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Delivering Peace out of the Broken Womb: a Postcolonial Interreligious Perspective Jea Sophia Oh West Chester University of Pennsylvania, [email protected]

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Delivering Peace out of the Broken Womb: a Postcolonial Interreligious Perspective Jea Sophia Oh West Chester University of Pennsylvania, Joh@Wcupa.Edu West Chester University Digital Commons @ West Chester University Philosophy College of Arts & Humanities 9-2013 Delivering Peace out of the Broken Womb: A Postcolonial Interreligious Perspective Jea Sophia Oh West Chester University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wcupa.edu/phil_facpub Part of the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Oh, J. S. (2013). Delivering Peace out of the Broken Womb: A Postcolonial Interreligious Perspective. Current Dialogue, 55(25), 29. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.wcupa.edu/phil_facpub/7 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Arts & Humanities at Digital Commons @ West Chester University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Philosophy by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ West Chester University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Delivering Peace Out of the Broken Womb: A Postcolonial Interreligious Perspective Jea Sophia Oh When we talk about interreligious divided the earth from the heavens by dialogue, we may think of some stretching her legs so that the earth constructive activities between different became a separate place. She made the religious traditions such as a dialogue beautiful Mt. Halla and Sungsan Sunrise between Buddhism and Christianity, Peak by moving and changing the Hinduism and Islam, Confucianism and positions of sands and rocks like an artist Christianity, Daoism and Christianity, etc. designs and carves images. Rivers and In this paper, having a dialogue between valleys were made by her urination. She two major religious traditions in terms of a was irritated since a herd of deer came specific theme is not my concern. Rather, into her vagina because they thought it I focus on the Jeju people’s spirituality, was a cave. So she ejaculated which is a collection of folk beliefs and tremendous amounts of water that eroded myths and I compare that to neo- mountains and made rivers and the colonialism and cultural imperialism in the ocean. She is a Giant Grandmother. Her 21st century which is based upon a power pillow is Mt. Halla and her seat is the structure of capitalism, globalization and Gurumbi Rock in Gangjeong. After she battling addiction. However, the theme of created Jeju, she became a mother of five this paper is not simply dichotomizing hundred children, feeding and raising peace and war or salim (enlivening) and them. What she did was the same as what jugim (violence) as a parallel structure. typical mothers do at home. When she Beyond a comparison of salim and jugim, I washed laundry, she stepped one foot on would like to find a postcolonial vision of the Gwantal Island and the other foot on interreligious dialogue through observing the Jigui Island and covered the whole the long struggling of the Gangjeong part of Jeju Island with her skirt as if she village of Jeju in South Korea against the embraced the people of Jeju and clarified construction of the naval base. First, we the entire Jeju Island. She sacrificed her have to learn about the mythology of Jeju, body while she was cooking a huge pot of especially its creation story, to see the porridge for her children. Her hungry meaning of the Gurumbi Rock in children were fed without knowing that her Gangjeong village of Jeju. Second, we body became a part of the porridge. Her have to ask what it means to build the body was melted in her children as bab naval base in Jeju, why it is colonialism (food) for life. and why we need to decolonize “nature as a whole”, including humans from human Sulmoondae, the Creator Goddess, is far imperialism. Third, we need to find how different from the traditional image of the we make peace and dialogues in the Christian God, so-called heavenly Father. midst of the imperialism and violence She is a representative image of typical against our ecosystem. mothers of Jeju who are diligent, independent, brave, objective, eco- She Who Creates (Creating: salim) centred, active, hardworking, and self- giving mothers. What she does is actually Jeju Island in Korea is one of the most what typical mothers of Jeju do: delivering beautiful volcanic islands in the world. The children, taking care of children, cleaning, people of Jeju Island believe that Jeju was washing, cooking, all the activities which created by the Goddess Sulmoondae. make things alive. In the traditional sense, According to the mythology of Jeju, Jeju is we call these home activities salim. Salim a beautiful handmade masterpiece of refers to women’s tasks such as cooking, Sulmoondae, the Giant Creator. She cleaning and washing, raising children, 25 Current Dialogue 54 September 2013 and managing household