Dimensions of Icho Ngi in

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NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
Dimensions of Chong in Korean Christians
A DISSERTATON
SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT
for the degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Field of Religious and Theological Studies
By
Kyoo Hoon Oh
Evanston, Illinois
June 2000
UMI N um ber 9974333
Copyright 2000 by
Oh, Kyoo Hoon
All rights reserved.
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11
ABSTRACT
Dimensions o f Chong in Korean Christians
Kyoo Hoon Oh
Korean churches are characterized paradoxically by remarkable growth and
continual splits. These two contrasting phenomena are regarded as being rooted in one
cultural factor, Chong. Chong can be defined as “a strong emotional bond shaped
between people through a long period o f time.”
The Korean Christians’ interpersonal relationships within their church lives
according to Chong were studied from the perspective o f pastoral care and theology. To
describe Chong in a genuine way, non-technical literature such as poems, novels, essays,
and popular music have been reviewed. The Confiician understanding o f Chong has also
been studied as a theoretical foundation. Qualitative in-depth interviewing methods were
employed to explore Chong in fifteen Korean subjects chosen from seven Korean
churches.
The following results have been discovered. (1) Their understandings indicate
Chong is central to their life story. (2) The more frequent and long contacts occur, the
stronger Chong becomes. (3) The patterns of the interpersonal relationships o f Chong are
“personal” and “hierarchical.” (4) The relationships o f Chong have three dimensions:
emotional, material, and moral. (S) Each dimension has beginning, developing, and
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mature stages. (6) The relationships o f Chong also have the elements o f adult attachment
theory identified by West and Sheldon-Keller.
Based upon the results, the author suggests that a hermeneutical model o f pastoral
care be used considering the Confiician family and social environment as two m ain
factors in shaping Chong. The model o f pastoral care should emphasize autonomy
without losing relatedness and interdependence. Or, the perspectives o f both care and
justice should be taken into account. The author argues that the theology o f Chong,
which sees the relationships between Chong and Han as interdependent, is indispensable
in developing the pastoral care model for the Korean churches.
Advisor Dr. Kenneth Vaux Signature
Acknowledgments
This dissertation could not have been accomplished without many people’s
support and encouragement. First of all, I would like to deliver my words o f thank to the
advisor, Dr. Kenneth Vaux. He has allowed flexibility and autonomy throughout the
entire process o f writing the dissertation. His insightful comments and guidelines
elevated the quality o f this dissertation. Dr. Jack L. Seymour has also guided me through
this long journey. I would not have been able to finish this dissertation without his
generous consideration, timely advice, and indispensable comments. I am also grateful
for Dr. Solomon Cytrynbaum whose academic excellence opened my eyes into
psychology during class. His clear comments and advice were challenging and helped
sharpen the clarity o f this dissertation. Dr. Hem Chun’s academic depth and breadth
were extremely helpful in shaping the entire direction o f my dissertation. Every time I
spoke with him, I could not help but get a grand picture o f my study. Dr. John E. Hinkle,
Jr. provided me with a cross-cultural perspective with which this dissertation is written. I
appreciate that he always approached me in a pastoral way, which was encouraging
during this strenuous time o f study. As a whole, all o f the professors were mentors to me
in different ways.
I cannot help but express my words o f thanks to Lakeview Korean Presbyterian
Church, which I have served for nine years. The Church supported me not only
spiritually but also materially. I especially want to thank Rev. Jong M. Lee, the senior
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pastor and Hwa S. Hong, a lay minister who were spiritual mentors for me. I also want to
really thank all the members o f the church who supported me through their prayer and
concern. I also want to thank Jane Chae, a committed spiritual leader o f the youth group,
for helping me edit the dissertation not only in an excellent way but also with a caring
attitude.
Finally, I have to give thanks to my family with all o f my heart. My wife, Hye,
and my four lovely daughters, Grace, Christine, Rachael, and Teresa, who have gone
through this long journey with me. Their presence was a source o f joy and peace without
which I would not have been able to continue the study. Finally, God, who has
orchestrated all these things, should be given all the glory and thanks.
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Table of Contents
Chapter Page
I. Introduction 1
Theme 1
Purpose 4
Specific Objectives 7
Significance of the Study 10
Contents 13
II. Theological Framework 15

Robert Schreiter’s Local Theology 15
Don Browning’s Practice-Theory-Practice Model 19
III. Korean Church 25

Inception of Christianity 25
Brief History o f Korean Church Growth 28
Growth Factors of the Korean Church 31
Religious Factor 31
Historical Factor 32
Socioeconomic Factor 34
In-Church Spiritual Factor 35
Cultural Factor 35
Studies of Korean Church Growth 37
IV. Chdng 45
Definition of Chdng 46
Etymological Meaning of Chdng 47
Literal (Theoretical) and Actual Meanings of Chdng 48
Actual Chdng shown in the Art Literature 51
Academic Studies of Chdng 57
Attributes of Chdng 60
Warmth 61
Stillness 62
Unselfishness 63
Sticky 64
The Mutuality of the Bond 66
Other-centeredness 66
Theoretical Chdng in Confucianism 67
Understanding of Human Being in Confucianism 68
Li (Principle, / , °1, 1 ) 69
Ch 7 (Material Force, Ki, 7], 71
Relation between li and ch 7 72
Hsing (Nature, Seong,, ^ , f t ) 73
Hsin (Mind, Sim, ^ , 6 ) 79
Ch ’ing (Emotion, Chdng, ^ , ter) 82
Mind-cultivation (Self-cultivation) 84
Four Beginnings in Mencius and Seven Emotions in Chung-yung 88
Four-Seven Debates 95
Implications of Studying Theoretical Chdng 102
V. Research Methodology 106

Research Design 108
Researcher 109
Research Subjects (Interviewees) 111
Procedure 113
Data Analysis 116
VI. Research Findings 120

Interviewee’s Understanding o f Chdng 121
Shaping Process of Chdng: Length o f Time and Frequency o f Contacts 123
Pattern of Chdngful Relationships: “Hierarchical” 127
Pattern of Chdngful Relationships: “Personal” 131
Three Dimensions of Chdng 136
Emotional Dimension of Chdng 137
Beginning Stage 139
Developing Stage 146
Mature Stage 153
Material Dimension of Chdng 162
Beginning Stage 163
Mature Stage 174
Moral Dimension of Chdng 182
Beginning Stage 182
Mature Stage 196
Chdng and Attachment 209
Availability 210
Proximity Seeking 214
Angry Withdrawal 216
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Security Base Effect 218
Fear of Rejection 219
Separation Protest 221
Summary of the Findings 223
VII. Implication for Pastoral Care, Ministry, and Counseling 226

Chdng and Family 226
Chdng and Socioeconomic Environment 235
Chdng versus Han 238
Theology of Chdng'. Significance of Tension and Conflict 247
Implications for Pastoral Care and Ministry 250
Implications for Pastoral Counseling for the Chdngful Self 264
VIII. Conclusion 280

Values of the Study 281
Limitations of the Study 284
Further Studies of Chdng in the Future 284
Bibliography 288
Appendices 298
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Chapter One
Introduction
Theme
Christianity in Korea has been the focus of special attention by the rest o f the
Christian world because o f its rapid quantitative growth. The growth o f the Korean
church cannot be compared to the growth o f any other church in all o f history. The
number o f Christians has reached more than a quarter o f the entire Korean population
within the hundred years since the inception o f Christianity.'
The Korean church has not only been characterized by its growth. Unfortunately,
it has also been characterized by schisms that have accompanied its growth. It is
especially well known that there have been numerous splits within the Presbyterian
denomination; there are more than forty different Presbyterian denominations alone in
Korea.2 Howard (1988) makes an interesting comment on this matter:
My own studies o f persecution in the church indicate that, as a general rule, when
the church suffers persecution three results are to be found. First, the church is
purged and purified. Second, the church is united. Third, the church is scattered
and thus multiplies. In Korea the first and the third results are abundantly evident
from the violent persecutions which she has suffered. Somehow, the Korean
church appears to be as divided today as almost any church in the world, (p. 381)
1Chosun Ilbo, July 11, 1997. According to the survey by the Korean Bureau o f Statistics, there are,
including Catholics, 11,710,336 Christians in Korea as o f December 1996, which is 26.3% o f the Korean
population. The Protestant Christians are 8,760,000 which is 19.7%.
2 See also, Shin-myung Kang, “The Dignity o f Korean Pastors,” Korean Church Growth Explosion, Seoul:
Asia Theological Association and Word o f Life Press, 1983. 307.
2
Splits in Korean churches not only occur at the level o f the denominations, but
also on a smaller scale—among individual churches. According to the author’s survey
about the twelve largest Korean-American immigrant churches around the Chicagoland
area, six o f them were established from church splits.3 Among the Korean-American
immigrant community, there is a saying, “Wherever there are Chinese, there are
restaurants; wherever there are Japanese, there are factories; wherever there are Koreans,
there are churches.” This saying not only implies the Koreans’ zeal for the church but
also the splits and divisions among them. In short, a church split causes the formation o f
a new church. The significance of forming a new church lies in this: For a new church to
be formed despite the possibility of being able to attend already existing bigger and better
churches means, for the Korean people, that a sense o f a bond with and commitment to
the former is more important than a practical benefit from the latter.4 In sum, the Korean
churches have gone through splits as one feature o f their explosive growth.
It is suggested that the nature o f Korean people is a major cause for the schisms in
the church. In his report to the Pentagon in 1951, Underwood (1951) described the
Korean people as follows:
3 There are two hundred and ten Korean-American churches around the Chicagoland area as o f December
31, 1998. 1999 Directory o f Korean American Churches around Chicago. Chicago: Federation o f Korean
American Churches, 1999.
4 There may be more than one reason why there are so many small churches despite the many mega
chruches in Korea. Korean Christians' enthusiasm for evangelism supported by a conservative theology
has made it possible for them to continue the establishment o f new churches. Also, the economic
development since the 1960s has stimulated the growth o f the Korean churches and yet has also produced
He can be cruel, he can be selfish, he can become insanely angry, he is too prone
to be cliquish and to split union movements wide open with schism and divisions.
(P- 17)
It is apparent that the reason for both the growth and divisiveness o f the Korean churches
lies in a specific character o f the Korean people: a sense o f ties and influence on the
bonds o f social interaction. A group o f Korean people who feel tied with or congenial to
one another establish a church. In the beginning, the sense o f these ties functions as a
commitment to and sacrifice for the growth of the church. As the church grows, many
new factors are engendered that affect the initial sense o f ties. When the members can
deal with these factors in mature and faithful ways, the church can continue to grow.
However, if some conflicts occur among the members in the church, small groups
are formed around the individual or individuals who are involved in the conflicts. The
group is then formed not according to opinions but according to the sense o f ties with one
another. Such a formation o f groups inevitably causes the whole church to fall into
emotional conflicts against each other as groups confront each other rather than resolve
their conflicts. Worse yet, the sense of ties among people becomes an exclusive hostility
toward one another. Unless they come up with an emotional compromise, there is no
other resolution except for the church to split.5 A typical example o f this pattern in the
Korean churches is a friction between the initial and later members o f the church. The
a somewhat inappropriate motivation for church establishment. This has resulted in the degradation o f the
quality of pastors and churches and has furthermore engendered many small churches which cannot grow.
5 The church o f Corinth had the same problem. I Cor. 1: 11-12 reads, ‘T or I have been informed
concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that
each one o f you is saying, ‘I am o f Paul’ and ‘I o f Apollos,’ and ‘I o f Cephas,’ and ‘I o f Christ,’ . . . ”
4
core o f this pattern occurs when a formation o f the sense o f ties creates in-groups and
out-groups that then causes conflicts against each other.
This “sense” o f ties described above is called Chong. Chong may be briefly
defined as “a sense o f the strong emotional ties between people who are intimate with one
another.” Chong is usually expressed between those who are emotionally tied to each
other; at the same time it is also used when they express hostile feelings against those
who are not emotionally tied by saying, “They have no Chong."
Therefore, on the one hand, the sense o f ties based on Chdng in the Korean church
has functioned as one o f the most important factors to its growth; on the other hand, it has
caused the formation o f in-groups and out-groups that has functioned as hostility toward
one another and caused the church to split. Given the importance of this factor to both
the growth and the divisiveness o f the Korean church, Chdng was chosen as the subject o f
this study. This study is intended to stem from the perspective o f pastoral care and
counseling, and will study Chdng in terms o f how its positive aspect can be emphasized
and its negative aspect can be resolved in the context o f ministry to and for Korean
Christians.
Purpose
The primary purpose for selecting the topic o f Chdng is to assist the restoration o f
a traditional Korean cultural value which seems to have been weakened and in some
5
sense disappeared in these days o f modernization. Despite the fact that the Korean
church has grown during the last century, according to Guthrie (1993), its growth was
slow in the 1980s and actually declined in the 1990s. He also points out that one o f the
most important factors underlying this decline is that the “material influence,” due to
economic growth, has weakened the passion of church members in terms of their
commitment to and sacrifice for the church.
