Korean Christian Research Articles

Walking in Parallel: Roman Catholicism and Protestant Christianity in Korea, 1899–1945

In the early twentieth century, Korean Catholic and Protestant Churches found themselves in a period of significant power transition, from a neo-Confucian dynasty to a colonial regime. Imperial Japan and Christianity thus posed a mutual challenge: church leaders worked to sustain and increase their Evangelical mission field within Korea's new socio-political environment, while, simultaneously, the Japanese depended on the cooperation of the Korean Christian communities to fulfil their colonial project. In this dynamic of State-Church relations, Catholics and Protestants constantly vied for ascendancy. This article examines how the two Christian denominations engaged with each other and with Korea's coloniser, as imperial Japan's policies varied and its international status fluctuated.

An Eco-Evangelism of the Korean Christianity in an Eco-Crisis Era: Inductive Mission Model Approach

An Eco-Evangelism of the Korean Christianity in an Eco-Crisis Era: Inductive Mission Model Approach

Cross-Cultural Validation and the Psychometric Properties of the Korean Version of the Brief Religious Coping Scale.

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the Brief Religious Coping Scale (RCOPE) among Korean Protestant Christians to determine its reliability and validity in South Korea considering the unique characteristics of Korean Protestant Christianity. Exploratory Factor Analysis (n = 251) and confirmatory factor analysis (n = 268) identified the original two-factor structure of the positive and negative religious coping subscales. Also, the scale exhibited robust reliability and construct validity. This study affirmed the scale is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring religious coping in Korean Christian adults.

Gender, Feeling and the Making of Korean Christian Knowledge in Sengoku Japan*

This essay explores the production of Korean Christian knowledge in Sengoku Japan by analysing narratives about a vision said to have been experienced by an evangelised Korean woman, which circulated within Jesuit correspondence from Japan and in subsequent publications. These texts, about a convert's journey to diverse netherworlds, made affective experiences central to spiritual perception, and to Jesuit interpretation of faith. They held important implications for how women living in a society permeated by Buddhist beliefs and practices could be represented as producers of Christian knowledge and as faith guides to others, whose bodies did not hinder spiritual perception but rather offered tools for achieving it.

South Korean Christian Communities Supporting Women in Need

Christianity does not have as long of a history as other monotheistic religions and traditional ideologies in Korea, but—especially from the end of the 19th century—its new concepts have had a huge impact on the basic thoughts of Korean society. This paper focuses on the effects of Christianity and the activity of Christian communities on women’s lives. According to my preliminary findings, in the late 1800s, the Christian missionaries and their newly formed communities offered opportunities for girls and women to get education, a profession, access to better health care, and learn self-care. After the complicated decades between 1910 and 1950, South Korea was experiencing remarkable changes, and Christians were an active part of this rebuilding, helping the lives of those who were struggling with poverty, lack of daily necessities, education, and health care. This paper aims to examine the thoughts and actions of Korean Christian communities towards decisions on childbirth, children out of wedlock, adoption, and single motherhood. This study investigates the approaches of South Korean Christian communities towards women related to the above-mentioned circumstances, focusing on the early examples and the last five to six decades. It is assumed that even though South Korea is now considered a modernized country, the government sometimes fails to cope with current problems, and traditional notions are still strong in familial matters. Therefore, not obeying conventional forms may cause social conflicts, or the decisions are hidden because of taboos and stigmas. This research is based on the publications of Christian communities and involves documentaries and case studies, including the baby box operation and adoption. This paper contributes to the expanding studies on Korean Christian communities, highlighting the social norms and their changes generated by new religious thoughts, while giving an insight into the daily struggles of Korean women’s lives when it comes to decision-making about their motherhood.

