Recently, professors of Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) — who have attracted considerable attention for publishing world-class research — have also been singled out in publishing, releasing a series of outstanding books. Books that consolidate the research of Professor Lee Tae-young of the Department of Korean Language & Literature, Professor Kim In-su of the Department of Mathematics, and Professor Choi Seong-gwon of the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy were consecutively selected this year as outstanding books by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the National Academy of Sciences, Republic of Korea.

▲Professor Kim Min-joong, Medical Jurisprudence

  The book Medical Jurisprudence (Shinronsa), published by Professor Kim Min-joong (Law School), was selected as a 2012 Outstanding Academic Book by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

  Supported by JBNU's publication incentive research funding, the book, which was published last year, was written to narrow the gap in perceptions between physicians and patients regarding legal issues arising from medical care.

  Today, medical practice is not free from the law, and cases in which medical disputes between physicians and patients are resolved through legal means are increasingly common.

  Comprised of five chapters totaling some 500 pages, the book examines, through topics such as the legal relationship between physicians and patients, liability for medical malpractice, physicians' duty to explain, and medical malpractice litigation, the detailed legal responsibilities and limits relating to medical disputes.

  It offers valuable case law not only on classical areas such as physicians' duty of care and duty to explain, but also on newer, sensitive issues such as withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment and refusal of blood transfusion.

  In addition, in a reality where advances in medical standards and expanding scope of practice can give rise to new legal challenges, the book provides a starting point for academically and practically reaching consensus on medical disputes.

  The author, Professor Kim Min-joong, graduated from JBNU's Department of Law, earned a master's degree at the same graduate school and a doctorate from the University of Göttingen in Germany, and currently serves as a professor at the Law School. He has served as an exchange professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Freiburg, and his other works include Law School: Obligations—Torts.

  ▲Professor Lee Tae-young, Research on Dialects of Jeollabuk-do

  "If you change the Jeolla dialect term '폭폭허다' to the standard '답답하다', the meaning changes. If dialects disappear, people suffer because they cannot express delicate nuances."
  Professor Lee Tae-young calls dialects "a treasure trove of language," and says, "They should not be denigrated compared with the standard language; they should be accepted as a 'common language' for a richer linguistic life." His book, Research on Dialects of Jeollabuk-do, which he published last year reflecting this conviction, was selected as an outstanding academic book by the National Academy of Sciences, Republic of Korea.
  The volume examines everyday language and dialects appearing in the works of writers from Jeollabuk-do such as Chae Mansik, Yun Heung-gil, and Choi Myung-hee, and reminds readers how these vocabularies have deepened and broadened the scope of the works. In his 2010 publication Jeolla Dialects in Literature, he also thoroughly explains why dialects frequently appear in poetry and fiction.
  "Dialects are easy and comfortable because you hear them from your grandmother's embrace. The written standard language often feels unfamiliar, and in any language the standard language and dialects inevitably mix," he says.
  Standard language dictionaries describe words such as "꼬맹이," "소가지," and "알랑방귀" as vulgar terms or Jeolla dialect. However, he argues that "these words are natural spoken forms and serve as indicators of a culture's health and diversity." He added, "Although the standard language is merely the Central dialect, the 'single standard language' policy disparaged other dialects. Korean is formed from a variety of vocabularies — regional words, native words, folk words, trendy words, and slang."
  A native of Jeonju and vice president of the Korean Association for Dialectology, Professor Lee began serious dialect research while writing his master's thesis. Since then, he has recorded dialects in everyday speech at markets and nursing homes throughout Jeollabuk-do, and he still leads dialect field surveys with his students several times each year. He also participated for ten years in building the National Institute of Korean Language's "Language Information of the Korean People" database, compiling dialects from South Korea, North Korea, and overseas; this database lists more than fifty dialectal variants for the word "frog."
  Recently, the government has sought a balance between the standard language and dialects through changes in language policy. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to include 80,000 dialect entries in the Korean Knowledge Grand Dictionary, which will contain one million entries. The current Standard Korean Language Dictionary contains 500,000 entries. Professor Lee said, "If many living colloquial forms and dialects are established as a common language and as multiple standard languages, the cultural era of the 21st century will become even richer."
  "Knowing dialects allows a deep understanding of village and city histories, community culture, and traditions." Following its selection as an outstanding academic book, Research on Dialects of Jeollabuk-do will be purchased by the Academy and distributed to universities and libraries nationwide. Professor Lee said, "Going forward, I will concentrate on research that documents the origins and changes of regionally popular dialects such as '포도시,' '솔차니,' and '겁나게,' and the cultural backgrounds behind those processes."