Economic growth is usually accompanied by the loss o f traditional values due to
industrialization and urbanization. It is no wonder that Korean people have unwittingly
lost the sense o f ties based on Chong. The processes of industrialization and urbanization
have brought about changes in the family system in the Korean society—from the
extended family systems to the nuclear family system. The emergence o f the nuclear
family system has then elevated their particular family-oriented tendency grounded upon
Confucianism. A consequence is that formerly non-familial close interpersonal
relationships have become distant or social. This implies that a change in the patterns o f
interpersonal relationship has also occurred in the church. This dissertation posits that
the relationship o f Chong should be restored as the basis for congregational relationships
between non-familial members.
The second purpose for this study is to evaluate the present theological status o f
the Korean church. Most o f the studies about the Korean church to date have focused on
external growth. The studies have thus lacked critical theological reflection on the
6
remarkable growth o f Korean churches in the twentieth century. Instead o f developing
an indigenous theology, Koreans have clung to a westernized basis for theological
reflection. Without an indigenous theological perspective the growth o f the Korean
church is, however, likely to be incorrectly seen simply as a byproduct o f the socio
economic environment.
A third purpose derives from the fact that the studies and/or ministries focusing
only on the church’s growth have resulted in overlooking inefficiently and at times
incorrectly dealing with many problems within the Korean church. For instance, they
have shown little interest in applying ministry programs to issues such as healing
conflicted marriages, working with problems in child rearing and adolescence,
developing a social conscience and helping parishes obtain internal growth. As a result,
among Korean churches these days, there is a great deal o f unmet need for pastoral
counseling with reference to such problems.6 Therefore, the Korean church must go
beyond the tendency to do ministry for the sake o f numeric growth and begin a serious
engagement with ministries directed towards the needs o f its members.
Fourthly, the Korean church has not been able to identify and substantiate the
nature and character o f spiritual strength that has essentially distinguished Korean
6 The author had a conversation with an associate pastor who worked at a church in Seoul for eight years.
His membership has grown up to approximately 13,000 as o f 1998 in eleven years. His church is
considered to provide the most various programs for the churches in Korea. According to him, seminars
for counseling and similar programs usually have an attendance ten times the size o f other seminars. Also,
according to a professor of pastoral care and counseling working at the University in Seoul, approximately
70-80% of the applicants for the master’s program o f many graduate schools or seminaries apply for
counseling programs.
7
churches from the churches o f other countries. Until this spirituality is understood and
articulated, it will be difficult for the Korean church to be intentional in contributing to
the ecumenical and global church. In other words, the Korean church will be unable to
identify any theological task or theme for the new century which requires attention.
In conclusion, this study reflects an attempt to investigate the dynamic of church
growth from a cultural perspective. This entails that the Korean church should evaluate
its growth from a new theological perspective. Shearer (1966), a Presbyterian pastor and
a missionary in Korea, in Wildfire: Church Growth in Korea, gives insight into this
matter. He contends that the study o f church growth should focus not only on
sociological and economic factors but also on a religious mentality and cultural
background. He writes,
We must understand the religious climate o f the society where the Church is
growing. Not only must we study the doctrines and creeds o f these people’s
religion, but we must also understand how it affects the person himself in this
society... I suspect that animism and Shamanism prevalent in Korea have not
been seen by missionaries as a very important part o f the individual Korean’s life,
(pp. 217-218)
Shearer’s comments clearly state the necessity of investigating religious and cultural
aspects o f church growth and the development of Korean Christians.
Specific Objectives
This study has three objectives in examining a theology o f Chong in the context
o f Korean church growth and divisiveness. By providing Chdng as an object of
theological study or debate, the Korean church can become more mature theologically
in the twenty-first century. As an analogy, Minjung theology, which is based on the
feeling o f Han, has provoked many theological debates and studies and has also provided
many significant theological meanings for the church and society. For example, Minjung
theology has theologized the feeling o f Han\ and then pointed out the contradiction of the
social structure. It has emphasized the issues of social justice and freedom and has
further helped us to open our eyes wide to the necessity o f active participation in social
reformation. There is no doubt that Minjung theology, through such theological work,
has improved the theological status and sociological function o f Korean churches.
A second objective is to emphasize Chong as a particular spiritual strength that is
indigenous to the Korean church. Though it is true that social, political, and spiritual
factors have contributed to the growth o f the Korean church, the Gospel is not preached
in abstraction from culture. The Christian Gospel has been sown in Korean cultural soil
and has grown in it. However, it is important to clarify the nature and character o f the
cultural particularity that is an essential spiritual and theological element that Korean
churches will carry into the twenty-first century independent o f circumstantial changes.
Carl F. George (1992, p. 64-65), a well-known writer about church growth,
predicts that the church in the twenty-first century will be focused on relationships
between people. If that is the case, it can be said that the Korean church essentially
possesses the spiritual energy for prospective growth and development toward maturity in
9
the twenty-first century. However, the study o f Chong must proceed in caution because
it not only has positive and powerful aspects but it also has negative features o f
divisiveness.
A third objective is to provide theological reflection on the effectiveness o f
ministry methods currently carried out among the Korean church. As pointed out earlier,
the decline in the growth rate o f the Korean church has resulted in a feeling o f crisis
among Korean Christians and clergy, and a sense o f desperation has risen as various new
pastoral methods to maintain church growth are attempted. The problem, however, is that
such persons do not engage in critical theological reflection on those methods. The
Korean church has no clear rationale regarding the application o f new pastoral methods,
and few or no theological criteria for evaluating them. Furthermore, the methods do not
consider any directions to the future o f the Korean church. They have blindly imported
Western methods and applied such methods to their ministries for the sake o f growth in
numbers, without a proper concern for growth in spirit and cohesiveness. The theology
o f the Korean church has simply followed the paradigm o f missionary theology, which
has contributed to its growth. As Shearer pointed out, missionary theology has ignored
traditional cultural factors.
The Korean church therefore needs to do theology in a manner which can
facilitate its qualitative growth: a theology through which the power of the Gospel can
influence the deeper dimensions o f the heart and mind. In terms o f the relationships with
10
the first world, Koreans need to shift from paternalism or partnership to indigenization
or endogenization (Dunn, 1988). And finally, Koreans need an indigenous theology: to
interpret traditional values from the Christian perspective and then to give theological
meanings to them. Specificity among these cultural sentiments is Chong.
Such a task not only adds spiritual power to Korean Christians but can enable the
Korean church in the next century to mature. Such a course o f action and reflection can
enable it to prepare a path to a transformation o f culture through Christ, and to make a
major contribution, not only to their own members, but also to the wider ecumenical
global church.
Significance of the Study
Although Chong is a prevailing common idea or sentiment in the Korean culture,
there has been no study o f Chong in the area o f theology.7 Recently, a few studies o f
Chong have been done in other human sciences such as psychology or philosophy.
Moreover, the few studies o f Chdng either reflect on what Chdng is without any
empirical research methods or employ “quantitative” research methods. Though these
studies can provide a guideline for the further study o f Chdng, they are unable to provide
7 Andrew Sung Park deals with Chong, in his recent book Racial Conflict and Healing: An Asian-American
Theological Perspective. However, he simply introduces its several meanings and connotations, which
cover only four pages.
11
a holistic picture o f Chong. In this sense, this dissertation has significance because it
employs a qualitative research method.
The core o f the dissertation is to introduce Chong and to study it theologically.
More specifically, it is to help investigate ways in which Chong is expressed in church
activities and interpersonal relationships; how much it has affected, directly and
indirectly, church growth. Regarding Chong, this dissertation discusses the Korean
people’s mentality, view on values, interpersonal relationships, and traditional customs
which are related to it. Its attributes are also articulated. As Chong essentially and
literally means the emotion of human beings in Confucianism, an understanding o f it
requires a Confiician understanding o f human beings. The Confiician understanding o f
Chong is especialloy indispensable to a philosophical explanation because it is grounded
upon a cosmological understanding o f the human being. However, complicated
theoretical debates about Chdng in the history o f Confucianism will not be addressed in
this dissertation.8
This dissertation focuses on the area o f pastoral care and counseling. The
implications o f pastoral care and counseling will be articulated in various perspectives.
As the dissertation falls under practical theology, it is natural that it suggests, beyond
theoretical study and reflection, some practical pastoral methods based on the concept o f
8 There are enormous amount of materials regarding the argument o f the understandings o f human being
and its part, Chong, throughout the history of Confucianism.
12
Chdng. However, in consideration of the fact that Chong is a new idea in the area of
theology, it is not possible to study the practical methods for ministry without a firmly
established theory o f Chong. In addition, suggesting practical methods would require
studies and experiments which provide sufficient work for several dissertations.
Therefore, this discussion will be confined to introducing the concept o f Chong and its
setting in Korean culture, and then will suggest the implications from the perspectives of
pastoral care and counseling. Hopefully, this dissertation can establish a foundation for
the further study o f Chong so that future studies may continue and build other practical
methods stemming from this methodology.
In terms o f a theoretical focus, this study deals with the interaction between the
psychology of Koreans and Confucianism upon that psychology. According to the
author’s survey o f literature, not many studies have delved into the relationship between
the two. However, many theories in Confucianism regarding Chong and its related
concepts are relevant to theories o f modem psychology in various ways.9 This
dissertation will be more suggestive than exhaustive on the interaction between these two
variables of theoretical relevance. The hope is that this study will provide some basic
insights into the nature of an oriental psychology.
As has been said, this study intends to provide Korean churches with a new
perspective on church growth, which takes into account qualitative and inner growth.
9 Chong literally means emotion. Its details will be explained in chapter four.
13
Kenneth Scott Latourette, who was Sterling Professor o f Missions and Oriental History,
Emeritus, in Yale University said, “Church growth means not only mounting numbers but
also intelligent Christian commitment and indigenous leadership” (Shearer, p. 5). By
studying the Korean church from a cultural perspective, this dissertation intends to
contribute to the qualitative growth o f Korean churches.
This dissertation will deal with Chong from the viewpoint o f pastoral care and
counseling. Therefore, it does not deal directly with the numeric growth o f the Korean
church as its subject. Rather, it studies Chdng with the point o f view that the growth o f
the Korean church is somehow related to it.10 Therefore, it is to be made clear that the
growth o f the Korean church will be dealt with simply as the beginning o f the study o f
Chong.
Contents
This chapter addresses the overall theme and purpose o f this study. Chapter two
presents the theological framework of the dissertation. Chapter three deals with the
Korean church as the beginning task o f practical theology including a brief introduction
to Christianity, its history o f growth, studies o f Korean church growth, and summary o f
the growth factors. Chapter four introduces Chong: the definition o f Chong, its literal
and practical meaning, its attributes, its genuine aspects shown in Korean literature and
14
art, and its theoretical background in Confucianism. Chapter five is a review and
presentation o f methodology. Both the procedures o f in-depth interview methods are
presented. In chapter six, the contents of the interviews are analyzed, based on the
methods described and utilized. In chapter seven, the theology o f Chong and the
implications for pastoral care and counseling are explained. The last chapter addresses
the limitations o f the study and its implications for any future research.
10 The author does not regard Chong as a major factor to Korean church growth. However, the author
believes that it has contributed to it to some extent Chong is believed to be both weakness and hindrance
Chapter Two
Theological Framework
Robert Schreiter’s Local Theology
Theologically, this dissertation is grounded upon the indigenous theology or
“ local theology” suggested by Robert Schreiter (1987). Schreiter says that the beginning
of a local theology takes place when “ a community wishing to engage in the
development o f its theology will find itself confronted with other theologies already in
place” (p. 25). Therefore, it is necessary for the dissertation to begin with a critical
review o f the traditional theology of the Korean church. Traditional theology means the
theological tendency among Korean theologians and/or pastors to ignore the existence
and influence o f cultural factors. In other words, the traditional theology o f Koreans
naively regards the growth o f the church as having been achieved only by the grace and
work o f God, without attending to the “ cultural context” and the means o f grace in that
context.
Due to the influences of the traditional theology influenced by American
missionaries, the Korean church came to hold a negative view o f their own traditional
culture. Schreiter says,
This paternalistic attitude prevailed (often unconsciously) not only among those
who invaded the culture, but often also in the “ indigenous leadership” left behind
to church growth.
15
16
to govern. Hence situations arise where leaders from within the culture have
become so alienated from the roots o f their own culture, and so socialized into the
invading culture, that the situation is often much worse than it was under
expatriate leadership, (p. 39)
As a result, Koreans came to think of their tradition as wrong, inferior, and even evil.
This phenomenon o f attributing evil to traditional culture takes place during the
processes o f conversion. In the experience of accepting Jesus Christ as Savior, the thrust
of Western missionary theology requires that one alter his/her view o f the world. This
conversion is accompanied by an understanding that one must abandon traditional values
or customs. In his book, The Future o f Religions, Paul Tillich (1966) calls this “ self-
hating fanaticism” (p. 54). Self-hating fanaticism, according to Tillich, refers to the
psychological dynamics that occurred when imperialistic countries invaded the colonized
countries. As the people identified with the aggressor, they came to deny and hate their
own traditional heritage (Schreiter, p. 27). In other words, the Korean people naturally
admitted the superiority o f the Western culture to their own traditional culture.
A major problem with self-hating fanaticism is, however, that it inevitably results
in a distortion o f culture, and hence in individual identity. With regard to the distortion
o f culture, this fanaticism inevitably brought about the loss o f the precious value o f
“ revering the past” (Tillich, 1966). For instance, Korean Christians came to ignore or
reject the traditional rituals such as the Lunar New Year Ceremony, Chuseok11 (Korean
11 Chuseok is the observed Korean traditional festival celebrating the good harvest every year. Almost one
third of the Korean population visits their hometown during this three to four day Chuseok holiday.
