KOR 319 - Shamans, Martyrs, and Heretics: Religion and the Korean Peninsula

South Korea today is a religiously pluralistic society, where no single religion claims a significant majority. On the other side of the border, North Korea has banished religion or so people claim. How did this contemporary religious landscape of the Korean peninsula emerge? This course journeys through the history of Korea's philosophical thoughts and religious traditions in tandem with social, political, and cultural transformations on the peninsula from the early kingdoms through the contemporary era, including the Korean diaspora today. Religious and philosophical traditions this course will examine include shamanism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity, and new religious movements, as well as modern political movements with religious personalities.