8 Notes

1. 2. 3.

Hco-Crisis 7'fieofoaicaf'Visions

Of the countries in this region, it is only Tanzania that has avoided such a crisis. The National Council of C h u r c h e s ' c o n t r i b u t i o n to p e a c e a n d stability in the Great Lakes region and the Horn of Africa is the formation of the Fellowship of Christian Councils. The Fellowship of Christian Councils in the Great Lakes region and the Horn of Africa (FECCGLAHA) based in Nairobi, was set up by the Christian Council of Tanzania, the National Council of Churches of Burundi, the National Council of Churches of Kenya, the Protestant Council of Rwanda, the Sudan Council of Churches, the New Sudan Council of Churches, the Uganda Joint Christian Council, the Church of Christ in Congo, the Eritrea Orthodox Church and the Evangelical Church of Eritrea.

The Effects on Korea of UN-Ecological Theology Jong-Sun Noh

here were two pretty Fish that lived in a small pond By the path deep in the mountain. On a certain clear summer day. The two pretty fish fought each other. One fish floated on the water. Her flesh decayed. The water was polluted at the same time. Now, in that little pond by the path Deep in the mountain. No life can survive. - from Minkee Kim "Two Fishes"

Two F i s h e s : The Division of North a n d S o u t h Korea This poem is a song that the young, conscientized university students love to sing in Korea. When they sing the song, the small pond refers to the Korean peninsula, and the two fish refer to the divided north and south. As most of us know, North and South Korea have been divided for over fortythree years. Often, they have fought each other like two fish. Tragically, it is possible that, in the future, the pond as a whole

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Eco-Crim TfteofojicafViiioM

Tde Jzffecbon Korea of*UN~T.co(oaica(rf(ieo(om

11

- t h e p e n i n s u l a itself- will be polluted by conflict in s u c h a way t h a t no life will be possible. To m a n y y o u n g C h r i s t i a n s who sing t h i s song, t h e song h a s two distinctively theological m e a n i n g s . First, it m e a n s t h a t t h e Korean p e n i n s u l a w a s once beautiful, t h a t it w a s created by God for God's glory. The s u n , t h e s t a r s , t h e h e a v e n s , t h e e a r t h a n d t h a t p a r t i c u l a r p a r t of e a r t h called Korea were designed to praise t h e Lord. Second, it m e a n s t h a t this penins u l a m a y someday become a place t h a t c a n n o t s u p p o r t life. It may become a place in which t h e integrity of creation of which the World Council of C h u r c h e s s p e a k s a n d toward w h i c h Christ i a n s rightly exercise respect, m a y become a m e r e w a s t e l a n d of disintegration. What a r e we to m a k e of this song? W h a t c a n t h e song m e a n for u s ? S h o u l d it m e a n t h a t t h e d e a t h of t h e Korean p e n i n s u l a - its people a n d its n o n - h u m a n life a s well - is i m m i n e n t ? Should it m e a n t h a t t h e biosphere in Korea will be so totally devastated t h a t t h e waters, t h e fish, a n d t h e h u m a n beings there will die? P e r h a p s , it c a n have a n even b r o a d e r m e a n i n g . P e r h a p s , t h e little pond of d e a t h in t h e song c a n refer to t h e planet e a r t h a s a whole a n d to t h e global biosphere. Perhaps t h e song is instructive to both Koreans a n d to the people of t h e world in pointing toward t h e d e s t r u c t i v e n e s s of a certain kind of unecological theology - w h a t we in Korea call division theology - t h a t legitimates a n oppression of people, of o t h e r a n i m a l s , a n d of the e a r t h itself. In w h a t follows I will explain w h a t I m e a n by division thinking, showing its influence on Korea, t h e l a n d I know best. Korea In t h e pond by t h e n a m e of Korea, t h e people of t h e n o r t h a n d t h e people of t h e s o u t h have fought a n d killed e a c h o t h e r for over forty-four y e a r s . This conflict h a s been in fact a proxy w a r to benefit imperialist superpowers. Both North a n d S o u t h Korea have been t h e scapegoats for this neo-colonial proxy war, w h a t a m o u n t s to a war of Imperialist b e a s t s , t h e d r a g o n s of t h e