17
Thanksgiving), and ancestor worship, e tc .12 More specifically, almost all Korean
churches do not celebrate Chuseok on Lunar August 15 but on the American
Thanksgiving in November. In considering the meaning o f the Christian faith in
Thanksgiving, however, it is natural and reasonable that they celebrate Thanksgiving on
the day o f Chuseok. But this substitution o f an American national holiday for a
traditional Korean observance reflects the degree of distortion which often occurred as a
consequence of the Westernization o f American missionary theology.
Regarding the issue o f the distortion o f identity, Korean Christians seem to regard
their new identity in Christ as being an almost total negation o f some core values in their
traditional culture. This circumstance has brought about a pattern o f dualistic thinking
without any recognition that it has happened. Schreiter says, regarding the result o f the
conversion processes: “ What results in many instances are dual systems o f belief,
wherein the older system continues alongside Christianity, with each being selectively
used by the people as needs arise” (pp. 39-40).
Korean Christians are, however, beginning to recognize that their own view o f
and commitment to values, customs, ethical understandings, and moral attitudes are
grounded not only upon Christian values but also upon their own traditional cultural
values. Schreiter points out that the “ Conversion to Christianity has usually meant
12 It is still controversial whether ancestor worship is idolatry or not. In Protestant churches, it is officially
prohibited and regarded as idolatry. However, Catholic churches in Korea officially allow ancestor
worship. Despite this, it is interesting to see that only 15% of Korean Christians are Catholic. It may
imply that self-hating fanaticism was strong enough to deny their cultural traditions.
18
putting all other religious systems aside, but in [some] instances significant parts or
even the entirety [of the traditional] system is maintained” (p. 145). The conflict
between these systems creates an internal conflict in the identity o f Korean Christians.
The values or customs that they once denied or gave up are now rediscovered as a part of
themselves. Schreiter describes the conflict as follows:
When people who have made a courageous decision to leave all things are then
told that it is no longer necessary to give up the veneration o f ancestors and other
customs, they often respond with utter incredulity, (p. 26)
The problem mentioned above thus focuses on a question that is o f considerable
importance in this study. The question is: how does the Korean Christian resolve the
inner conflict that results from this bicultural dilemma? This study aims at “ focusing
upon the integrity and identity” o f Korean Christians (p. 5), who are caught between
Western understandings o f Christianity and their own traditional cultural values.
Theology is not separated from culture. “ The Gospel and the church find themselves
interacting within culture” (p. 23). This question cannot be answered by the current
Christian theology o f the Korean churches because that theology has regarded cultural
analyses as unnecessary or unholy with regard to the question o f who they are before
God.
In conclusion, Korean churches should have a local theology as described by
Schreiter because the “ old” answers are no longer adequate.
19
Don S. Browning’s Three-Phase Theological Framework; Practice-Theory-
Practice
The attempt to generate a local or indigenous theology provides a framework for
attempting to reconstruct a practical theology. One example o f doing so is the theological
framework o f practical theology attempted by Don S. Browning. He suggests a new
vision for a local theological framework in his book, Fundamental Practical Theology
(1991). Practical theology, usually understood as “practical theological thinking” in
theological education, is enriched by a practical philosophy which emphasizes “practical
wisdom” or “practical reason.”
Practical theology begins with the recognition that “our present concerns shape
the way we interpret, appropriate, and reconstruct the past” (p. 35). In addressing this
issue, for example, Gadamer states that there is “a fusion of the whole o f the past with the
present” (1982, p. 273). Browning (1991) agrees, when he writes, “Solving our present
ethical problems involves appropriating and reconstructing the past” (p. 35).
Emphasizing the practical nature o f theology, Browning indicates that
fundamental practical theology is “critical reflection on the church’s dialogue with
Christian sources and other communities o f experience and interpretation with the aim of
guiding its action toward social and individual transformation” (p. 36). In short, practical
theology is “critical reflection on the church’s ministry to the world” (Browning, p. 35;
Campbell, 1972) and as the author would add, in the context of the local or indigenous, as
well as the global, cultural reality.
20
According to Gadamer, practical theology, like other “cultural moral sciences,”
(Geisteswissenschaften) is rooted in “the fundamental structure o f understanding” (p. 37).
Human beings inevitably use “fore-concepts” or “prejudices and commitments” in the
processes o f understanding. He argues that the fore-concepts are not necessarily negative
so that they cannot be ignored. Rather, the fore-concepts should be used positively.
For Gadamer, understanding is “moral concern with application” or “moral
conversation,” or “hermeneutical conversation” (p. 38). Browning summarizes this:
“Understanding is a moral conversation shaped throughout by practical concerns about
applications that emerge from our current situation” (p. 39). Quoting Gadamer’s thought,
he continues to say, “Gadamer depicts the process o f understanding as a fusion o f the
horizon o f meaning surrounding the practical questions and fore-meanings that we bring
to these texts and the horizon o f meaning that the text themselves project” (p. 41).
The implication o f the concept o f understanding is that “concern with application
is there from the beginning” in understanding any kind o f human action—a classic text,
work of art, letter, sermon, or political act (p. 39). In other words, it is not that
application simply follows understanding; rather, understanding and application are
inseparable. The central thesis o f Gadamer’s Truth and Method is that “Understanding,
interpretation, and application are not distinct but intimately related” (p. 39). In
conclusion, it is the ground of Browning’s three phases o f theological method that
“Application guides the interpretive process from the beginning”: practice (theory-laden)-
theory-practice (new theory-laden).
21
The three-phase model involves a “critical correlational method” in interpreting
the relationships between the modem culture and Christian texts. Browning proposes “a
revised correlational approach” through which he connects the “confessional approach”
and the “apologetic approach” (p. 44). More specifically, the approach “correlates the
confessional beginning point o f theology with questions shaped both by faith and by
other aspects of our cultural experience” (p. 46). David Tracy defines practical theology
as follows:
Practical theology is the mutually critical correlation o f the interpreted theory and
praxis o f the Christian faith with the interpreted theory and praxis o f the
contemporary situation. (Tracy, 1983, p. 76)
Browning proposes an inclusive term for Tracy’s definition o f practical theology:
“fundamental practical theology.” It includes the disciplines o f descriptive, historical,
systematic, and strategic practical theology as its submovements.
The task o f descriptive theology is to “describe the contemporary theory-laden
practices that give rise to the practical questions that generate all theological reflection”
(p. 47). It is a “hermeneutic sociology” in that it gives “the full contextual meaning o f the
practical questions engendered by these [theory-laden] practices” (p. 48).
Descriptive theology inevitably moves to the historical theology through which
questions emerging from theory-laden practices are put to “the central text and
monuments of the Christian faith” (p. 49). Theologians try to discover the implication o f
the normative text for our praxis. It is a process o f a hermeneutical dialogue with classic
texts at a community level rather than an individual level; a dialogue which is “future-
22
oriented and open-ended”(pp. 50-51). Therefore, historical theology would be seen as
“a communally oriented interpretive process emerging from the questions o f
contemporary communities of praxis” (p. 51).
Systematic theology is “the fusion o f horizons between the vision implicit in
contemporary practices and the vision implied in the practices o f the normative Christian
texts” (p. 51). This is not, however, “a simple application of the past to the present*’ (p.
51). More specifically, it is the process in which practical claims o f the Christian faith
should be put to philosophical tests. In this sense, Browning tries to go beyond Gadamer.
Gadamer is criticized for “being a traditionalist and for having no method to test the
fusion o f horizons that emerges out of the hermeneutic conversations” (p. 52). In more
practical terms, the criticism has to do with “how religious belief can make sense for
modem people” (p. 54).
The three movements described above naturally lead to strategic practical
theology. At least four basic questions drive us to strategic practical theological thinking
(p. 55). First o f all,: How do we understand this concrete situation in which we must act?
The question entails concerns about this concrete situation in all its particularity. “It
includes an analysis o f the various religio-cultural narratives and histories that compete to
define and give meaning to the situation” (p. 55). The second question is: What should
our praxis be in this concrete situation? It is followed by the third, namely: How do we
critically defend the norms of our praxis in this concrete situation? (p. 56). The fourth
question is: What means, strategies, and rhetorics should we use in this concrete
23
situation? (p. 56). Through these questions, “an inquiry that has been practical
throughout culminates” and “the conclusions of strategic practical theology play back on
the entire hermeneutic circle” (p. 58).
Theologies of the Korean church can be briefly reviewed from the perspective o f
practical theology as described above. A traditional theology introduced by American
missionaries has prevailed for the last hundred years among the Korean church. This
traditional theology is based on a theological framework which assumes a theory-practice
model, and in that sense is paternalistic. American missionaries simply applied to the
Korean churches an imperialistic perspective which included capitalistic materialism.
Such a theological framework neglects, and has neglected, the social and cultural aspects
o f the Korean ways o f life. Owing to this distortion and omission, a conflict is
introduced. The conflict is that they should somehow review and then forbid and reject
their cultural elements or admit them.
For instance, one o f the most important factors contributing to the growth o f the
Korean church is shamanism (Kim, 1994). Shamanism, however, has not been
appropriately assessed in a theological perspective. More specifically, an apologetic
approach to shamanism has not been sufficiently developed from the perspective of
traditional culture. Fortunately, however, deuteronomic theology as developed in the
Pentecostal denominations have assimilated the theological conflicts of the Korean
churches to a degree by emphasizing the material blessings o f God.
24
Minjung theology, developed from the late 1970s, has also resolved the
theological conflicts in other respects. This theological perspective has provided the
framework o f Minjung for the Korean people who were influenced by Confucianism. In
fact, however, Korean society has not been able to develop the Minjung perspective
because Neo-Confucianism has been an ideology o f the ruling classes since the Chosun
Dynasty. Neither has the Korean church been able to do so. The ideology o f the ruling
class has provided the rationale for the hierarchical relationships within the church, but
they have been inadequate in either recognizing the excluded class o f Minjung or in
serving them. Nevertheless, in this respect, Minjung theology has challenged the Korean
church through both confessional and apologetic approaches. Minjung theology enables
the Korean church to expand its consciousness, as well as its actual ministry o f social
participation. In conclusion, this dissertation attempts to suggest a practical theology for
the Korean church by studying Chong from the perspective of culture.
In this chapter, a theological framework for studying Chong is suggested. In the
following chapter, a brief history o f the Korean church will be reviewed as a part o f the
task of descriptive theology which is a beginning o f practical theology.
Chapter Three
Korean Churches
This chapter deals with the context o f this study o f Chong: the processes o f
introduction o f Christianity, a brief history o f the Korean church growth, surveys on the
studies of the Korean church, and a summary o f factors on the church growth. This is a
part o f the task o f “descriptive theology.”
Inception of Christianity
There is a controversy among Korean scholars as to when Christianity was
introduced. Some scholars assert that Nestorius was introduced into the Shilla Dynasty
around 300 A. D.13 Other scholars infer that Koreans were introduced to Roman
Catholicism at the end o f the sixteenth century when Japan had invaded the Chosun
Dynasty for seven years (Man-yul Lee, 1993, pp. 19-26).:4
13 In 1956 some archeologists discovered statues of St. Mary and the cross in the city o f Kyungjoo which
was the capital of Shilla Dynasty. The discovery has become a ground to assume that Christianity was then
introduced. Shilla dynasty was a country existed during A. D. 300 - 936. Besides it, many Buddhist ideas
and ruins makes it possible to infer that there was a contact with Nestorius. See Man-Yul Lee, Han-gug
Ki-dog-kyo-sa Teug-kang (Special Lectures on the history o f Korean Christianity). Seoul: Sungkyung Ilgi
Sa, 1993.
14 Ibid., pp. 19-26. Chosun Dynasty was established in 1392 and lasted for five hundred years. Japan
invaded Chosun Dynasty 1592 through 1599. The record shows that there were many Catholic soldiers
among the Japanese and many priests came back and forth. However, it is improbable that they contacted
with the Koreans. The only thing is that many Koreans were captured and sent to Japan; many became
Catholics among them.
25
26
In the seventeenth century, during trade with China, the introduction of
Christianity began. In the beginning, Koreans had a simple concern about Roman
Catholicism, as the Western science was introduced through Roman Catholic literature
which was written and/or translated in China (p. 29). However, despite the academic
concerns, people began to accept Roman Catholicism at a religious level. The year o f
1784 marked the first baptism o f a Korean man; in 1845 the first Korean priest was
anointed, and by that time there were approximately ten thousand Korean Roman
Catholics (Kyung-bae Min, 1988, p 61,93). These Christians suffered through the four
great persecutions that began in 1791. This persecution occurred because some Catholics
were politically out of power. They became the sacrifices of a political warfare for
hegemony (Man-yul Lee, pp. 29, 32; Kyung-bae Min, pp. 66-92).15 However, the
persecutions and martyrdom served to establishing a foundation for the spiritual growth
of Christianity in Korea.
In 1885 Protestantism was first introduced to Korea when Horace G. Underwood
from Northern Presbyterian Churches o f the United States and H. G. Appenzeller from
Northern Methodist Churches o f the United States arrived at the Inchon harbor (Shearer,
p. 33).16 However, it is to be noted that approximately fifty years prior to 1885, some
15 Some Confucian scholars abolished the ancestor worship for the sake of the Christian faith, which stirred
up the anger o f the Chosun government. It was the beginning o f the four persecutions in 1791, 1801, 1839,
and 1866.
