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The Role of Biblical Narratives in the Anti-Japanese Movement of the Korean Church: Focused on the March 1St Independence Movement of 1919

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The Role of Biblical Narratives in the Anti-Japanese Movement of the Korean Church: Focused on the March 1St Independence Movement of 1919 KOREA PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY Vol. 51 No. 4 The Role of Biblical Narratives in the Anti-Japanese Movement of the Korean Church: Focused on the March 1st Independence Movement of 1919 BYUN Chang Uk, Ph.D. Professor, Missiology Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary, South Korea I. Introduction II. The Socio-Political Milieu of the Anti-Japanese Movement III. The Mission Policy of Neutrality IV. Role of Biblical Narratives in the Anti-Japanese Movement V. Concluding Remarks Korea Presbyterian Journal of Theology Vol. 51 No. 4 (2019. 11), 117-135 DOI: 10.15757/kpjt.2019.51.4.006 118 KOREA PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY Vol. 51 No. 4 Abstract This study provides a way to examine the role of biblical narratives in the independence movement of the Korean church during the Japanese occupation. From the outset, the Korean Christians under the leadership of western (mostly American) missionaries were educated not to participate in the socio-political situation. Despite the missionaries’ urges, these Christians staged the anti-Japanese movement for the sake of national independence. The Koreans applied the Bible stories directly to their context. For example, Korean Christians regarded Exodus as a powerful biblical account and equated Moses’ struggle against Pharaoh with that of their own against the Japanese. The Old Testament stories describing the deliverance of Israel engendered national consciousness and were taken to heart as promising the deliverance of Korea. This kind of liberating ethos is well expressed in the Tokripdan Tonggomun (Notification Statement of the Korean Independent League) of 1919. Christianity was the hope that gave the Koreans the strength to with- stand Japanese hegemony. This resulted in Korean Christians being at the forefront of the independence movement. Keywords March 1st Independence Movement, Biblical Narrative, Anti-Japanese Movement, Korean Declaration of Independence, Tokripdan Tonggomun (Notification Statement of the Korean Independent League) The Role of Biblical Narratives in the Anti-Japanese Movement of the Korean Church DOI: 10.15757/kpjt.2019.51.4.006 119 I. INTRODUCTION* The first Protestant missionary reached Korea in 1884 when Japanese influence was starting to grow. Officially annexed by Japan in 1910, Korea was not liberated until 1945. Early Korean Christians were educated not to participate in socio-political affairs by American mis- sionaries. Despite the missionaries’ teachings, early Korean Christians staged anti-colonial resistance for the sake of national independence. As Korean Christians understood their context under Japanese rule, biblical narratives such as liberation in the book of Exodus and mil- lennial hope in the book of Revelation functioned as the driving force behind social and political change.1 The anti-Japanese sentiment is well expressed in the leaflet of Tokripdan Tonggomun (Notification Statement of the Korean Independent League). It was widely distributed to the Korean Christians just before the outbreak of the March 1st In- dependence Movement (Samil Undong) of 1919,2 the apex of the anti- Japanese struggle. II. THE SOCIO-POLITICAL MILIEU OF THE ANTI-JAPANESE MOVEMENT Japan’s victory over China in the Sino-Japanese War of 1895 and over Russia in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 decisively gave Japan the * This article was supported by the research fund of PUTS. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 3rd Hun-Han Theological Forum held at Sarospatak Reformed Theological University in Hungary, 8-12 January 2018. 1 Some Korean biblical scholars (Ihl Sun Jang, Jong Lock Lee, Hae Kwon Kim, et al.) have already expounded on this issue. Kim argued that “the March 1st Independence Movement was part of God’s saving activities for the oppressed people and the anti- Japanese independence struggle was a body prayer analogous to the outcry of the Hebrew slaves who longed for liberation from Egyptian bondage.” Hae Kwon Kim, “The Redemptive-Historical Significance of the March 1st Independence Movement,” The Korean Journal of Old Testament Studies 71 (2019), 12-52. 2 The March 1st Independence Movement of 1919 was the largest nationwide, non- violent demonstration for Korean independence from Japan. 