book of Revelation. Under t h e s t r u c t u r e of t h i s war, females a n d m a l e s of t h e h u m a n species have been a n d a r e c u r r e n t l y dying, oppressed a n d exploited, even while they are u n a w a r e of t h e c a u s e of t h e i r suffering or t h e c a u s e of t h e division of Korea. Korean C h r i s t i a n s have advocated a n d s u p p o r t e d faiths, ideologies, a n d e c o n o m i c s t h a t legitimate division a n d a r e t h e m s e l v e s divisive. These division theologies (Bundan S h i n h a k ) divide, violate, a n d destroy t h e integrity of God's creation. As Korean C h r i s t i a n s we m u s t confess o u r responsibility h e r e , for we have sometimes accepted s u c h theologies a s o u r own. At t h e s a m e time, however, t h e politico-economic elites within t h e military-industrial complexes of the super, imperialistic, a n d hegemonic powers m u s t confess their sin of destroying t h e p o n d , t h e Korean p e n i n s u l a , of destroying a beautiful a n d integral p a r t of God's creation for their own political a n d economic e n d s . Let u s review some of this history. Although t h e Korean p e n i n s u l a w a s once a unified comm u n i t y of n a t u r e a n d people, it h a s consistently been divided by outside forces. The sin of division a n d separation, b r e a k i n g t h e one into two, w a s first plotted by Toyotomi Hideyosi, t h e J a p a n e s e general, a n d W e e h a h h o e , t h e C h i n e s e general, in 1 5 9 3 , a l m o s t four h u n d r e d y e a r s ago. They p r o p o s e d t h e division of Korea a s a m e a n s of balancing power between t h e J a p a n e s e a n d Chinese hegemonies. They failed to respect t h a t c o m m u n i t y which w a s the Korean people itself, along with t h e land they loved a n d t h e flora a n d fauna which dwelt a m o n g t h e m . Division t h i n k i n g begins by falling to respect existing c o m m u n i t i e s of this sort. The effects of s u c h division t h i n k i n g were exacerbated in t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y . In 1894, J o h n W. Kimberly, t h e Minister of Foreign Affairs for Great Britain, t h e colonial power a n d chief oppressor of colonized people in the world at t h a t time, again proposed t h e division of t h e Korean p e n i n s u l a in order to m a k e peace between J a p a n a n d China. This plan, designed from s o - c a l l e d first-world p e r s p e c t i v e s , e s s e n t i a l l y m a d e

12

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The'Effecton Korea of'UN-'EcofoaicafTfieofom

13

Koreans scapegoats. It is noteworthy t h a t President T r u m a n a n d General MacArthur did not divide J a p a n , the war criminal, in 1945; instead, they divided Korea, the victim of world w a r a n d of colonial powers. In dividing Korea t h e s e m e n committed t h e sin of dividing a n d destroying a p a r t of the integral order of creation itself. An integral order is deeply ecological in the sense t h a t it involves a people in c o m m u n i o n with their land. It is a c o m m u n i t y in the sense noted above: a n ecological c o m m u n i t y of people living in meaningful degrees of h a r m o n y with one a n o t h e r a n d with the e a r t h . A few in the West recognized the need to respect s u c h a community. Averill H a r r i m a n , t h e n the United S t a t e s a m b a s sador to Moscow, protested against MacArthur's plan to divide Korea b e c a u s e he knew t h a t Korea h a d a history a s one comm u n i t y with one race, a n d t h a t no one should divide her. B u t the s t r u c t u r e s of MacArthur's c o n s c i o u s n e s s - which w a s built over a long period of his life with g u n s a n d swords - were full of ruling ideologies, which wrongfully justified u s i n g the oppressed people a s scapegoats for w h a t he supposed to be j u s t i c e , peace, a n d order. Though a so-called Christian working for j u s t i c e , peace, a n d order in the created world. MacArthur did so from a c o n s c i o u s n e s s informed by t h e hegemonic ideologies of t h e first world, ideologies t h a t sought to divide existing c o m m u n i t i e s . T h u s G e r m a n y w a s divided after World W a r II; in Asia, by similar logic of division, J a p a n ought to have been similarly divided. B u t instead Korea w a s divided. This incident is n o t a n accidental one. The c a u s e of this injustice can be traced b a c k to 1905 w h e n a secret a g r e e m e n t w a s m a d e between President Taft (United States) a n d Prime Minister K a t s u r a ( J a p a n ) . 1 T h e secret a g r e e m e n t w a s m a d e because J a p a n w a n t e d Korea a s a colony a n d the United S t a t e s w a n t e d the Philippines; e a c h agreed to s u p p o r t t h e o t h e r in t h e s e respective a i m s . The P h i l i p p i n e s a n d Korea w e r e t h e "food" for a c o a l i t i o n of J a p a n e s e a n d American Imperialists. From 1910 to 1945 t h e leaders of the oppressed Korean people who tried to a s s e r t t h e self-reliance a n d Independence of a u n i t e d Korea were p u t into

