Journal of Korean Religions

Kim, Dongkyu

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Abstract: This article traces the historical reclassification of Korean shamanism ( musok ) from the Confucian category of ŭmsa (illicit rites) to the modern designation of "superstition," arguing that this shift reshaped the evaluation of ritual mediation, authority, and moral legitimacy. In the Chosŏn period, critiques of ŭmsa focused less on belief in spirits than on the problem of unauthorized mediation within a hierarchical ritual order. With the emergence of modern classificatory regimes, this framework was displaced by the category of misin (superstition), through which shamanic practices were recast as epistemically unreliable and morally suspect. By connecting this historical transformation to contemporary political controversies, the article shows how successive regimes of classification continue to structure public perceptions of spiritual mediation. It argues that debates surrounding Korean shamanism reveal deeper tensions between competing models of mediation, authority, and ethical responsibility, demonstrating how categories such as "religion" and "superstition" are historically produced and mobilized in modern public life.

Yi, Soojeong

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Abstract: This study explores the lives of Tatar Muslim migrants in Korea from 1920 to 1945, shedding light on their little-known history and the impact they left on the Korean Peninsula. Originating from the Volga-Ural region in Russia, in the 1920s Tatar Muslims migrated to Manchuria, Korea, and Japan due to Russia's anti-Islam policies and Japan's pro-Islam stance. After settling in Korea, they maintained their identity as Muslims and, by relying on Japan's imperial and colonial policies, were able to preserve their religious and ethnic identities throughout the Japanese colonial period. Through a literature review and case analysis, this research documents their migration, settlement, religious practices, education, and community organization. Primary sources consulted include twentieth-century newspapers, Tatar Muslim publications, government reports, and interviews. By reconstructing their history, this study provides insights into the cultural and social dynamics between the Korean Peninsula and the Tatar Muslim community, emphasizing that community's unique identity and contributions during a complex historical period.

Son, Eunsil

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Abstract: "Poverty" emerges as a recurring keyword in the life of Cardinal Kim Su-hwan (1922–2009), one of the most revered religious leaders in contemporary Korea. Through close textual analysis of eight selected messages drawn from The Collected Works of Cardinal Kim Su-hwan and key primary sources, this study demonstrates that poverty stands at the very heart of his spirituality and pastoral ministry. Cardinal Kim distinguishes between enforced poverty—rooted in structural injustice that dehumanizes both the poor and the wealthy—and the voluntary poverty of Jesus, characterized by material destitution, freedom from need and possession, and kenosis (self-emptying). His emphasis on poverty rests on three convictions: that the poverty pervading the whole life of Jesus is ultimately grounded in the poverty of God himself; that "the spirit of poverty and love is the glory and witness of the Church"; and that the poverty chosen by Jesus is the path toward human fulfillment and liberation. His lifelong pursuit of following the poor Christ renders him worthy of the designation praecipuus paupertatis amator ("a most excellent lover of poverty")—a phrase attested in the canonization proceedings of Thomas Aquinas—and his spirituality of poverty and its pastoral praxis deserve to be remembered as one of the most precious legacies of the Asian Church in the twentieth century.

Baker, Donald

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