16 In fact, the first missionary in Korea was a medical doctor, Horace N. Allen who came to Korea in
September 20, 1884. Inchon is a harbor located approximately thirty miles to the west o f Seoul.
27
Protestant missionaries from other counties had already begun contacting Koreans. In
1832, a Protestant German missionary, Karl Gutzlaff, who was sent from the Netherlands
Missionary Society, came to Korea in vain to demand a trade with China. In 1865, an
American missionary Robert J. Thomas came to Korea in an armed American ship,
General Sherman. However, he was killed by Korean soldiers because they considered
the ship to have entered illegally. Alexander Williamson, who had sent Thomas, came to
the border of Korea in 1867 and sold Koreans a number of books written in Chinese (p.
39).
Koreans also came into contact with the Gospel in Manchuria in the 1860s. From
1863, pastors John Ross and John McIntyre met with the Koreans who traveled to
Manchuria. They began to translate the Bible with the help o f the Koreans they met.
They thought that it was possible to deliver the Bibles across the border through the
Koreans they met, although it was difficult because of Korea’s isolation policy. Those
who were baptized by John Ross came to Sorae, the Midwest region o f the Korean
peninsula, and established the first Korean church in 1883 (Man-yul Lee, p. 40; Shearer,
p. 40).17 The church had been established well before missionaries came. It is not a mere
accident that the Korean churches were able to grow so rapidly in one hundred years. It
17 It is controversial whether the church was established in 1883 or 1885. John Ross, however, baptized
seventy-five Korean people in the northeastern valley of Manchuria in 1884.
28
is evident through these facts that the Korean people had a spiritual thirst which their
traditional religions could not satisfy.18
Brief History o f the Korean Church Growth
The growth o f the first ten years by 1885, there was only a “small growth o f
communicant membership.” 19 Looking into the documented activities o f the
missionaries, however, the Korean people’s response to the Gospel w as so uncommon,
that it caused anticipation for hearts to be sown. The official prohibition o f
evangelization o f Christianity and the persecution o f the Catholics that occurred twenty
years ago did not stop the Koreans response. In 1882, William M. Baird (William M.
Barid, 1892) stated, “the mission work in Korea has taken such deep root, that there can
be no other result, humanely speaking, than that o f general progress.” Underwood (1890,
p. 43), in his letter to the Board, said, “We have found no proof whatever that the Korean
officials are not prepared to admit the preaching o f the Gospel. On the contrary, a deputy
governor o f a province and a deputy magistrate o f a city, as well as a number o f lower
ranking officials are, seeking baptism.” George L. Paik quotes the words o f Dr. F. F.
Ellinwodd, Secretary o f the Board o f Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church
>s Politically and economically, the Korean society was in chaos. They were going through many things at
the same time such as political corruption, Tonghak reformation, fanners’ riot, rise o f the new ideology,
limitation o f feudal economic system. Etc.
19 The baptized members o f Presbyterian denomination then were only 100-150.
29
U.S.A.: “We want to inaugurate a new policy in Korea, that o f diffusion and the
widespread preaching o f the gospel” (Shearer, p. 45).
In the ten-year period following 1895, a phenomenal growth occurred. Shearer
described this as an explosion of communicant members. According to Saltau, by 1900
there were 87,887 communicants and 26,165 catechumens.
During this time, a letter of concern was sent to a missionary in Korea from the
Presbyterian Board in the United States asking if the progress o f evangelization was too
rapid. A missionary in Pyungyang, a city located in the north side o f Korea, responded to
the letter. He describes the attitude o f the Korean people as follows: “In the face o f entire
openness, o f evident friendliness and a turning toward Christ, one cannot tell these people
to go slowly and proceed only so fast as the few missionaries here have time to go around
and instruct them” (Annual Report of the Board, 1900, p. 50). In 1920, the churches
estimated that there were about 360,000 Christians (Grajdanzev, 1978, p. 275).20
There was an increase from 360,000 to 501,000 in about eighteen years from
1920. This meant that Christianity had just succeeded in holding its own with the
growth o f the population. It was just 1.8 per cent annually. The growth, however, was
very slow because o f the timid and somewhat subservient policies towards the Japanese
administration. This held true especially after 1919 (Ibid, p. 275).
30 By 1930, members o f Korean Methodist Church numbered 23,306, and that o f the Presbyterian church
125, 779. See also Korea Annual 1982, Seoul: Yonhap News Agency, 1982. p. 247.
30
There was some suspicious skepticism in the qualitative area o f the rapid
growth. Shearer, however, provides the convincing evidence which refuted such
opinions, using a community-to-communicant ratio. The ratio o f the rapidly growing
churches is usually high because o f the great ingathering. According to his survey, a ratio
o f a church in a South Pacific area for fifty years was about 8:1. Yet, the ratio o f the
Korean church during 1907-1942 was 2.6:1. This low ratio indicates that the quality of
the Korean church was prominent despite o f its rapid growth. Shearer said, “The people
were not only won to Christ but they were continually being given instruction by the
hard-working lay leaders and missionaries, to pass the stringent requirements leading to
baptism” (Shearer, p. 53). He continued by saying,
The principle o f self-support not only gave the people a realization that this was
indeed their church, the church of Korea, but further gave to this new church both
an economic stability and an ideal o f independence and o f self-government. It
further freed them completely from the accusation o f being “rice-Christian” and
“disloyal followers of foreigners,” charges that plagued the Christians o f other
lands. (Shearer, p. 26)
In 1949, the number o f Christians o f all denominations was estimated by
authorities to be 501,000. In proportion to the Korean population this probably represents
the largest number in the Orient, except for the Asiatic Russia and the Philippines
(Grajdanzev, p. 273). The growth after the 1960s was explosive due in part to the rapid
economic growth of the country. In 1964, there was 812,254 Christians, in 1969, it was
3,192,621. By 1976 the number rose to 5,001,491. And in 1989, there were 8,789,010
31
Christians (The report of the Ministry o f Culture and Information in Korea, 1982, p.
201).21 In December of 1996, the number o f Prostestansts stood at 8,760,036.
Growth Factors of the Korean Church
The growth o f the Korean churches can be summarized in five different areas:
religious, historical, socio-economical, in-church spiritual, and cultural.
Religious Factor
As described above, the Catholics suffered throughout the four persecutions.
Some Koreans were baptized, the Bible was translated, and a church was established.
These facts indicated that the Korean people had a very strong spiritual thirst, which was
unsatisfied by the traditional religions such as Confucianism, Buddhism, and Shamanism.
According to Wasson (1930), these three religions were not only unable to fill their
spiritual vacuum but they in some way contributed to accepting a new religion:
Christianity. He said:
Under the conditions of the times o f Japanese annexation the Buddhistic interest
in the inner life and the future world, the Confucian interest in the welfare for the
state, and the animistic interest in the intervention of supernatural beings, inclined
individuals toward the Christian church, (pp. 154-156)
The Gospel was the good news in a sense that Christianity was able to satisfy their
spiritual thirst. Underwood (1951) said:
21 See also A handbook o f Korea, Seoul: Korean Overseas Information Service, 1990. p. 205.
32
The Koreans have been religiously starved, with the result that some have come
to feel that they can get along without religion, while to large numbers the beauty
o f Christianity has come literally as living waters to a parched throat, (p. 16)
Paik (1910) also believed that the syncretistic state in Korea actually showed a
spiritual hunger, a demand for a universal religion which combined “the high ethical and
moral standard o f Confuciansim, the religious inspiration o f Buddhism, and the mysteries
o f life and death o f the spiritual world o f Shamanism” (p. 23). He continued by saying:
With exception o f the few strict orthodox devotees o f these religions, no one
adheres to any one in such a manner as to lead him to look upon the cults as
mutually incompatible. As a result, the average Korean takes his religious
ceremonies from ancestor worship, seeks the efficacy o f Buddhist prayers,
devoutly bows his head at the shrine o f mountain demons, and recites Confucian
classics, (p. 23)
Grajdanzev (1978) also wrote,
The religious life o f the Korean people manifests itself in three faiths. There is,
first o f all, Shamanism, a form o f animistic nature worship consisting of a
universal worship and fear o f spirits; secondly, there is Buddhism; and thirdly, the
practice o f the teachings o f Confucianism, (p. 274)
Historical Factor
At the end o f the Chosun Dynasty when Christianity was introduced, the Korean
people were going through political oppression, economical exploitation, and social
chaos.22 Through these situations, the sufferings stimulated an acceptance o f Christianity.
Ro (1995), a professor at Asian Christian Theological Seminary, points out that the
" At the end o f the nineteenth century, the Korean society was going through political corruption, and
farmers’ riot against ruling party, feudal economic system for the ruling party, etc.
33
period o f turmoil caused by the Japanese annexation for thirty six years and the Korean
War were important factors to the growth. Under these sufferings and persecution,
Christianity was a mental and spiritual prop for the Korean Christians. Chun (1986), a
professor at Ewha Women’s University, in Seoul, addressed the mental value o f the
Asian people, and argued that suffering had been a major factor in promoting church
growth. He says, “Looking back over a century o f mission history in Korea, genuine
growth o f the Church was possible through the suffering o f individual cross-bearing
Christians whether nationals or missionaries” (p. 49). Underwood (1951) even stated that
the Koreans are people o f suffering; “He is patient with the patience o f the ages and o f
age-old hardship and difficulty. He is likely to regard human suffering and human life
lightly, including his own” (p. 14). Crane (1968), in his book, The Korean Patterns, said:
O f all the people on this globe, he is second to none in ability to suffer and
survive in the face of impossible odds. He somehow eases through, and has been
doing this under oppression, corrupt governments, and foreign invasions for
thousands o f years, (p. xix)
He also said:
One o f the great virtues o f many Koreans is their ability to endure hardship.
Korea is the land of those who have learned to endure in order to survive. If it
cannot be escaped, one endures oppression, corruption, injustice, insults, and
physical torture with stoic clam. (p. 110)
The Korean people still suffered even after the Korean War: because o f the corruption
within the politics, the economic poverty and chaos, the social instability, and other such
factors.
34
Socio-economic Factor
Christianity was introduced to the Korean society as a part o f modernization
processes. This means that Christianity functioned as an economic factor resolving
practical problems for the Koreans. Gilmore (1892) describes the situation when
Christianity was introduced,
When a man is asked to become a Christian, he naturally asks what good it is

going to do . . . Koreans are fond o f visiting the homes o f foreigners. They
admire the comforts-to them these comforts are highest o f luxuries-of the home
life of the strangers . .. The practical value of Christianity makes a powerful
appeal to them. (p. 315)
Buskirk (1931) said, with concern o f the materialistic influences o f Christianity,
Hope and courage must replace discouragement; the educational, social, economic
and political causes o f pessimism must be righted. In approaching this task the
church in Korea faces the same secularism that pervades the lands o f the West. (p.
166)
Drake (1930), the author o f Korea o f the Japanese, said that, ‘T o the ordinary native,
then, Christianity quite obviously, is hardly distinguishable from Westernism” (p. 166).
In the same vein, Korean economic growth, since 1960s, became a decisive factor
in the explosive growth o f the Korean churches. Immediately after the military coups in
1961, the government initiated scraping out the political corruption and enhancing
economic developments. Thereafter the Korean economy had developed remarkably for
several decades. As a result, Korea was considered one of the four dragons in Asia.23
The number of members after 1960s makes up about ninety percent o f the total growth
23 Four dragons refer to Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Korea.
35
throughout its history. It can be inferred that as rapid economic growth became more
possible at that time, due to their desire to better themselves. This desire was reflected in
their intent in the Christian faith. The desire for economic betterment was the cause o f
the rapid growth o f the churches for a number o f Korean Christians.
In-church Spiritual Factor
In-church spiritual factors refer to all pastoral activities. Regarding this, Professor
Ro (1995) presents ten factors: strength of the local church, spirit-filled and hard working
pastors, prayer for spiritual renewal of Christians, witnessing church, cell group bible
studies, theological education, abundant supply o f Christian workers, rising missionary
movement, stewardship and innovative contextual expressions o f Christian faith. Han
(1982), the winner o f the first Templeton Prize in 1991, also had the similar ideas, and
Tae H. Kim’s (1984) research reflected similar ideas.
Cultural Factor
Korean Christians have considered the cultural factors simply as conflicts or
hindrances to churches growth. Therefore, they regard the traditional Korean culture to
be negative and so they attempted to deny or ignore such influences. Consequently, they
rarely chose to understand them from a positive perspective and then to relate them to the
church growth. Such an attitude results, in part, from influences by the theologies
presented by the missionaries.
36
It cannot be denied, however, that the Gospel was sown, grown, and developed
in the Korean culture. For instance, Paik (1910) comments on the Confiician culture by
saying,
Today, not many Koreans would acknowledge their religious affiliation as

“Confucianism.” Few Koreans would profess any interest in its doctrines, but
Confucianism still remains the moral foundation o f the nation. From family life
to the standard o f morality, the Confiician heritage is still making itself felt in
every facet o f the nation's life.
As far as shamanism is concerned in Korea, Shearer (1966) says, “animism has a most
important relationship to church growth in K orea. . . Increased understanding [of
shamanism] is demanded if our presentation o f the Gospel is to be successful” (p.219).