  ▲Professor Choi Seong-gwon, Reexamining the Middle East: International Politics

  "The Middle East — called the 'powder keg of the world,' associated with 'terrorism,' and recently the site of the 'Arab Spring' — remains one of the hottest topics in contemporary international politics."
  Regarding the Middle East, JBNU's Professor Choi Seong-gwon argues in his book Reexamining the Middle East: International Politics (Hanul, 2011) that "the Middle East should not be viewed as an object of Western policy from a Western perspective, but rather understood as the active life trajectory of Middle Eastern peoples."
  The book urges readers to reflect on the fact that many negative or narrow views of the Middle East are not ones we created ourselves but are perspectives produced by Western powers such as the United States and Europe.
  Professor Choi's work, which presents a range of perspectives and discourses on Middle Eastern international politics, was selected as a 2012 Outstanding Book by the National Academy of Sciences, Republic of Korea. The book is divided into Part I, "Analysis of Modern Middle Eastern International Politics," and Part II, "The Present and Future of the Middle East," and reexamines Middle Eastern international politics from World War I to the present.
  The achievement carries high academic value both because Middle East specialists are scarce in Korean academia and because the author himself sought to read Middle Eastern political realities from a "new perspective."
  Professor Choi emphasizes that although the Arab-Israeli confrontation is the Middle East's most painful problem, it is not the essential problem of Middle Eastern politics. He insists that to understand the truth about the Middle East correctly, we must not view the region negatively only from a Western perspective but adopt a new outlook that sees the Middle East through the active life trajectories of its peoples.
  In particular, Professor Choi has recently published Reexamining the Middle East: History, which provides a historical reconsideration of Middle Eastern civilizations and the Islamic world as a basis for the perspectives presented in this book.
  Through this work, Professor Choi points out that historical content about the Middle East, as taught in world history, is often perceived passively, and he seeks to overcome Western prejudices about non-Christian histories and to newly describe politics and history in which Middle Eastern peoples are subjects.

  ▲Professor Kim In-su, The World of Mathematics

  "When the public thinks of mathematics, they automatically assume it is 'difficult.' I wanted to show through this book how closely mathematics is connected to everyday life and how enjoyable it can be."
  Professor Kim In-su of the Department of Mathematics has contributed significantly to the development of mathematics education through 35 years of research and writing. More notably, he has worked to make the subject of mathematics accessible and enjoyable to the general public.
  That effort resulted last year in the book The World of Mathematics (Books Hill). The collection, which includes the "Interesting Stories of Mathematics" series he serialized in a daily newspaper for more than ten years starting in 2000, as well as various entertaining stories and episodes illustrating mathematics, was selected this year as an Outstanding Book by the National Academy of Sciences, Republic of Korea.
  Organized into six chapters, the book presents mathematical concepts at a level accessible to general readers, stimulates curiosity, and helps foster interest in mathematics by revealing hidden truths and entertaining mathematical facts.
  Beginning with stories about "interesting numbers," the book addresses the meaning of zero, the relationship between infinity and mathematics, prime numbers used like codes, stories of great mathematicians, and diverse, enjoyable accounts of the applications and development of mathematics.
  Professor Kim said, "I am very pleased that the result of my efforts to make mathematics more enjoyable and understandable to the public has been selected as an outstanding book," and added, "I hope many readers will discover new pleasures in mathematics through this book."