The Analects of Dasan: A Korean Syncretic Reading (Vol. I-VI), 

a Landmark Contribution to Korean Intellectual History

The Center for Korean Studies at Stony Brook University is proud to highlight Professor Hongkyung Kim’s six-volume English translation and study of Dasan Jeong Yak-yong’s Old and New Commentaries on the Analects (論語古今註), published by Oxford University Press from 2016 to 2026.

One of Korea’s most important intellectuals, Dasan (1762–1836) developed a distinctive and critical interpretation of the Confucian tradition. Professor Kim’s monumental translation makes Dasan’s forty-volume work accessible to an international readership for the first time in its entirety, opening new possibilities for research in Korean Studies, East Asian Studies, Confucian philosophy, and comparative intellectual history.

Selected Scholarly Reviews

Professor Hongkyung Kim’s The Analects of Dasan has received recognition from leading scholars of Confucianism, Korean intellectual history, and religious studies. Reviewers have particularly praised the project’s originality, scholarly rigor, and importance in bringing Dasan’s thought to a global readership.

Philip J. Ivanhoe, Professor of East Asian and Comparative Philosophy and Religion, City University of Hong Kong 
A renowned scholar of Chinese and comparative philosophy, Ivanhoe describes Kim’s annotated translation as a “tremendous contribution” to the study of Korean Confucianism and the broader Confucian tradition, calling the project an “historic accomplishment.” — Journal of Confucian Philosophy and Culture

Young-Chan Ro, Professor of Religious Studies, George Mason University
A distinguished scholar of Korean Confucianism, Korean philosophy, and East Asian religious thought, Ro has written extensively on Korean Neo-Confucian philosophers including Yi Yulgok and Dasan. Ro “wholeheartedly applaud[s]” Kim’s “indispensable contribution,” describing the book as indispensable for understanding not only Dasan’s commentary on the Analects but also Dasan’s philosophical ideas and spiritual orientation. — Acta Koreana

Donald L. Baker, Professor Emeritus of Korean History and Civilization, University of British Columbia 
A prominent scholar of Korean history, religion, and Confucian philosophy, Baker welcomes the translation as an important contribution to a better understanding in the Western world of one of Korea’s greatest moral philosophers. He emphasizes the enormous scale of Dasan’s Old and New Commentaries and the importance of making this work accessible to international scholars. — Reading Religion

Lukas Pokorny, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Vienna
Pokorny, a leading scholar of East Asian religions and Confucianism, praises Dasan’s commentaries for their insight into the wider Confucian commentarial tradition and characterizes Kim’s annotated translation as being of the “highest quality,” highlighting its perceptive and erudite explanations. His reviews of subsequent volumes also document the continuing scholarly reception of the six-volume project. — Religious Studies Review

Richard Kim, Professor of Philosophy, Loyola University
A leading scholar of East Asian philosophy, ethics, and moral psychology, Richard Kim emphasizes that Dasan remains relatively unfamiliar to Western philosophers because of the limited availability of English translations. He describes Kim’s work as an important step toward introducing one of Korea’s most outstanding thinkers to English-speaking philosophical audiences and highlights the quality of the translation and commentary. — Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

Dobin Choi, Professor of Korean and Comparative Philosophy, Leiden University
Choi, a leading scholar in Korean philosophy, Confucianism, and comparative philosophy, praises Kim’s translation for making Dasan’s complex and distinctive engagement with the Confucian tradition accessible to an English-speaking audience. He highlights the scholarly rigor, clarity, and significance of Kim’s work, emphasizing its important contribution to the study of Dasan and Korean philosophy.— Philosophy East and West

These reviews underscore the project’s significance on three levels: it makes a foundational Korean text accessible in English, situates Korean Confucianism within the broader history of East Asian thought, and establishes Dasan as an important figure for global scholarship in philosophy and intellectual history.

Launched in 1997 in partnership with Dongguk University, the Wonhyo Translation Project is producing the first complete scholarly English translation of the extant works of Wonhyo (617–686), Korea's most influential Buddhist philosopher and a major figure in East Asian Buddhism. Published by the University of Hawaiʻi Press, the multi-volume series includes critical introductions and annotations that provide foundational scholarship for English-language readers. The project brings together leading Buddhologists from four countries and continues to make Wonhyo's thought accessible to a global audience.

• Cultivating Original Enlightenment: Wonhyo's Exposition of the Vajrasamadhi-Sutra, Translated with an introduction by Robert E. Buswell Jr.
• Wonhyo's Philosophy of Mind, Edited by A. Charles Muller and Cuong T. Nguyen

The Korean Studies Book Series at the State University of New York Press is one of the few academic book series dedicated exclusively to Korean Studies and is among the most active in the field.

• Buddhist Faith and Sudden Enlightenment, Sung Bae Park (1993)
• The Four-Seven Debate: An Annotated Translation of the Most Famous Controversy in Korean Neo-Confucian Thought, Michael C. Kalton, et. al. (1994)
• The Korean Neo-Confucianism of Yi Yulgok, Young-chan Ro (1995)
• The Korean Neo-Confucianism of Yi T'oegye and Yi Yukgok, Edward Y. J. Chung (1995)
• Tao-sheng's Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, Young-ho Kim (1996)
• The Korean Economy: A Visions for the 21st Century, Hyung-Koo Lee (1996)
• Chong Yagyong: Korea's Challenge to Orthodox Neo-Confucianism, Mark Setton (1997)
• Christ and Ceasar in Modern Korea, Wijo Kang (1997)
• Kim Songsu: Korean Nationalist Entrepreneur, Choong Soon Kim (1998)
• Modern Korean History, edited by Wayne Patterson and Yur-bok Lee (1998)
• The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment with Commentary by the Son Monk Kihwa, Charles 
  Muller (1999)
• The Korean Language, edited by Ik Sop Lee and S. Robert Ramsey (2000)
• Understanding Korean Politics, edited by Chung-in Moon (2001)
• Syncretism: The Religious Context of Christian Beginnings in Korea, David Chung (2001)
• The Dharma Master Chongsan of Won Buddhism, Chongsan (2012)
• One Korean's Approach to Buddhism, Sung Bae Park (2009) 

Established in 1994 through a partnership with Seoul National University, the SUNY–SNU Textbook Series was designed to produce 11 original textbooks across a range of Korean Studies fields. Seoul National University led the writing and editing, while the Center oversaw the English translation and publication. Funded by Seoul National University, the Korea Foundation, and the Daesan Foundation, the series has published The Korean Language (2000) and Understanding Korean Politics (2001) through SUNY Press, with additional volumes developed as part of the project.