived in the Chosŏn dynasty is partially the result of Christianity both providing more formal education for women and also assigning women important tasks outside of the home. Moreover, the vibrant democracy we see in South Korea today would not have come about if Christians had not insisted that the state should not interfere in religious affairs, and if Christian faith had not inspired so many to fight authoritarian governments. For all those reasons, it is no exaggeration to say that it is impossible to understand modern Korean history without taking into account the role Christianity has played in making Korea what it is today.
목차
Abstract THE INTRODUCTION OF MONOTHEISM KOREA’S FIRST CONGREGATIONS THE FIRST VERNACULAR TERM FOR THE SUPREME GOD RELIGIOUS RITUAL BECOMES PARTICIPATORY CHANGES IN THE PUBLIC VISIBILITY OF WOMEN CONTRIBUTING TO THE BIRTH OF DEMOCRACY IN KOREA THE CHRISTIAN CONTRIBUTION TO MODERNIZATION EXPLAINING THE SUCCESS OF CHRISTIANITY IN KOREA REFERENCES
한국연구원은 1970년 5월 한국 민속의 각 분야에 걸친 자료의 수집과 학술적 연구를 목적으로 '한국민속연구소'로 출발하였다. 그 후 1973년 5월 연구 분야를 확대하며 민속뿐만 아니라 한국학 전반에 걸친 연구를 위해 '한국학연구소'로 개편하였고, 다시 1989년 3월 한국의 국제적 위상의 부상과 함께 한국학 연구의 중요성이 높아짐에 따라 '한국학연구원'으로 확대, 개편하였다. 한국학연구원은 한국학 전반에 걸친 연구를 통해 지역과 민족문화 발전에 기여하며 한국학의 세계화를 위해서 학술활동을 강화하고 나아가 내·외국인에 대한 한국문화 교육을 담당하고자 한다.