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Many scholars have sought to find the fundamental causes of the current environmental and ecological crisis in the anthropocentric view of nature and the mechanical view of the world. In this regard, there has been a gradual increase in the number of scholars who, during the process of searching for alternative views of nature and the world, have paid attention to Asian philosophies. In particular, attention has been paid to the view of nature rooted in the unity of heaven and man, organic view of nature, and life-ism-based view of the world. Certain studies have dealt with the philosophies of Korean Confucian scholars such as Yi Hwang, Yi Yi, Hong Taeyong, and Ch’oe Han’gi from the standpoint of environmental ecology. However, the number of such studies remains limited, and the approach employed in such studies has been restricted to the general characteristics of Confucian thought. However, the claim that Confucian thought is fundamentally limited as an anthropocentric ethical philosophy is one that is difficult to refute. The analysis of the ecological discourses within Confucianism and Korean Confucianism should not be limited to the development of alternative ecological thought, but also focus on practical applications such as the establishment of ecological politics and economics, as well as the abstinence of desire.

In the eyes of Confucians such as T’oegye, Yulgok, Ki Kobong and Ugye, there were clearly two sorts of Confucians: their kind, practitioners of tohak, and those somewhat scornfully referred to as “sogyu” or ‘worldly Confucians.’ Historically tohak practitioners and sogyu intertwined interdependently in complex and important ways. In the contemporary world, however, for the most part what continues and is flaunted with pride as the Confucian pedigree of economically robust East Asian societies belongs to the sogyu. The content of the new sogyu learning is largely business, economics, and engineering; humanities or classical learning are hardly the contemporary way to “get ahead.” And deep relational thinking and feeling may well be transformed by the very consumer ethos it now is instrumental in bringing about with such dedication and hard work. Insofar as the present western-inspired global market/consumer economy and its attendant dynamics and values is the central feature of what many describe as a “sustainability crisis,” the Confucian tradition has had little to do with shaping the dynamics or values of the system. But the heirs of sogyu worldly pragmatism now play a major role in the scale and speed with which the crisis unfolds and progresses. But while sogyu is a mighty heritage and presence in the contemporary world, tohak has all but vanished. This paper will examine both potential creative contributions a revived tohak could make to the contemporary situation, and also the potential for such a tohak revival in East Asia. For the latter question, an examination of the way tohak traditionally existed in critical interdependence with sogyu will provide a window on what sort of conditions could possibly enable the emergence of a revitalized tohak.

When we reflect with sincerity we recognize that human development is often not on a par with economic development and all the material acquisitions that go along with it. True developmental success needs a higher human maturity and relationship with the natural environment. In our search for well being, something finally escaped us. We did not achieve the “supplement of soul/supplément d’âme” as Bergson suggested at the beginning of the twentieth century. This essay attempts to react to the distance and the split which were created, especially since the eighteenth century, between nature and man which are also linked to a break which is noticed in us, particularly when we consider emotion. Our decisions have led us progressively to “err.” To avoid working against ourselves, we need a profound experience which helps us to understand more who we are, what the universe represents, and to act accordingly. Ecology is more than a political strategy, a technical problem, or an academic subject. Ecology leads us to reconsider our relationship with all beings. Do we use the earth to dominate it or do we respect it? Are we only the conquerors or do we truly love the universe? This essay wishes to reconnect with the beauty and the significance of our environment with the help of certain Korean and Chinese thinkers who were great admirers of life and the universe, watching daily, seasonal, yearly and generational changes. Beyond theories, let us discover a mind awakening, a sensitiveness and an approach distinctive to certain Far Eastern sources like the Yijing/Book of Changes, The Chasŏngnok of Yi Hwang, T’oegye, and the Sŏnghak chibyo of Yi I, Yulgok, among others, which would help to ease the impoverishments of the spirit and the heart and arouse this “supplement of soul” which was hoped for by Bergson. Thus, overcoming the tendency to mechanization and functionalism, causes of indifference which hinder our in-depth maturation and our relationships, we will have to develop a more adequate vision, an interiorization and new ways of emotional expression and a necessary care concerning the future even of life which risks not inspiring us anymore with wonderment and gratitude.

One of the most pressing concerns in our modern world is the ecological crisis. The earth is becoming more polluted, but the sense of reverence for nature is significantly removed by the exploitation of nature driven by unlimited materialism, industrialization, technological manipulation, and economic power. This has challenged the world’s spiritual traditions to re-examine their doctrines of divine-human-earth relations. A recent development in Confucian Studies recognized our environmental problems as a key moral and religious topic. Various scholars—led by Mary Evelyn Tucker, Tu Weiming, and others who were instrumental in establishing the Forum on Religion and Ecology—contributed to the broader discussion of “Confucian ecology,” identifying the ecological dimension of self-cultivation and other ideas. However, the current literature does not articulate Korean perspectives clearly. This article presents Yi T’oegye’s (李退溪, 1501–1570) philosophy of reverence (kyŏng, 敬) and its modern ecological implications. By covering his major essays and letters, biography, and nature poetry, it discusses the way in which this eminent Korean Neo-Confucian developed a “holistic” system of ethics and spirituality. Central to T’oegye’s thought is his spiritual practice of reverence in cultivating sagely wisdom and fulfilling the human role in “forming one body with Heaven, Earth, and all things.” A Confucian life of kyŏng develops the reverential self and honors a solemn, harmonious relationship with the natural world. I mention why this eco-spiritual experience is rooted in T’oegye’s love of nature and his interpretation of self-cultivation and conclude that this is a leading Korean resource for the ecological study of Confucianism, which can inspire Korea and the world community to strengthen our shared quest for a sustainable nature and a healthy global future.