Institutions and Countercultures: Christianity’s Impact on South Korean Modernization

The relationship between modernization and religion is contested, with the literature differing in how and in what ways religion helps or hinders countries’ social, economic, and political development. This paper draws upon the history of Christianity in South Korea to critically explore the links between religion and modernization. It makes two arguments. First, discussions of the link between religion and modernization frequently employ static definitions of religion, but Christianity is characterized by oscillations between worldly (institutionalizing) and unworldly (countercultural) impulses that theoretically make very different contributions to social, economic, and political development. Second, in the case of South Korea, it is shown that both impulses have made vital contributions to the country’s modernization at different times. This suggests that the dynamic tug-of-war between the institutional and countercultural facets of Korean Christianity, although problematic for individual believers and religious leaders, helped it become an important contributor to the country’s success story. However, this paper concludes on a cautionary note by warning that extreme instances of these impulses have caused cleavages between Christianity and the Korean state and society and could undermine its future contributions. This suggests that diversity and toleration—a hallmark of Korean Christianity—will continue to be the best pathway forward.

Korean Christian Missionaries in High‐Risk Countries: Interaction with International Religious Networks and Domestic Response

AbstractWhy do some Christian foreign mission groups dispatch missionaries to some culturally and politically risky states where they face personal risks and political entanglements? Using world polity theory, I argue that local religious groups’ motivations are driven by their involvement in international religious networks, which mobilize missionaries to go to places such as Muslim countries. Based on 30 semistructured interviews with South Korean missionaries and leaders of churches and mission organizations, I illuminate that globally shared discourse of unreached people encouraged missionaries to volunteer to go to high‐risk states. I also suggest that Korean religious actors did not passively accept the influence of the international discourse but also reconstructed the discourse. The study also highlights that a missionary's dual identity as a religious actor and another profession to get a visa in high‐risk countries is bound up with the state's surveillance and potential persecution.

Formation of Korean Christianity through the Banning of Ancestral Rites

This study explores the ways in which a ban on ancestral rites influenced Korean Christianity. Ancestral rites are religious ceremonies that form the most critical social basis of Joseon, a Confucian society. First, the Korean Catholic Church was the first to oppose ancestral rites. Catholics created a new social and ethical resonance in Joseon society but had to endure tremendous persecution. Second, Protestantism was introduced when Joseon society was the most confused. Protestant missionaries banned ancestral rites, and Korean Protestants accepted them. Gradually, they interpreted it and embodied it in their faith. The ban on ancestral rites contributed to the formation of Korean Christianity. This laid the foundation for Christian social ethics and Hyo (孝, Xiao (Chinese pronunciation), filiality) theology. It has expanded into various fields, such as systematic theology, biblical studies, practical theology, and liturgical practice. Thus, this study examines how the ban on ancestral rites in Korea had a profound impact on the contextualization of Korean Christianity.

Nation-Building in Korea: Role of Christianity During Japanese Colonization

Religion plays a valuable role as an essential institution in Nation-Building. Studies of Nation-Building movements throughout the world recognize religion as a major driving force of Nation-Building. In the history of Korea, the colonial period of Japan (1910-1945) has been marked as one of the darkest periods, and this disaster has become a backbone to growing-up Christianity in Korea.Different people and groups approached nation-building in distinct ways resulting in a variety of nationalistic moments. Christianity as a Korean institution played an integral role in shaping the view of Christians and the church and their actions toward nationalism. Under the Japanese colonial era, the people of Korea had to face phycological injuries, injustices, inequalities, and impoverishment, and it has also flourished the existence of Christianity and its political environment in Korea. Christianity started to gain popularity and became identified as a reliance with which the people of Korea hoped to liberate themselves from the dark period of Japanese Colonial rule.The presence of Christianity was pronounced at every level of anti-Japanese organizations, and they started to participate actively in the independence movement against Japanese rule. On the way to nation-building, Korea needed to adopt elements of Western culture to strengthen the nation.This article provides insights into the nation-building carried out by Christianity in Korea during the colonization period of Japan. Although it is not a depth study of Christianity in Korea, it’s role in nation-building. It will also try to find the links between Christianity and nation-building in Korea.

