Journal of Korean Religions
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Volume 13, Number 1, April 2022
The Religiosity of Tonghak (Special Issue)
Kim Yonghwi, Guest Editor
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The Journal of Korean Religions is the only English-language academic journal dedicated to the study of Korean religions. The publication aims to stimulate interest in and research on Korean religions across a range of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. Launched in 2010 by the Institute for the Study of Religion at Sogang University in Korea, the journal is peer-reviewed and published twice yearly, in April and October.
Editors: So-Yi Chung, Sogang University, Korea; Don Baker, University of British Columbia, Canada.
Sponsor: Institute for the Study of Religion, Sogang University
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PUBLISHED BYUniversity of Hawai'i Press
VIEWING ISSUEVolume 13, Number 1, April 2022
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Re-Examination of the Religious Identity of Tonghak: A Focused Analysis of Ch’oe Cheu’s Awareness of Problems
Kim Yonghwi
pp. 5-27
Abstract:
The purpose of this article is to re-examine the religious identity of Tonghak 東學 by analyzing Ch’oe Cheu’s awareness of the problems found in nineteenth-century Korean society. Previous studies have not fairly assessed the religious identity of Tonghak. They have often regarded it either as a mere syncretism, a religion constructed to confront Sŏhak 西學, or a sect subordinate to Confucianism. To begin with, it is necessary to analyze the name “Tonghak,” which can be divided into the characters “tong” 東 (east) and “hak” 學 (learning). It is a common understanding that the tong is presented as a contrast with “sŏ” 西 (west). However, the tong here references “Tongguk” 東國, another name for Chosŏn 朝鮮, the ruling dynasty of Korea at the time. Thus, a proper translation of “Tonghak” would not be “Eastern Learning,” but the “Learning of Tongguk (Chosŏn).” As such, the name Tonghak was chosen to differentiate the religion from Chinese Confucianism as well as from Sŏhak (i.e., Catholicism). Meanwhile, Ch’oe Cheu called his awakening Ch’ŏndo 天道 or mugŭk taedo 無極大道. Ch’ŏndo was a pre-existing concept developed by ancient thinkers in East Asia. Translated literally it means “Heavenly Way” and refers to how its followers should revere ch’ŏnmyŏng 天命 (will/mandate of Heaven) and obey ch’ŏlli 天理 (principle of Heaven). By inheriting and restoring this Heavenly Way, Ch’oe Cheu was attempting to rescue the people of his time, who he believed were indulging in kakcha wisim 各自爲心 (selfishness with no concern for others). However, Ch’oe added an element of newness in restoring the ancient Ch’ŏndo. This novelty, a result of his decisive religious experience, may be summarized with the ideas of sich’ŏnju 侍天主 (God is immanent in everyone), muwi ihwa 無爲而化 (natural becoming without any artificial effort), and susim chŏnggi 守心正氣 (preserving the original mind and rectifying the vital force or ki). Thus, Ch’oe Cheu’s Tonghak secured the specificity of the learning of Tongguk (Chosŏn) and the universality of the modern succession of Ch’ŏndo, while securing the singularity of Tonghak through sich’ŏnju, muwi ihwa, and susim chŏnggi. As a result, while completely recovering a life separated from Heaven, he opened a new path, which differed from Catholicism and Confucianism, by saying that God is not outside us but is present in everyone (both transcendent and immanent).
Cho Sŏng-hwan
pp. 29-47
Abstract:
One of the dominant understandings of Tonghak 東學 (Eastern Learning) in Korea is that it is a modern Confucianism. It has been suggested, for example, that Tonghak is a sort of popularized Confucianism, while others maintain Tonghak to be the perfect form of Confucianism. But there are different interpretations regarding Tonghak thought. In this study, I endeavor to show how Tonghak thought differs from Confucianism, focusing on Tonghak’s new interpretations of self, nature, and Heaven. Tonghak thought, especially according to Haewŏl 海月 Ch’oe Sihyŏng 崔時亨, presents naturalistic concepts of humans and things that differ from those of Confucianism, and they expand the object of ethics from humans to all things. In Ch’oe Sihyŏng’s philosophy, this forms the cosmology of chŏnji pumomanmul tongp’o 天地父母—萬物同胞 (Heaven and Earth are parents, all things are brothers) and the ethics of kyŏngmul 敬物 (respect for things). In this sense, one can position Tonghak as the beginning of a new Korean philosophy rather than as a form of popularized Confucianism. In the early twentieth century, Tonghak’s kaebyŏk movement was succeeded by Wŏn Buddhism, and in the late twentieth century, Ch’oe Sihyŏng’s thought developed into the Hansallim Movement (Hansallim undong), a cooperative movement based on Tonghak thought, as a solution to the modern ecological problems caused by industrialization.
