■ Bibliographic Information

• Title: Reimagining Korea: Identity and Values in a Changing World

• Year: 2025

• Publisher: Springer Nature Singapore

• Series: Palgrave Series in Contemporary Korean Studies

• Editors: Yohan Yoo, Song Chong Lee

• Affiliation: Department of Religious Studies, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea (Republic of)

  
  

■ Overview

• Imagines Korea's changes

• Provides ideas about soft power for small countries

• Explores East Asia's future

  
  

■ About this book This volume project explores how evolving values and identities in contemporary Korean society are interpreted, particularly through the lens of religion, positioning it as a window into Korea’s dynamic cultural and social landscape.

As Korea grapples with rapid modernization, shifting religious beliefs and expressions reflect new aspects of the Korean people’s values and identity, in both personal and communal dimensions. We believe that this dynamic backdrop creates a complex web of tensions as Koreans negotiate between established norms and newly infused or internally emerging global ideas, inspiring and provoking efforts to navigate and advocate for future directions both within and beyond the country.

■ About the Editors

• Yohan Yoo: Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Seoul National University. His research adopts a comparative approach to diverse religious topics, encompassing areas such as indigenous shamanic beliefs and practices in Jeju, theory and methodology in religious studies, iconic and performative aspects of sacred texts, and intersections between myth and contemporary literature.

• Song Chong Lee: Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Seoul National University. His research covers themes in the sociology of religion, such as civil religion, cosmopolitanism, and NRMs (New Religious Movements), through humanistic interpretation and writings. He is the author of Ham Sok Hon’s Ssial Cosmopolitan Vision (2020).