Roles of religious music and religious well-being in the relationship between fundamentalism and subjective well-being among Korean Christians

ABSTRACT This study examined the relationship between Christians’ religious fundamentalism and subjective well-being, and investigated the roles of religious music and religious well-being in this relationship. Participants were 312 Christians in South Korea. The proposed path models were examined using analysis of moment structure. The results indicated that Christians’ religious fundamentalism was positively correlated with the conservatism of religious music, immersion in church music, religious well-being, and subjective well-being, whereas Christians’ immersion in church music was closely correlated with religious well-being. Additionally, Christians’ religious well-being closely was correlated with their subjective well-being. The study results provide support for a path model from Christian religious fundamentalism to subjective well-being via the conservatism of religious music, immersion in church music, and religious well-being. Thus, a direct path from religious fundamentalism to subjective well-being was found, with an excellent model fit. However, in this model, the coefficient of the direct path from religious fundamentalism to subjective well-being was negative. This study found that religious music plays an important role in Christians’ religious and subjective well-being, and that Christians’ religious fundamentalism can enhance their subjective well-being only through religious well-being.

대중문화에 반영된 종교에 대한 대중의 기대와 기독교의 과제 : 오컬트 장르물을 중심으로

대중문화에 반영된 종교에 대한 대중의 기대와 기독교의 과제 : 오컬트 장르물을 중심으로

Korean Christians Americanized

With the introduction of zoom and cell group Bible study and fellowship gathering with church members from 6 to 10, congregation members of each Korean church have come to appreciate the diversity within each consistory encompassing multigenerational American born Koreans, foreign expats, diplomats, immigrants from middle class and up from the greater Seoul, South Korea area, political refugees and migrant workers who categorically entered this country with Republic of Korea visa but who originally were able to date back their earlier life from Communist Regimes such as Siberia, China, Vietnam and North Korea (Ibuk chulsin) and other Asian of color looking foreigners and mix-breeds with Korean heritage and other combinations. The focus of their Christian practice has been more passive concept of God’s grace grounded on John Wesley tradition rather than their yoking and making progress in lineal fashion into the future with and by believers out of Christian love. A premium is placed in smooth transitioning from static Confucianism and Christianity embracing education, meritocracy, social harmony and order.

The Murder Death of Pang Hwa-il: Erasing American Violence, Producing Christian Allies During the Korean War

AbstractThis article examines one of the first court-martial of a US soldier for the murder of a Korean civilian. In December 1951, Pang Hwa-il died from injuries sustained at the hands of four American soldiers during a late-night search of a home he was visiting. Many acts of violence perpetrated by the US military against Korean civilians like Pang during the Korean War went unaccounted for. However, his death would receive public attention in the United States because he was the associate general secretary of the Korean National Council of Churches. Responding to public pressure, the US military eventually started an investigation approximately two months after the incident took place. By examining the circumstances surrounding Pang's murder, the subsequent trial, and its aftermath, this article challenges a standard characterization of the relationship among missionaries, Korean Protestants, and the US military during the 1950s as a close partnership. The American government, the military, and missionaries had all carefully cultivated a narrative that the US and a Christian South Korea were allies against communism. However, Pang, a Korean Christian leader, was killed by a US soldier, not a communist enemy. Furthermore, the US military's initial delay in bringing Pang's assailants to trial and the light sentence that was handed down shocked both Korean and American observers. As this incident reveals, the US military valued the lives of its Korean allies less than American lives, calling into question the American government's claims that it was working in partnership with South Koreans.

연희전문의 역사와 학풍을 통해 본 기독교대학의 정체성

The purpose of this article is to examine the historical mission of Christian universities in Korea's modern and contemporary history, focusing on the history and academic traditions of Yeonhee College, the predecessor of Yonsei University. In addition, through this, it is intended to macroscopically reflect on the meaning and content of Christian education that Korean Christian universities facing various crises should have. Horace Grant Underwood (1859-1916) and Oliver R. Avison (1860-1956), during the patriotic enlightenment period at the end of the Chosun Dynasty, established modern higher education that could replace the crumbling feudal order through university education based on the Christian spirit. They established an interdenominational Christian university based on the ecumenical spirit, and wanted to provide equal educational opportunities to Chosun, which was captivated by the feudal status order. During this period, the person who established Christian liberal arts classes and chapels in Yeonhee College was missionary Harry A. Rhodes (1875-1933), who studied theology at Princeton University in the United States. He made Bible education and chapels possible, which were impossible to operate as regular subjects under the Private School Law of Japanese Government-General of Korea. Since then, Yeonhee's nationalistic academic style based on the Christian spirit was naturally formed around Jeong In-bo, Choi Hyeon-bae, Baek Nak-jun, and Baek Nam-un. This anti-Japanese nationalistic academic tradition had a profound influence on Yoon Dong-ju, who entered Yeonhee college in 1938. Yoon Dong-ju can be said to be a representative figure that symbolizes the Christian spirit of Yeonhee College. The history and academic tradition of Yeonhee College, which began as a Chosun Christian University, can provide a valuable precedent for how Christian higher education can merge with the history of the nation to Christian universities in Korea.