affairs. Although In January [2011], the South Korean Navy salim has been gendered and degraded began construction on a USD 970 million as exclusively women’s tasks in Korea, base in Gangjeong town, Jeju. Once salim also means making things alive, completed in 2014, it will be home to 20 restoring, and enlivening, including all warships, including submarines, that the diverse activities that make things alive navy says will protect shipping lanes for and keep things living. Sulmoondae South Korea’s export-driven economy, embraces both the narrow and broad which is dependent on imported oil. It will meanings of salim in her activities. also enable South Korea to respond Sulmoondae became the food of her quickly to a brewing territorial dispute with children. Her children mourned their China over Socotra Rock, a submerged mother by standing in all different places reef south of Jeju that the Koreans call of Jeju and becoming the five hundred Ieodo. Both sides believe it is surrounded guardian rocks in Jeju. Jeju is the sacred by oil and mineral deposits.2 body of Sulmoondae, the incarnation of her kenosis, self-giving love. Therefore, Villagers from Gangjeong have been Jeju is the body of Sulmoondae Halmang protesting against the construction of a (the Eternal Grandmother), among which naval base on Jeju Island for several the Gurumbi Rock in Gangejong is like the years. As the military project would impact womb of Sulmoondae. The Gurumbi Rock the ecosystem of a UNESCO’s World is one of the most beautiful natural objects Heritage sites, 94% of Jeju’s residents in Jeju. In the centre of Gurumbi Rock, have voted against the base in a there is a natural fountain, Halmang-Mool referendum. Nevertheless, the South (the Eternal Grandmother’s water, the Korean government has insisted on Sacred Living Water). The natural spring carrying out the project. The majority of of Gurumbi is like her Sacred Vagina, the the Ganjeong villagers and peace activists place to give birth that never dries. from all over the nation and from overseas According to the creation mythology, the have protested against the naval base for ocean and the streams of Jeju were made over five years. On 7 March 2012, the of Sulmoondae’s urine. By her ejaculation, South Korean Navy, together with the oceans and streams flow and grow for construction company Samsung feeding the entire living beings in Jeju Corporation, started blasting out the Island abundantly. The people of Gurumbi Rock foundations in the Gangjeong have used Halmang-Mool (the coastline. By the next day, hundreds of Sacred Water) for rituals (weddings and activists had arrived on the island to stop funerals) and healing. It is not just water, the navy from blowing up the coastline but the Sacred Water for healing and further for the construction of the docks. enlivening. For the Jeju people, Many have been arrested.3 Now, people Sulmoondae is the Living Creator who cannot even enter into the Gurumbi Rock protects and enlivens the Jeju people. She which has been invaded by dynamite is the Mother of Jeju mothers, the (more than 10 tons) many times (more Grandmother of the Jeju people. She is than 100 times). The Sacred Body of the Salimist Goddess. The Korean eco- Sulmoondae is destroyed by many feminist theologian Chung Hyun-Kyung dynamite explosions. It is a hysterectomy writes, “Salimist is a woman warrior who of the Creator Goddess, raping her Vagina protects and enlivens the earth. She is a and tearing her Womb up from her Sacred goddess within herself who loves and Body. respects herself.”1 The Creator of Jeju, Sulmoondae, is the Hysterectomy of the Creator Goddess Salimist Goddess who enlivens nature, (Colonizing: jugim) including humans. She is the God of Life for the Jeju people. Building the naval According to a New York Times article base in Gangjeong town in Jeju is totally dated 18 August 2011: against the Sulmoondae Goddess’ creation purpose. The antonym of the 26 Delivering Peace Out of the Broken Womb Jea Sophia Oh word salim is jugim (intentional killing). tensions are dangerously escalating, and Jugim refers to all destructive activities, smaller nations and peoples are such as killing, marginalization, pressured to choose sides.5 oppression, exploitation, coercion, colonization, contamination of the This is the same situation as the Korean environment, destruction of the proverb, “When the whales battle, the ecosystem, etc. Jugim is not natural but shrimps get crushed.” An American Film exists contrary to nature and the unnatural Director, Oliver Stone, visited Gangjeong activities of life which engage in violence. and said that the naval base is part of the “Asia pivot” being constructed by the This building of the naval base is not only United States and that Jeju was going to the jugim of the people, the land, and the be “on the frontline” of any future conflict.6 whole ecosystem in Jeju, but is also the This threatens the lives of Korean civilians neo-colonization of Korea by the American instead of contributing to peace in the Empire.
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