Buddhist propagation and modernization: The significance of P'ogyo in twentieth-century Korean Buddhism

Buddhism was introduced to the Korean peninsula over sixteen hundred years ago, but at the turn of the twentieth century most observers both within and outside of the tradition were uncertain about its future prospects. Having suffered a loss of power and prestige over the course of the Chosoˇn dynasty (1392--1910) and legally prohibited from entering the capital and other cities before 1895, the Korean monastic community was facing vigorous competition from Christian and Japanese Buddhist religious organizations, which were actively proselytizing and spreading their religious teachings. Korean Buddhists were forced to respond, and many concerned monks and Buddhist lay people sought ways to reform and modernize the tradition, a project that has been ongoing for the past century. This dissertation examines a salient feature of the Korean Buddhist response to competition from rival religious groups and other challenges that the tradition faced. Known as p'ogyo in Korean, this word could be translated into English as proselytization or missionary work, but I argue that the word propagation is more suitable to the methods and goals of p'ogyo in the Korean Buddhist context. It was taken to be a vital and necessary component of religion, and it was modeled in many ways on the activities and organizational structures of its foreign competitors. This dissertation analyzes Buddhist propagation or proselytizing in Korea in terms of its connection to three important areas of modernization: the changing geographies of space and place, the shifting legal norms and new legal structures that were being introduced and implemented, and finally the role of mass media and in particular the new forms of print media, namely magazines and journals. Although previous studies of twentieth-century Korean Buddhism have recognized the importance of p'ogyo to reform and modernization, none have analyzed the links that tie all of these together. I argue that Buddhist propagation enabled the Korean Buddhist tradition, and particularly the community of monks and nuns, to adapt to the pressures and challenges of the modern world.