Contemporary Korean/American Evangelical Missions: Politics of Space, Gender, and Difference by Ju Hui Judy Han B.A. (University of California, Berkeley) 1995 A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geography in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Michael J. Watts, Chair Professor Gillian Hart Professor Elaine H. Kim Professor John Lie Fall 2009 Contemporary Korean/American Evangelical Missions: Politics of Space, Gender, and Difference © 2009 by Ju Hui Judy Han Table of Contents Table of Contents............................................................................................................................i List of Figures ...............................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................................iv Notes on Transliteration and Translation..................................................................................vi Abstract ..........................................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................2 Spatial Approach to World Missions .............................................................................................. 4 Power Geometries of Proselytizing Missions ................................................................................. 5 Korean Christianity and Korean-led world missions ................................................................ 8 Missions, mobilities, and travel .............................................................................................. 11 Ideology and Religion ................................................................................................................... 13 Missionary apparatuses and the Calling.................................................................................. 14 Research Design ............................................................................................................................ 16 Cases “worlds apart” ............................................................................................................... 17 Reflections on critical ethnography ........................................................................................ 18 Overview of Chapters Ahead ........................................................................................................ 19 PART I..........................................................................................................................................22 Chapter 2. The Political Theology of US-Korea Alliance ........................................................23 Imagining Historical Ties.............................................................................................................. 23 American contributions to Korean modernity......................................................................... 24 Anti-colonial claims and the March First Movement ............................................................. 25 Theologizing anti-Communism under dictatorship ................................................................ 27 Military Alliance ........................................................................................................................... 30 Christians rally in support for US militarism in 2003............................................................. 30 Theologizing anti-Communism under democracy.................................................................. 32 “Please don’t go”: keeping US military in charge of Korea ................................................... 33 Feeling Affinity with US Hegemony ............................................................................................ 35 Chapter 3. Evangelism’s Reach: the 10/40 Window and Unreached People.........................39 Evangelism and the World ............................................................................................................ 39 Ecumenism and the backlash .................................................................................................. 40 Mapping The 10/40 Window ........................................................................................................ 42 Bringing the map to life .......................................................................................................... 45 Reaching the Unreached People Groups ....................................................................................... 48 Quantifying the unreached ...................................................................................................... 49 Overcoming cultural and geographical distance ..................................................................... 52 Evangelical Mission as Geopolitical Praxis .................................................................................. 54 PART II ........................................................................................................................................57 Chapter 4. Congregational Space of a Korean/American Cell Church .................................58 i Space of Congregation .................................................................................................................. 58 Korean/American Conservatism in California .............................................................................. 59 KEC, an Immigrant Korean/American Church............................................................................. 61 Cell church model ................................................................................................................... 63 Cells and biology..................................................................................................................... 63 Cells and revolution ................................................................................................................ 65 Cells and flocks ....................................................................................................................... 67 KEC’s Global Connections ........................................................................................................... 68 From KEC to the world........................................................................................................... 70 Chapter 5. North Korea and China Missions ...........................................................................73 Estranged Neighbors to the North ................................................................................................. 74 Geographical dimensions of North Koreans outside North Korea ......................................... 76 Gender dimensions of North Korean migrants.............................................................................. 80 “God’s Master Plan” ..................................................................................................................... 81 “The Underground Railroad” ........................................................................................................ 84 Evangelization above human rights ........................................................................................ 85 Critical approaches to human rights........................................................................................ 87 Lives in Missionary Custody......................................................................................................... 87 Sarah’s story............................................................................................................................ 89 Esther’s story........................................................................................................................... 92 Grace’s story ........................................................................................................................... 94 Politics of Missionary Custody ..................................................................................................... 95 Chapter 6. Mission Experience in Tanzania and Uganda .......................................................97 Global Mission Frontier (GMF) .................................................................................................... 98 The Annual summer mission trip............................................................................................ 99 Settling Into Familiar Hierarchies ............................................................................................... 100 Dynamics of gender and age stratification............................................................................ 101 Korean and Korean American tensions................................................................................. 104 (Not) Encountering Difference.................................................................................................... 104 Pre-mission (dis)orientation .................................................................................................. 106 Politics of Solidarity and Empathy.............................................................................................. 107 “Just Like Korea”.................................................................................................................