A. The Korean Studies Book Series
The Korean Studies Book Series at the State University of New York Press is
one of the few academic series wholly devoted to Korean Studies, and it may
well be the most active. The following is a list of the 14 titles in the SUNY
Press Korean Studies Series:
1. Buddhist Faith and Sudden Enlightenment, by Sung Bae Park (1993)
2. The Four-Seven Debate: An Annotated Translation of the Most Famous Controversy
in Korean
Neo-Confucian Thought, by Michael C. Kalton, et. al. (1994)
3. The Korean Neo-Confucianism of Yi Yulgok, by Young-chan Ro (1995)
4. The Korean Neo-Confucianism of Yi T'oegye and Yi Yukgok, by Edward Y. J.
Chung (1995)
5. Tao-sheng's Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, Young-ho Kim (1996)
6. The Korean Economy: A Visions for the 21st Century, by Hyung-Koo Lee (1996)
7. Chong Yagyong: Korea's Challenge to Orthodox Neo-Confucianism, by Mark Setton
(1997)
8. Christ and Ceasar in Modern Korea, by Wijo Kang (1997)
9. Kim Songsu: Korean Nationalist Entrepreneur, by Choong Soon Kim (1998)
10. Modern Korean History, edited by Wayne Patterson and Yur-bok Lee (1998)
11. The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment with Commentary by the Son Monk Kihwa,
by Charles Muller (1999)
12. The Korean Language, edited by Ik Sop Lee and S. Robert Ramsey (2000)
13. Understanding Korean Politics, edited by Chung-in Moon (2001)
14. Syncretism: The Religious Context of Christian Beginnings in Korea, by David
Chung (2001)
Six other titles are currently under consideration for inclusion to the series.
B. The SUNY-SNU Textbook Series
In 1994, the Korean Studies Program entered into a partnership with Seoul National
University in Korea to create a series of 11 original textbooks in various areas
of Korean Studies. Scholars at SNU were to write and edit the volumes in Korean,
and we were to oversee the translation and the publication. All costs were borne
by SNU and the Korea Foundation, with additional funding from the Daesan foundation
in Korea.
Two books have been published in the SUNY Press Korean Studies Series: The Korean
Language, edited by Ik Sop Lee and S. Robert Ramsey (2000), and Understanding
Korean Politics, edited by Chung-in Moon (2001). Two more are presently under
consideration by SUNY Press.
C. The Wonhyo Translation Project
In 1997, the Korean Studies Program entered into a partnership with Dongguk
University in Korea to create a complete scholarly translation of the works
of the 7th century Korean Buddhist thinker Wonhyo. Wonhyo is considered the
most important figure in the history of Korean Buddhism, and a significant influence
on East Asian Buddhism in general, yet his work is little known among Western
Buddhologists, in large part because there is almost no scholarship on him available
in English, and no complete, scholarly translation of his works. The translations
of his 24 extant works will have the field to themselves. The critical introductions
and annotations in each of the five volumes will in many cases be the only scholarship
available in English. We are also planning an introductory volume on Wonhyo's
philosophical system and an anthology volume suitable for the general reader
and for use in undergraduate classes.
A group of two dozen translators in four countries, all of them distinguished
Buddhologists, has put together for the project, and the University of Hawaii
Press has agreed to publish the series. The translation is now in the final
stage having each volume up to the process of publication currently.
D. The
Korean Classics Series
The newest of our projects, the Korean Classics Series is a partnership with
Korea University in Seoul, Korea, dedicated to publication of high-quality scholarly
translations of key texts in the history of Korean culture. The series is still
in the planning stages.