Buskirk (1931) quotes Holmer B. Hulbert: “I conclude that the underlying religion o f the
Korean, the foundation upon which all else is mere superstructure, is his original spirit
worship. In this term are included animism, shamanism, fetishism, and nature worship
generally” (p. 29). It is also true that some Korean Christians, whether it is positive or
negative, have emphasized the shamanist factors as one o f the most important ones. John
T. Kim is one of the representing persons arguing that some activities within the Korean
churches have characteristics o f Korean shamanist traditions. Therefore, it is important
that religious or cultural factors among the Korean churches should be acknowledged and
accepted.
As stated earlier, it is the intention of this dissertation is also to present one
Korean Christians’ cultural element: Chong, and to study how much and in what ways it
has affected the Korean church.
37
Studies of Korean Church Growth
Studies o f the Korean churches and their growth began when the Protestantism
was introduced. The studies can be classified into four periods according to their
contents: from the beginning o f the Protestantism to 1920s, from 1930s to 1950s, from
1960s to 1970s, and from 1980s to the present. The classification is based on the studies
that are written in English.
In the beginning the studies were done by foreign missionaries, travelers, and
general scholars. They mainly dealt with the history, culture, and general aspects about
Korea and also briefly described the activities o f the missionaries from objective
perspective. W. E. Griffis (1882) wrote the book, Corea The Hermit Nation in 1882. He
dealt with the ancient and medieval history o f Korea and her social and cultural
background. He also depicted the processes o f introduction and persecutions o f the
Roman Catholicism.
Gilmore (1982), a missionary in Korea, in his book, Korea from its Capital with a
Chapter on Missions, well introduced the history, language, people, customs, and
religions. He focused on the missions, which he described in detail. He shared his
appreciation of the works o f Allen, who was the first medical missionary in Korea.
According to Gilmore, Korea was far clearly distinguished from other countries in its
acceptance of the Gospel, despite its beginning period o f evangelization and subsequent
persecutions. For instance, it took only two years before the first baptism in Korea, while
38
it took twelve years in Japan (p. 306).24 Afterwards, he notes that there was a rapid
growth in Korea.
Gilmore said that there was a doubt about this rapid growth. Especially, in a
statement that came from China; “there is some ulterior motive for their “pretended”
acceptance of Christianity.”25 However, Gilmore confirmed that this was not true. He
said, “Mercenary motives cannot be ascribed . . . A grand and promising beginning has
been made . . . In 1888 the increase was five fold.” 26
In his book entitled Korea, Angus Hamilton (1904) offered a description o f the
political and economical situations when Christianity was introduced. He said that the
limitations of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Shamanism brought about the yearning for
Christianity. He described Christianity as “a more practical philosophy” and the
American missionaries as unwitting agents of American commercialism (pp. 261-263).
Drake (1930, p. 166), in his book, Korea o f the Japanese, also said that “To the ordinary
native, then, Christianity quite obviously, is hardly distinguishable from Westernism.”
Buskirk, a missionary o f the Board o f Foreign Missions o f the Methodist Episcopal
Church in Korea, also pointed out that Korea faced “the same secularism that pervades
the lands o f the West” (1931, p. 166).
24 Actually, the first baptism was done even before the missionary came, though it was in Manchuria.
25 Chinese converts were then usually considered as hypocritical and mercenary. See Gilmore, p. 307.
26 He reported about an incident. When twenty three Korean people were gathered to be baptized by him,
Horace Underwood explained about the persecution of the Catholics about twenty years ago and warned
39
McKenzie (1920), in his presentation o f the political situation o f Korea,
described the works o f the missionaries. In his book, Korea’s Fight fo r Freedom, he
introduced the medical and educational works o f the missionaries explaining the political
relationships with Japan at the end o f Chosun Dynasty. All the descriptions shown in the
books above were relatively precise and yet the data remains at a sketchy level.
The books written from the 1930s to 1960s are not essentially different from those
written during the first period. Most o f them were written by the same missionaries.
Each book has its own emphasis and deals with the growth o f the Korean churches in
more detail with a positive perspective. Buskirk introduced the history and culture o f
Korea and explained the educational and medical activities o f each denomination. It is
interesting that he already had a high evaluation o f the Korean churches. At that time the
Christian population was approximately 500,000 which was only 2.5 percent o f the
Korean population. He said, however, that “After less than half a century o f Protestant
missions in Korea, a church is functioning there which is probably as near to the goal
self-propagation, self-support, and self-government as any o f the younger churches in any
mission field” (Buskirk, pp. 166-167). He continued by saying that “The leadership o f
the churches is now in Korean hands . . . (this) shows that indigenous church is
developing in Korea, although there are yet many things to do in order to complete the
Koreanization” (pp. 170-171).
that they would be killed. Hearing him saying, only two persons out of twenty three gave up baptism. See
Gilmore, pp. 307-308.
40
T. Stanley Soltau (1932) wrote his classic work, Korean the Hermit Nations and
Its Response to Christianity. Soltau emphasized the Nevius method and the great revival
in 1907 as two important factors of the growth. He also analyzed the growth according to
the regions. He pointed out that one o f the characteristics o f the Korean church was its
personal evangelism. He said, “ The Korean church has been to an unusual degree “a
witnessing church” and “a church o f personal workers’”’ (p. 37).
Wasson (1931), in his dissertation, Church Growth in Korea, analyzed Korean
church growth with a particular perspective that theologians might overlook. He argued
that the Korean church growth was influenced not so much by policies or activities o f the
missionaries, but by environmental-political, sociological, and economical-factors. His
analysis is appealing but his work focused only on the work o f Southern Methodist
Missions from 1896 through 1929. His study classified the growth into six periods that
showed that each period declined or increased. The reason, according to him, was the
environment. Church growth was due to the churches’ policy as a good responses to the
environment: When the church declined, the churches’ policy did not respond to the need
o f the people (p. 155).27
The books after the 1960s are written in more analytical and academic manner.
Also, not only foreign people but also Korean people began writing about the Korean
27 Ibid., p. 155. According to him, there are two reasons Korea accepted Christianity. One is the
corruption of the government and the other is its inefficiency due to its corruption. The government was
not ready to accept the imperialist countries’ enforcement. Such a gloomy environment made them seek
Christianity. Also, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Shamanism contributed to the gloomy situation.
41
churches. Shearer’s book, Wildfire: Church Growth in Korea, precisely investigated the
growth of both Presbyterian churches and Methodist churches according to region and
period (Shearer, 1966). Shearer said, “From its very first days there were evidences o f
unusual growth in the Presbyterian Church in Korea” (p. 38).
A History o f Church in Korea, written by Clark (1971), is a good depiction o f the
Korean churches from the historical situation when the Roman Catholic and the
Protestant faiths were introduced through the end o f the 1960s.
The studies cited above were carried out with the perspective of the church
growth. Though the studies observed the growth in more detail with an objective
perspective and evaluated the growth from a positive perspective, they did not seem to
analyze the Korean churches sufficiently at a deeper level o f culture.
The Korean people’s concerns about the Korean churches began in the 1970s and
increased rapidly in the 1980s. Korea Struggles fo r Christ written by many leading
Korean theologians, deals with the factors of church growth with positive and challenging
perspectives: It also addresses the negative aspects o f the church growth (Song, Ji, & Kim
(eds.), 1973). Under an atmosphere of decline in church growth in the beginning o f the
1980s, there had been a lot o f studies that sought new pastoral methods for continual
growth and missions. However, the focus of the studies is mainly on practical methods
and programs.
Such studies also show some positive aspects o f the church growth. In terms o f
the growth factors, they considered the environmental aspects, including historical,
42
sociological, and economical factors. In terms o f pastoral methods, they dealt with
developing better methods for church growth. Especially, in the 1980s, when the church
growth was at peak, many Korean theologians and pastors showed a great deal of
academic concerns about the church growth. For convenience, I investigated those
dissertations that exceeded the master’s degree level and which were written in English in
the United States after 1980. More than ninety percent of them were written by the
Korean pastors and theologians; and most o f them dealt with missions and church
growth.28 According to my analysis o f them, the motivation to write such dissertations
were to discover the factors for church growth and apply them to their church. This
indicates that pastors in ministry have a sense o f crisis in terms of the stagnation o f the
church growth.
Recently, a Korean theologian, John Kim (1996) published a book, Protestant
Church Growth in Korea. The book deals with the growth o f Korean churches from the
perspective o f Korean people’s religiosity. Kim points out that the major factor in the
growth o f the Korean churches is their shamanist tendency. His analysis shows that
many of the pastoral practices among the Korean churches come from the Korean
traditional shamanism (pp. 207-241 ).29 His analysis and perspective of the Korean
churches is in accord with Shearer’s point. Shearer said:
28 Over one hundred dissertations above master’s degree from the Dissertation Abstract International were
reviewed.
29 For instances, business opening service and memorial service, which have been normal pastoral ministry
customs among the Korean churches, originally come from the traditional customs o f shamanism.
43
When Protestant Christianity came to Korea, it found no strong, organized

religious opposition but found instead that Shamanism, or animism, had actually
prepared the nation to receive Christianity . . . For centuries Korean had been
plowed by Shamanistic efforts to communicate with higher beings, and when the
seeds o f Christianity were placed in this rich, plowed soil, they flourished and
produced the fruit o f Christian disciples, (pp. 30-31)
In consideration o f the studies of the Korean churches for the last one hundred
years, it is important to determine where my dissertation should stand, because it has not
only continuity but also discontinuity with past writings. At the same time this
dissertation belongs in the area of pastoral care, it begins with the study of Korean church
growth because it intends not to lose continuity with prior studies of the growth. I believe
that the strength and particularities o f the Korean churches should be discoverable from
their remarkable growth. In other words, Korean churches should keep the concern for
church growth. In this sense then, this dissertation has continuity with past writings.
This dissertation, however, also intends to discontinue with the past studies in the
sense that the perspective o f past studies reflects a naive evaluation o f the growth, one
that ignores Korean cultural traditions relating to growth. This tendency toward
theological and cultural naivete should be overcome in the next century. It is the position
o f this study that one o f the important tasks in the twenty first century will be to study
and develop the relations between the church and the traditional culture. In other words,
growth should be perceived from the perspective o f its inner and spiritual maturity.
This chapter has set forth the context for the study o f Chong from the available
literature s the history o f the Korean church, factors o f church growth, and the continuing
44
observation that studies o f church which do not include the factor o f traditional culture
and spiritual aspects o f the Korean mentality are inadequate to the tasks o f the Korean
church in the twenty-first century.
In chapter four, the discussion turns directly to an approach which focuses in
Chong as one concept which is associated with traditional Korean culture. The study of
Chong provides a window on influences o f traditional Korean culture and spirituality
which impact the life o f the Korean church.
Chapter Four
Chdng
Introducing Chong in this chapter is also a part o f the task of “descriptive
theology.” Life of Chong can be said to have its own “narrative structure” (Browning,
p.44). Therefore, describing the life o f Chong requires “cultural-linguistic” approach.
The approach assumes that “perceptions o f experience are formed by languages not by
the raw experiences themselves.” In particular, the description o f Chong, practically and
theoretically, deals with Confucian aspect o f this cultural life.
Many people were interviewed in this study. It was observed that, whether they
were scholars or not, men or women, pastors or laymen, old or young, they showed deep
interest in the subject o f the dissertation: Chong. This seems to indicate that Chong is a
very prevalent and intimate sentiment for the Korean people. It seems fair to say that
Chong is the most common sentiment for Koreans. They feel and experience it in their
daily lives. In a word, they live embedded in Chong.
It is, however, somewhat difficult to define clearly what Chong is. Though it is
an intimate, prevalent, and routinely experienced feeling or idea, in which the experiences
vary, and Chong also has various aspects to it. In fact, these experiences are often
45
46
complicated and also are sometimes contradictory to each other. Kyu-tae Lee (1987)
describes this complicated aspect as follows:
It is invisible, intangible, colorless, odorless, and tasteless; and yet it exists. It

exists paradoxically. We are possessed by the non-existing Chong and become
withered because o f its non-being, (p. 141)
In this statement, Lee describes the paradoxical and seemingly incomprehensible aspect
o f Chong.
Definition of Chdng
Because it has many aspects, Chong is not easy to define. Young-yong Kim
(1995) defines Chdng as follows: “Chong is a mental sense o f ties that is unwittingly
shaped through direct and/or indirect contact with and through common experiences of
the given person [for a long time]” (p. 17). This definition is understood to include
simultaneity and continuity as processes that shape the experience o f Chong. In other
words, Chdng is shaped when people have experienced “together” and when the
experiences occur “repeatedly and continually.” Therefore, the more the persons
experience Chong together and the longer the experience lasts, the deeper Chdng
becomes. People become accustomed to each other through those processes. A person is
conditioned by the other person and vice versa. Soojin Choi et al. (1990) did a research
on the associations o f ‘being Chong-ful.’ They identified four associational factors.
47
They are; historicity, togetherness, warm-heartedness, and endearment (pp. 29-46).30
Historicity and togetherness refer to continuity and simultaneity.
