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Now Blogging Afresh at Ad Orientem 西儒 - The Western Confucian



Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Christianized Korean Philosophy
From Waiting, an article about Yoo Young-mo and Hahm Seok-hun:
    Yoo represents a Korean philosophy that internalized Christian philosophy into Korean philosophy. He interpreted the relationship between God and Jesus in terms of the Confucian "Bujayuchin" relationship, or affection between father and son, and the "Doh," a Chinese character meaning way, as in "the way to heaven."

    In addition, Yoo considered Hangul, the Korean alphabet, as God's revelation to the Korean people sent through King Sejong, and gave new meanings to Korean words. For example, he described God in Korean as "the one being without being," saying that God transcended being and was not a being.

    The Korean word "ohneul," or today, was translated into "Oh! Neul," which literally means "Oh, forever," insinuating that that the present day lasts forever....

    Hahm is described as a "waiting theologian" that does everything he can and waits for a decision from heaven.

    What is the theology of waiting? Hahm perceived the historical theme of the 5,000-year history of the Korean people as a history of hardship. In his view, Japanese colonial rule and the division of Korea were Korea's crown of thorns, and the work of God was still waiting to be done. That is why he asked the people of this land to: "Learn to toil and wait through endless achievements and continuous pursuit."