[publication]Progressive Idealist: North Korean Views on Yulgok Yi I
- AEAS
- Hit1015
- 2015-11-30
The October issue of SJEAS is now under preparation, with an article by Vladimir Glomb on the reception of Yulgok Yi I(1563-1584) in North Korea. Here is the a...bstract:
Progressive Idealist: North Korean Views on Yulgok Yi I
Vladimír GLOMB
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
ABSTRACT
The strategies of DPRK academia toward the Confucian heritage of the Chosŏn period have undergone several transformations during the long life of the regime and require a systematic diachronic analysis. The case of Yulgok Yi I (1536–84) demonstrates the multiplicity of possible views on Confucian thinkers within North Korean academic discourse. Previous research in the DPRK on Yulgok has produced a number of texts related to his person and thought. An analysis of the passages concerning Yulgok in the earliest and the most recent authoritative publications within the sphere of the history of philosophy, Chosŏn ch'ŏrhaksa 1 (The History of Korean Philosophy 1, 1960) and Chosŏn ch'ŏrhak chŏnsa (The Complete History of Korean Philosophy, 2010), reveals that within DPRK academia there currently exist two diverse approaches toward Yulgok. The traditional approach focuses on his class limitations and the essentially idealistic nature of his philosophy, while a more recent approach places more stress on the so-called progressive nature of his thought. Both of them present valuable material for further studies of ideology, scholarly practices, and the discursive techniques of North Korean academia.
Keywords: Confucianism, Yulgok, DPRK, Marxism, North Korea, history of philosophy