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The Formation and Activities of the Joseon Buddhist Youth Union

Seong-yeon Kim 1

1동국대학교 불교학술원

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This article discussed the organization, finance management, and major activities of the Joseon Buddhist Youth Union(朝鮮佛敎靑年總同盟), which was formed in 1931. The Joseon Buddhist Youth Group(朝鮮佛敎靑年會) planned to form an alliance when Do Jin-ho(都鎭鎬) returned from the Pan-Pacific Buddhist Youth Conference(汎太平洋佛敎靑年大會) in Hawaii in 1930. Young monks of Joseon wanted to form an alliance because they had the expectation that The Joseon Buddhist Youth Group could enter under the Pan-Pacific Federation of Young Buddhists󰡑Associations(汎太平洋佛敎靑年會聯盟) and become a member of the International Buddhist Youth Union. Joseon Buddhist Youth Union, which is joined by about 20 regional allies, established its headquarters in Gyeong-seong(京城) and organized a Central Executive Committee(中央執行委員會). The Central Executive Committee consisted of four departments, which were the supreme agency to deal with the results of conference by representatives of each regional alliances. The basic cost of maintaining the union was membership fees and subsidies given by the center organization of Joseon Buddhist order. However, it was difficult to obtain membership fees and subsidies. As a result, the activities of the Joseon Buddhist Youth Union have been reduced gradually since the mid 1930s. A young Buddhists took charge of an important role in setting up institutions for the unification of Joseon Buddhism before and after the 1930s. They were leading the campaign for the revision of the Temple Law(寺法) and the execution of the Constitution of the Buddhist Order(宗憲), which was not actively enforced by the chief buddhist monk of the head temples or by elder buddhist monk. Their efforts and practices contributed greatly to the establishment of the Jogye Order.

Citation status

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