THE SAGAE SONGDO CHIBUBEOB FOR PRACTICAL USE AND SELFSTUDY

This book is about Kaeseong Bugi a double entry method invented independently in Korea Although invented about 200 years earlier than Western double entry accounting it is remarkably similar in fundamentals to Western accounting it recognizes the duality of individual transactions and ensures the balancing feature of debit and credit not only for individual transactions but also for their aggregations It does so using the socalled Sagae a 4way classifi cation scheme asset liability revenue and expense Despite this it has received little attention among scholars The oldest yet most complete book on Kaeseong Bugi is Sagae Songdo Chibubeob by Hyeon Byeongju which illustrates in detail how Kaeseong Bugi works It is written in Chinese and oldstyle Korean characters thus not easy to reada main reason why this English version is published The book can be a valuable resource for those who have an interest in accounting history