Su-won Lee (1995), defines In-Chong as follows: “In-Chong is [an empathic
mind and] behavioral tendency to help others as one feels the other’s difficulty as one’s
own difficulty.” In-Chong literally means Chong o f humans, which is translated as
compassion in English. It carries the connotation o f ethical obligation in its emotional
level. It is a bit different from Chong, yet some o f its nature is partly similar in that one
experiences the other’s difficulty as one’s own difficulty. It involves both identification
with and empathy for the difficulties o f the collective and individual other.
Etymological Meaning of Chdng , fpf)31
Chdng as a Chinese character is a compound word o f mind (hsin, sim, 'O )32 and
blue (ching, cheong, pf). The literal translation o f the word thus means that the m ind is
blue. While blue means melancholy or gloomy in the Western culture, it means vital,
active, and young in the Oriental culture. Therefore, Chong implies that the mind is
30 Soojin Choi et. al., Chong-wi sim-ni-jeog ku-jo [Psychological Structure of Chong] Draft o f the paper
presented at 1990 Academic Conference of Korean Psychological Association. Pp. 29-46.
31 The two words in parenthesis are Korean and Chinese characters meaning Chong respectively.
32 Hsin is an English inscription o f Chinese pronunciation o f mind; it is usually translated as mind, or heart,
or mind and heart in English literature. Sim is an English inscription o f the Korean pronunciation o f
“mind.” The next character in the parenthesis is the Chinese character o f “mind.”
48
young, vital, and healthy. As a Chinese character, ‘youth’ is thus inscribed as ‘blue
years’; ‘bloom of youth’ as ‘blue spring.’ (Kyu-tae Lee, 1992, p. 64).
Etymological analysis o f the word, ‘blue,’ better clarifies the meaning of Chong.
Blue is a compound word o f life (Saeng, £ ) and fountain {Chong, # ) 33 as a Chinese
character. Life means that the green bud is blooming, and fountain means clear water (p.
64). Therefore, blue can be interpreted as a green bud is blooming with clear water from
a fountain. Kyu-tae Lee introduces a Chinese cultural slant which infers the origin o f the
word “blue” (p. 64). In ancient China, the people took the river water or rainwater and
then settled the sediment to the bottom o f the water and used it as a drinking water. Then
after the turbulent age during which the Western culture was transmitted, they dug in the
ground to get the subterranean water. This came as a shock to the Chinese people. In
sum, Chong, in its ideal state, means the state of mind which has the ground like a
fountain and thus is young, clear, clean, vital, and pure.
Literal (Theoretical) and Actual Meanings o f Chdng**
Chdng literally means feeling or emotion. In Confucian literature, it means seven
feelings that humans basically have (Michael C. Kalton et al., 1994, p. xxvii).35 Despite
33 “Chong" here is an English inscription o f the Korean pronunciation of the Chinese word, which
means “fountain.”
34 “Theoretical Chong" implies literal Chong in Confucian philosophy. Every parenthesis in this paragraph
includes the English inscription of the Korean pronunciation and the Chinese character respectively.
49
this background, Chdng is usually used as a suffix so that compounded with other
words, it would give various feelings o f human being. For instance, emotion (gam-
Chong, ^£W) is a composition of Chong with sense; affection (ae- Chong, 1§W) with
love; friendship (woo- Chong, A W ) with friend; compassion (in- Chong, A W ) with
human; condition (sa- Chong, ^ W ) with event; heartless (mu- Chong, MW) with
nothing; sympathy (dong- Chong, f^JW) with same; sexual passion (chun- Chdng, # W )
with spring and so on.
However, the sense of Chdng that the dissertation intends to study is neither its
literal nor general meaning. Chdng, as a subject o f the dissertation, is a feeling with some
peculiar nuance that only the Korean people can feel when it is used independently. Its
uniqueness can be said to have been created and shaped throughout the social and cultural
contexts o f the Korean history. One of the common meanings of the peculiarity o f Chdng
in this sense is “mutual liking” or “mutually intimate feeling.” For instance, mutual
liking between friends is generally referred to as a friendship. However, there is a
difference in its nuance between “friendship” and “Chong between friends.” For Korean
people, the former indicates its formal and/or objective meaning so that it feels distant.
The latter, however, implies a more personal, intimate, and warm feeling than the former.
35 The seven feelings are desire, hate, love, fear, grief, anger, and joy. Chu hsi interprets four germs in
Mencius as feeling (Chong) as well. Details will be discussed later in this chapter.
50
By the same token, though Chong includes the meaning o f love, the former is different
from the latter. Love cannot express Chong sufficiently.
Chong possesses a transcendental nuance that whatever happens between the
mutual relationships through which it is shaped it can be understood and accepted
unconditionally whether it is good or bad, right or wrong. China, Japan, and Korea
altogether have the same etymological origin and share many Chinese characters.
However, though Chong is also used in both Japan and China, its meaning is different.
According to Kyu-tae Lee (1992), the meaning o f Chong in China is usually truth, fact,
sincerity or affection between men and women (p. 68). It is then introduced into the
Korean society and used in the context of the Korean social and cultural environment. As
a result, it is affected and changed so that it gains a new and delicate connotation. For
these reasons, it is not easy to translate Chong into English. In English, many similar
words exist, such as sympathy, affection, love, liking, favor, mercy, benevolence,
compassion, and so on. They are not, however, able to unravel the particularity o f
Chong. Andrew S. Park (1996), in his book, Racial Conflict and Healing, introduces the
concept o f Chong, inscribing it as ‘Jung.’ He suggested several translations such as
“feeling o f endearment,” “warmth o f human-heartedness,” “compassionate attachment,”
and “intense longing for somebody or something” (pp. 110-112). His translations reveal
certain aspects o f Chong and yet are not exhaustive o f the nuances o f meaning it conveys.
51
Actual Chdng shown in the Arts and Literature
As elaborated above, there is actual Chong and there is theoretical Chong. The
first one refers to “a sense of tie” in interpersonal relationships that Korean people
actually feel and experience. The second one is a literal translation involving emotions
that is an important aspect of human nature in Confucian philosophy.
Not many academic studies o f Chong in Korea have been carried out despite the
fact that it is a prevalent and intimate idea or feeling. One reason for this is that no
academic concern or interest in it existed until recently. It may be because psychology or
empirical research method is a fairly recent science in Korea. Therefore, there are not
many articles about Chong that have been written in Korean. And, so far as we have been
able to discuss, no article has been written specifically about Chdng in English.
Materials about Chong can be classified into two kinds. One includes raw
materials such as Korean pop music, soap operas, poems, or novels that describe Chong
directly or indirectly. The other includes the academic articles that study Chdng.
According to a survey o f the themes in Korean pop songs, Chdng is rated as the
fourth most frequently used theme (Lim, p. 97). The first three themes— love, departure,
and tears are also indirectly related to it. The meaning of Chdng that is used in Korean
pop songs is not much different from the idea o f love in general. However, the
description o f this love is the ultimate Korean love. Most o f the sentiments regarding
Chdng in relation to love are not so much joyful, cheerful, or passionate, but sad,
52
regrettable, still, or warm. In addition, Kyu-tae Lee says that the most important aspect
of the Korean people’s sentiment is separation pathos (Lee, Kyu-tae, 1994, p. 269).36
The word o f ‘Arirang,’ one of the most famous classic songs that represents the
sentiment o f the Korean people, reads:
Arirang, Arirang, Arariyo.

[Darling,]You are crossing over the hill of Arirang.
[Darling,] You are forsaking me and going away.
You feet will get sore right away.
The song expresses the sentiment of separation. The sentiment, however, is a paradoxical
expression o f sincere and strong love for the lover and the earnest yearning for a reunion
with him or her. The ambivalent aspect of separation and reunion in Chdng can be found
in expressions such as, “unfinished Chdng will remain as Han” (Lim, pp. 93-97). One o f
the famous Korean pop songs’ verse, titled ‘I give Chdng and I cry,’ reads as follows:
Why don’t you understand my crying heart for you who became Chongfulwith
me?
When heartless [mu- Chonghan] you notice my heart, I would lament smiting the
land
If you must leave me after all, I would forget even your name
I have given you Chdng and yet I cry because I loved you so much.
(Daejunggayo Gasajip [Popular Song Wordbook], 1992, p. 634)
Though this song describes the heartbroken feeling o f separation, it also delivers
the regretful feeling that the relationship o f Chdng or love is not finished. Therefore,
their separation pathos indicates that they do not allow separation emotionally and are
36 Separation pathos is different from Han in that the latter is a broader and more intense concept.
Separation pathos can be developed into Han depending on the situation.
53
still eager to reunite with the separated lover at their psychological level. This is the
sticky aspect o f the Korean Chong.
Many Korean poems, like Korean pop songs, also write about the separation
pathos. Poems such as ‘Jindalae [Azalea],’ ‘Gasiri [You would leave],’ written by So-
wol Kim, whom the Korean people regard as a representative of this national sentiment,
are poems that express this separation pathos. These are but a few examples of many
poems that include the topic and experience o f Chong?1 This separation pathos can be
partly attributed to the patriarchal social circumstances in the Chosun Dynasty that
engendered the Korean love that could not but end with separation. Due to the distinction
of class in Korea’s patriarchal society, many relationships between lovers were not
allowed or admitted as legitimate or appropriate. Beyond the Chosun Dynasty, however,
it is correct to say that this separation pathos has become a major aspect o f the Korean
people’s sentiment throughout Korean history.
There are many novels in which we can discover the description o f Chong. For
example, one novel, Gaetbaram [Breeze], written by a novelist Woo-am Paik (1982),
depicts what Chong is like. An old woman, who is facing death, is having a conversation
with her husband:
“Darling, your hand, hand . . . ” Breathing breathlessly, she was stretching her
hand in attempt to hold her husband’s hands.
“You hurry up and go!” He talked bluntly letting his hands be dragged by her
daughter who came to see the dying o f her mother.
37 See Lim, Unfinished Chong will remain as Han in (ed.) Lim, Tae-sup, Chong, Face, and Connection.
pp. 93-97. See also, Lee, Kyu-tae, 1994, pp. 133-165.
54
“I am going first to our son ..

“Damn it!”
“Now, you remain alone
“Can’t you close your eyes because you hid something to eat?”
“What a trouble life is left to you . . . I wish you could come with me . . .”
For those who do not understand the Chong-ful aspect of the Korean people’s
sentiment, the way the husband talks bluntly to his wife makes him appear to be cool and
distant. However, Koreans obviously notice that the husband is holding back his tom
heart. Also, behind the wife’s expressions such as “You remain alone . . . ” or “I wish you
could come . . . ” lie the warm and regrettable heart o f the wife who is still concerned
about setting up the meal table and making the bed for her husband, who will soon be left
alone after her death. Though it seems crude and grumbling on the surface, both husband
and wife try to be moderate in (or abstain themselves from) expressing their concerns
about each other and their heartbreak o f not being able to stay together. Throughout their
conversation in this novel, Korean readers can feel something powerful enough to make
them heartbroken as they empathize with this man and his wife; that something is Chong.
Recently, another novel, titled Father, written by Jung-hyun Kim, was published
and became a best seller for a couple o f years. The novel marvelously describes Chong
among family members: between father and daughter and between husband and wife.
The novel begins with the story of a father who is diagnosed with cancer in the pancreas.
He has a wife, a daughter, and a son. However, he does not tell his family that he has
only six months to live because he loves his family too much to make his family
55
members suffer. This is Chongful love. During the remaining six months, instead o f
sharing his suffering, he rather keeps it to himself. He commits himself to spending his
last six months in preparing everything for the welfare o f his family after his death.
Because his family does not know about his cancer, there is much misunderstanding
between him and his family members, which only makes him suffer more. Paradoxically,
however, he continues to internalize his suffering, which is his way o f confirming to
himself his love for his family. He loves his family too much to tell them o f his love and
affection. This is Korean love or Chongful love.
It may make no sense to Americans that the father did not tell his family about
his love. One might ask why the affective, that is, the father’s telling them o f his love,
would go against Chong. The answer is that it does not go against Chdng, but it is
attributed to the nature o f Chong. He would rather go through the suffering by himself
rather than hurt his family which he loves by letting them know about his suffering. One
o f the important aspects o f Chdng here are stillness and other-directedness.38 The father
may be operating by a sense o f fatality and believes that telling them about his situation
would not change the situation. He believes it would only worsen it.
Between 1997 and 1998, there was a television soap opera called, Because o f
Chdng, which recorded the highest program audience rating during that period. It was
38 “Stillness” refers to the tendency not to express feelings but to hold back; “other-directedness” refers to
the tendency to consider others first rather than oneself. See pages, S9-6S for the attributes o f Chong. Also
see pages 132-156 for findings about the emotional dimension o f Chong from the interviews.
56
introduced to the Korean-American immigrant society and its title was translated into
“Ties that Bind.” The soap opera is about the story of love and hatred that an old widow,
her grown up children, and the widow’s husband’s concubine experience. The story
begins when the concubine shows up at the widow’s house one day and asks to live with
her. The widow feels sorry for the concubine because she has no place to go. The
concubine was allowed to stay with the widow but her identity as a concubine is kept
secret from the children. Instead, she is introduced as their aunt. One daughter among
the children, however, is the real daughter o f the concubine. However, that cannot be
revealed.
In many respects, the set-up o f the situation in this soap opera is difficult to
understand. However, it is understandable from the perspective of Chong. The
concubine’s difficult situation is understood and the concubine is cared for by the widow
despite the fact that she is a concubine and the widow naturally despises that about her.
