The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    BLACKPINK Jennie's 'Solo' music video hits record high 900 mil. YouTube views

  • 3

    Japanese students' field trips to Korea resume after pandemic hiatus

  • 5

    Lotte desperate to win LVMH Chairman Arnault's heart

  • 7

    President Yoon refutes criticism of fence-mending summit with Japan

  • 9

    Apple Pay service starts in Korea

  • 11

    Kwon Sang-woo's new series to stream on Disney+ this year

  • 13

    LVMH allegedly joins takeover bid to acquire Missha

  • 15

    Korean firms balk at donating to fund compensating victims of Japan's forced labor

  • 17

    Shinhan, Woori shine in overseas business

  • 19

    Osstem Implant to invite 1,500 dentists from 22 countries for training

  • 2

    Lee Se-young to lead MBC's new series 'The Story of Park's Marriage Contract'

  • 4

    Possibly next SOHO, Seoul selects 5 neighborhoods for new signature 'K-alleys'

  • 6

    Kakao criticized for half-baked AI chatbot

  • 8

    INTERVIEW'The Flag': Kwon Jin-ah's love letter to people chasing their dreams

  • 10

    Revenge rises as key theme in K-dramas

  • 12

    US report voices concerns over S. Korea's press freedom

  • 14

    Busan to have alternate no-driving days during Expo inspection

  • 16

    Sexual assaults by Korean diplomats continue despite zero-tolerance policy

  • 18

    Consumers choose to travel abroad over purchasing luxury goods

  • 20

    Korean startup Innospace announces successful test launch of space vehicle HANBIT-TLV

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
Thu, March 23, 2023 | 13:22
Books
'Silk Roads' tracks Buddhism's spread to Korea
Posted : 2018-08-10 17:45
Updated : 2018-08-10 19:35
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
By Jin Yu-young

Cover of 'The Silk Roads' by Peter Frankopan
Cover of "The Silk Roads" by Peter Frankopan
Koreans are taught that Buddhism came to the Korean Peninsula through a Chinese monk in 372 CE when King Sosurim of Goguryeo was in power.

Since then, Korean monks have gone to China to learn and bring back the teachings of various Chinese schools of Buddhism. Through the ancient cultural exchange, Buddhism became one of the three major religions in this country today, along with Protestantism and Catholicism.

However, little is known about how Buddhism, which originated in India, reached China, from where it would eventually come to be part of Korean culture. Peter Frankopan's "The Silk Roads" (2017) gives an explanation of this.

In the second chapter titled "The Road of Faiths," the author discusses the expansion of different religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Buddhism. Focusing on Buddhism, he mentions how the surge of Buddhists also led to an increase in "suptas," or places of worship on the travel route often taken by these religious practitioners. It is through the Silk Road that Buddhism would also reach Korea during the Three Kingdoms period. Through foreign artifacts and architectural structures found in ancient Korean temples, archeologists have been able to confirm Korea's involvement in the Silk Road.

The Silk Road not only facilitated trade in goods between the East and the West but also ideas, the author said.

"Buddhist ideas and practices were spreading east through the Pamir mountains and into China. By the start of the fourth century CE, there were sacred Buddhist sites all over Xinjiang province in north-western China …," it reads. "By the 460s, Buddhist thought, practices, art and imagery had become part of the mainstream in China, robustly competing with traditional Confucianism…"

The author observes rulers took the advantage of religion to solidify their legitimacy and this ultimately paved the way for the spread of Buddhism into other parts of China as well as other East Asian countries.

"The Northern Wei had much to gain by promoting the new at the expense of the old (Confucianism) and championing concepts that underlined their legitimacy. Huge statues of the Buddha were erected at Pincheng and Luoyang, far into the east of the country," the book reads.

In the ambitious and extensive overview of the history behind the Silk Road, Frankopan covers a timeline that stretches from the early 21st century all the way back to the onset of the Persian Empire. He not only focuses on the development of the Silk Road itself, but also highlights the impact it has had as an enduring and global spectacle of cultural exchanges in terms of ideologies, power dynamics and items of trade.

In the chapters "The Wheat Road" and "The Road to Genocide," Frankopan briefly outlines the Nazi Germany-Soviet Union relationship prior to and throughout Germany's invasion in the 1940s. He not only touches upon this, but also the strain it placed on other countries including Great Britain and Iran. With German troops having effectively diminished the food supply into the USSR, London and Washington provided aid for the civilians and the soldiers. In this way, the Silk Road played a role in delivering necessities not only to the front lines, but also to the masses whose lives were at stake.

The author concludes the book by mentioning that the Silk Road still exists, albeit in a modernized version. The advanced infrastructure of today has allowed pipelines to be built cross-regionally and high-tech transportation has made possible traveling across the globe in a matter of hours. He also makes note of the increasing popularity of high fashion (in particular Western brands such as Louis Vuitton and Prada) and its international cultural spread.

In his book, Frankopan does not compartmentalize the Silk Road as one exclusive path with a singular purpose, but rather highlights its development as a growing phenomenon, from the earliest traces of human existence to the modern-day world. It is through incorporating so many aspects that the readers are able to gain insight into a huge portion of the world's history.

Jin Yu-young is a Korea Times intern.


 
LG Group
Top 10 Stories
1Korean firms balk at donating to fund compensating victims of Japan's forced laborKorean firms balk at donating to fund compensating victims of Japan's forced labor
2Sexual assaults by Korean diplomats continue despite zero-tolerance policy Sexual assaults by Korean diplomats continue despite zero-tolerance policy
3Consumers choose to travel abroad over purchasing luxury goods Consumers choose to travel abroad over purchasing luxury goods
4Main opposition leader indicted, faces calls to resign Main opposition leader indicted, faces calls to resign
5World water day World water day
6Outback Steakhouse sees sales soar as it opens stores in large shopping malls Outback Steakhouse sees sales soar as it opens stores in large shopping malls
7Samsung, SK avoid worst-case scenario as US 'guardrails' are less stringent than feared Samsung, SK avoid worst-case scenario as US 'guardrails' are less stringent than feared
8Korean pension fund hit by overseas banking crisis Korean pension fund hit by overseas banking crisis
9[INTERVIEW] Retired FSC chief finds inspiration exploring Koreans' ancestral roots INTERVIEWRetired FSC chief finds inspiration exploring Koreans' ancestral roots
10Campaign launched to promote equal treatment for multicultural families Campaign launched to promote equal treatment for multicultural families
Top 5 Entertainment News
1Lee Se-young to lead MBC's new series 'The Story of Park's Marriage Contract' Lee Se-young to lead MBC's new series 'The Story of Park's Marriage Contract'
2[INTERVIEW] 'The Flag': Kwon Jin-ah's love letter to people chasing their dreams INTERVIEW'The Flag': Kwon Jin-ah's love letter to people chasing their dreams
3Revenge rises as key theme in K-dramas Revenge rises as key theme in K-dramas
4Kwon Sang-woo's new series to stream on Disney+ this year Kwon Sang-woo's new series to stream on Disney+ this year
5From sky to deserted islands, two artists' documentation of nature adds surreal touch to reality From sky to deserted islands, two artists' documentation of nature adds surreal touch to reality
DARKROOM
  • Turkey-Syria earthquake

    Turkey-Syria earthquake

  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group