Kang Minji (Ms)

Proposed Thesis Title: The Economic Dimensions of Theravada Buddhist Trusts in Myanmar: The History of the Shwedagon Pagoda’s Gawpaka

Supervisor: Associate Professor Maitrii Aung-Thwin

My great pleasure to introduce myself, KANG Minji, from South Korea. During my undergraduate and graduate studies in Korea, I was interested in the religious aspects of Myanmar and their historical background. Therefore, my master’s thesis dealt with the popularity of a new belief system (centering on Thaik) in Myanmar. While performing the fieldwork in Myanmar, I found a lot of historical resources or records as inscriptions, parabaik, peza, etc. Without the proper knowledge or understanding of historiography, it seems to be meaningless for me to pursue the field of Myanmar studies. That is why I decide to apply for the History (PhD) at NUS under the supervision of Professor Maitrii Aung-Thwin.

The topic of my research is to explore the Economic Dimensions of Theravada Buddhism in Myanmar in the Modern Era by examining mainly the trust of Shwedagon Pagoda, the national and Buddhistic symbol of Myanmar, and other kinds of materials or sources: historical records, existing research results, and fieldwork findings. I want to show the economic scale and activities of Buddhist temples, uncovering the dynamic, secular aspects of Buddhism unlike its static, spiritual ones often argued by Western scholars.