JANG ILSOON’S SOCIO-RELIGIOUS THOUGHT AND ITS RELEVANCE FOR THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN SOUTH KOREA BY HYOMIN BAEK A thesis is submitted to the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Lancaster University 2017 I, ____________________________, declare that this thesis has been composed solely by myself and that it has not been submitted, in whole or in part, in any previous application for a degree. Except where states otherwise by reference or acknowledgment, the work presented is entirely my own. Signed: ____________________________________ Date: ____________________________________ ABSTRACT Religious individuals and communities have been at the heart of civil society and played a crucial role in the social and historical sphere of twentieth-century Korea. In particular, the Catholic Church in Korea had been widely credited for its dedication to justice for the weak and to democracy. However, it is undeniable that the Catholic Church in South Korea has lost its social influence. Indeed, over the past decade there has been a significant drop in the number of Catholics and the Church, once a pillar of civil society, has continuously lost its social position. While there are various possible explanations for this circumstance, a satisfactory one can be found in its recent past history. During the 1970s and 1980s the Church was the symbol of social and political resistance, and there was a lay leader and activist, who played a significant background role. Admittedly, Jang Ilsoon (1924-1994) is a little-known figure and thinker within Christian communities in contemporary Korea, but his teachings are far more influential among non-believers than Catholics regardless of their faith and political stance. The rationale is that he has been known to be a social activist or thinker rather than a Catholic lay leader. This is the first study to identify him as a Catholic activist and religious thinker. It aims to make an original contribution to growing interest in him and his ideological contributions to modern Korean. To scrutinise his socio-religious thought and life, this study grapples with his biographical facts and ideas, focusing on his interaction with the Catholic Church in twentieth-century Korea. As an introduction to his religious thought, this study focuses its religious background to explain how his thinking is shaped by three distinct religious ideas: Donghak, Seon Buddhism and Catholic teachings, and examines the influence of these religious ideas to grasp his thought and to understand his socio-political action. This study also discusses the way in which his religious idea can contribute to the recent pastoral realities of the Church. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply grateful to my parents and parents-in-law for their prayers and financial help. I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Anderson Jeremiah, for his insight, generosity and patience. He has shepherded me towards this goal. I could have never reached here without his pastoral sensitivity. I am indebted to Revd Choi Byeongyong, Professor Hwang Dogeun, Professor Jang Dongcheon, Jang Hwasoon, Kim Yeongju, Lee Gyeongguk, Jeong Injae, Kim Yongu, Baek Sumin for their heartfelt help and steady encouragement. I would like to thank my viva examiners, Dr Hiroko Kawanami and Dr Elizabeth Koepping for their positive and helpful suggestions. I also thank the Faculty of Arts and Social Science for its generous scholarship. Lastly I am extremely grateful to my wife, Hyeonju, for coping with the English weather over five years, and to my boys, Eunchan and Eunjun, for their smiles all the time. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements iv Introduction 1 Chapter 1. The Background: Jang Ilsoon’s Life and Socio-Political Context 19 1.1. The Legacy of Japanese Colonial Rule 20 1.2. The Shadow of Developmental Dictatorship 27 1.3. Radical Tendencies in the 1980s 38 1.4. Conclusion 41 Chapter 2. Modern Catholic Social Thought 44 2.1. The Beginning of a New Path: Rerum Novarum 45 2.2. A Discernible Shift: Gaudium et Spes 52 2.3. Conclusion 63 Chapter 3. Donghak in Jang Ilsoon: Focusing on Haewol’s Philosophy 66 3.1. A Brief Biographical Portrait of Haewol 70 3.2. Revolutionary Aspects of Haewol’s Philosophy 72 3.2.1. Sicheonju and Yangcheonju 74 3.2.2. Radicalness of Bap 82 3.2.3. Hyangaseolwi as Resistance 85 3.3. Haewol in Jang Ilsoon 90 3.3.1. The Setting 90 3.3.2. Beyond Resistance 93 3.3.3. The Possibility of Social Spirituality 97 3.4. Haewol’s Influence on Jang Ilsoon’s Last Years 101 3.5. Conclusion 105 v Chapter 4. Seon Buddhism in Jang Ilsoon 107 4.1. Buddha-nature: Pervasiveness of Ontological Possibility 110 4.1.1. Tathagatagarbha and Its Doctrinal Significance 111 4.1.2. Conceptual Transformation of Buddha-nature in East Asia 113 4.2. Seon as Social Spirituality 121 4.2.1. An Overview of Korean Seon 121 4.2.2. Seon Master Hyujeong: Practical Meaning of Enlightenment 