Foreword

Yong Koo Kim

Hallym Academy of Sciences, Hallym University and National Chengchi University will co-publish an international journal Journal of the History of Ideas in East Asia (JHIEA), aiming to be the research centre for East Asian ideas and the foremost academic front for the research of global history of ideas. Hallym Academy of Sciences believes that, in order to alleviate the currently antagonistic tension among the countries in East Asia and promote a prosperous East Asian community, it is important to facilitate mutual understandings on the historical experiences of the countries and, based on this, further retrieve and strengthen the mutual trust and confidence. In the light of this vision, Hallym Academy of Sciences has been closely interacting with the domestic and international research organisation since 2007 with the purpose of promoting “reciprocal communication of fundamental ideas in East Asia.”

The founding of JHIEA is not only the achievement of our endeavors for this vision, but also serves as the cornerstone for a reciprocal East Asian community with smooth communication channels. Nowadays, the international order that is based on the antithesis between the capitalism and communism and the conflicts of interests among individual countries has already been the remnant of last century. With the endless competitions facilitated by Neoliberalism, the world has been integrated as one based on macro-regional economic circles, pursuing distinct economic and living mode relevant to each region. East Asia is no exception to this movement and necessity. East Asia has formed a cultural sphere through long-term interaction and mutual trust among the countries in this region since the ancient time. Nonetheless, this region experienced great alienation and conflicts among its members in early modern period, until today, the international political order in East Asia is still deeply influenced by the historical turmoil. The separatism in East Asian political structure is derived from this historical experience. As a result, it is insufficient to employ simply political and economic maneuvres to solve the complex situation. Hence, it is of the upmost importance to undertake academic and cultural interaction and JHIEA is the pivot of this mission. It intends to concentrate on the cultural and historical context of language systems in East Asian countries, investigating the formation, transformation and even transfiguration of ideas in early modern age in order to have a complete comprehension of the individual cognitive structure of different East Asian groups and establish a foundation for reciprocal communication and cooperation among the parties.

JHIEA will presents various perspectives and materials to introduce the development and communication of ideas in a manner that go beyond the boundaries of disciplines and countries, dedicating to the investigation on philosophical significance and on analytical methodologies which are crucial to the research of ideas. This is our sincere hope that, through the cooperation of co-publishing this international Journal with NCCU, the academic exchange and interaction will be more active and frequent, creating a wide open space for communication and for the discussion on the related issues in Early Modern East Asia, presenting the world with a future blueprint of humanities

Dean of Hallym Academy of Sciences, Hallym University, Korea