A Historical Introduction to Minjung (Liberation) Buddhism: A South Korean Version of Radical Buddhism in the 1980s
This essay provides a historical analysis of the South Korean Minjung (Liberation) Buddhist Movement during the turbulent 1980s. Heavily indebted to Marxism and other forms of socialism, as well as to Christian Liberation Theology, Minjung Buddhists had three major aims: anti-dictatorship, anti-impe...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
2014
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| In: |
Politics, religion & ideology
Year: 2014, Volume: 15, Issue: 2, Pages: 264-282 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This essay provides a historical analysis of the South Korean Minjung (Liberation) Buddhist Movement during the turbulent 1980s. Heavily indebted to Marxism and other forms of socialism, as well as to Christian Liberation Theology, Minjung Buddhists had three major aims: anti-dictatorship, anti-imperialism, and reunification. The movement has been in decline since the early 1990s for three reasons: the economic and political collapse of the Eastern European Communist bloc and the Soviet Union; the election of a long-time opposition party leader, Kim Yeongsam, to the South Korean presidency in 1992; and the removal of the Jogye Order's pro-government and undemocratic administration in 1994. Although recent progressive Korean Buddhists do not use the term ‘Minjung Buddhism’, they have continued the basic spirit of Minjung Buddhism within various forms of Engaged Buddhism. While Minjung Buddhists were successful in accomplishing their two primary aims - opposing the dictatorship and rejecting the imperialism that supported it - they were unsuccessful in their third major goal, the reunification of Korea. |
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| ISSN: | 2156-7697 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Politics, religion & ideology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/21567689.2014.899065 |