126 4.3. Jang Ilsoon’s Understanding of Seon 130 4.3.1. The Metaphor of Buddha-nature 130 4.3.2. Seon and Historicality 132 Chapter 5. The Socio-Religious Thought of Jang Ilsoon: A Development in the Catholic Church in Korea 137 5.1. Exploring the Catholic Nature of Jang Ilsoon, 1950-1965 138 5.2. Catholic Resistance, 1965-1980 144 5.2.1. The Influence of Bishop Ji Haksoon on Jang Ilsoon, 1965-1974 145 5.2.2. The Occurrence of Catholic Resistance, 1974-1980 150 5.3. Conclusion 158 Chapter 6. Jang Ilsoon’s Socio-Religious Thought and the Catholic Church in Korea 161 6.1. The Religious Implications of Jang Ilsoon’s Thought 162 6.2. The Pastoral Implications of the Ordinariness 167 6.3. Jang Ilsoon’s Understanding of minjung and Its Implications for the Church 171 Conclusion 177 Bibliography 183 Appendix 205 vi List of Abbreviations BMP Bulletin of Muwidang People CA Centesimus Annus (1991) EG Evangelii Gaudium (2013) GS Gaudium et Spes (1965) HWSB Haewol Sinsa Beopseol LE Laborem Exercens (1981) NHM Nonhakmun OA Octogesima Adveniens (1971) QA Quadragesimo Anno (1931) RH Redemptor Hominis (1979) RMG Remembering Muwidang Gathering RN Rerum Novarum (1891) SRS Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (1987) vii INTRODUCTION The Catholic Church in the Korean context Since Catholicism first came to Korea in 1784, the Catholic Church had been a defiant and reformist religious minority by 1970s (Grayson 1989, 208). Since its inception, it was generally called Seohak (Western learning) or considered as heresy, and its adherents were mainly from the powerless sections of society. For instance, early Catholicism in Korea disagreed with Confucianism in relation to Jesa (ancestral rites), which was the moral and social basis of the state. Consequently, the Church was branded as an anti-establishment religion, and those who followed heretic Seohak became severely oppressed. Indeed, the authorities depicted Catholics who were interrogated as ‘ones who wanted a upheaval’ (Park I. 2011, 337). Thus, in Korea the beginning of the Church can be explained by its intention of revolting against the state or changing society radically. In this respect, the Catholic Church began with the laity since its inception and had adhered socio-politically to the appropriateness of social reform through sporadic persecution. This has been an important historical identity of the Catholic Church in Korea. However, the social intention and attitude of the Church turned quickly as Korea was coerced to open a port in the mid-nineteenth century. As noted above, during the first half of the nineteenth century state oppression of Catholics reached its height. In fact, there can be found the official statistics, showing that it lost almost 1 half of the followers (Park C. 1996, 234). Due to the opening of the port in 1876 and the France-Korea treaty of 1886, the Church obtained the right of evangelical mission; in turn its influence was gradually extended in social and ecclesial terms. In addition, the missionaries, mostly from France, with extraterritorial rights could also increase their influence. Specifically, in rural communities the Church attained higher social status and the missionaries also benefited from a privilege. This led the empowered Church into a confrontation with the existing social order. As noted earlier, it was reformative and resistant under state oppression. Yet it chose adaptation rather than resistance later, for its influence strengthened in the late nineteenth century. Like this, the social characteristic of the Church became after-life oriented as it was protected by governmental power, in fact it was due to diplomatic or military pressure, and was confronted with the existing social order. In a way, this change is related to mission policy or theological intention of the churches in Western Europe. As an example, la Société des Missions Etrangères de Paris, which first sent missionaries to Korea, had both imperialist attitudes of the French government and the reactionary character of the Church (Hong S. 1987, 36-59). Therefore, missionaries produced tension at different levels because of ignorance and prejudice about Korean culture and people. They believed that the social inequality and class was granted by God, thus the Church has an unfavourable opinion with the underlying social ambition, not with the existing social order. This pastoral and theological overall tendency had become a dominant characteristic of the Church during the twentieth century. However, there existed an exception. Indeed, it is important to reassess the Sankt Ottilien Benedictine order’s missional ministries and its significance. The congregation came to Korea in 1909 when Japan’s illegal annexation was at hand. This Benedictine order that was established in Germany in 1884 confronted French 2 missionaries with a struggle for independence in political terms, and provided a religious basis for education and social engagement to Catholics (Park I.