The Korean Minjung In Christ

What a privilege it is...for us to be allowed into the theological world in which some Korean theologians such as Professor Suh had a deep experience of God as God with and in us because they had a deep experience of the suffering of minjung.... The Christian theology Professor Suh shares with us here is a theology of the first person pronoun...a theology conceived in the womb of passion (suffering) and given birth in the midst of the people struggling for freedom and democracy. C.S. Song

Many people may wonder about the current state of minjung theology that started in the 1970s in resistance to the military dictatorship in Korea. They ask: "Is minjung theology still alive?" or "Can the concept of minjung, a Korean term for poor and oppressed people, still offer a significant contribution to the reshaping of society closer to the Kingdom of God?" The essays in this volume attempt to answer such questions directly and indirectly. The authors are from Korea, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Taiwan, the Philippines, and the United States. They deal with minjung theology from their own contexts. The essays were written to commemorate the late minjung theologian Suh Nam-Dong (1918-1984) on the 30th anniversary of his passing. [Minjung-Theologie heute. Kontextuelle und interkulturelle Perspektiven] Viele werden sich wundern, was der aktuelle Status der Minjung-Theologie ist, die in den 1970ern im Widerstand gegen die koreanische Militärdiktatur entstand. Sie fragen: "Lebt die Minjung-Theologie noch?" oder "Kann das Konzept minjung, ein koreanischer Begriff, für die Armen und Unterdrückten, noch eine sinnvolle Perspektive bieten, wenn wir über die Veränderung unserer Gesellschaft nachdenken, um dem Reich Gottes näherzukommen?" Die Autoren kommen aus Korea, Deutschland, Hong Kong, Indonesien, Taiwan, den Philippinen und den USA. Sie setzen sich mit der Minjung-Theologie vor dem Hintergrund ihrer eigenen Kontexte auseinander, um den vor 30 Jahren verstorbenen Minjung-Theologen Suh Nam-Dong zu ehren.

"This edited volume brings Ahn Byung-Mu's minjung theology into dialogue with twenty-first-century readers. Ahn Byung-Mu was one of the pioneers of Korean minjung theology. The centerpiece of his minjung theology is focused on the Greek word ochlos, understood as the divested, marginalized, powerless people. Part 1 introduces readers to his life and theological legacy. Part 2 includes four important writings of Ahn Byung-Mu: ""Jesus and Minjung in the Gospel of Mark,"" ""Minjung Theology in the Gospel of Mark,"" ""The Transmitters of Jesus Event Tradition,"" and ""Minjok, Minjung, and Church."" Part 3 contains a collection of articles from international scholars who evaluate and engage Ahn's ochlos/minjung theology in their own fields and formulate critical readings of minjung theology. Responses include postcolonial, black theology, and feminist perspectives. "

Through biographical sketches of its main representatives and a sample of art works Minjung theology becomes vivid for the reader. As lasting impact in times of globalization and a changing Korean context its corporate theology of the cross is identified.

This book reconstructs the legacy of Korean minjung theology by reformulating its essential ideas in a dialogue with process thought. In a minimal sense, this study is a theological reinterpretation of the doctrine of the minjung messiah, an idea which historically suffered from a misunderstanding that minjung theology created a 'messianic confusion' while replacing christology and soteriology by a radical anthropology. This erroneous conception occurred when the idea was placed within the philosophically dualistic framework of traditional doctrines in which the work of minjung is totally separated from the work of Christ. In order to avoid such a dualistic understanding, the author critically adopts process panentheism and makes minjung ideas more communicable and more comprehensive in current theological, religious, and philosophical debates. Beyond defending the idea of the minjung messiah, he also argues for an inclusive minjung hermeneutics that promotes the fundamental insight of minjung theology, in philosophical clarity. Through minjung hermeneutics, minjung theology expands its practical concern and overcomes the theoretical nihilism in postmodern studies.

In this volume, an attempt is undertaken to highlight the genesis, progress, and transformation of Asian contextual theology of minjung, introducing its historical point of departure, its development, and its transformation in light of younger Korean and Korean American scholars' endeavors. In this regard, the new Asian contextual theology, which is emerging, strives to integrate both minjung and the wisdom of World Religions into its own framework and direction, assuming the character of a public theology and remaining humble and open before God's mystery while featuring its association with minjung in a holistic way.