Nationalism and the recovery of national and ethnic homogeneity have been at the core of unification discourse. We can easily uncover the impact of nationalism and ethnicity through analysis of significant inter-Korean agreements. The position of nationalism is robust both of the left-right spectrum and overall political sphere. Nevertheless, the retrogression of nationalism is apparent. Unlike in the past, it cannot construct social integrity, because South Korea’s new generation is more individualized than its forebears. Moreover, it refuses to be mobilized by the state. In this changed circumstance, the unification discourse, which emphasizes the nation and community, is regarded as outdated and abstractive due to its collectivist and state-centric implications. To bridge the gap between unification discourse and society’s perception thereof, this study suggests “civic unification discourse”, which seeks unification between citizen and citizen rather than state and state. It is noteworthy that civic unification discourse does not deny or abandon the nationalist unification discourse. Instead, it seeks to renew it by adding the civic values that were missing from earlier national and ethnic-based unification discourse. It strives to spread civic values to the Korean Peninsula, create autonomous individuals, seek active co-change rather than passive coexistence, and avoid inhumane developmentalism. If civic unification discourse is well settled into the society, it can effectively constrain the radical left’s and right’s policies, which could harm civic values. Furthermore, civic unification discourse can contribute to policy implementation, because it can constrain discussion to the strategic arena by reducing unnecessary ideological conflict.

This paper aims to re-examine the meanings of incarnation, love of enemy and worship of Korean Protestant churches with the viewpoint of "interbeing" of Thich Nhat Hanh. "Interbeing" is a term refined by the venerable Thich Nhat Hanh of Vietnam, who is respected as the world's second holy Buddhism with the Dalai Lama, in terms of Buddhism's traditional concepts of dependent co-arising(緣起) and emptiness(空) in a popular and friendly modern term. The traditional Western Christianity is based on the dualism and the substantialism that sees God as a 'being' that are left outside and sees God and the world, the supernatural and nature, the transcendence and the immanence separately. In such a theological structure, the concepts of incarnation, love of enemies, and worship are to be understood in a dualized way. In this paper, we will examine the incarnation, love of enemy and worship in a non-dualistic structure by relying on "interbeing" of Thich Nhat Hanh, not in the structure of the traditional Western dualism. Thus, we try to find a new meaning that is not implied in the elements of incarnation, love of enemy and worship of western traditional theology based on substantialism and dualism through "interbeing" of Thich Nhat Hanh.

This study analyzed the Buddha's methods and practices from a rhetorical point of view, focusing on the contents of 'Sutta-nipata,' known as an early race. The date of the establishment of this canon is not known exactly. Some scholars claim that the temple was made about 50 years after Buddha's death. The scripture contains a total of five Vagga, 72 small spheres, from the first Uraga-Vagga to the fifth Parayana-Vagga. This study analyzed the contents of Sutta-nipata into three types of Rhetoric: Emphasis, Question and answer method, Metaphysics. The highlighting used in this Canon is contrast and repetition. Among the repetition methods, 'Go alone like the horns of a smile' is the most representative example of epistrope. The types of questions and answers are one-sided, anti-answer, and advisory. And the figurative method was mainly used by similes and metaphors. Sutta-nipata is a narrative message that has long been used, but can also be useful in modern society. Using Canon's content, Sermon can be effective if it is recited and combined with modern and everyday examples. The message and Rhetoric of sermon use canon, but it is desirable to find the illustration in everyday life around it.

This thesis aims at searching the basic conditions for the AI period family to become a cultivating community. In chapter 2 I sought the premise that the family should go through the Self-realization or Individualization. In chapter 3 I found out the peculiarity the buddhist community and in chapter 4 I looked for the implication which the buddhist community could teach the AI period family community. In chapter 5 I searched for the common characteristics of the cultivating community in these days.

This research focuses on the gendered religious practices of male and female Buddhists at Hamaum Seon Center, a urban mega Buddhist temple, which is located in Anyang, South Korea. First, it examines the specificities of Hanmaum Seon Center, which was established by Seon Master Daehaeng, Bhikkuni (a female Buddhist monk) and has been developed beyond Bhikkuni-Bhikku temple dichotomy. It also explores gender-related aspects in what Seon Master Daehaeng said to her devotees. Second, this study focuses on the collective religious practices of male and female Buddhists and its gendered aspects, while concentrating on ‘temporality’ and ‘spaciality.’ Third, it explores the individual religious practices and its gendered aspects, while focusing on their motivation of religious practices and their difficulties and agony in their lives. This study can contribute to the empirical research area on contemporary Buddhists, while making up its lack. It tries to embrace the diverse inter-disiplinary works, while examining the relationship between Buddhism and feminism, between gender and religious practices (or religious identity construction). Especially, it is important because Buddhist principles argues the gender equality, but the reality of Korean Buddhism is working on a patriarchal and male-dominated dichotomy. This study is meaningful because it goes beyond the studies of Buddhist doctrines and teachings, by exploring the Buddhist practices. This study suggests the specificities of Buddhist practices, while rethinking the recent statistic research results on diverse religious practices, which evaluate that the importances of their religions is week for Buddhists and they are very passive to participate in religious rituals. Furthermore, this study can help the people of other religions understand Buddhism and Buddhist practices, diminish the religious conflicts, and acknowledge for different religions and religious people. However, it cannot explore the diverse social participatory religious practices, at Hanmaum Seon Center, such as ones for environmental movement campaign.

The rapid change of the global environment facing humanity today is emerging as a crisis element of human existential life in the fact that one third of the big cities around the world are centered on the riverside and the beach. Because road networks are often located along the coastline, global environmental changes such as sea level rise are expected to be a decisive blow to the city's survival. For the development of the cities and communities in which modern people live, there is a need for new values to pursue as the population increases, the acceleration of social inequalities, the destruction of the ecological environment and the depletion of natural resources, The concept is 'sustainable development'. For the sustainable development of the human community, various theoretical discussions for sustainable communities as an alternative to the environment and urban development are being renewed. Therefore, it is no longer strange that attention to ecological sustainable cities, which have been growing in recent years, and the feng shui viewpoint as a traditional geographical point for city composition are attracting attention. The actual intervention and explanation of Feng Shui in the sustainable city planning that reflects the geographical characteristics of the city is a social fact that has already been realized. Countries and local governments also need to shift away from past Western, artificially economic-centered approaches to diverse eco-centered approaches in their approach to sustainable cities. Based on this recognition and policy change, meeting with oriental tradition thought can contribute to redefining or expanding the concept of ecological sustainable city. In this paper, we will examine various discussions of sustainable environment and urban development, and try to apply the theoretical discussion on how to apply Feng Shui's logic to urban environment as an alternative possibility to Haeundae in Busan.