Posted : 2021-01-31 13:37
Updated : 2021-01-31 13:38
The cover of Jikji Simche Yojeol in Korean, left, and English. Courtesy of the Jogye Order
Jikji, the world s oldest book printed with movable metal type, has been published in Korean and English, the Jogye Order, South Korea s largest Buddhist sect, said Sunday.
Jikji, written in Chinese characters by Buddhist monk Baegun Gyeonghan, is the abbreviated title of a Buddhist document whose full title, Jikji Simche Yojeol, can be translated as anthology of great Buddhist priests Zen teachings.
It was printed in 1377 at the Heungdeok Temple in the central city of Cheongju during the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392). That was 78 years prior to the printing of Gutenberg s 42-line Bible in Europe.