EoK Test/Basic Glossary of Korean Studies

Basic Glossary of Korean Studies

Basic Glossary of Korean Studies was compiled by Ki Joong Song (Song Kijung) of The Academy of Korean Studies to provide students of Korean studies and scholars with standardised terminology for historical and contemporary Korean words and names. The glossary was published in 1993 by the Korea Foundation and consists of 338 pages. The first of its kind in Korean studies, the glossary gives each term in Korean and Sino- Korean characters, if applicable, and then gives the English translation of the term. Categories include archaeology; art; education; language; literature; music; dance; philosophy; political science; public administration; and religion. Additionally, the work incorporates many terms for Korean history found in A New History of Korea, written by Ki-Baik Lee (Yi Kibaek) and translated by Edward W. Wagner with Edward J. Shultz. The Basic Glossary of Korean Studies also includes the names and dates of many personages from Korean history.

Basic Glossary of Korean Studies includes a list of explanatory notes and abbreviations; the list of entries arranged by Korean alphabetical order; and appendices listing the names of government and private institutions in South Korea; frequently occurring post- positional mono-syllabic terms; and the dynastic lineages of the Korean kingdoms. It is an extremely useful work for establishing standard terminology for Korean studies. It does, however, have a few faults including some errors in both spelling and dates, and moreover, does not include any of the terminology related to Korean folklore studies because of the difficulty in establishing English language equivalents. Nonetheless, it is valuable for the contribution it makes to the standardisation of terminology in Korean studies.

Bibliographical Guide to Traditional Korean Sources

The Bibliographical Guide to Traditional Korean Sources is a work of five-hundred and eighty pages by Tai-Jin Kim (as author and editor), published by the Asiatic Research Centre of Korea University in 1976. Kim provides bibliographical notes on some one- hundred and forty-eight Korean sources from Shilla through Chosŏn. He includes a brief description of the authors, content, and the circumstances surrounding these important literary and historical documents. Much of the information contained in Kim’s work was hitherto unavailable to those not competent in Korean.

The Bibliographical Guide to Traditional Korean Sources provides many useful comments on the authors of the various works, and at times gives short biographical sketches on notable people. The work, however, is not error-free, particularly in regard to dates given and in some of its historical information. Nonetheless, for non-specialists particularly, it has opened a door to much useful bibliographical information.