Collins Memorial Library: RSS 231: Korean Religions and Culture: Getting Started

Recommended Subject Encyclopedias

Subject encyclopedias contain entries written by scholars and are designed to give you an overview of a topic. The bibliographies found at the end of entries are gold mines for further research!

Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd ed. by Lindsay Jones (Editor)
Call Number: Click the title above for online access.
Publication Date: 2005
This is the essential subject encyclopedia for the discipline of religious studies, and contains many relevant entries related to the study of Korean religions. Good starting points include the following entries: Korean religion, Buddhism in Korea, Christianity in Asia, Confucianism in Korea, and Magic in East Asia.
Encyclopedia of Modern Asia by David Levinson; Karen Christensen (Editors)
Call Number: Click on the title above for online access.
Publication Date: 2002
Presents many entries on topics relevant to Korean history, politics, and culture. Just type "Korea" into the search box to see all of the possibilities.
Encyclopedia of Buddhism by Robert E. Buswell (Editor)
Call Number: Click the title above for online access.
Publication Date: 2005
This encyclopedia describes the Buddhist world view, basic teachings and practices of Buddhism, as well as its different schools and sects. There is an extensive overview article on Buddhism in Korea as well as entries on Korean art, literature, and architecture.

For topics that intersect with art or music, two additional resources will be useful:

Art Online (Oxford)
Covers all aspects of Western and non-Western visual art. Includes the full text of 'The Dictionary of Art,' and gives users access to subject entries, biographies, bibliographic citations, image links and images contained within Grove Art Online, as well as entries and images from the 'Oxford Companion to Western Art,' the 'Concise Dictionary of Art Terms,' and 'Oxford’s Encyclopedia of Aesthetics.' Thematic timelines and learning resources are also included.

Access limited to 3 simultaneous users.
Music Online (Oxford)
Provides articles on composers, performers, conductors, instruments and notation, forms and genres, and individual works.

Access limited to 3 simultaneous users.

Educational Films

South Korea: The Return of the Spirits (ARTE France, 2013)
Shamanism has a long history on the island of Jeju in South Korea. To discover the culture of spirits and the secular power of the mudangs - Korean shamans - emergency doctor Bernard Fontanille travels to the island of Jeju. He accompanies Soon-Shil Suh as she treats patients and performs a healing ritual.
Cinema Asia: South Korea (Off the Fence, 2007)
This program studies ways in which South Korean films have changed over the decades, profiling a new generation of Korean filmmakers and their industry’s tightrope walk between a blockbuster mind-set and more introspective storytelling.
Secret State of North Korea (Frontline, 2014)
North Korea's Kim Jong-Un is the world's youngest dictator, ruling one of the world's most isolated countries. Like his father and grandfather, he wants to maintain tight control over what North Koreans see of the world - and what the world sees of North Korea.
Hidden Korea (PBS, 2002)
This program explores the Republic of South Korea, focusing on its culture, traditions, and especially its cuisine.