prisons, deported, exploited, tortured, politically a s s a s s i n a t e d , a n d m a r t y r e d . The stories of their lives were n o t permitted to be p u t into p r i n t a n d were totally s u p p r e s s e d . The people a n d their leaders who resisted t h e division of Korea could not enjoy the life s p a n s given to t h e m by God. Some, like Kim Koo, were killed by g u n s or s t a b b e d to d e a t h by the h a n d s of Cain, m e n who rebelled against the will of God. Some, like Reverend C h u n Dukee, were tortured to d e a t h . The length of their lives w a s s h o r t e n e d arbitrarily by t h e forces of t h e imperialist superpowers. The sin of rebelling against God t h r o u g h the violation of t h e integrity of creation, t h r o u g h the d e s t r u c t i o n of t h e b e a u t y a n d h a r m o n y of the Korean peninsula, w a s ultimately committed by military-industrial elites in collaboration with t h e s e s u p e r p o w e r s , with W e s t e r n E u r o p e a n a n d North A m e r i c a n colonial powers, a n d with J a p a n in Asia. This is a c o n t i n u i n g sin b a s e d on action t h a t followed the division t h i n k i n g of the Taft-Katsura mentality. Division Theology, Imperialism, and the Violation of Life A kind of quasi-theology a r o s e from t h e T a f t - K a t s u r a model. This quasi-theology is exemplified in t h e lives of m e n like the medical missionary Dr. William B. S c r a n t o n . S c r a n t o n w a s b o r n in New Haven, Connecticut, g r a d u a t e d from Yale U n i v e r s i t y , a n d received h i s M.D. d e g r e e from C o l u m b i a University in New York City. He w a s in certain r e s p e c t s a dedicated, loyal, a n d faithful servant of God, a n d he s p e n t his life in Korea treating c o u n t l e s s n u m b e r s of p a t i e n t s . He w a s one of t h e founders of the Sangdong Methodist C h u r c h , one of the first c h u r c h e s in Seoul City, a n d w a s a t one time a district s u p e r i n t e n d e n t of the Methodist C h u r c h in Korea. In 1905, Imperial J a p a n forced Korea with g u n s a n d swords to sign a p r o t e c t o r a t e t r e a t y a n d denied all t h e diplomatic r i g h t s of Korea. This w a s the first stage of the colonialization of Korea by J a p a n . T h e Y o u n g Adult A s s o c i a t i o n in t h e S a n g d o n g

14

Eco~Crisis rT(m>foaicafVisions

The lEffeck on Korea of"UN-

'EcofoaicafTheofom

15

M e t h o d i s t C h u r c h b e g a n a n active b u t n o n v i o l e n t p r o t e s t a g a i n s t J a p a n e s e Imperial colonialization. In r e s p o n s e , Dr. S c r a n t o n , with t h e power of the district s u p e r i n t e n d e n t of t h e Methodist C h u r c h , d i s b a n d e d the Young Adult Association of the church. Dr. S c r a n t o n also took action a g a i n s t the p a s t o r of the c h u r c h , w a r n i n g him not to m a k e any political p r o t e s t s a g a i n s t the J a p a n e s e colonialization of Korea. This pastor, C h u n Dukee, w a s very active in organizing t h e Shin Min Hwoe (New People Meeting), which h a d been working for the self-reliance, indep e n d e n c e , a n d self-development of Korea, working in opposition to t h r e a t s of colonialization by J a p a n . N u m e r o u s national leaders m e t with C h u n Dukee, u s i n g the c h u r c h a s a secret g a t h e r i n g place. Among t h e s e were Yi Dongwhee, who later organized the Korean C o m m u n i s t Party, the first C o m m u n i s t P a r t y in Asia; Kin Koo, w h o w a s r e s p e c t e d a s o n e of t h e genuine leaders of the Korean people for a n undivided Korean p e n i n s u l a a n d who w a s later a s s a s s i n a t e d by ultra-right-wing terrorists; a n d Yi Choon, the patriot who killed himself for t h e peace a n d independence of Korea. S c r a n t o n warning to C h u n Dukee a n d h i s d i s b a n d i n g of the Young Adult Association indirectly a n d directly c o n t r i b u t e d to t h e p r o c e s s e s of e n s l a v e m e n t a n d d e s t r u c t i o n of life. S c r a n t o n faith w a s informed by the Taft-Katsura model; it w a s centered in t h e interests of the imperialists. This First-World orientation led him unwittingly to s u p p o r t t h e d e s t r u c t i o n of h u m a n s a n d other living beings in Korea. In t h e language of the World Council of C h u r c h e s , his actions a g a i n s t t h e people a n d the n a t u r a l c o m m u n i t i e s in the Korean p e n i n s u l a were actions a g a i n s t the integrity of creation. The J a p a n e s e colonial government, t h a t r e s u l t e d from the colonization, s u p p r e s s e d Christianity. It prohibited Korean m i n i s t e r s from r e a d i n g t h e s t o r y of E x o d u s , t h e s t o r y of a n o t h e r enslaved people which rose u p a g a i n s t a n o t h e r imperialist force; a n d from reading the book of Revelation, the story of p a s s i v e r e s i s t a n c e a g a i n s t t h e R o m a n E m p i r e . I n d e e d , Korean C h r i s t i a n s were not allowed to sing "Onward C h r i s t i a n