한국 비디오게임의 문화신학적 해석 ‘원더포션’의‘산나비’를 중심으로

In order to discover Korean culture and identity in modern society, this paper tries to analyze the game ‘SANABI’ of ‘Wonder Portion’ which was awarded the Indie Game Award in 2022, borrowing many traditional Korean images among Korean video games using the cultural and artistic analysis method shown in Paul Tillich's ‘Theology of Culture.’
 ‘SANABI’ is a pixel-art type side-view flatformer action adventure game set in the Korean cyberpunk genre, which represents modern capitalism and traditional images of Korea. In the main work, the main character shows overcoming the alienation, where essence and existence are separated, and completing his identity by facing the end of sacrificing to save his daughter. It shows that the theme of Korean culture is inherent in the establishment of complexity and identity.
 This defines Korean culture and its identity as a union representing universality and specificity as a culture, and overcoming alienation that restores the essence of the union's actions. Therefore, the theology that Korean Christian theology should pursue is suggested to be a K-theology with ‘Consilience’ that combines Christian theology with various cultures to create a new culture by understanding the ‘complexity’ of K-content.

The Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas and Spiritual Practice: Reading the Ancient Martyrdom Narrative for Today’s Korean Christians

The Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas and Spiritual Practice: Reading the Ancient Martyrdom Narrative for Today’s Korean Christians

A Theological Study of Julian of Norwich’s Hopeful Words “All Shall Be Well”

This article analyzes the perspective in Julian Norwich's words, “All Shall Be Well” through the lens of the Korean Presbyterian Church, specifically its focus on sin and repentance as a practical interest. Examining the concept of sin that is emphasized in practice, I compare John Calvin’s theology of sin with Julian’s to reconsider a comprehensive understanding of sin for helping Korean Christians on their spiritual journey.

Balancing Communities: Nation, State, and Protestant Christianity in Korea, 1884–1942. By Paul S. Cha

Balancing Communities: Nation, State, and Protestant Christianity in Korea, 1884–1942. By Paul S. Cha

Зарождение возрожденческого движения в Корее в 1905–1910 гг.

The Christian revival movement in Korea at the beginning of the 20th century is a prominent and important part of Korean religious history. Despite the fact that modern scholars’ interpretations of this complex religious and cultural event are far from unambiguous, they all agree on the importance of its cultural, historical and religious significance not only in the history of the Japanese colonial period, but also in the formation of new democratic values in modern South Korea. Beginning as a narrow sectarian movement of European missionaries, it strengthened its ideological and religious influence in Korea against the background of the most acute religious, cultural and social contradictions of the colonial period, playing an important role in the formation of the modern Korean Christian church.

왜 동물철학이 필요한가?

The author concludes that it is necessary to examine and reflect on the prevailing animal view in Korean society, which includes cows, pigs, goats, and even pets, and that a new alternative is needed. In that regard, the author plans to establish the concept, key issues, and philosophical status of animals in an academic manner by pioneering animal philosophy, as there has been no systematic discussion on animal philosophy in Korea so far. This article first addresses the question of “why animal philosophy is necessary in our society?” and aims to clarify the relationship between Christianity and animal philosophy. We will confirm that there has been a growing interest in the study of animals, animal ethics, and animal philosophy within the Korean Christian community. Here, we will examine the perspective of Andrew Linzey (1952-), a professor of theology at the University of Oxford in the UK, who advocates for the understanding of animals, animal rights, and the ethics of compassion from the perspective of Christian philosophy. In particular, we will focus on discussing the relationship between moral sensitivity towards animals and religion, the challenges that animal issues pose to traditional Christian theology, and the misconceptions about animal rights and Christian understanding. Lastly, we will examine the current significance of animal theology and animal philosophy as advocated by Linzey, as well as the influence of the Korean Christian community on these ideas.