The sympathetic understanding o f her life o f suffering as a concubine is preferred to the
strict Confucian ethics o f marriage. It is heartbreaking for the concubine to restrain her
desire to reveal that she is the real mother o f her daughter and to call her daughter’s
name. The real daughter finally discovers that the concubine is her real mother and she
then hates her mother. However, despite her initial feelings o f shame and hatred, the
daughter gradually grows to love her real mother and finally gives her kidney to her
57
mother, who was later diagnosed as with nephritis. The widow who raised the daughter
as her very own felt regret in seeing the daughter’s love for her real mother grow.
All these relationships make the Korean people feel regret, anger, and
frustration. However, those feelings are somehow colored and surrounded by Korean
warmth and humanness. The soap opera depicts the nature o f Korean interpersonal
relationships that are characteristic o f Chong: they love because o f Chong; hate because
o f Chong-, accept because of Chdng, feel regret because o f Chong.
There are also many short articles about Chong. Kyu-tae Lee wrote many essays
about Chong. The essays introduce various information related to Chong such as many
episodes from people’s daily lives, many cultural customs o f Chong in their traditional
culture, the nature o f Chong as it appears in poems and novels, and do forth. His essays
are not necessarily academic studies and yet they have academic value in their depth and
variety.
Academic Studies of Chdng
Now I turn to the direct studies of Jeong. Recently, some scholars have studied
Chdng academically. Soo W. Lee (1987) wrote an article titled, “Chdng and the Patterns
o f Interpersonal Relationship o f Koreans.”39 In the article, he presents six
39 See also, “In-Chong o f Koreans: Its Implications (I), (II)” In Yim, Neung-bin, (ed.) Dongyang-
sasabgkwa-simnihag [Oriental Thought and Psychology] Seoul: Sungwonsa, 1995. pp. 544-581
58
characterististics o f Chongful relationship. The following is the summary o f them (pp.
95-125).
First, compared to a non- Chongful relationship, the feelings involved in a
Chongful relationship are more various and the feelings are more intense. Second, one
exposes oneself to another with many concerns about the other’s interest, character,
capability, and the like, and also requests that the other person expose him/herself. Third,
one aggressively involves oneself in the other’s difficulty and intervenes in it. Fourth, the
contents and opportunities o f exchanges within the relationship are increased. Fifth,
distinguishing right or wrong and pursuing self-interest or making official contract is not
allowed within the relationship because it is considered selfish. Sixth, the people in the
relationship sympathize with each other and share the space o f “we.”
Sung-soo Chang, et. al., (1990) wrote an article called, “A Study o f the Justice of
Distribution in Koreans’ Interpersonal Relationships: Centering on the Justice Perspective
and the In- Chong Perspective.” This articles studies the ethical dimensions o f
interpersonal relationships o f the Korean people in terms o f distributive justice. In
interpersonal relationships distributive justice is crucial for social justice. However, the
authors first point out that the criteria for distributive justice depend upon social
circumstances and people’s values. They summarize that in anthropology, sociology, and
cross-cultural psychology, in general, interpersonal relationships are divided into
individual-oriented ones and group-oriented ones.
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The individual-oriented relationships regard the individual as autonomous and
independent and emphasizes self-reliance. In this system distributive justice is based on
an “equity principle,” i.e., that outcome should be determined by input. Group-oriented
relationships, however, regard the individual as interdependent and see both the self and
the other as one through the sense o f “we.” In this system distributive justice is
determined by the “equality principle” or “need principle.”40 Chang, et. al., argue that the
distributive justice of the Korean people is a group-oriented tendency that considers the
need of the group. In other words, their group-oriented tendency enforces the distributive
justice based on Chong.
In the paper, Chang, et. al., studied the Korean people’s consciousness o f justice
in a case when a policeman gave the elderly mother o f a friend a ticket for a traffic
violation. Regarding this situation, it was found that more people in Seoul thought this
was fair, compared to those in rural area. Also, regarding the characteristic of being
conniving, it was also found that the people in the rural area as a whole are more
Chongful than those in Seoul.
Chang, et. al., examined another case which involved paying for a meal shared
by many persons and whether they “go Dutch” or whether one person pays for
everything. The result o f the study shows that those who have a consciousness of justice
think going Dutch is fair while those with the consciousness o f in-Chong regard payment
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by one person as fair because it gives a sense o f self-worth. Or, more frankly, they may
be afraid o f being judged as selfish. The outcome indicates that the judgement o f justices
depends upon their own consciousness. Also, it was discovered that those with the
consciousness o f fairness tend to avoid financial burdens rather than pursue a sense o f
self-worth while those with the consciousness o f in-Chong tend to prefer pursuing the
sense o f self-worth even at the risk o f having a financial burden. At the same time, it is
discovered that those with the consciousness o f justice are more materialistic than those
with that o f in-Chong. In other words, those with the sense o f in-Chong are less sensitive
to being mercenary than those with the sense o f justice.
Soo-jin Choi, et. al., (1990) presented a paper called “Psychological Structure of
Chong” at the seminar o f the Korean Psychological Association. The paper studied
college students’ perception of Chong. The outcome shows that Chdng has four
attributes: historicity, togetherness, endearment, and simultaneity.
Attributes of Chdng
Chong has various attributes. Young-yong Kim(1995) suggests its six attributes:
warmth, stillness, unselfishness, demanding-no-reward, stickiness, and the mutuality of
40 The equality principle refers to the principle that the outcome should be distributed equally to everyone
regardless o f input. The need principle refers to the principle that distribution should be determined
according to the need of everyone.
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the bond (pp. 24-31). I want to add one more attribute: other-centeredness. These
attributes need explanation.
W arm th
The warmth o f Chong indicates the aspect o f humanness. It is felt from other’s
attitudes or character through interpersonal relationships. It implies being generous and
considerate. Park (1996) describes it as “warmth o f human-heartedness” (p. 110). One
common particular custom among the Korean churches is to pack leftovers from their
meals and give it to pastors when they leave after a home-visitation. Both parishioners
and pastors feel good about each other. It is an expression o f Chong that they feel like
sharing, even though the food sometimes makes pastors feel irksome (p. 1l l) .41
In general, therefore, one feels sorry if one does not give to the other; the other
feels regret if it is not given. Korean people often use the expression, ‘sopsophada.'
Korean-English dictionary defines it as “regrettable,” “disappointing,” “pitiful,” or
“sorry.” However, according to survey, there is no equivalent English word to it (Ki-
hong Kim, 1985, pp. 38-56). The expression is usually used in interpersonal relationships
when the other party does not meet one’s expectation: one feels rejected, hurt, or
disappointed. The feeling is directed toward the person who did not respond to the
expectation. One feels rejected because one feels as if the other did not have any concern
41 Andrew Park says that Korean gift-giving is often an expression o f Chong; between parents and children,
teachers and students, employer and employees, etc.
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or love for him or her. It is not because o f the unfulfilled expectation o f something but
o f the Chong which is expressed by it. The feeling expressed by ‘sopsophada' is an
indication that Koreans, in general, warmly share Chong.
Stillness
Chong is a stillness or clam in a sense that it is not passionate or excited. In this
sense, Chong is different from ‘love’ though the former includes the meaning o f the latter
in part. It is the same as that ‘warm’ which means ‘not hot.’ Therefore, Chong is neither
furious nor aggressive. It is hard to feel its existence; it is not so much direct as indirect.
Owing to this attribute, one sometimes cannot notice the Chdng that he or she receives
from the others. Kyu-tae Lee (1994, p. 153) says that it is not something to reveal but
something to hold back. Such sentiment can be found in the Korean literature. He says,
“Because the Koreans are the people o f Chong, their daily behavior is often embedded
with it even though they do not intend to express it; the Korean literature is characteristic
o f attempting to gather Chong which appears existing and yet not-existing” (p. 141).
Chong in the sense o f being still, usually refers to the affection o f parents for
children in the Korean culture. Culturally, the Korean parents do not usually express
their affection for their children even though they love them. It sounds negative in terms
o f the expressive way o f modem parenting. However, even though it sounds awkward,
the feeling of love and concern for their children is still ardent in their heart as much as
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they do not express verbally. Despite the non-expression, they give and deeply feel love
for the children.
Unselfishness
Chong is unselfish. Being unselfish implies not only being sacrificial but also
being beyond that which might be reasonably expected. In other words, it is not
conditional. This attribute results from a view held by Koreans that essentially values
human relationship itself into which any terms or calculations cannot be intervened.
Chong can be compared to love in this sense. Love has the decision-making processes
which are logical and conditional. If one decides not to love the other, love cannot be
formed however much the latter loves the former. Or, if one decides to love the other,
though the latter ignores the former, one can love the other as far as one decides to.
However, Chong is shaped unwittingly without such processes o f conscious decision.
It is said of Korean people that their understanding of role boundaries is obscure.
That is, they are not clear in distinguishing the personal from the official. This has to do
with Chong. For instance, Koreans do not put their money out at interest between parents
and children. However, according to survey, seventy eight percent o f the American
people do so between brothers and sisters: thirty two percent between parents and
children (Kyu-tae Lee, 1994, p. 76). Computing interest cannot happen between people
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who become Chongful with each other in the Korean society. This indicates that Chong
also influences financial matters in human relationships.
European Chamber o f commerce reports on the ways people relate to each other
in the business context in many countries. According to the report made by the European
Chamber of Commerce, the best way to have a successful business with Korean people is
to form a good relation with them such as by having dinner and drinking together. It is
important to enable them to feel good, that is, intimate. Such actions remove a barrier
between people. Once the barrier is taken away, there is nothing that may hinder these
relationships. Korean people tend to think that human relationships can never be
evaluated through commercial transactions. Therefore, if they compute profits and losses
financially with each other, it makes them feel uncomfortable; it is as if they set up the
boundary that can never be crossed. If it happens, Chong eventually disappears.
Sticky42
Young-yong Kim (1995) compares Chong to intimacy (p. 19). According to him,
the sense of the bond in Chong is less influenced by the circumstances while intimacy is
more unstable and susceptible to the circumstances. Once they have hostility toward each
other, intimacy goes away while Chong does not, despite hostile feelings toward each
other. He gives a following example:
42 This means the “glue” in Korean belongingness.
65
Two persons are fighting or arguing. When the third party intervenes and takes
side with one, the one does not go with the third party simply because the third
party sides with him; but the one sides with the other whom one was arguing
against, (p. 20)
This indicates that two persons have a strong sense o f a bond between them even when
they have hostile feelings towards each other.
One instance o f the above example would be the relationships between mother-in-
law, daughter-in-law, and sister-in-law. There is a Korean proverb which precisely
describes this relationship: “For a daughter-in-law, the sister-in-law who tries to stop
scolding is more hateful than the mother-in-law who scolds.” The conflict between
mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is one o f the chronic vices in the Korean society.
The daughter-in-law always has a hard time with her mother-in-law due to her
inexperience in running a household, so she is usually scolded. However, when the
sister-in-law intervenes or stops scolding, she is more hateful to the daughter-in-law than
mother-in-law. This is because the sister-in-law’s behavior or intention is construed not
as helping the daughter-in-law but as excluding her from the family members. The
daughter-in-law feels as if the sister-in-law is saying, “She is not originally our (mother-
in-law and sister-in-law) family member, so ignore her!” In sum, this sense o f bond does
not allow any intervention o f a third party. In the same vein, Chong does not often allow
the intervention o f objectivity or reasonableness.
Stickiness of Chong also means that it does not become extinct easily. Compared
to love, Chong does not cool down easily. This is the case because Chong can be shaped
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or maintained regardless o f appropriate rewards or positive experiences in interpersonal
relationships. However, if it does go away, whatever reasons, people usually experience
loss or betrayal more seriously. It then becomes Han (Lim, 1994, p. 29). Han occurs
when Chong is suppressed or withdrawn.
The Mutuality of the Bond
Chong is mutual and thus is experienced and felt by two parties. There is no such
thing as one-side Chong, while there can be one-side love. An old saying goes, “The
more they fight, the more Chongful they become.” This saying usually refers to children
who fight at home while they are growing. Its point is that fighting is not always
alienating or distancing. Rather, fighting can strengthen the relationship. Another
illustration would be saying, “We have formed both odious Chong and gentle Chong with
each other.” This usually refers to the relationship o f the couples who have been married
for a long time. Or, more generally, it may refer to the nature of intimate long-term
friendships. Reflecting upon the past, both good and happy moments and bad and
unpleasant moments, all o f which have made the relationship stronger.
Other-centeredness
Koreans tend to try not to show their emotions because they are concerned about
what others would think o f their emotions; or they do not want to make others feel
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uncomfortable by showing their emotion. Ki-hong Kim (1984) explains Koreans’
other-centeredness in communication as follows:
Why are not Koreans content simply to show gratitude for a kind action; why
must they, in addition, apologize for the trouble caused by the other person? Why
do Koreans feel guilty while Americans feei appreciation toward those doing
favors for them? When others do good for them, regardless o f their ranks and
ages, Americans tend to feel comfortable and thankful in a positive way, as self-
centered individuals, while situation-oriented Korean feel guilty in a negative way
for causing others to sacrifice their time and energy. The other-centered person,
who is always interested in what others may think o f him, by ignoring himself
tends to think about another’s situation first before he expresses his own
satisfaction. Thus in Korea it is quite natural to express one’s feeling about the
other person’s burden rather than expressing one’s own satisfaction, (p. 46)
The other-centeredness o f the communication mode comes from the sense o f
Chong which is manifested in the fact that they consider other’s situations first: empathy.