Soldiers" b e c a u s e the J a p a n e s e government t h o u g h t this h y m n - a n d t h e biblical stories mentioned - would conscientize the people to fight against J a p a n e s e colonialism. These were t h e strategies of J a p a n to s u p p r e s s the a n t i - J a p a n e s e i n d e p e n dence m o v e m e n t s a m o n g Korean C h r i s t i a n s a n d to distort their faith. W h a t w a s the situation of h u m a n ecology in Korea u n d e r t h e J a p a n e s e colonial government? Young m e n in the Korean p e n i n s u l a w e n t to t h e proxy w a r a n d died t h e r e for t h e J a p a n e s e version of world peace a n d j u s t i c e in Asia. Young women were forcefully "volunteered" to the Women Volunteer Corps a n d t h e n m i s u s e d a s military prostitutes. E a c h w o m a n w a s responsible for fifty to one h u n d r e d J a p a n e s e soldiers per day. They were systematically raped a n d s u b s e q u e n t l y died. T h e r e is n o single m e m o r i a l s t a t u e for t h e 2 0 0 t h o u s a n d Korean women who died for the c a u s e of t h e so-called j u s t i c e a n d peace of t h e world. 2 It is fair a n d essential to r e m e m b e r t h a t m a n y C h r i s t i a n s s u p p o r t e d t h e s e h i s t o r i c a l s i n s of imperialism. These a n d other cruelties by which imperialistic c o l o n i a l i s m s y s t e m a t i c a l l y d e s t r o y e d t h e c r e a t e d o r d e r of n a t u r e , m e n , a n d women in the Korean p e n i n s u l a . Unlike the Israel of prophecy in Ezekiel, C h a p t e r 3 7 , a Korea liberated from t h e J a p a n e s e in 1945 w a s still n o t a unified land. As noted above, the American general MacArthur divided Korea at this time. He a n d the United S t a t e s divided Korea into two without any c o n s e n t or even prior notice to a n y single Korean. This action w a s a clear violation of the rights of t h e Korean people. It further destroyed the life of the people a n d forcefully divided t h e m e m b e r s of c o u n t l e s s families. Indeed, my own g r a n d m o t h e r h a s been in North Korea since 1945, a n d my family h a s not h e a r d a n y t h i n g of h e r for fortythree y e a r s . Division theologies fail to a t t e n d to t h o s e c o m m u n i t i e s w h i c h a r e families, a n d w h i c h a r e a m o n g t h e m o s t beautiful creations of God. T h e U n i t e d S t a t e s d e c i s i o n to divide K o r e a c l e a r l y destroyed t h e integrity of m a n y families. The s o u t h w a s placed u n d e r t h e Interim Military Government of the United S t a t e s .

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Tde'Effecton "Korea ofl/N- Txobqicaf'TfiRofocpj

17

Those who advocated unification were arrested, imprisoned, killed, eliminated from society, and labeled pro-communists and leftists. Most of the Christians in the south, informed and guided by division faith, division ideology, and division theology, supported the "south-only election", which assured permanent division of the north from the south. Division theologies - by which families are separated, cultural traditions undermined, and natural communities destroyed - characterized even some of the most astute of Western theologians. For example, John C. Bennett, one of the greatest Christian political ethicists and former professor at Union Theological Seminary, supported the United States foreign policy as a sort of manifestation of the justice, peace, and will of God.3 In actual fact, his support was the affirmation of the separation of families, husbands and wives, and the division of a whole people in the Korean peninsula. His theology was, as far as it concerned the Koreans, an Imperialistic division theology. Later, in his book Radical Imperative: From Social Ethics to Theology, Bennett confessed his mistakes, and came to see that his view of American foreign policy in the 1940s and 1950s as manifestations and realizations of the kingdom of God, was gravely in error. Reinhold Niebuhr also made mistakes In understanding Korea. In 1950 he interpreted the Korean War as a war against Russian communist world expansionism. His perspective had been centered on the U.S. and Russia and did not do justice to the Koreans, the scapegoats in this proxy war between the superpowers (see Noh, 1983). In his Intellectual-Autobiography Niebuhr, like Bennett, confessed his misinterpretation and his lack of fair a t t e n t i o n to t h e d e s t i n y of K o r e a n s a n d Vietnamese, scapegoats under the situations of proxy war (Niebuhr). Division ideologies, division faiths, and division theologies of the Koreans were products in many ways of the theologians of the superpowers. Such Ideologies would eventually lead to the destruction of both human ecology and the biosphere in the Korean peninsula.

