University of Denver Digital Commons @ DU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 11-1-2008 Resisting and Transforming: Pastoral Theology and Care of Korean Military Wives Bocheol Chang University of Denver Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd Part of the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons, and the Social Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Chang, Bocheol, "Resisting and Transforming: Pastoral Theology and Care of Korean Military Wives" (2008). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 119. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/119 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact [email protected],[email protected]. RESISTING AND TRANSFORMING: PASTORAL THEOLOGY AND CARE OF KOREAN MILITARY WIVES ____________ A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the University of Denver and the Iliff School of Theology Joint PhD Program University of Denver ___________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy ___________ by Bocheol Chang November 2008 Advisor: Dr. Carrie Doehring Author: Bocheol Chang Title: RESISTING AND TRANSFORMING: PASTORAL THEOLOGY AND CARE OF KOREAN MILITARY WIVES Advisor: Dr. Carrie Doehring Degree Date: November 2008 ABSTRACT Korean military wives have been symbolized as “dirty,” “nothing,” and “evil” by Koreans, Korean Americans, and their American families. They also experience same level of oppression and discrimination within Korean American congregations. In Korea, the women suffered poverty, sexual violence, and Confucian gender discrimination. They have also experienced racial and sexual oppression, intercultural familial conflicts and violence, and identity crisis in America. All of those experiences are caused the sense of not belonging of Korean military wives. The sense of not belonging and desperation can be explained well by Andrew Sung Park’s theology of han. The theology of han shows the han of the women can be resolved only as the offender are willing to stand in the solidarity with Korean military wives. Asian feminist theologians point out that Asian women experience God as life- giving power and ultimately seek to the full humanity in the image of God. Meanwhile, liberation psychology focuses on the socio-political aspects of human psychology. It argues that the primary purpose of psychology in Latin America should make Latin Americans critically confront of the oppressive and dominant social and political realities. Conscientization plays a critical role in developing my thesis. To practice of resistance and transformation, the process of conscientization is essential both to Korean American congregations and to Korean military wives. To Korean American ii congregations, they need to critically reflect upon their privilege, power, and unjust socio-cultural and religious structures. Korean military wives need to confront their hanful life realities and proclaim their full humanity in the image of God. Under the communal contextual approach of pastoral theology and care, I propose three pastoral strategies of Korean military wives: (1) Korean American congregations should be authentic resisting and transforming community, which is grounded in God’s justice and life-giving power. (2) Korean American congregations need the power of de- powering and de-centering of power systems toward converting power abuse into creative power. Korean military wives also need to rediscover and develop pre-existing but unnoticed power or capacity within themselves. (3) Korean American congregations work together with Korean military wives to resist social injustice through transforming actions. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation is about Korean military wives' physical, psychological, and spiritual suffering and struggles for liberation by resisting and transforming the oppressive and dominative contexts that they have experienced over a long period of time. I first met them at Korean Baptist church in 2000, which was located in Virginia. At that time, I heard their hanful stories and discovered that they sought for new hope through God's life giving love and justice. I felt it was my burden to help them transform their sorrowful tear into joyful tear. I am very glad to take off the sense of heavy responsibility toward them. First of all, I would like to express my deep appreciation to Korean military wives to whom I ministered. They shared their broken heart with me, and challenged me to write this dissertation. I am very grateful for the support of my committee members: Carrie Doehring, Larry Graham, and Richard Clemmer-Smith. They read my manuscripts and gave great insights. Especially, I am deeply thankful to my advisor Carrie Doehring for her patience and steadfast encouragement. Finally, I would like to express my love and appreciation to my wife, Sujin Kim and my son, Daniel Chang. They are great gifts from God and co-authors of this dissertation. They have sacrificed their energy, time, and plan. I also give thanks my parents and parents-in-law for their financial and spiritual support for my study and family. Ultimately, I dedicate this dissertation to God who gives me life, breath, wisdom, courage. God heals my wounded heart, guides my life, sustains me, and empowers me to take creative risks to confront oppression, discrimination, and injustice in the name of God's justice and compassionate anger. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION........................................................................................1 Statement of the Problem.........................................................................................1 Thesis and Scope..................................................................................................... 5 Methodology............................................................................................................7 Significance and Contribution ...............................................................................11 Definition of Terms................................................................................................13 Limitations of the Study.........................................................................................16 Chapter Outline......................................................................................................17 CHAPTER 2: HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXTS OF KOREAN MILITARY WIVES...................................................................................................................20 Birth of Suffering and Struggle..............................................................................22 War and Suffering of Korean Military Wives ...........................................22 Poverty and Suffering of Korean Military Wives......................................28 Gender Ideology, Family, and Suffering of Korean Military Wives.........32 . The Lives of Korean Military Wives in America: Ongoing Suffering and Struggle ................................................................35 Survival and Struggle: America Culture and Self Identity ....................... 37 Sense of Not Belonging .............................................................................41 False Consciousness and Yearning for Solidarity .....................................47 Summary................................................................................................................51 CHAPTER 3: THEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR PASTORAL THEOLOGY OF KOREAN MILITARY WIVES.............................................................................52 Doing Theology Contextually................................................................................53 God is Black...............................................................................................58 God is Rice.................................................................................................59 Andrew Sung Park’s Asian American Liberation Theology: Theology of Han ........................................................................................60 Han, Unfathomable Wounded Heart of the Oppressed .............................61 Han and Sin................................................................................................67 Resolution of Han......................................................................................69 Asian Feminist Theology.......................................................................................73 White Feminist Theology, Black Womanist Theology and Asian Feminist Theology ....................................................................74 Historical and Social Contexts of Asian Feminist Theology ....................77 Asian Feminist Theology as “Very Asian” and “Very Women”...............79 New Interpretation of God in Asian Feminist Theology ...........................84 Summary................................................................................................................88 v CHAPTER 4: PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR KOREAN MILITARY WIVES...................................................................................................................90 Limitations of Asian American Psychology and Multicultural Psychology...........................................................................91