Sebastian Kim

The Problem of Poverty in Post-War Korean Christianity: Kibock Sinang or Minjung Theology?

After the Korean War in 1953, South Korea went through an intense political turmoil. The military took over the government and through a series of coup d’etats military-backed government continued until 1988. High on successive governments’ agenda was the goal of overcoming poverty. This legitimised their rule, their oppression of the opposition party and disregard for the civil liberties of the people. The catch phrase in those days was, ‘let’s become wealthy!’ – I still remember the song we sang in my school – jal-sal-a-bo-sae, jalsal-a-bo-sae, u-ri-do-han-bun, jal-sal-a-bo-sae . . .. Despite the remarkable economic growth during this time, there were examples of widespread political injustice and exploitation of the workers and the farmers. The churches in South Korea grew along with the rapid modernisation of Korean society and the growth of the economy. The revival movement was fuelled by the eschatological hope and the emphasis on church growth dominated the Korean church in the second half of the last century. The church grew numerically, forming a largely conservative evangelical constituency. However, the Post-war South Korea and the Korea church continued to face the problem of poverty. The Korean church adopted two different approaches: the Kibock Sinang and Minjung Theology. Both of these approaches represent the contextualisation of the gospel in response to the problem of poverty. The aim of this paper is to examine these two approaches and compare their differing responses to poverty.

Public Theology in the History of Christianity

Although the term ‘public theology’ or ‘public church’ was introduced into theological circles by Martin Marty and Robert Bellah in the 1970s,1 the concept of theology in the public sphere or the Christian gospel in public life can be recognised throughout church history. Public theology has recently gained wide support from theological circles and churches as is evidenced by the establishment of the Global Network for Public Theology (GNPT), the International Journal of Public Theology and a large number of centres and institutions in universities and church denominations. ‘Public theology’ or ‘theology in the public sphere’ is quite commonly accepted in contemporary theological departments and churches but the understanding of what it means differs from one to another. For the purposes of this chapter, I would like to define public theology as critical, reflective and reasoned engagement of theology in society to bring the kingdom of God, which is for the sake of the poor and marginalised.2 Throughout Christian history, churches have engaged with the wider society and political institutions both as minority communities and as dominant bodies. The aim of this chapter is to highlight some key theologians and theological discourses and their contributions to the formation of public theology. I shall limit my discussion to selected writings up to the 1990s by which time the term public theology was starting to become widely used by scholars. The various chapters in this volume are selected to demonstrate the variety of topics and approaches within public theology. Public theology arises out of the engagement of theology in the spheres of politics and economics, which was then expanded to civil societies and other areas of the public life. For the earlier development of theologies of church-state relations, I will examine St Augustine and the Reformers; for alternative approaches to dominant political and economic systems, I shall examine the Catholic Social Teaching, which has made such a deep impact; for wider engagement with the socio-political and cultural, I will discuss ecumenical developments in Europe and the USA.

Je suis Charlie? Reflections on the Public Demonstrations against the Attacks in Paris

As a response against the terrorist attacks in Paris in January 2015, people adapted ‘Je suis Charlie’ as a slogan to show their solidarity with the victims. In this article, while condemning the killings, I would like to examine the situation from the perspective of public theology: 1) the nature of laicite and the tension between the freedom of expression and respect for faith; 2) the problem of the marginalisation of minority religious groups in a secular public sphere; 3) the impact of the public demonstration and the creation of a platform for secular and sacred interactions. I shall incooperate in my presentation media reports, articles and interviews on the topic and also some of the scholarly discussions on laicite, on ‘interactive pluralism’ by Rowan Williams, and on the public engagement of religious communities.

‘Justice and Peace Will Kiss Each Other’ (Psalm 85.10b): Minjung Perspectives on Peace-building

During the period of military-backed government (1961–1988), South Korea faced various political and economic challenges: poverty and inequality in society; human rights abuses by military governments; and confrontation with the communist North. This article examines Psalm 85: 10 in the light of the political context of South Korea and the way minjung theologians and artists understood and utilized the passage for their struggle with the governments and mega-companies. The article argues that the fight for justice for the poor and oppressed is what has brought a sustainable peace in South Korea, and that although justice seeking and peace-building should be implemented simultaneously as the Scripture implies, if one has to prioritize between the two, justice-seeking has to take precedence.