Past Chairman and Director

 

 Past Chairs of the Board and Directors

*Family names are placed at the beginning following the convention in East Asia

 

Past Chairs of the Board (since incorporation in 1988)

    1st    Rhi Ki-yong 1988-1996

    2nd   Chung Byung-jo 1996-2009

Chung Byung-jo graduated from the Department of Indian Philosophy, Dongguk University, received a master's degree from Yeungnam University, and a doctorate from Dongguk University. He specializes in Korean Buddhist philosophy and history. He served as a visiting professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University in India, a professor of the Department of Public Ethics and the vice president at Dongguk University, and the president of Geumgang University. His publications include Munsu bosal ui yeongu (Study of the Bodhisattva Manjusri) and Hyeondaein ui bulgyo (Buddhism for Modern People).

    3rd    Han Dong-dae 2009-2012

Han Dong-dae graduated from the College of Medicine, Pusan ​​National University where he also received a doctorate in medicine. As a neuropsychiatrist, he served as an adjunct professor at Pusan ​​National University and Inje University, and as the vice president of the Korean Neuropsychiatric Association. Being a devout Buddhist, he led the founding of the Busan Gudohoe and served as the chair of the board at a time when the KIBS was in a crisis, playing a major role in stabilizing and rebuilding the institute.

    4th    Kim Jong-hwa 2012-2018

   5th    Gwak Yeong-sun 2018-2020

Gwak Yeong-sun is a professor in the Department of Liberal Arts at Korea Polytechnic University and currently serves as the dean of Korea Polytechnic University VI (Daegu Campus). He is an active member of the Daegu Gudohoe.

    6th    Rhi Juhyung 2020-2024

    7th    Kim Jong-hwa 2024-present

  

Past Directors

    1st    Rhi, Ki-yong 1974-1996

    2nd    Chung Byung-jo 1996-2009

    3rd    Chung Ho-young 2009-2011

Chung Ho-young graduated from the Department of English, Sogang University and received a doctorate from the Department of Indian Philosophy at Dongguk University. He wrote a PhD thesis on the doctrine of Tathāgatagarbha and specializes in Mahayana Buddhist philosophy. He served as a professor of philosophy and dean of academic affairs at Chungbuk National University. His books include Yeoraejang sasang (The Idea of Tathāgatagarbha).

    4th    Lee Min-yong 2011-2013

Lee Min-yong graduated from the Department of Religious Studies at Seoul National University and studied Buddhist philosophy in the graduate program of the Department of Indian Philosophy at Dongguk University. He can be said as the first student of Rhi Ki-yong. After working as a lecturer at Dongguk University and Sogang University in Korea, he emigrated to the US and completed a doctorate coursework in East Asian Studies at Harvard University. He currently serves as the chair of the board at the Korean Institute for Religion and Culture. Recently, he published a book, Mal rosseo mal eul beorinda (Throwing away Words with Words), an autobiographical account of his academic and religious journey.

    5th    Lee Young-ja 2013-2015

Lee Young-ja graduated from the Department of English at Ewha Womans University and received a doctorate with a thesis on Tiantai thought from the Department of Buddhist Studies at Dongguk University. Along with Lee Min-yong, she is one of the first disciples of Rhi Ki-yong and can be said to be the first female Buddhist specialist in Korea. She served as a professor of Buddhism and dean of the College of Buddhist Studies at Dongguk University. Her books include Cheontae bulgyohak (Tiantai Buddhist Studies) and Beophwa Cheontae sasang yeongu (Studies on the Doctrines of the Lotus Sutra and the Master Tiantai).

    6th    Lee Tae-seung  2015-2018

Lee Taseung graduated from the Department of Indian Philosophy at Dongguk University and received a doctorate in Indian Buddhist philosophy from Komazawa University in Japan. He specializes in late Indian Mahayana Buddhist philosophy. He served as a professor in the Department of Buddhist Culture at Widuk University and recently founded his own institute, the Institute for the Study of Intellectual Buddhism. His books include Pyebul hweseok gwa geundae bulgyohak ui seongnip (The Persecution of Buddhism, the Demotion of the Buddha, and the Establishment of Modern Buddhist Studies in Japan) and Euryu bulgyo sanchaek (Reflections on Buddhism in the Year Uryu), and Jiseong bulgyo ui cheolhak (Philosophy of Intellectual Buddhism).

    7th    Ahn Sung-doo 2018-2024

Ahn Sung-doo graduated from the Department of German Education at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and received a doctorate in Indian Buddhist philosophy from the University of Hamburg. He served as a professor at Geumgang University and a professor of philosophy and the director of the Institute of Philosophy at Seoul National University. He is considered the best expert on Yogācāra Buddhism in Korea. He translated into Korean several classical texts of Tathāgatagarbha and Yogācāra such as Mahāyānottaratantra Śāstra, Śrāvakabhūmi, Bodhisattvabhūmi, and Yogācārabhūmi.

    8th    Rhi Juhyung 2024-present