Chai-Shin Yu

Chai-Shin Yu (April 11, 1932 – April 24, 2023) was a Korean-Canadian academic and a distinguished professor of Korean studies at the University of Toronto. Yu helped establish Korean Studies at U of T, being one of the first people to teach a Korean studies course at a Canadian university. Before teaching Korean studies, he was a pastor for the local Korean community at the Korean Metro United Church.

Chai-Shin Yu
Born	(1932-04-11)April 11, 1932 Ch'aho, Korea, Empire of Japan
Died	April 24, 2023(2023-04-24) (aged 91) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Nationality	Canadian
Education	Hartford Seminary Foundation
Alma mater	McMaster University
Occupation(s)	Academic, professor, pastor
Spouse	Ena Yu
Korean name
Hangul	유재신
Hanja	劉在信 [1]
RR	Yu Jaesin
MR	Yu Chaesin
Website	chaishinyu.com

Biography

Chai-Shin Yu was born on April 11, 1932, in Ch'aho, Korea during the Japanese colonial period.^[2] In 1948, Yu fled from the Soviet-occupied North Korea to South Korea to escape religious persecution and further his studies. In 1964, he immigrated from South Korea to the United States to study theology.^[3] He received a Master of Arts degree from Hartford Seminary Foundation in 1967, and then received a Master of Arts in religion in 1969 from McMaster University^[4] for his graduate thesis, A Critical Examination of Suzuki's Understanding of Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism.^[5] In 1970, Yu was ordained as a minister of the United Church of Canada.^[6] In 1973, Yu was awarded his PhD in Religious Sciences for his PhD thesis, A Comparative Study of the Founder's Authority, the Community, and the Discipline in Early Buddhism and in Early Christianity.^[7] He would also be inducted as the pastor of the Korean Metro United Church (Korean: 토론토한인교회) in the same year.^[8]

In 1977, Chai-Shin Yu was appointed as a visiting part-time assistant professor at the University of Toronto to teach EAS 270: Introduction to Korean Studies, which would become the first course in the Korean studies program.^[9][10] Yu would continue to add more courses to the Korean studies program during his tenure at U of T.^[11] On July 1, 1982, Yu would be promoted to associate professor.^[12] On June 19, 1997, for his contributions to founding the Korean studies program, U of T recognized Yu as a distinguished professor of Korean studies.^[13] Yu was given the Seongnyu Medal of the Order of Civil Merit by the South Korean government in 2006.^[14] On March 7, 2017, Yu was given the KBS (Korean Broadcast Service) Global Korean Award in the humanities, social sciences & education category for his contribution in helping promote Korean studies in Canada.^[15]

Dr.Yu established Korean Studies and the Korean Library at the University of Toronto. He started the Korean Gallery at the Royal Ontario Museum (The ROM). He published 17 books about Korean-Asian thought and culture and thought written in English and 3 more books written in Korean.

On April 24, 2023, Chai-Shin Yu died of chronic illness in Toronto.^[3][16]

Works

• Yu, Chai-Shin (1977). Korean and Asian Religious Tradition. Toronto: The Society For Korean And Related Studies.
• Yu, Chai-Shin (1981). Early Buddhism and Christianity: A Comparative Study of the Founders' Authority, the Community and the Discipline. Delhi: Motilal Barnasidass. ISBN 8120800508.
  • Review: Chappell, David W. (1982). "Early Buddhism and Christianity". Buddhist-Christian Studies. 2: 149. doi:10.2307/1390083.
• Yu, Chai-Shin (1986). Korean Folk Tales. Hai-ja, Bang (illustrator). Kensington Educational
• Yu, Chai Shin (1988). Shamanism: The Spirit World of Korea. Guisso, R.W.L. (ed.). Jain Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89581-886-7
• Yu, Chai Shin (1988). Unconditional Love: The autobiography of Chai-Shin Yu. Burlington, ON: Welch Publishing. ISBN 978-1-55011-047-0
• Yu, Chai Shin (1989). Introduction of Buddhism to Korea: New Cultural Patterns. Lancaster, Lewis R. (ed.). Fremont, CA: Jain Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89581-888-1
• Yu, Chai Shin (1991). Assimilation of Buddhism in Korea: Religious Maturity and Innovation in the Silla Dynasty. Lancaster, Lewis R. (ed.). Fremont, CA: Jain Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89581-889-8
• Yu, Chai Shin (1996). Buddhism in the Early Choson: Suppression and Transformation. Lancaster, Lewis R. (ed.). Fremont, CA: Jain Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89581-891-1
• Yu, Chai Shin (1996). Buddhism in Koryo: A Royal Religion. Lancaster, Lewis R. (ed.). Fremont, CA: Jain Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89581-890-4
• Yu, Chai-Shin (1999). Early Buddhism and Christianity: A Comparative Study of the Founders' Authority, the Community and the Discipline. Motilal Banarsidass Pub. ISBN 978-81-208-0050-2
• Yu, Chai-Shin (2002). The Founding of Catholic Tradition in Korea. Fremont, CA: Jain Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89581-892-8
• Yu, Chai-Shin (2004). Korea and Christianity. Fremont, CA: Jain Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89581-882-9
• Yu, Chai-Shin (2010). Korean Thought and Culture: A New Introduction. Trafford Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4269-4496-3
• Yu, Chai-Shin (2011). Lee, Tae Ho (ed.). Early Korean Art and Culture: Koguryo Tomb Paintings. Toronto: Society for Korean and Related Studies. ISBN 978-0968107270.
• Yu, Chai-Shin (2012). The New History of Korean Civilization. Bloomington, IN: IUniverse. ISBN 9781462055609.
• Yu, Chai-Shin (2014). Modern Korean Thinkers. Toronto: The Society For Korean And Related Studies
• Yu, Chai-Shin (2015). Korean Influence on Chinese Culture. Toronto: Society for Korean and Related Studies. ISBN 978-0991966714.
• Yu, Chai-Shin (2016). Neo-Confucianism in Korea. Fremont, CA: Jain Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-87573-106-3