120 KOREA PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY Vol. 51 No. 4 upper hand in controlling Korea among international powers. With the Portsmouth Conference of 1905, which terminated the Russo-Japanese War, Japanese hegemony of Korea was internationally recognized. Together with Britain, the United States promptly approached Japan to ascertain Tokyo’s understanding of Washington’s trusteeship of the Philippines, and thus, came to actively defend Japan’s special interests in Korea. The overall pro-Japanese nature of American missionaries should be understood from the perspective of such international relations as well as their own conservatism.3 In 1905, a protectorate treaty was signed which gave Korea’s sovereignty to Japan. The office of the Japanese Resident General was opened in Seoul as the supreme authority. Japanese military police soon landed in Korea to seize judicial rights and the Korean Royal Army was disbanded. The missionaries led a revival movement in 1907 and the main features of these revival meetings were confession and repentance of sins after a convicting sermon and loud prayers in unison. Korean church historian George Paik suggests three reasons for this Great Revival Movement of 1907: a sense of failure, a desire for deeper spiri- tual experience, and the deliberate efforts of the missionaries.4 Most mission reports on these revival meetings were limited in focus to immoral sins and did not mention the political unrest of Korea. The complete absence in these reports of how Korean Christians dealt with their intense feeling about the destiny of their nation is remarkable.5 It should be noticed that the Taehan Maeil Sinbo(Korea Daily Newspaper),6 which usually criticized the Japanese aggression policy of the Japanese imperialists and defended Korean independence ethos, almost ignored the Revival Movement of 1907, whereas a British 3 Sebastian C. H. Kim and Kirsteen Kim, A History of Korean Christianity (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2015), 119-27. 4 L. George Paik, The History of Protestant Missions in Korea, 1832-1910 (Seoul: Yonsei University Press, 1971), 370. 5 Institute of Korean Church History Studies, Hangug Gidoggyoui Yeogsa 1 [A History of the Korean Church] (Seoul: The Christian Literature Press, 1989), 276. 6 TheTaehan Maeil Sinbo, which was launched in July 1904, strenuously covered the anti-Japanese struggle, often criticizing the aggression policy of the Japanese colonial government. However, after the Korea-Japan merger treaty in August 1910, the newspa- per was forcibly terminated by the Japanese imperialists. The Role of Biblical Narratives in the Anti-Japanese Movement of the Korean Church 121 newspaper The London Times allotted large spaces to the movement day after day. This most likely had something to do with Britain’s pro- Japanese policy at that time. At any rate, missionaries’ disregard to historical reference in describing the “spiritual” revival experience is conspicuously incongruent with the circumstances of that time.7 After the Eulsa Treaty or Korea-Japan Protectorate Treaty of 1905 was signed,8 the Christians’ nationalistic movement gradually trans- formed from prayer to active anti-Japanese efforts.9 The treaty had made Japan the virtual ruler of Korea, and five years later this was actualized at the Korea-Japan Annexation Treaty (1910). After the annexation, the national consciousness of Korean Christians developed more than ever. An American missionary to Korea and mission historian, Samuel H. Moffett remarked, “The annexation was a humiliating blow to a proud and sensitive people… Nationalist sentiments boiled in Christian circles, though missionaries counseled moderation and sought to avoid involvement in political problems.”10 III. THE MISSION POLICY OF NEUTRALITY The early American missionaries to Korea were of a strongly con- servative and evangelical theology.11 This has become the characterizing traits of Protestant Christianity in Korea. Missionaries who were trained against the background of conservatism did not fully realize the socio-political implications of the gospel. As early as August 1902, Arthur Judson Brown(1856-1963), secretary of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the USA, reported about the 7 Kon-Ho Song, “A History of the Christian Movement in Korea,” International Review of Mission 74 (January 1985), 24. 8 TheEulsa Protectorate Treaty (1905) deprived Korea of its diplomatic rights. 9 Kon-Ho Song, “A History of the Christian Movement in Korea,” 21. 10 Samuel H. Moffett,The Christians of Korea (New York: Friendship Press, 1962), 67. 11 Arthur Judson Brown, The Mastery of the Far East: The Story of Korea’s Transfor- mation and Japan’s Rise to Supremacy in the Orient (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1919), 540. 122 KOREA PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY Vol. 51 No. 4 relations of American missionaries to the authorities concerned in Korea as follows: The missionaries [in Korea] strongly believe with the [mission] boards at home that all respects should be paid to the lawfully constituted civil authorities… not to needlessly embarrass them… it is better for the disciples of Christ to patiently endure some injustice than to array Christianity in antagonism to the governments under which they labor. … I believe with them [missionaries] that
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