PUBLISHER’S REMARKS

It is my pleasure to formally announce the publication of the volume 1, issue 1 of Journal of Daesoon Thought and the Religions of East Asia (JDTREA), the international English-language journal of Daesoon Academy of Sciences. We wish to share our joy with everyone who participated in the founding of JDTREA, all the people around the world who are devoted to academic research in this field, and all of the scholars and readers who have learned about our journal.

Daejin University is a comprehensive university located in Pocheon, on the northern border of Seoul, where North and South Korea face each other on the Korean Peninsula. The Daesoon Academy of Sciences (DAOS) was established in 1992 to seek the truth of the Resolution of Grievances for Mutual Beneficence, the founding philosophy of Daejin University, and to contribute to world peace and human co-prosperity through academic research, educational activities, and moral cultivation based on Daesoon Thought. DAOS is an academic research institute that has been steadily promoting academic research, academic exchanges, research support, and publication projects. Through those endeavors, DAOS has established itself as an international academic institution that conducts comprehensive research on Daesoon Thought via ongoing exchanges with various universities throughout the East and West.

Recently, at the World SangSaeng Forum International Conference, prepared and hosted by DAOS, scholars from all over the world and 500 religious practitioners gathered together to give academic presentations and in-depth discussions on human peace and religious conceptions of an ideal world. Additionally, the Daesoon Academy of Sciences has accumulated quantitative and qualitative foundations for the study of Daesoon Thought and global religious thought through continual exchanges and international solidarity with major academic institutions and scholars in the field of world religions. The accumulation of these efforts and the revitalization of international academic networks has led to a search for new international academic discussions on Daesoon Thought and East Asian religious movements.

I believe that in the future, JDTREA will prove itself to be a world-class journal dedicated to the study of Daesoon Thought and East Asian religions. Our journal will be appraised as all the more valuable given its status as the only English-language international academic journal focused on the field of indigenous Korean religions. I eagerly anticipate the many gems that will be published in this journal by researchers all around the world.

Much like the flowering of a bamboo (which tends to only occur after 60 to 130 years), academic achievement is never easy. This is especially true for academic research based within the humanities. Volume 1, issue 1 of JDTREA, containing six articles, was completed through constant care and deep passion for Daesoon Thought and East Asian religious thought. In particular, I wish to express my deep respect and gratitude to the late Professor Liselotte Frisk, who left behind her last work in our journal, and much thanks and gratitude are also due to everyone else who provided us with such valuable articles.

The publication of JDTREA was made possible through the help of many individuals. First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Chairman Yoon Eun-Do of Daejin University and the Steering Committee of our academy for their generous support and encouragement. Thanks are also due to Professor Emeritus Eileen Barker of London University of Political Science and Economics, who helped us all the way from the planning stage to publication of our first issue as the Honorary Editor-in-Chief of JDTREA. Many thanks as well to Massimo Introvigne, the managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), Professor Gordon Melton, director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion at Baylor University, and Professor Donald Baker of the University of British Columbia.

I likewise thank Professor Carole M. Cusack of the Department of Studies in Religion at the University of Sydney, Australia, who gladly assumed the role of Editor-in-Chief of JDTREA despite the complexity of the position and other difficulties. I am also thankful to Professor Holly Folk of Western Washington University who accepted the position of Review Editor and to Professor Bernadette Rigal-Cellard of University of Bordeaux-Montaigne. Thank you also to our other 30-some editors from 15 countries around the world.

Lastly, I wish to thank our Associate Editor, Professor Lee Gyungwon of Daejin University, who meticulously reviewed the practical work for the publication of JDTREA. Please allow me to end my remarks by recognizing and thanking our academy’s General Manager, Professor Ko Nam-sik, who provided the necessary administrative support for the publication of the journal. Thank you as well to all of our staff at the academy, such as our Copy Editor and Managing Editor, who put their hearts and minds into editing the journal.