Asso. Prof. David W. Kim

PhD (Syd), MA (Qld), GDip (Qld), BMin (CHC)
Honorary Lecturer, School of History and RSSS, Mission Specialist of the ANU Institute for Space, Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society, UK, an A/Prof. at Kookmin University, and a NASA Judge for the HRP Houston USA.
ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
T: 61-2-(0)490-107-579

Areas of expertise

  • Historical Studies 2103
  • Australian History (Excl. Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander History) 210303
  • Asian History 210302
  • Religion And Religious Studies 2204
  • Space Sciences 5109

Research interests

Space History, Religion and Politics, Mars and Human Research, Transnational Asia, Women in East Asia, Korean Society, Colonial Studies, Asian Christianity, new religious movements, Diaspora Studies, Gnosticism, and Coptic Literature.

Biography

David W. Kim (PhD: Syd) is a Honorary Lecturer at the School of History, College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, a Visiting Scholar, Harvard Divinity School, Harvard University, USA (Sep., 2023-May, 2024), a Member for UNESCO World Heritage Committee, Korea Government, an Associate Professor at Kookmin University, Seoul, and a NASA Workshop Judge for the Human Research Program (HRP), Johnson Space Center Huston, USA. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (RHistS), United Kingdom, a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), United Kingdom, and Chair for ANU Religion Conference Committee. 

David is a book editor, Journal editorial board member and reviewer:

  • Editor: Series in Modern East Asian Religion and Culture (Cambridge Scholars                                                   Publishing, UK)
  • Article Editor: SAGE Open Publications (A&HCI, April, 2015 – Present)
  • Editorical Board Member: Humanities & Social Sciences Communications (SSCI,                                              April 2022 - Present)
  • Editorial Board Member: Journal of Koreanology (KCI, June, 2016-present)
  • Editorial Board Member: Journal of Busan Studies (KCI, Jan., 2019-)

Journal Reviwer:

  • Routledge (New York) (May, 2015 - Present)
  •  Journal of Religious History (A&HCI: Mar., 2017 - Present)
  • Journal of Church and State (A&HCI, Oxford University Press: June, 2017 – present)
  • International Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Society (SCOPUS: Jan., 2017 - Present)
  • Journal of Cogent Education (ESCI and SCOPUS: July, 2018 - Present)

Researcher's projects

1. Contemporary Korean Buddhist Movements (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge): 2022-2024 (Contracted)

As the wave of colonial imperialism transformed the geopolitical landscape of modern East Asia in the first half of the twentieth century, Korean Buddhism was assimilated into the culture and customs of Japanese Buddhism. The outbreak of the Korean War (1950–1953) and social insecurity, further caused chaotic conflict and schism in Korean Buddhism. What were the ethnic experiences related to Buddhism during the 1910s–1940s? How did new Buddhist groups emerge in the postwar society? In what way were they distinctive or valuable? This Element explores the history and practice of five native Buddhist movements, Bomunjong (Bhikkhuni Order), Jingakjong (Esoteric Order), Cheotaejong (Pro-Chinese Order), Taegojong (Pro-Marriage Order), and Jogyejong (Seon Order). Each new religious group is surveyed through the critical lens of “origin and founder,” “beliefs,” “sacred scriptures,” “myth, symbol, and treasures,” “socio-political impact,” and “secular conflict and scandals.” Anthro-cultural analysis of the Korean Buddhist groups that appeared starting in the transitional period of the internal Jeong Hwaundong (purification movement: 1954), suggests their unique characteristics of social sustainability. Unlike the political persecution of Joseon Buddhism, this feature of the contemporary organisations, along with the strategy of the temple-stay programs for youth and foreign practitioners made it the most stable and persuasive religion among politians of national parties (including the Democratic Party and the People Power Party), in the policies of the conservative government, and among social media journalists in digital Korea.

2. The UN and the Korean War (1950–1953): Policy, Human Movement, and Unification (Brill: 2022-2025) (Contracted)

This manuscript aims to analyse the involvement of the United Nations (=UN allies) in ‘the Forgotten War (the Korean War)’ through various individual, group, and national case studies. This projects’ methodological scope, a Cold War case study, will be demonstrated using a multidisciplinary approach considering policy, international relations, diplomacy, Asian studies, history, politics, anthropology, sociology, war strategy, human movement, medicine, Korean studies, unification theory, education, and human rights. 

