Andre Eckardt

Andre Eckardt (born September 21, 1884 (as Ludwig Otto Andreas Eckardt) in Munich ; † January 3, 1974 in Tutzing ) was the founder of German Korean studies and the author of several standard works on the language, culture and history of Korea . He was a priest of the Benedictine order .

During his 20-year stay in Korea, Eckardt devoted himself to intensive language studies in Korean and delved into many areas of Korean culture, especially Korean art . When the International Educational Institute in Braunschweig was closed by the National Socialists in 1933, he returned to his homeland in Bavaria and was Professor of Korean Studies in Munich until the end of his life .

meaning

Eckardt's importance for Korean studies is based on the numerous fundamental academic papers on the language, art, music, literature and philosophy of Korea. Due to the historical circumstances, they acquire special significance in two respects: They represent a starting point for scientific research not only in the West, but even in Korea, as they could fall back on little or no preliminary work. On the other hand, Eckardt published essays on Korean culture, especially in the West at a time when Korea was a Japanese colony . For these services he received the highest cultural order of the Republic of Korea from the Korean President Yun Bo-seon in 1962 . Eckardt's services to Korea were not forgotten in North Korea either. In addition to the two-volume conversational grammar of the Korean language (1923), his History of Korean Art (1929) is one of his most outstanding works, which was also published simultaneously in English (A History of Korean Art), posthumously in Japanese (Chōsen bijutsu-shi) and in 1995 2003 appeared in an elaborate Korean translation (Ek'arŭt'ŭ ŭi Chosŏn misul-sa). Eckardt was significantly involved in the archaeological excavations of the Korean royal tombs from the Goguryeo period (37 BC - 668 AD), which are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site . At Eckardt's suggestion, the reconstruction of the Buddhist 'grotto' Seokguram goes back, which was rediscovered around 1900 in a completely destroyed state. Eckardt also left behind an extensive musical oeuvre, which also includes a Korea symphony as op. 25 (duration approx. 25 minutes). This was posthumously given its world premiere on September 10, 1994 under the conductor Yi Kŏnsu by the Symphony Orchestra of the Korea University in Seoul. This musical work is characterized by the fact that Eckardt uses musical material from his time in Korea, which has been forgotten in Korea itself after the turmoil of the Japanese colonial era and the Korean War. The transfer and reproduction of Korean musical elements on Western instruments is also perceived as successful.

biography

Eckardt was born in Munich in 1884 as the son of the painter and teacher Johann Nikolaus Eckardt and his wife Barbara Eckardt (née Bähr). In 1905, after studying philosophy, religious studies, art history and ethnology at the University of Munich, Eckardt joined the Benedictine Abbey of St. Ottilien as a novice . In 1909 he was ordained a priest.

Eckardt set foot on Korean soil at the end of December 1909. His first place of work was the newly built small monastery of St. Benedict in Seoul (abbey from 1913). Until 1920, the Benedictine Fathers from Germany did not focus on missionary work, but on realizing monastic life in Korea. A crafts school and a teachers' seminar were attached to the monastery, where Eckardt was entrusted with the training of elementary and middle school teachers. After the teacher training college had to close its doors at the urging of the Japanese authorities, Eckardt devoted himself all the more to studying the Korean language and culture.

From 1920 the missionary activity was the new task for the German Benedictines in Korea. Their mission area extended from northeast Korea over large parts of Manchuria. The center was initially the port city of Wŏnsan, Hamgyŏng-namdo province, on the east coast, and from 1926 the newly built monastery Tŏgwŏn in the vicinity . (This name is said to have been suggested by Eckardt). As Eckardt reports in his report on how I experienced Korea (1950), he covered long distances on horseback during this time. From 1923 Eckardt also taught at Kyŏngsŏng University in Seoul, the predecessor of today's Seoul National University . He taught u. a. Greek, Latin and Art History. Eckardt returned to Germany around 1928/29. In 1930 he received his doctorate from the University of Würzburg with the thesis The School System in Korea . Around this time Eckardt received the priestly dispensation, which he had submitted together with four other priests out of solidarity with the then Archabbot Norbert Weber . In 1931 he was appointed advisor to East Asia and deputy director of the International Research Institute for Educational Sciences at the TH Braunschweig, which was closed in 1933 after the National Socialists came to power. During the Braunschweig period, 1932, Eckardt is said to have been awarded the title of professor by Reich President Paul von Hindenburg (evidence is still missing, however). Eckardt initially retired to his estate in Starnberg . His work at the Braunschweig Institute gave him the lasting impetus to deal with the problem of a universal script or language, because he felt "the lack of a uniform script was particularly painful." He developed a symbol he called Safo. During the Second World War, Eckardt was drafted into military service due to his extensive knowledge of East Asian languages. Through this activity the idea of ​​a universal script received new nourishment. 1944 marriage to Marianne Roth (1902–1990). After the war, Eckardt got involved in expanding the adult education centers. In 1957 he received a teaching position for Korean studies at the East Asian Department of the University of Munich , which he continued until shortly before his death on January 3, 1974. His predecessor was Li Mirok (1899–1950).

