The Korean Classics Library is a publication series coordinated by the Center for Buddhist Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The series publishes annotated English translations of some of the most important and influential classics of the Korean tradition. The Library is comprised of two separate series: “Philosophy and Religion” and “Historical Materials.” Both include translations of seminal works from the Three Kingdoms through modern periods. The “Philosophy and Religion” series includes texts drawn from a range of Korean religious traditions, including Buddhism, Confucianism/Neo-Confucianism, Tonghak and popular religion, geomancy, and indigenous prophecy. “Historical Materials” includes a wide range of texts relevant to the study of Korean history, including memorabilia, travel records, historical documents embedded in literary collections, Korean seasonal customs, and women’s lives. Each book includes extensive scholarly apparatus and a lengthy framing introduction written by the translator, which discusses the importance of the text and its author and situates the work in its historical and cultural contexts. Many of the translations in the Korean Classics Library are the first to appear in any language, including modern Korean. Preparation of the translations is made possible by generous grants from the Korean Studies Promotion Service at the Academy of Korean Studies, with funding provided by the Department of Education of the Republic of Korea.

Philosophy and Religion

Editor: Robert E. Buswell, Jr., University of California, Los Angeles

Editorial Board:
Donald Baker, University of British Columbia
John B. Duncan, University of California, Los Angeles
Sun Joo Kim, Harvard University
Namhee Lee, University of California, Los Angeles
James B. Lewis, Oxford University
A. Charles Muller, Tokyo University
Young-chan Ro, George Mason University
Kenneth R. Robinson, International Christian University, Tokyo
Edward Shultz, University of Hawai‘i, Mānoa

Doctrine and Practice in Medieval Korean Buddhism: The Collected Works of Uichon, translated, annotated, and with an introduction by Richard D. McBride II (November 2016)

Numinous Awareness Is Never Dark: The Korean Buddhist Master Chinul’s Excerpts on Zen Practice, translated, annotated, and with an introduction by Robert E. Buswell, Jr. (October 2016)

A Korean Confucian Way of Life and Thought: The Chasongnok (Record of Self-Reflection) by Yi Hwang (Toegye), translated by Edward Y. J. Chung (November 2015)

Korea’s Great Buddhist-Confucian Debate: The Treatises of Chong Tojon (Sambong) and Hamho Tuktong (Kihwa), translated by A. Charles Muller (May 2015)

A Handbook of Korean Zen Practice: A Mirror on the Sŏn School of Buddhism (Sŏn’ga kwigam), translated by John Jorgensen (February 2015)

Reflections of a Zen Buddhist Nun: Essays by Zen Master Kim Iryŏp, translated by Jin Y. Park (March 2014)

Salvation through Dissent: Tonghak Heterodoxy and Early Modern Korea, by George Kallander (January 2013)

 

Historical Materials

Editors:
John B. Duncan, University of California, Los Angeles
Namhee Lee, University of California, Los Angeles
Robert E. Buswell, Jr., University of California, Los Angeles

Editorial Board:
Donald Baker, University of British Columbia
Sun Joo Kim, Harvard University
James B. Lewis, Oxford University
A. Charles Muller, Tokyo University
Young-chan Ro, George Mason University
Kenneth R. Robinson, International Christian University, Tokyo
Edward Shultz, University of Hawai‘i, Mānoa

Seeking Order in a Tumultuous Age: The Writings of Chong Tojon, a Korean Neo-Confucian, translated and with an introduction by David M. Robinson (August 2016)

A Chinese Traveler in Medieval Korea: Xu Jing’s Illustrated Account of the Xuanhe Embassy to Koryŏ, translated by Sem Vermeersch (May 2016)

Imperatives of Culture: Selected Essays on Korean History, Literature, and Society from the Japanese Colonial Era, edited by Christopher P. Hanscom, Walter K. Lew, and Youngju Ryu (June 2013)