This Open Access book presents the Confucian teaching of the heart-mind, good and evil, and self-cultivation by focusing on three eminent Korean thinkers from the 16th to the 18th centuries: Yi Toegye, Yi Yulgok, and Jeong Hagok. By comparing their theories and methods of self-cultivation in relation to Western ethical frameworks, the book explores the possibility of applying them to contemporary society. Edward Chung articulates the diversity and depth of Korean Confucian perspectives, highlighting the distinctive significance of each thinker’s interpretations. He also integrates comparative and contemporary reflections in a hermeneutical, interphilosophical, and interreligious context. This volume is ideal for scholars and students of Korean or East Asian philosophy, religion, or intellectual history, as well as other researchers in the field of comparative ethics and religion.

Edward Y. J. Chung is Asian Studies Coordinator, Professor of Religious Studies, and the Founding Director of the new international Centre for Korean Studies, University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI), Canada. He is the editor for the Palgrave Studies in Korean Thought (PSKT) book series.