The Inclusion and Significance of Biographical and Historical Records in Joseon Bulgyo Wolbo(朝鮮佛敎月報) and Haedong Bulbo(海東佛報) : With a Preliminary Study on TACL-Based n-gram Author Attribution of Anonymous Articles

This study investigates the inclusion patterns and significance of historical records and biographical articles published(事蹟·傳記) in Joseon Bulgyo Wolbo(朝鮮佛敎月報) and Haedong Bulbo(海東佛報), two Buddhist magazines issued during Korea’s modern transition period. It further explores the authorship of anonymous articles in Haedong Bulbo using TACL-based n-gram string analysis, with the aim of shedding light on the formation of modern Buddhist discourse and intellectual networks. Joseon Bulgyo Wolbo, the oldest extant Buddhist periodical, was edited and published by Gwon Sang-ro(權相老). The magazine aimed at popularizing Buddhism and embracing modern knowledge, particularly through the “Munwon,”(文苑) “Jeonki,”(傳記) and “Daewongyeong”(大圓鏡) sections, where it collected and compiled Buddhist historical texts to restore the continuity and identity of tradition. Haedong Bulbo, edited primarily by Bak Han-yeong(朴漢永), sought to establish historical self-awareness and doctrinal identity by systematically organizing biographies of eminent monks and temple records. The frequent appearance of anonymously authored articles under the byline “gija (reporter, 記者)” reflects a collective editorial effort to restructure Buddhist discourse. This study applied n-gram string analysis using TACL (Text and Corpus Lab) to compare stylistic features between these anonymous articles and those authored by Bak Han-yeong and Choe Dong-sik. Although technical limitations and insufficient data prevented conclusive authorship attribution, this work represents the first attempt to apply computational text analysis to modern Buddhist magazines and provides a methodological foundation for future research.