The H u m a n a n d Non-human C o n s e q u e n c e s What have been the practical consequences of these persistent efforts to divide Korea? Let us look. They include the sexual exploitation of women and the murder of protesters on Cheju Island, the development of a dependency upon nuclear powers: and an increasing dependence on polluting Industry. Cheju Island: Sexual Exploitation and Death There is a beautiful island called Cheju in the southernmost part of the Korean peninsula. There are many oranges produced on this Island, and it is one of the most popular honeymoon sites. It is also a popular place for international tourists in general and J a p a n e s e men in particular. This island is known as an island with an abundance of three things: wind, rocks, and women! How romantic to see that there are many women in the southernmost island of Korea! However, not many people realize that there is a reason why there are many women in that southernmost island with lots of oranges, tourists, and newly-weds. In fact, no one seems to ask the serious humanecological question why there are so many women disproportionate to that of men. Historical data on this matter has been legally banned from being published in any form for the last forty years. On 1 March, 1947, at a memorial rally on the island for the independence movement of 1919, two people were killed by government forces. Incidents on 3 April, 1948, led to the killing of eighty thousand islanders - out of a total of 300 t h o u s a n d who were labeled communist guerillas or procommunists. Nearly one-third of the population on the island was killed with almost all the males eliminated. It will be the research task of engaged theological scholars to know how many non-combatant civilians were killed in that massacre. According to the secret documents of the Far East Command, the United States, later released to the public the slogans of the Cheju Islanders who were for the establishment of a selfreliant, unified Korean government which denied the division

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Em-Crisis Theofocjiwlvisions

The"Effecton Korea of'UN- EmfoyicafTheohcjy

\9

of t h e Korean p e n i n s u l a . Denying the s o u t h - o n l y elections eventually divided Korea p e r m a n e n t l y (see Merrill). In 1988, on this island where almost all the m a l e s were killed, there are m a n y Geisha h o u s e s for non-Korean m e n only, e a c h of which c a n e n t e r t a i n three h u n d r e d to five h u n d r e d J a p a n e s e m e n - m e n who do not need visas to come to t h e island for sex tourism. Is this a manifestation of the beautiful order of God's creation? The d e s c e n d a n t s of t h e women of the J a p a n e s e Women Volunteer Corps, who were forced into military prostitution have in the 1980s, dedicated themselves to the sex t o u r i s m of J a p a n e s e men. In a twisted way, their work h a s been praised a s patriotic a n d nation-building b e c a u s e it brings foreign money into the country. In a sermon, t h e p a s t o r of one of the largest Pentecostal c h u r c h e s on the island called the action of t h e Geishas patriotic a n d t h e n declared t h a t t h e s e w o m e n s h o u l d give more to the c h u r c h from their income. R e s e a r c h e r s at the International Christian S e m i n a r on Women a n d Sex Tourism held on 20 April 1988 at the YMCA on Cheju Island reported t h a t the Geishas, chatting to one a n o t h e r , said, "We need to have more J a p a n e s e tourists, so t h a t we c a n give more to t h e c h u r c h . " Is t h i s not d e s t r u c t i o n of t h e h u m a n ecology, r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of t h e i n t e g r i t y of God's perfectly h a r m o n i z e d order of creation? This d e s t r u c t i o n involves t h e o p p r e s s e d w o m e n of t h e m o s t severely o p p r e s s e d people in Korea. S u c h a violation of h u m a n ecology m u s t be analyzed with r e g a r d to t h e d o m i n a t i o n of Korea by foreign p o w e r s a n d t h e d i v i d e - a n d - c o n q u e r s t r a t e g i e s t h a t c o n t i n u e to d e h u m a n i z e the victimized people of the Third World. So, too, m u s t t h e c u r r e n t problems of nuclear weapon dependency. So, too, m u s t the destruction of the ecological biosphere. Nuclear Dependency

