Korean Philosophy Electives

Sungkyunkwan University via Coursera Specialization

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Provider

Coursera Specialization
Pricing

Paid Course
Languages

English
Certificate

Certificate Available
Effort

8 weeks, 10 hours/week
Level

Intermediate

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This Specialization is designed for learners who wish to broaden their understanding of Korean philosophy through diverse and engaging topics. It is ideal for those interested in exploring how philosophical ideas are expressed in culture, emotions, politics, and comparative thought. Through five courses, you will examine how Korean philosophy develops across different domains. You will first explore the philosophical dimensions of Korean music, understanding how aesthetics and moral cultivation are closely connected. You will then engage with Seongho Yi Ik’s innovative interpretation of human emotions, focusing on both understanding and cultivating emotional life. The Specialization also introduces key discussions in Korean political thought, highlighting their historical development and contemporary relevance. Finally, you will encounter a comparative perspective by examining major East Asian thinkers, exploring how Korean philosophy reinterprets shared traditions. By the end of this Specialization, you will gain a deeper appreciation of Korean philosophy as a dynamic tradition that offers meaningful insights into human life, society, and culture.

Syllabus

Course 1: Korean Music, A Philosophical Exploration
Course 2: How to Understand Our Emotions: Seongho's New Proposal 1
Course 3: How to Tune Our Emotions: Seongho's New Proposal 2
Course 4: Korean Political Thought in the Past and Present
Course 5: Zhu Xi and Jeong Yak-yong in Comparative Perspective

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This course introduces Korean philosophy projected into the subject of Korean music, especially K-POP, which is drawing global attention today. We confirm that Korea's unique philosophy was the basis for maintaining originality while being universally accepted by many people, and seek the role of philosophy for the continuous development and spread of Korean music.
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This lecture series aims to explore our emotional landscape through the lens of the renowned Korean Confucian scholar, Seongho Yi Ik(星湖李瀷, 1683- 1761) who lived through Joseon Dynasty, Korea. The Confucian project can be summarized as “Learning to be Human,” which involves not just biological development but also cultural and moral cultivation. Seongho emphasized the importance of emotional education as a crucial aspect of the Confucian cultivation program. Emotions play a significant role in understanding others and being understood, making them essential for navigating complex relationships and engaging with the world meaningfully. This series will delve into Seongho’s short yet profoundly insightful work on emotions, the New Compilation of the Four-Seven Debate (Sachil sinpyeon). His approach challenges us to think critically about our own emotional lives, how our emotions guide our moral choices, shape our relationships, and ultimately define who we become. By engaging with these lectures with curiosity and reflection, Seongho’s insights will not only enrich your understanding of Confucian moral psychology but also offer practical wisdom for leading a better life.
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When we think about Korean Thought or Korean Philosophy, much of the focus tends to be on the distinguished figures, their writings, and their intellectual debates. Korean Political Thought, however, while not entirely overlooked, remains relatively underexplored, and perhaps, underappreciated. But, we should remember that most Korean Confucians were not merely intellectuals. They aspired to put their ideas into action, trying to realize an ideal Confucian society. In that sense, they were also politicians, either with or without government participation. As such, they are often referred to as scholar-officials. It is, therefore, crucial to understand what their political visions were, how their ideas influenced Korean society, and what we can learn from them to make our world a better place. This lecture series, featuring eight thought-provoking sessions, offers a valuable introduction to Korean Political Thought. It is designed to engage everyone, both those already familiar with Korean philosophy and those encountering it for the first time.
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This lecture series explores our emotional landscape through the thought of Seongho Yi Ik (1683- 1761), one of the most original Confucian thinkers of late Joseon Korea. Rooted in the Confucian project of “Learning to be Human,” the course examines how emotional cultivation is essential not only to moral development but also to understanding others and living well in community. Centered on Seongho’s New Compilation of the Four-Seven Debate (Sachil sinpyeon), the lectures trace his major philosophical innovations: his vivid social metaphors of emotion, his naturalistic and embodied account of emotional life, his creative engagement with Western learning, and his expanded view of the emotional spectrum through both philosophical and digital approaches. The course also considers his reflections on the emotions of sages, the emergence of public emotions from private life, the role of ritual in cultivating shared moral feeling, and the continuing relevance of his thought to the Korean concept of Jeong today. Through these lectures, Seongho’s insights offer both a deeper understanding of Confucian moral psychology and practical wisdom for tuning our own emotions.
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Is Confucianism a static relic of the past, or a living, breathing diversity of thought? While we often speak of Confucianism in the singular, this course invites you to explore "Confucianisms"—a dynamic and evolving tradition that has taken different shapes across time and geography. This course offers a comparative philosophical exploration of Zhu Xi, the 12th-century Southern Song Neo-Confucian master, and Jeong Yak-yong (Dasan), the prominent 18th-19th century Joseon scholar. The lectures contrast Zhu Xi’s orthodox Neo-Confucian framework, which focuses on universal principle (Li), with Dasan’s innovative reinterpretation, which emphasizes human inclination and empirical performance (Giho/Taste). Though separated by 500 years, both thinkers stood at critical intellectual crossroads. Zhu Xi synthesized a metaphysical defense of Confucianism against Buddhism and Daoism; centuries later, Dasan challenged that very orthodoxy to address the arrival of Western Learning and the practical needs of Joseon society. Across eight lessons, the course explores: • Ethical Frameworks: Contrasting the goal of recovering an innate virtuous nature (Zhu Xi) with the goal of achieving virtue through concrete actions (Dasan). • Nature and Cultivation: How different views on human nature shape the practice of "Sympathetic Concern" (Shu) and moral development. • Sagehood and the Good Life: Divergent visions of what it means to be a "Sage" and how individuals can find joy and fulfillment. • Extended Topics: Comparative perspectives on whether animals possess morality and how music reflects cosmic and moral order. By placing their views on human nature, morality, and self-cultivation side-by-side, we uncover the hidden diversity of the Confucian soul.

Taught by

Ahyoung Lee, Curie Virag, Hagop Sarkissian, Hana, KWON KR, Minjung Baek, SO JEONG PARK, SU-HYUN KIM, So-Yi Chung, Soyoung You, Stephen Angle, Youngsun Back, dobin choi, 김선희 and 조정은