# Korean Philosophy



## Ash_MT (Apr 8, 2005)

Hi all, 

 Just wondering if you guys know of any good books/websites/etc for Korean philosophy/history. I'm not really looking for anything too specific. One of my instructors really stresses that we should be educating ourselves in Korean philosphy so we can better understand our art, and I'm interested in it so I'm hoping you all know of some good resources. Thanks in advance!

   Ken


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## foolbae1228 (Apr 8, 2005)

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu (translated by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English) is a great philosophical book. The messages in there are so deep, you can read the same chapter multiple days and get multiple meanings from it. It's not really Korean-based, but is very well-rounded.

But I can tell you that old-school Korean mentality was "KILL, KILL, KILL,...train,train,train,..."

Farang-
Ryan


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## glad2bhere (Apr 8, 2005)

Just to make sure I am hearing right.... 

Are you interested in Oriental Philosophy that may well have influenced Korean Culture? 

or 

Are you looking for Oriental Philosophy as expressed in and through Korean culture? 

Best Wishes, 

Bruce


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## Ash_MT (Apr 8, 2005)

glad2bhere said:
			
		

> Just to make sure I am hearing right....
> 
> Are you interested in Oriental Philosophy that may well have influenced Korean Culture?
> 
> ...


  mmmm, either way I suppose.  From what little I've read thus far it seems the Koreans had their own philosophies such as The philosophy of Samjae(Harmony of Three and One) which the Chinese and Japanse cultures did not have. As time went on Korean culture was influneced by Chinese and vice versa. 

  Really I'm just starting, I know very little, so probably anything would be worth reading.


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## glad2bhere (Apr 8, 2005)

Just a friendly word of advice and encouragement. 

If I had it to do over again, I would have developed a firm foundation in some discipline that interested me BEFORE I started to investigate the Korean take on that discipline. 

I can still remember delving into Korean Neo-Confucian thought and thinking that this was very, very difficult to understand. As a result I backed off and shifted to investigating Buddhist thought in Korea and was stunned to find that this also was particularly difficult. I found this surprising since, as a Buddhist, I flatter myself that I have some appreciation of my faith and its beliefs. Stepping away from the Korean material I reflected on the equivalent information both in Chinese and Japanese traditions and found that material significantly easier to address. I am left to conclude that the Koreans, by dint of their culture, tend to develop a kind of approach to academics or philosophy uniquely keyed to their methods and goals and without a lot of concern for how, or whether, outsiders are able to understand their efforts. 

The Korean culture is fascinating and I think you would really enjoy the challenge of appreciating the thought that drives the culture. All the same, I think a bit more preparation is necessary than just grabbing a catalog from Hollym, if you know what I mean.  FWIW. 

Best Wishes, 

Bruce


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