Korean studies professor Boudewijn Walraven will give a talk on Buddhism in the Joseon era next week, hosted by the Royal Asiatic Society, Korea Branch.

Walraven will argue that it is oversimplistic to take the common view that when the Joseon rulers took over in 1392 Buddhism was so oppressed that it was forced to look for support among the less educated and less Confucian-influenced parts of society.

He will describe how this view obscures shifts in the balance between Buddhism, Confucianism and Catholicism, which would affect religious configurations in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Boudewijn Walraven was a professor of Korean Studies of Leiden University in The Netherlands and is currently attached to the Academy of East Asian Studies of Sungkyunkwan University.

The talk begins 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Residents’ Lounge of Somerset Palace near Anguk Station in Seoul. Admission is free for RASKB members and 7,000 for nonmembers.

(paulkerry@heraldcorp.com)