3. Charismatic Leadership in Contemporary Korean Christianity: Transformation, Diversity and Critical Encounter (Routledge, Oxford): 2022-2025 (Contracted)

Given that Christianity is the largest religious community in contemporary Korea in terms of population and societal impact, this research project aims to analyse the key principles of charismatic leaders who significantly influenced the socio-religious sphere of individual Christians. In the 20th century, the world witnessed the social-political transformation of the Korean Peninsula from the Confucian Joseon dynasty to the democratic era. The experiences of the colonial liberation (1910–1945) and the Korean War (1950–1953) posed significant challenges to the lives of ordinary citizens in conflict, hopeless, division, poverty and agony. In the second half of the same century, the political transition of Korea continued under a heroless condition in which the nation could not be harmoniously united but was ideologically divided. 

4. Handbook of Contemporary Religions in Korea (Brill: 2022-2025)

This manuscript aims to analyse the socio-cultural landscape of the new religious movements (NRMs) that emerged in the Korean peninsula during the period of political transition between the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The study addresses varied case studies of individual groups in the context of new religions, whether indigenous or foreign in their origins, for instance, new forms of Christianity or Buddhism. The methodological scope of the project manifests as a multidisciplinary approach encompassing Korean studies, colonialism, history, sociology, anthropology, culture, politics, human movement, education, Korean War, democratisation, and human rights. 

5. Silk Road FootprintsTransnational Transmission of Sacred Thoughts and Literature (Vernon Press, USA: 2021-2024) (contracted)

The concept of the ‘Silk Road’ is often depicted as a transnational network of trade routes connecting the West and the East, from approximately 200 BCE to 1800 CE. The economic, political and cultural interactions usually refer to certain land routes (Mediterranean Sea, Middle East and Central Asia), but also included are sea routes that connect East Asia and Southeast Asia with South Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, East Africa and Southern Europe. This new project (Silk Road Footprints: Transnational Transmission of Sacred Thoughts and Literature) is the creative consequence of the EASR conference 2021 and scholars’ interest in the critical and theoretical subject of intercultural exchange. The socio-religious transformation of the West and the East has been explored through ancient, medieval, modern and contemporary studies. The analysis of human movement draws on the various social phenomena from South Asia to Southeast Asia, from the Himalayan borders (Afghanistan, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan, China, Russia, and Sikkim), from China to South Asia, the South Pacific, and Africa, from Great Britain and the United States to China, from Bengal Bay to Central Asia, and from Morocco to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The transmission of religious philosophy will be critically interpreted from the perspectives of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, neo-Confucianism and Protestantism. The hypothesis of sea and land routes has been also applied in each chapter of the new volume.

6. Environmental HopeSocio-Anthropological Approaches to Religion 

 (Lexington, USA: 2021-2025) (Contracted)

This project (Environmental Hope: Socio-Anthropological Approaches to Religion) was the creative consequence of the ANU and AASR combined conference. This new volume of twelve selected papers, from a pioneering perspective, introduces the various interpretations and phenomena of the subject of optimism from a multi-disciplinary perspective to enhance the prosocial characteristics of religion in the humanities and the social sciences. The Cambridge Dictionary defines the notion of “hope” as a desirable thought “to want something to happen or to be true, and usually have a good reason to think that it might.” This book’s idea of “environmental hope” is not that different. Additionally, it implies the temporary figures of the subject in the context of religion’s ecological and anthropological behaviours. Under the pandemic (2020–present), the subject is often persuaded by global communities, social classes and different generations. 

7. Religion in Modern Education: Conflict, Policy, and Practice

 (Brill: 2023-2025) (Contracted)

This innovative manuscript explores the socio-political intersection of education with religion in modern society. The chapters of this edited book (Religion in Modern Education: Conflict, Policy, and Practice) cover a range of theoretical, methodological, legal, and historical case studies across a range of contexts including Christian education, Jewish education, Islamic and Asian religious perspectives, as well as the intersection of these topics with a variety of ideological and political concerns.  Education can be understood as a key site for the production of future citizens, and the role of religion in the education of young people is an issue of considerable discussion and disagreement. This collection approaches the issues of religion and education from multiple disciplinary perspectives, and within varied social and geographic contexts, to improve our understanding of the diversity, complexity and importance of discussions about religion in educational contexts.

 

 

 

 

Publications

Projects and Grants

Grants information is drawn from ARIES. To add or update Projects or Grants information please contact your College Research Office.

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Updated:  29 March 2024 / Responsible Officer:  Director (Research Services Division) / Page Contact:  Researchers