KJC Korea
Journal Central

From the perspective of minjung theology that focuses on the subjectivity of minjung in history and politics, I have analyzed and compared the dynamics of candlelight vigils and the characteristics of the participants in candlelight rallies in 2008 and in 2016-2017. To begin with, regarding the characteristics of the crowd participating in candlelight vigils, I refused the attempt to interpret the candlelight crowd in 2008 as ‘multitude’ in the sense of A. Negri and M. Hardt. I tried to analyze the crowd as composed of the people who were exploited, suppressed, excluded and discriminated in the neoliberal Korean society, and to name them as the traditional term of ‘minjung’. Secondly, I pointed out that the candlelight crowd in 2008 could be characterized as network crowd. It is true that a form of “collective intelligence” has emerged in the crowd movements. But I didn’t accept the opinion that the network crowd could play roles as “organic intellectuals” in the sense of A. Gramsci. Thirdly, the candlelight vigils in 2016-2017 went one step further from those in 2008. The ‘President Retirement Movement’ as council of civic and social movement groups learned from the experiences of 2008, and showed some capacity to lead the candlelight crowd asking for retirement of the state president responsible for corruption and privatization of state authority and asking for liquidation of accumulated evils. Lastly, Minjung has a desire to fundamentally change Korean society and embody more justice, more democracy and more human rights. They are moving to realize that desire. Now it is one of the important tasks of minjung theology to refine desires of minjung into a clear language and to present politics of minjung for realizing their desires with conceptual and strategic consistency.

This study delves into Reinhold Niebuhr’s political thoughts on international politics based on Reinhold Niebuhr on Politics. In particular, this study concentrates on the imperial implication on Niebuhr’s idea on international politics. Barak Obama used a political rhetoric such as “the American Spirit” as he ignites the pride of American nationality, and he spoke one of the most influential political thinkers was Reinhold Niebuhr. After 9/11, not a few scholars have been criticizing America as a new Empire ruling over the world. With this idea, this research studies the Niebuhrian international politics as his political thoughts are related to the American Imperialism in that it emphasizes the imperial foundations such as American responsibility, American destiny, Christians as the chosen people, and the advocator for the freedom and democracy. And he justifies the usage of power for the world peace as other empires had done. Lastly, the unique formation of this research is that it tires to organizes a political speech as if Obama speaks his political ideas toward people in order to exemplifies “the American Spirit” as a political rhetoric for American Imperialism.

This research delves into North-Korea policy and foreign policy of America affecting directly or indirectly North-Korea policy of South-Korea since the Korean Peninsula has been segmented based on mainly ‘political realism’. Since 9.11 attacks, a political realism as standing of ‘just war’ assertive legitimacy of ‘use of force’ gains strength as a righteousness. However, a reason that this thesis interests political realism of America is because of taking affect of christian social ethicist Reinhold Niebuhr. That he has contributed for political realism of America is that has supported by theological theory war, violence, and foreign problems one of the sharp debates in international real. His christian realism affects to oppositional discourse for unification is for theological right with conquestism or triumphalism. But it is a resultant that does not understand his thought. Hereto, this thesis studied critically his main thought ‘christian realism’ within understanding his main conceptions ‘love and justice’, and especially studied misunderstandings to ‘use of force’ within christian realism in Korean churches. This resultant suggests threes: to ‘theology of reconciliation’(ethical righteousness) over ‘political theology’(use of force); to ‘balance of power’ in ‘US-centrism’; and to ‘God’s grace’ of ‘trans’ history in order to find a way escapable from enlarge-reproduction of opposition and confliction, nervous and fear due to segregation is not to be enlarge righteousness of ‘use of force’ but to beware of ‘self-interest and corruptibility of force’ and to take sanction methods.

Basic income is a new attempt to replace the labor centered capitalism by cutting off the link between labor and income. Under the crisis of the low fertility and population aging, growth without employment, severe polarization, inequality, and the threat of the fourth industrial revolution, it is important to prepare a practical plan based on the interpretation of the Bible and the theological grounds leading to the paradigm of the new Christian social welfare based on the Basic Income concept. This article examines the meaning of labor in social welfare, to suggest a solution to this problem based on the concept of Basic Income and the biblical approach to Christian social welfare. This study was carried out as follows. First, it briefly reviewed the history of social welfare policy for the past 400 years and discussed the meaning and application of ‘labor.’ In particular, it discussed the problems and limitations of the ‘employment-oriented welfare policy’ emphasized by the current social welfare states. Second, it introduced the key concepts of Basic Income as an important concept that opens the paradigm of new welfare. Then, the welfare system of Korea was examined from the viewpoint of ‘employment - oriented welfare policy’ and tried to apply the Basic Income concept. Third, After examining the biblical and theological grounds of basic income, with a biblical interpretation. it discussed the possibility that Basic Income could bring freedom to our lives. Last, the roles of Christian social welfare for Basic Income and practical alternative were suggested.