Kim Yonghae
pp. 49-75
Abstract:
This paper studies the religious practices of Tonghak 東學/Ch’ŏndogyo 天道敎. I first investigate how Ch’oe Cheu experienced Hanŭl (天; Heaven) and became convinced that he had achieved “endless universal truth” (mugŭk taedo 無極大道) through this singular experience. I further discuss what this vision means for modern religious practitioners. Next, I point out correspondences between his experience and the training practices that Ch’oe created through reflection on his experience. I focus on such practices as sich’ŏnju 侍天主 (serving God) and susim chŏnggi 守心正氣 (preserving the mind and refining ki), which he created as the Tonghak spiritual discipline for training disciples to experience God’s presence and deepen their faith in sich’ŏnju. I also review and evaluate studies published on the practices of Tonghak/Ch’ŏndogyo, using synchronic approaches to compare the principles of those practices with those of other local religions, particularly modern Confucianism and Daoism. In this way, I identify the characteristics of Tonghak practices. Finally, in order to highlight the hermeneutical evolution of Tonghak/Ch’ŏndogyo, I analyze the consistencies and inconsistencies in belief and practice that emerged as Ch’oe developed his ideas.
Major Conflicts during the Transformation of the Rural Village Sŏnch’ŏn into a “Kingdom of Christianity” in Korea, 1896–1930
Sung-Deuk Oak
Abstract:
Among the most Christianized cities and towns in northwest Korea (P’yŏngan-do and Hwanghae-do provinces) around 1925, Pyongyang was called the “Jerusalem of Chosŏn,” Chaeryŏng the “Christian world,” and Sŏnch’ŏn in P’yŏnganbuk-do a “kingdom of Christianity.” From 1915, half the population of Sŏnch’ŏn was identified as Christian (Presbyterian) and the Christian influence dominated town life. This article discusses the metamorphosis of Sŏnch’ŏn from an unknown small rural “heathen” town to a “kingdom of Christianity” within a generation. After describing the process and visualizing the spatial features of this transformation, it focuses on diverse inter-group conflicts, the discourse of the “kingdom of Christianity,” and socialists’ backlash against such triumphalism.
By reviewing the history of the growth of Sŏnch’ŏn as a Christian city and major conflicts in its transformation, this case study of Northwestern Protestantism in Korea reveals the following three main points. First, the center of gravity of Korean Protestantism migrated from Seoul to Pyongyang in the 1900s and then to Sŏnch’ŏn in the next decade. Second, the nature of Northwestern Protestantism shifted from confrontation against Korean folk beliefs like shamanism in 1900s, to Christian nationalism against Japanese imperialism up to 1919, and then to Protestant capitalism against socialism in the 1920s. Their evangelical belief in the Christian superiority to traditional religions, political activism, economic middle-class status, and theological fundamentalism became the legacy of Northwestern Christians who engaged in the nation-building of the Republic of Korea from 1945 to the 1960s.
Joseph Yi
Abstract:
How did American members of North Korea-related, faith-based organizations (FBOs)— “US humanitarian evangelicals”—respond to the governmental restrictions linked to enhanced sanctions and a global pandemic? More-committed members shifted from direct person-to-person engagement inside North Korea to indirect activities outside, including political advocacy in the US and language training in South Korea. They articulated narratives that competed with those of human-rights evangelicals supporting increasing sanctions and of fellow humanitarian evangelicals discouraged from North Korea. They cast young North Koreans as victims of sanctions and vanguards of unification, and the current, restrictive period as a “parable of talents” moment to faithfully prepare for God’s special plan for Korea. Our findings derive from a nearly four-year (2018–2021) study of US humanitarian evangelicals, based in South Korea and the US. This article draws on and contributes to the literature on non-governmental organizations aiding North Korea, and to the larger literature on cultures, frames, and narratives.
