Neo-Confucianism was the dominant doctrine in Joseon dynasty. As a comprehensive philosophy, the spheres of thought of neo- Confucianism, distinguished from the original Confucianism, has distinctiveness in its broad coverage of individual, socio-economic, transcendental spheres and existence of universal principle(li) which is to be applied to all spheres of thought. Even though they have made effort to understand the nature of the relationship between Confucian tradition and Western modernity, recent works have mainly focused on similarities in philosophical contents. Thus, the role of traditional spheres of thoughts in the process of modernization still remains underexplored. To broaden and deepen the understanding of tradition and modernity in East Asian political thought by adding the spheres of thoughts as another important factor, the following questions will be answered in the presentation. “What were the characteristics of spheres of thoughts in Joseon dynasty, compared to those of China and Japan?”, “What roles did spheres of thoughts of neo-Confucianism play in filtering Western thoughts, such as Christianity, social Darwinism, and Socialism/Anarchism?, “What will be the more comprehensive explanations of the relations between tradition and modernity in Korean and East Asian political thought?”

Dr. KANG Dongkook is a professor at Graduate School of Law, Nagoya University. He has researched modern political thoughts of East Asia focusing on Korean cases. He published dozens of papers in Shiso, Chosenshikekyukairobunshu, Ganyeomguasotong etc. and several co-worked books from University of Tokyo Press, Minerubashobo, and Changbi. His research has been acknowledged by several research funds including “Fund for the Promotion of Joint International Research( Fostering Joint International Research)” of Japan Society for Promotion of Science, which dispatched him to Center for Korean Studies UW.

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