This study examines ecological issues from the cosmological perspective. Ecological crisis or environmental problems are certainly related to moral and ethical issues. The severity of ecological crisis, however, requires us to look at a deeper dimension of the crisis, beyond the realm of ethics and morality. The modern ecological awareness awakens us to reflect on and contemplate a more fundamental issue concerning the ecological crisis. Understanding the nature of ecology requires a cosmological orientation. The modern scientific worldview, however, has resulted in conceiving the universe as a mere “object” of our research for the sake of human selfish benefit, an anthropocentric worldview. This article is an attempt to recover or re-discover the significance of cosmology in order to appropriate the place of human beings in the universe from the Confucian, especially Korean Neo-Confucian scholar Yi Yulgok (1536–1584)’s perspective. Yulgok’s Neo-Confucian worldview and philosophy are based on his cosmology, and his approach in dealing with human beings and the controversy regarding human nature is also based on his cosmological assumption. Ecological issues are closely related to cosmological issues. The article examines Yulgok’s understanding of the universe to elucidate the implication of the cosmology in relation to modern ecological awareness.

This study analyzes the complementary relationship between ecologism and Confucian pro-life-ism, and searches for the basis needed to establish more methodologically and theoretically advanced environmental and life ethics than those found in present times. The selection of ecologism over ecology can be explained by the fact that, unlike the natural science that is ecology, practical assertions and activities related to the preservation of natural and human ecosystems are being carried out under the auspices of the field of ecologism that is rooted in humanities-based reflections. As such, Confucianism, which constitutes one of the traditions of the humanities in Asia, can be compared with ecologism. Although some have maintained that Confucianism is better paired with ecology, most Korean scholars have identified Confucianism with pro-life-ism. This originated from the fact that Confucianism could not be envisioned as having the characteristics of ecologism. Furthermore, this situation also originated from the fact that the cultural and academic contexts behind the development of ecologism differed from the Confucian ones as pertains to the development of the logic of respecting life forms and developing them in an ideal manner. However, as Confucianism and ecologism share common viewpoints and thinking methods, they are deemed to be comparable to one another.

Few studies, approximately twenty papers over a short ten-year history, have to date been attempted on the topic of the ecological discourse within Korean Confucianism. This field of study launched in the late 1990s was in turn motivated by the environmental movements of the mid-twentieth century, as well as by the global trend towards the establishment of environmental and ecological ethics. The present study analyzes the various attempts that have been made to reestablish Korean Confucianism as ecological ethics, ecological education, and ecological politics in the face of the present ecological crisis. More to the point, this study reviews the ecological characteristics of Korean Confucianism, and examines the problems inherent in the ecological discourses within Korean Confucianism. Although Korean Confucianism possesses organic and ecological elements, the following tasks must be resolved if it is to emerge as an actual alternative that could be used to resolve the ecological crisis. First, it is necessary to broaden the subjects on which research is conducted. Second, there is an urgent need to educate individuals who specialize in both Korean Confucianism and ecology. Third, there is a need to gain an awareness of the general problems created within contemporary society as a result of the ecological crisis, as well as to understand the ecological philosophy of the Western world. Fourth, once the ecological characteristics that differentiate Korean Confucianism from the ecological discourse in the Western world have been established, actual alternatives can be created by overcoming the problems faced by the ecological discourse in the West through creative encounters between the ecological discourses of Korean Confucianism and Western philosophy. Fifth, the very survival of Korean Confucianism amidst the current ecological crisis is predicated on the search for more realistic measures and the paving of the way for opportunities to actually implement such measures.

Relic forests comprise very original and unique cultural vegetation corresponding to the indigenous culture in Korea. This study examines Korea’s traditional Confucian values as a determinant that allows even fragmented relic forests to survive, and tries to consider the preservation of the surviving forests. As research materials, five relic forests, which are typical and representative of such forests in terms of their size or structure, were selected: namely, Mansongjŏng of Andong, Sŏngbaksup of Sŏngju, Karosup of Ŭisŏng, Sangnim of Hamyang and Kyerim of Kyŏngju. Through a survey on the historical records of each relic forest, an eco-sociological reinterpretation of the origins of the forests was carried out. Also, an on-site phytosociological investigation of the relic forests and their habitat conditions was accomplished. The transformation of the cover-abundance value was used to indicate the tree species performance of each relic forest. All of the five relic forests were thought to have originated from “forests artificially created by certain classical scholars” from the dictionary interpretation of Chinese characters in the historical records. As a result of this study, however, it was found that all of the relic forests originated from natural forests. In spite of the efforts to preserve these relic forests, this misunderstanding about the origins of relic forests, was found to have resulted in the qualitative and quantitative degradation of the forests. Due to the Chosŏn Dynasty’s Confucian values, Korea’s relic forests could survive until the beginning of the twentieth century; however, they have undergone changes from ancient prehistoric times to today’s urban industrial times along with the decline of Confucian values. As a result of this study it was concluded that even the surviving relic forests are mostly disappearing. Korea’s relic forests are not a space of landscape gardening for amusement but are rather a ‘relic forest-traditional village ecotope’, namely a unique cultural space in which nature and humans are in harmony.

According to some North Korean defectors, Paek Namryong’s Pŏt (Friend) caused a sensation among the North Korean readers in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This is not only because of the novelty of bringing a sensitive issue of divorce into the narrative, but also because Paek creatively depicts the raw human nature and emotions through the characters. While the narrative attempts to maintain the harmony of the nuclear family as the Party desires, Paek leaves his readers in the chaotic world of unresolved marital problems. Paek Namryong’s Pŏt is one of the few novels in contemporary North Korean literature that allows the readers to sympathize with the so-called “internal enemy of the state,” who is an individual with a higher obligation to herself rather than to the state.