a r e m o r e t h a n e n o u g h n u c l e a r b o m b s in S o u t h Korea to destroy t h e p e n i n s u l a biologically forever. Reports indicate t h a t there are from h u n d r e d a n d twenty to twelve h u n d r e d United S t a t e s n u c l e a r b o m b s in S o u t h Korea, a n d t h a t t h e r e a r e a p p r o x i m a t e l y forty t h o u s a n d United S t a t e s g r o u n d t r o o p s stationed there. Russian nuclear w e a p o n s are targeted at S o u t h Korean military i n s t a l l a t i o n s . American g r o u n d t r o o p s a n d civilians have efficient evacuation p l a n s ready in case of a n emergency n u c l e a r war. But there have been no r e p o r t s on evacuation p l a n s for the forty million Koreans in the s o u t h (it is not fair to c o m m e n t on the case of North Korea without clear evidence). Recently, the Philippines h a s legislated a law declaring t h a t t h o s e who bring nuclear w e a p o n s into the territory of t h e Philippines will be sentenced for a n i m p r i s o n m e n t of at least six y e a r s a n d u p to a m a x i m u m of thirty, a n d t h a t all a i r p l a n e s or s h i p s carrying n u c l e a r b o m b s will be t a k e n into custody. 4 There have been indications that the United States h a s explored p l a n s to relocate the United S t a t e s military from t h e Philippines to Taiwan. S u c h a relocation w a s strongly opposed by T a i w a n e s e w o m e n delegates to t h e r e c e n t I n t e r n a t i o n a l Christian S e m i n a r on Women a n d Sex Tourism, who insisted t h a t it could result in m a k i n g Taiwan a place of sex t o u r i s m for American soldiers. In the face of potential opposition, the United S t a t e s h a s also examined the possible relocation of forces in the Philippines to Korea. Is it the case t h a t the divided Korean p e n i n s u l a will be the United S t a t e s s p a r e depot for n u c l e a r bombs? Without prior notice to the NATO nations, United States troops are n o t allowed to u s e nuclear w e a p o n s in Europe. B u t in the case of the Korean peninsula, United S t a t e s troops do have the power to s t a r t u s i n g n u c l e a r w e a p o n s without a n y c o n s e n t from the people, including the Korean c o m m a n d e r s . As w a s t h e c a s e w h e n Korea w a s divided in 1 9 4 5 , a decision-making s t r u c t u r e t h a t totally a n d intentionally ignores t h e o p i n i o n s of a n y single Korean - i n c l u d i n g t h e c u r r e n t Korean Commander-in-Chief of the military forces in Korea is applied now to nuclear-war strategies in Korea. From the

Currently, the Korean p e n i n s u l a is not self-reliant b u t is r a t h e r absolutely d e p e n d e n t on the n u c l e a r w a r strategies of the s u p e r p o w e r s in general a n d those of t h e United S t a t e s in particular. It h a s been reported by m a n y s o u r c e s t h a t t h e r e

20

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time of t h e Korean War in 1950, a n American w a s until j u s t recently t h e commander-in-Chief of all military forces, including t h e Korean forces in S o u t h Korea. The decision-making s t r u c t u r e still is not only a n obstruction of internal j u s t i c e , b u t it is also a violation of i n t e r n a t i o n a l j u s t i c e a n d of t h e sovereignty of Korea. Korean life is t h r e a t e n e d a n d the basic biological rights of. Koreans are critically violated by the n u c l e a r strategies of t h e United S t a t e s . Neither c a n R u s s i a n r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s be ignored, since their n u c l e a r w e a p o n s are ready to strike a n y p a r t of the Korean peninsula. In the u n f o r t u n a t e case of nuclear war, Pyungyang City might be bombed by the nuclear w a r h e a d s . What does this say of t h e survival of the people in Seoul City? If W o n s a n City is bombed, could the people of K a n g n u n g City, Sokcho City, or Woolsan City in the s o u t h expect to survive? And w h a t of n o n - h u m a n life in both the n o r t h a n d the s o u t h ? What of the biosphere of the p e n i n s u l a itself? W h a t of even the fish in t h e Imjeen River or in the s e a s west a n d e a s t of Korea? Americans in Korea have efficient evacuation p l a n s , b u t t h e Koreans a n d t h e other living beings on the p e n i n s u l a do not have s u c h a n escape. The entire p e n i n s u l a a n d all its inhabita n t s are t h r e a t e n e d with absolute devastation. J a p a n declared a n a n t i - n u c l e a r policy by h e r constitution. Legally, J a p a n is nuclear-weapon free. The Philippines also does not w a n t to h o u s e n u c l e a r weapons. Then why s h o u l d Korea become the victim of the n u c l e a r w e a p o n s of R u s s i a a n d t h e United S t a t e s ? B u t there are o t h e r problems.

