Role Identity of ROK Military Chaplains through US Military Chaplains' Activities in Wartime

Abstract

This research as a literature study is to clarify that the role identity of ROK military chaplains through US military chaplains′ work in wartime. War is not only the participation of combatants, but also, the activities of military branches as a combat organization. The US military participated in the Korean War as a friendly country and directly demonstrated the military system that was unfamiliar to ROK military. In addition, US Military helped establish the military chaplain system in ROK military. The ROK military chaplain system began by replicating that of the US military from the time of its establishment. Until recently, the US military directly led many wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, or had experience participating in the war as an allied force or support force. It is thought that the military chaplain activities and the activities of military chaplains in wartime were systematized by the US military, which had a lot of experience in war. In this research, by analyzing this, it is intended to be used as a guideline for the wartime military activities of the ROK military and to be referenced in establishing the role identity of the military chaplain. Previous experiences on the role played by the US military chaplain on the battlefield may be important data for considering the mission and role identity of the ROK military clergy in wartime. The purpose of this study is to explore the role identity of ROK military chaplains through wartime military chaplain activities of US military chaplains. In this research, five themes were dealt with regarding the role identity of the military chaplain. The researcher dealt with military chaplain as a special minister, military chaplain as a psycho-spiritual specialist, military chaplain as a representative of God’s presence, military chaplain as a supporter of ‘just war,’ and military chaplain as a death theologian.