This paper focuses on the preaching as a fundamentals of church in ecclesial ethics of Hauerwas and the concept of ethical preaching in Charles L. Campbell who influenced deeply from the ethics of Hauerwas. Preceding studies on combination of preaching with ethics by theologian of homiletics have a tendency to relate the ethical preaching with the research ethics of preachers. Though it is an unsatisfactory part to regard ethics of preachers as the problem of ‘cheating act’, it is a meaningful step to activate meeting of sermon and ethics. It is necessary to observe the ethics of preachers and seek the ethical preaching. In this context, it is worth noting that Hauerwas and Campbell suggest the ethical preaching for building up the church. For Hauerwas, ethical preaching for being church connected with the pastor’s ethical responsibility. Hauerwas emphasizes that pastors have to build up Christian as Christian based on Jesus narrative. Campbell receives the issue of being church and expresses it more positively. Campbell considers the combination of ethics and preaching as connected with being church. According to Campbell, preaching is an ethical practice for building up church based on Jesus narrative. Hauerwas and Campbell remind us of the importance of ethical maturity of Korean church which tend to cling to blessing preaching and prosperity theology.

This paper explores the public function of mythic fantasy that has recently attracted enormous public attention in the form(s) of novel and/or film. Mythic fantasy, due to its powerful influence on the mass, could significantly contribute to disseminating religioethical values in the public sphere. We suggest a new conception of mythic fantasy as a Public Virtual Reality (VR) Medium in which participants can experience its fantasy world as if a real/actual world through imaginative immersion and interaction. This conception adapts, in the theoretical frame of Extended Virtual Reality, most notably Martha Nussbaum’s notion of Poetic Justice that highlights the ethical function of novel as the public imagination essential for facilitating moral capabilities such as empathy. In the mythic fantasy VR world, participants are able to explore and simulate diverse ethical options pleasurably without constraints or risks by projecting themselves affectively via immersive interaction into countless specific virtual situations it offers. That is, mythic fantasy provides an effective public platform that facilitates ethical thought experiments as well as affective praxis experiments by significantly extending religioethical experience in the VR space. Based on this theoretical frame, we examine a most influential contemporary mythic fantasy, which is Tolkin’s, as a Public VR Medium for the dissemination and practice of Christian ethics, focusing on its three levels of conflict muthos/plot: mythico-historical, sociopolitical, and individual/ existential. This consideration respectively explores the historical meaning of evil, the meaning of social justice, and the meaning of a good or eudaimonic life.

From 1920 to 1930 did divergent social changes appear, so called ‘the age of date’ which brought forth the issues of love and sex between male and female. It caused the need of sex education, which gave birth to a social atmosphere of how to deal with sex and date around 1933. Kim Pilley, as a founding member of YWCA in Korea as well as an representatively woman educator, published the book Sex Education. In that book, Mrs. Kim covered up the issues of sex and marriage in a broad way that her explanation did not reach to the unmarried youth, but also to the married couples. A few distinct facts appear in her discussion. Firstly, she accentuated the importance of how to make sex-desire a noble characteristics conducive to a socially positive production. Secondly, she did not disregard an economical phase of marriage at the expanse of that of mind and body in marriage. Thirdly, she stressed a legal aspect of marriage. To this fact should the presider of the marriage, specifically the pastor, pay more attention than the married couple do. Conclusively, Sex Education makes a scrutinized summarization of sex education itself in the time when only the necessity of sex education attracted social discourses. Also this edition could be an exemplary and aggressive response of Christian educator to ethical social issues, especially sex and its related problems.

This paper aims to explore the meanings and effects of translation of the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, one of the most popular self-help books, in Korea in the 1920s. First, the paper examines the genealogy of self-help tradition in Christianity as well as the history of the self-help movement in modern Korea. Second, the paper investigates the historical background and social meaning of emergence of the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin in colonial America of the 18th century. Third, the paper explores the social context and meaning of the translation of the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin in colonial Korea of the 1920s. This exploration of self-help discourse and self-help culture in Korea in the 1920s could be a channel for critical review of self-help boom in recent Korean protestantism.