example m u s t be u n d e r s t o o d set a g a i n s t a r e c e n t b a c k g r o u n d of general violence, division, a n d exploitation of the Korean people a n d Korean land. In April 1970, following a 1969 Nixon-Sato c o m m u n i q u e , the Mitsuya plan w a s proposed a n d s u b s e q u e n t l y implemented. The m a i n points of the plan were a s follows: 1. A u n i t a r y J a p a n - R e p u b l i c of Korea (ROK): An economic cooperation zone should be created to o p e r a t e in t h e 1 9 7 0 s so t h a t t h e t w o c o u n t r i e s c a n develop a sort of a n Asian EEC (common market). J a p a n will r e l o c a t e to t h e S o u t h K o r e a n I n d u s t r i a l Z o n e i t s s t e e l , a l u m i n u m , oil refining, petrochemicals, shipbuilding, electronics, plastics, a n d other i n d u s t r i e s t h a t c a n n o t be m a i n t a i n e d in J a p a n b e c a u s e of pollution. In view of the shortage of labor in J a p a n , it will also shift its labor-intensive i n d u s t r i e s to t h e ROK. The ROK government will strictly prohibit labor d i s p u t e s at factories for these J a p a n e s e - R O K joint v e n t u r e s . Flexible d o m e s t i c m e a s u r e s will be t a k e n w i t h i n t h e ROK to facilitate t h i s m o d e of operation (see Noh 1983).

2.

3.

4.

5.

Pollution-Dependent Industry
Not long ago tens of t h o u s a n d s of people m o u r n e d the death of a fifteen-year-old boy who died of toxic poisoning a s t h e r e s u l t of working only six m o n t h s in a m e r c u r y - p r o d u c i n g factory. This is b u t a single example of how a once u n i t e d land h a s b e c o m e t h e s c e n e of c o n t i n u e d e x p l o i t a t i o n , a n d t h e

This plan, one which again c o m m i t s crimes of t h e TaftK a t s u r a type a n d of division theologies, is clearly exploitative, a s with the problem of n u c l e a r w e a p o n s . It clearly conjoins exploitation of a n d t h r e a t s a g a i n s t the well-being of h u m a n b e i n g s w i t h t h e exploitation of a n d t h r e a t s a g a i n s t all of n a t u r e . This plan h a s been realized in w h a t is now a pollutiond e p e n d e n t Korea t h r o u g h the cooperation of J a p a n a n d t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s . U l t r a - r i g h t - w i n g t h e o l o g i e s in Korea h a v e

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Eco~Crisis

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interpreted the transfer of pollution-dependent industry to the ROK as a blessing, as a manifestation of God's miraculous assistance toward economic growth. But this transfer of technology and industry from - and the resulting reality of a dependency on - the United States and Japan threaten the entire biosphere, the entire Korean peninsula. The mass destruction of h u m a n life - as in the Bhopal incident in India or the Chernobyl nuclear incident in Russia - could happen at any moment in Korea. The annihilation of human and non-human life is increasingly possible. The economic policies of this plan have resulted in the systematic destruction of the sphere of food production in Korea, which now imports fifty to sixty percent of its total needs, mostly from the United States. Korea is now a country dependent for its food on the United States, although Korea had been self-reliant in terms of food production for thousands of years. Up until the 1960s, eighty percent of the total population was located in the farming countryside. Now only twenty-seven percent lives in the agricultural sectors of the land. As is happening in so many parts of the world where western models of development have prevailed, rural communities have been destroyed. Because of increasing food imports, there is no way for farmers to survive without giving up food production and that ecological sphere in which they once worked. Food is a weapon in neo-colonialistic capitalism. The food-dependent state cannot be politically self-reliant. In the Korea of today, Korean bachelors who remain to live as farmers in the countryside are unable to find brides. Their livelihood is threatened from all sides. Because of imports of beef from the United States, farmers have had to kill their own cows - and often themselves - because of debts they have incurred in the current economic situation. Farmers have consistently lost their lands to become mere tenants. These peasants - so connected as they have been to the earth - have been the heart of the Korean nation. In 1694, Korea experienced the literal fall of a nation when p e a s a n t s were killed in the Peasants Revolutionary War (see Noh 1987 and Noh 1988).