Safo

Examples of Eckardt's Safo

Derivation of the Safo symbols for water (above) and fire (below) from the Chinese script (gray)

Based on the Chinese Hanzi characters , Eckardt developed a pasigraphy , which he called Safo (sa = meaning + fo = writing). In contrast to Bliss , however, this has been forgotten.

Font directory

(still incomplete)

• Korean conversational grammar: with reading pieces and conversations. [Along with] keys. Gross Verlag Heidelberg 1923.
• Korean Fairy Tales and Stories: Between Halla- and Päkdusan. Missionsverlag St. Ottilien. Upper Bavaria 1928.
• Under the odong tree. Erich-Röth publishing house. Eisenach 1951.
• The ginseng root. Erich-Röth publishing house. Eisenach 1955.

Biographies

• Albrecht Huwe, André [Andre] Eckardt: Germany's first Koreanist, in: Balance of a friendship: Hundred years of German-Korean relations , Bonn 1984, 39–40.
• Albrecht Huwe, Andre Eckardt - a biographical sketch, in: Tongsŏ munhwaŭi mannam [= meeting of cultures in East and West, commemorative publication for Hyokmyon Kwon on his 60th birthday], Seoul: Posŏng munhwasa 1987, 587-596.
• Albrecht Huwe, Andre Eckardt (1884–1974). Life and work of the nestor of international Korean studies, in: Hartmut Koschyk (ed.), Encounters with Kim Dae-jung: Korea on the way to peace, reconciliation and unity , Munich: Olzog, 2002, 215–227.

Literature on Missionary Activities in Korea

• Johannes Mahr, Abolished Houses , Vol. 1–3, St. Ottilien 2009.
• Fate in Korea: German missionaries report; Reprint on the occasion of the expulsion of missionaries of the Benedictine Congregation of St. Ottilien from Tokwon Abbey , north of the 38th parallel , 25 years ago , St. Ottilien: EOS Verlag, 1974.
• German Benedictines in Korea and Manchuria: 82 pictures , Erkenschwick KMH-Bildbandverl. Schumacher, 1937 (lecture text on KMH photo book series 16).
• Dominicus Enshoff, The Benedictine Mission in Korea , St. Ottilien Missionsverl., 1909.
• Bonifacius Sauer, The craft school of the German Benedictine abbey "St. Benedikt" in Korea , Munich: Seitz, 1915.
• Johannes Mahr, “His kingdom is first in this world”: Archabbot Norbert Weber as organizer of Benedictine missionary work in: Godfrey Sieber (ed.), Resistance and Mission , St. Ottilien 2003, 103–179.
• Adelhard Kasper, Placidus Berger: Hwan Gab. 60 years of Benedictine mission in Korea and Manchuria. Vier-Türme-Verlag Münsterschwarzach 1973. ISBN 3-87868-006-6 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ "Togirin chongt'ong han'guk hakcha Ek'arŭtŭ shinbuŭi yujak› Han'guk shimp'oni ‹segye ch'oyŏn", in: Ŭmak tonga, 10/1994, p. 55.
2. ↑ Reference: S. Helmut Hirsch, teachers make history: The Institute for Educational Sciences and the International Textbook Institute; a contribution to continuity research, Ratingen, Henn, 1971. p. 264
3. ↑ Andre Eckardt, cultural pioneer of our day [unpublished. Manuscript], chap. 2 (Braunschweig period).

Web links

• Andre Eckardt Archive ( Memento from May 21, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
• Literature by and about Andre Eckardt in the catalog of the German National Library