From the Mountains to the Cities covers some of the same ground as Hwansoo Kim's Empire of the Dharma: Korean and Japanese Buddhism, 1877–1912 and Pori Park's Trial and Error in Modernist Reforms: Korean Buddhism under Colonial Rule, but distinguishes itself by covering a longer period, from the 1870s to the present, and by its particular focus, as reflected in the subtitle, “A History of Buddhist Propagation in Modern Korea.”Footnote ¹ A central theme in this book is “to consider what this systematic and sustained effort to propagate Buddhism”—which, Mark Nathan argues, is characteristic of the modern period—“reveals about the transformation of the Korean Buddhist tradition since the start of the twentieth century” (p. 2). Nathan, moreover, devotes a great deal of attention to the legal aspects of propagation, or p'ogyo, which he deems crucial to Buddhism's recognition and functioning as a religion in the modern age.

Propagation was a crucial element of the “Post-Reformation, Western understanding of religion” (p. 3) as it was institutionalized by law during the Japanese occupation and remained part of South Korean legislation regarding religion after 1945. New forms of propagation also allowed Buddhism to compete with other faiths, most notably Christianity, which quickly gained in influence and number of adherents, particularly in the second half of the twentieth century. Moreover, propagation also might include the connotation of extending Buddhist activities and practices to urban areas that in the Chosŏn period had been off-limits to the Buddhist clergy, a development that is often regarded as emblematic of Korean Buddhism's transition to modernity and is reflected in the book's title, From the Mountains to the Cities.

Following an introductory chapter, chapter 2 is mainly devoted to the historical and legal context of the 1895 lifting of the prohibition that had denied Buddhist monks access to the capital.

Chapter 3 takes the account to the colonial period, when legislation in various forms determined what should be recognized as religion, with propagation as a “fundamental component” (p. 77) of what was regarded as such. This legal framework for religion, imposed by the colonizer, remained in place after liberation in 1945. Here Nathan takes a wider view than most Korean scholars, who have tended to emphasize in the colonial legislation the Japanese intention to control Korean religiosity. The law not only restricted and controlled the activities of Buddhist organizations, but also lent them legitimacy and, to a certain extent, protection. This period saw the emergence of urban temples and the publication of Buddhist journals, with propagation remaining a central concern in various proposals for Buddhist reform.

The years from 1945 to 1980 in South Korea are covered in chapter 4. In the first half of this period, propagation suffered because of the clash between married monks (a remnant of the Japanese occupation) and celibate monks, which to a significant degree was decided in legal battles. This ultimately resulted in the establishment of two rival orders. Starting in the 1960s, however, propagation centers associated with new lay-oriented organizations were frequently founded by monks unaligned with either of these orders.

Chapter 5 (“Back to the Mountains”) deals with the three-decades-plus period from 1980 onward, during which the scenic but often remote mountain temples transitioned from a hindrance to propagation to an asset, because they became more easily accessible and attractive to both lay believers and the general public thanks to better roads and widespread car ownership. In 1987, legal restrictions to the creation of Buddhist organizations were eased, facilitating new forms of propagation. In these years, there has been a drive to create a Buddhism for the masses (minjung) and engage with social issues. Nathan could have noted also that the main Buddhist order has repeatedly joined protests against government actions, such as the Four Great Rivers Project, and offered sanctuary to protesters fleeing the police, a role that in the 1970s had been assumed by the Catholic Church.

In the concluding chapter, “The Past and Future of P'ogyo,” Nathan discusses his findings in comparative perspective and from certain theoretical angles. He refers, for instance, to Peter Berger's observation that modernity does not necessarily lead to secularization but most likely to religious pluralism, as religion becomes a voluntary choice rather than an inherited fate. Nathan applies this notion to Korean Buddhism and propagation: “The Buddhist community's adoption of p'ogyo was critical for allowing it to adapt to … the introduction of modern religious pluralism” (p. 133). I would argue that religious pluralism was already a characteristic of the Chosŏn era. Confucianism (in South Korea legally recognized as a religion) was a dominant discourse, but many Confucians at home eagerly read Buddhist and Daoist scriptures, maintained Buddhist shrines for the benefit of their ancestors, and paid visits to temples. Even now, it is not unusual on New Year's Day for a family in Andong that identifies itself as Confucian to first hold Confucian rituals for ancestors, then visit a Buddhist temple. It is also not unusual to meet self-identified Catholics who practice Buddhist meditation or attend sermons by Buddhist monks and read their books. In other words, pluralism might be regarded as an enduring characteristic of Korean religiosity rather than a sign of modernity.

Nathan's insistence that the past 140 years have produced new forms of propagation that are of crucial importance in understanding contemporary Korean Buddhism is quite convincing, but as hinted above the one aspect that I find less than satisfactory is his account of the relationship of what happened before and after the 1870s. He does seem to be somewhat aware of the problem and in one place takes the stance that he engages with the common reformist trope in Buddhist writings that Chosŏn Buddhism's retreat to the mountains had isolated it from society (p. 30). For an understanding of what was really new, however, a firmer grasp of what was already in place seems desirable. Whether the trope of Buddhist isolation, common as it admittedly was in the writings of reform-minded monks, reflected reality is debatable. It is true that before 1895 no Buddhist temples were allowed in the capital, but the mountains within easy distance of the Seoul city walls were full of temples that catered to the needs of urban believers. Vernacular texts propagating the invocation of Amitābha were widely printed and distributed in the eighteenth century, as were Buddhist songs, or pulgyo kasa. Nathan devotes attention to Buddhist publishing in the colonial period and afterward, but it would have been helpful to consider such links with the past, all the more so because the production of pulgyo kasa continued into the twentieth century. Furthermore, Buddhist laymen's associations, which Nathan also sees as a form of modernity, already existed before the advent of modernity, and some of their published books may be regarded as forms of propagation. However, although it can be argued that more attention might have been devoted to earlier manifestations of Buddhist propagation during the Chosŏn, altogether Nathan has provided us with a well-written, thoughtful, and useful account of an aspect of modern Korean Buddhism that so far has not received much attention.