Toward a T h e o l o g y of Silver Fish in t h e Imjeen River To overcome the current critical situation, a theology of Jubilee must be declared in the land. Korean theologies have directly or indirectly supported the division of Korea, the violation of the integrity of creation, and the division-based psychosis and insecurities t h a t have resulted from this violation and from the manipulation, intervention, and invasion of foreign superpowers. Korean theologies have been division theologies. They have led Korea toward an almost absolute submission to domination by the superpowers, a dehumanizing and degrading submission that has resulted in depressive frustration and neurotic inferiority complexes. As a consequence of this submission, Korean leaders and police have vented their frustrations by torturing their people, violating human rights, and raping subversive women students (as in the case of Deacon Moon Kiidong). These reactions are the symptoms of the collective division psychosis suffered by almost all the Korean people, a psychosis that has developed for over forty-four years. The only medication for such a sickness is the autonomy, self-reliance, and self-determination of the nation in an ecologically responsible way. A process for strengthening the people power and reunifying a land that has been systematically victimized by the superpowers calls for a theology of reunification and self-reliance. The Korean situation calls for a theology like the one embodied in the following story of fishes in a divided land, a theology of silver fish. In J a n u a r y 1987, Park Chongchul, a Seoul National University student, was arrested by the police, who simply wanted to question him about another friend's whereabouts. After overnight torture with water, and as a result of this torture, Park died. The police cremated his body hurriedly and tried to eliminate the evidence by throwing the ashes into the streams of the Imjeen River, which runs between the divided north and south of Korea. The life of one student, who shouted out for the autonomy, self-reliance and reunification of a divided land and for the democratization of military dictatorships, was chemically reduced to a few grams of calcium,

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Tzco-Crisis TheoloaicafVisions

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nitrogen, and so on. After the cremation, these chemical elements - the ashes - were thrown into the river. I dreamed that they became the numerous silver-colored fish in the river. My hope is that these silver fish will live forever, or at least for as long and as far as the Imjeen River flows. They will swim in the demilitarized zone that divides Korea into two. What we need is a theology of silver fish, a theology that moves beyond division thinking toward respect for the integrity of creation. A theology of silver fish will guide us into that beautiful unity of people in relation to one another and in relation to the earth, but it must do so by overcoming the division ideologies of foolish theologians and the division faiths of misguided Christians. If a theology of silver fish emerges, one that respects the integrity of the Korean people and their beautiful peninsula, division theologies based on the division psychosis will be transformed into theologies that respect living communities of people and land. Then the memory of Park Chongchul, and the many others like him who have suffered so much, can be redeemed. Then the silver fish of the Imjeen river can themselves enjoy the unpolluting peace of the living Christ. Notes
1. Ki-baik Lee writes. "Roosevelt felt, moreover, that it was necessary to acquiesce in Japanese domination of Korea as a quid pro quo for J a p a n recognition of U.S. hegemony over the Philippines. This deal between the U.S. and Japan is revealed in the secret Taft-Katsura Agreement of July 1905. England, too, in renegotiating the terms of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance in August 1905, acknowledged J a p a n right to take appropriate measures for the guidance, control, and protection? of Korea" (Lee, 309). A monument related to this problem has been built recently in Chiban Prefecture, Japan. See Chung-Ok Yoon (a professor at Ewha University) J o h n C. Bennett writes: "I recognize in myself a too bland acceptance of national trends in the 1940 and 1950. The fact that there was considerable harmony between my ethical convictions and the policies of the United States Government during the Second World

4.

War and during the early years of the cold war contributed to this" (Bennett. 9-10). Chosun Dally News. 27 May 1988.

Works C i t e d Bennet, John C. The Radical Imperative: From Theology to Social Ethics. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975. Lee, Ki-baik. A New History of Korea. Trans. Edward W. Wagner. Seoul: II chokak, 1984. Merrill, J o h n . Chejudo Rebellion. In The Island That Never Sleeps. Ed. Youngmin Noh. Seoul: Onnuree. 1988. Neibuhr, Reinhold. "Intellectual Autobiography" in Reinhold Niebuhr: His Religious, Social, and Political Thought. Ed. C. W. Kegley and R. W. Bretall. New York: Macmillan, 1967. Noh. Jong Son. First World Theology and Third World Critique. New York: Sung Printing Co. 1983. Seoul: Publishing, 1967 . Religion and Just Revolution. Voice Publishing, 1987. . Toward a Theology of Reunification: Third World Christian Ethic. Seoul: Hanwoolsa, 1988. Yoon, Chung-Ok. Report at the International Christian Conference on Women and Sex Tourism, Chejudo YMCA. 20 April 1988.

2. 3.