Kim argues that Korean communication patterns are other-centered while American
communications are in a self-assertive mode. Because in Korean context the self is
experienced as a part o f the larger social context surrounding the individual, one learns to
subordinate oneself to a larger social system and thus is able to maintain solidarity with
the other members of the group. Therefore, it is more important to understand the
members of the group are feeling than to assert individuality.
Theoretical Chdng in Confucianism
The purpose of surveying theoretical Chong is to establish its firm theoretical
basis. As noted at present theory o f Chong, this appears to be the first academic attempt
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to conduct a theoretical study o f Chong by connecting interpersonal Chong and
theoretical Chong. The provision of a firm theoretical ground for actual Chong, can
enhance both the academic and practical understanding o f Chong. This step is necessary
if we are to pursue its practical theological implications. The understanding of human
being in Confucianism, Four Beginnings in Mencius and Seven emotions in Chung-yung,
and Four-Seven Debates will be discussed respectively.
The Understanding of Human Being in Confucianism
At least five basic elements are necessary in understanding the Confucian notion
o f human being. They are: li (principle), ch 7 (material force), hsing (nature), ch ‘ing
(feelings), and hsin (mind).43 According to Confucian philosophy, a human being is bom
with a union o f li and ch 7. In a narrow sense, human nature refers to the Heaven-
endowed nature, which is called li. This aspect o f human nature is essentially good. In a
broader sense, however, the nature of human beings is attributed to both li and ch 7;
human nature can thus be good or bad. Ch ’ing (feeling) refers to the human nature which
is aroused when it comes into contact with things. Hsin is the central faculty of the body
controlling both nature and feelings. The concept o f each element will be explained in
detail. However, throughout the history of Confucianism, there have been many schools
43 Besides the five elements, there are many other concepts such as ming (destiny), t 'ai-chi (great ultimate),
yang and yin (positive and negative), etc. However, those concepts are too sophisticated and are too distant
from the subject o f the dissertation to be explained. The italicized words are the transliteration of the
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with differing understandings o f human beings from one another. Rather than
reviewing these extensive writings, a philosophical explanation o f the complicated
debates about human nature will be avoided.
L i (principle, / , ° 1 ,1 ).
Li is the central concept in the entire Neo-Confucian movement (Wing-Tsit Chan,
1989, p. 138; Fung Yu-lan, 1973, p. 482). Li is the ground concept o f Confucian
philosophy in the sense that it is very much like Plato’s Idea o f the Good, or Aristotle’s
notion o f God (Fung Yu-lan, 1973).
Li has been translated as law, fate, form, or principle in English. Fate and form
are far from its meaning. Wing-tsit Chan argues that law is not proper in a sense that it
does not refer to the priori. Evan Morgan (Bruce, 1923) said in his dictionary o f Chinese
terms:
Li originally meant the trimming o f precious stones. Its use was verbal. Hence it
came to be applied generally to attention to any business. Gradually from putting
things to rights it came to signify the truth in a thing, (p. 107)
In other words, the idea o f putting things right came to mean the inherent rightness of a
thing. For this study, the term ‘principle’ is preferred. The discussion turns now to
principle.
Principle and the Way {Tad) are used interchangeably in Confucianism. In this
regard, Neo-Confucian understanding is in line with Taoist thought. The Way is “the
Chinese words which followed the modified Wade-Giles system o f romanization. However, it is to be
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nature o f all things and the nature o f each particular thing” (Kalton, xxiii). Although
Neo-Confucians used the traditional term ‘Too,” more often they used the term li to
convey the same thought. Like the Tao, principle is one. But manifested diversely, it
constitutes “the inner nature o f all things, and is the one all-encompassing and normative
nature o f everything” (p. xxiii). In this sense, principle is what a thing should be. It
implies that the thing is proper, that is “not being excessive or deficient” (Ch’en C h’un,
1986, p. 112).
The first sentence of Chung-yung (The Doctrine o f Mean), refers to nothing but
the Principle when it says, “What Heaven imparts to man.” Therefore, “What Heaven
imparts to man” as human nature can be understood as follows: “Nature is Principle.”
This is one of the core statements in Neo-Confucianism. It is no wonder that Neo-
Confucianism is called ‘the science o f nature (hsing) and principle (//).’ Principle is
called nature because it is possessed by the self to be his/her own. When Mencius said,
“Everything is embodied in me,” he means that Heaven’s principle is embodied in human
nature.
Li is what is inherent in things. In this sense, it is “formless, with nothing in
which to inhere” (Bruce, 1922, p. 292). Chou Tun-Yi defines it as “a designation for the
immaterial and metaphysical principle or principles that underlie, yet transcend, the
physical universe” (Fung Yu-lan, p. 444). Chu Hsi says, “What is above shape and has
no shape or shadow, is Principle” (p. 534). Fung Yu-lan (1973) states that ‘above shape’
noted that Chong and Ch 'ing are literally the same words.
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is “whatever transcends time and space and subsists.” Chiu Hansheng says, “principle
is the origin o f the universe. Before heaven and earth existed there was certainly only
principle. The principle exists independently and eternally, not relying on the universe”
(Wang Tsit-Chan, 1986, p.l 17). In the beginning, when no single physical object yet
existed, there was then nothing but principle.
Ch 7 (Material force, Ki, 7], %).
While there is the metaphysical world wherein li exists, there is another concrete
world within shapes, the formation of which is dependent upon ch 7. Li is similar to what
Greek philosophy called form; ch 7 to what it called matter. The former is the source
from which things are produced while the latter is the means whereby things are
produced. Ch 7 is the plenum o f the Universe; it constitutes corporeality. Corporeality
includes two forces: yin and yang. Ch 7 represents the material element in the dual
constitution of the universe.
Ch 7, however, is a difficult concept to understand. Etymologically, it means
“vapor produced by the heat o f fire or sun”(Bruce, 1923, p. 102). In modem language, it
means “air,” “gas,” “vapor,” “breath,” or “temper.” It has thus been variously translated
as many words: matter, vital force, material force, ether, primordial matter, etc. I use
material force in this dissertation in a sense that ch 7 is the general term which represents
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the material element in all the myriad transformations o f the cosmos in contrast to the
immaterial element li.
Ch 7 also refers to the primordial substance in which both spirit and matter
originate. It is that part o f the primordial substance that becomes spirit, in contrast to
chih, the part which becomes solid matter (p. 102).
Relations between li and ch 7.
Li is the principle of movement o f ch 7; the former is universal and metaphysical
while the latter is particular. As to whether there is a priority between li and ch 7,
fundamentally one cannot say which one o f the two exists first. Li is prior to ch 7 in a
sense that the former is the thing that enables ch 7 to exist. As Fung Yu- lan says,
“Principle transcends time and space and is ever unchanging, whereas the Ether [ch 7]
exists within time and space and does undergo change” (1973, p.545). However, as a
practical matter, as soon as there is Principle, there is also material force. Nevertheless,
epistemologically, ch 7 is first (Kwang Lee, p. 85). When ch 7 gathers, there is shape;
when it scatters, shape disappears.
Li and ch 7, however, are indispensable to each other. Chu Hsi says, “Principle is
never separate from the Ether” (p. 544). Li can exist only when ch 7 exits. A human
being, for instance, is bom with a combination o f li and ch 7. This is the case because li
cannot exist without ch 7. The concrete world o f “within shapes” is formed depending
upon the ch 7 or material force (Fung Yu-lan, p. 542). Chu Hsi says, “It is Ether that has
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the capacity to condense and thus create, whereas Principle lacks volition or plan, and
has no creative power. Yet the fact is that wherever the Ether condenses into one spot,
Principle is present within it” (p. 542). The creative process of that material force cannot
take place without Principle.
Chiu Hansheng well summarizes the relationships between li and ch 7:
There is apart from the material world, a principle, or a Principle o f Heaven,

which does not depend on the material world and which exists independently and
eternally. It is the origin and foundation o f the material world. It is a “clean,
empty, and boundless space”; yet it contains and covers all creation o f the
universe and is incarnated in each and every one o f the myriads o f things in the
universe. Such a principle or Principle o f Heaven is not a law abstracted from the
objective world and has no material basis. It should be noted, however, that
concepts in fact mirror the material word. Concepts that exist independently and
do not rely on the material world can only be fabrications o f the imagination, (pp.
119-120)
Hsing (nature, Seong, -*<j, ft ) .
In Confucian philosophy, the understandings o f human nature is complicated.
First, the Confucian notion o f human nature is that human nature is cosmological or
moral. The first chapter o f Chung-yung, one of the four Chinese classics, reads,44 “What
Heaven imparts to man is called human nature.”45 This means that human being
possesses cosmological substance in nature. Heaven here does not mean scientific or
physical space, rather it means philosophical substance that can be recognized through
44 Those are Analets, Mencius, Great Learning, and Chung-yung.
45 The Doctrine of Mean, chapter 1-1. In The Chinese Classics Vol. 1, translated by James Legge, Hong
Kong: Hong Kong University Press, I960, p. 383.
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internal reflection by a mature person. For Confucius, Heaven is also “recognized
internally through innate morality which existed in human nature” (Kwang Lee, 1996, p.
52).
To review in Confucianism, human nature is understood in both narrow and broad
senses (Fung Yu-lan, pp. 32-37). In a narrow sense, it refers to the Heaven-endowed
nature which is essentially good. In a broad sense, it refers to a mixture o f both li and
ch 7. In modem language they refer to spirit and body respectively. In this sense, human
nature can be good and/or bad.
The character o f ‘nature’ consists o f the two parts; hsin (mind, ^ , 'C') and sheng
(to produce or to be bom, -*<§, ^ ) . It is called nature because from birth the human being
possesses the mind in which principle is completely contained. According to Chu Hsi,
“Mind is Principle.” The heavenly principle embodied in the human nature specifically
refers to the four virtues suggested by Mencius: jen (compassion), i (righteousness), li
(propriety), and chi (wisdom). In this reading human nature then is essentially good.
The Mencian notion that human nature is good assumes that the native
endowment itself is good. It does not mean that human nature can become good through
experience or practice. The idea o f the goodness of human nature in Mencius does not
refer to psychological or ethical goodness. Rather the goodness o f human nature here
refers to an ontological reality that is the ground o f morality. In other words, every
human being possesses an innate legitimization o f what he or she ought to do. One
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Korean Confucian scholar says that the goodness o f human nature can be thus
interpreted as truth or holiness because human nature seeks truth and beauty as a result o f
the essential goodness of human nature.
Mencius’ view on human nature differs from the naturalist position in which
human nature is defined in terms o f instinctual nature. Mencius desires to arrive at an
holistic understanding o f the uniqueness o f being human, so he views the naturalist
position as deficient and one-sided. Thus, he does not agree that what one appears to be
is necessarily what one really is. In other words, Mencius believes that human beings
possess an unchangeable nature endowed from Heaven.
Mencius, however, realizes that environmental conditions influence a person’s
mind, though he believes that there is something in human nature that can never be
subject to external control. Jung D. Ryu (Kwang Lee, 1992), a Korean Confucian
scholar, says that Heaven-endowed human nature should be understood in terms o f two
different natures: its innateness and its acquiredness. If innateness is emphasized, it may
become metaphysical and result in the loss o f particularity in human beings. If its
acquiredness is emphasized, it would be prepossessed by its particularity and result in a
materialistic view o f human nature. Confucius also states that every human has both
aspects; each person has the same innateness, while his acquiredness is different.
Confucius, however, did not regard human nature in a philosophical sense. He
considered human nature in a very practical sense. He did so in part because he was more
concerned about practical ways o f living together rather than the metaphysical
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implications of living. He says that men are similar to one another by nature and they
diverge as a result o f repeated practice. Chu Hsi, in his exposition o f Confucius,
commented that Confucius’ understanding o f human nature includes the concept o f
disposition; he states that each human being’s disposition is different from others, and
can thus be beautiful or evil even though it shares the same origin. In short, the human
nature which includes this disposition can become good if it practices good or it can
become evil if it practices evil. Chung Tzu also said that Confucius’ idea o f human
nature does not refer to the origin o f human nature but to the human nature which
includes disposition. However, it is to be noted that Confucius also says that the ground
o f human nature is the principle o f which all the aspects are good. In conclusion,
Confucius’ idea is not different from Mencius’. Both o f them see the human nature as
inherently good, and as inherently principled.
Mencius, through his conversation with Kao Tzu, clarifies his argument that
human nature is good. He wrote that the goodness o f human nature did not refer to a
human’s biological desires such as appetite, thirst, and hunger. If this were the case, he
argues, there would be no difference between a human being and an animal. The
difference is that human nature includes a certain quality imparted from Heaven-principle
or vitality. Concrete embodiment o f the quality is, for Mencius, jen, li, i, and chih.
Mencius makes it clear that those qualities are not inherent in animals.
However, Mao Tzu, a scholar o f an ancient Confucianism, viewed principle as a
transcendental substance beyond humans. Since principle is not embodied through
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humans, it exists above humans and thus dominates. Such an understanding inevitably
creates a hierarchical relation between Heaven and humans: This understanding is distant
from the general Confucian idea that Heaven and humans are equal. Mencius’ idea o f the
principle, however, is never separated from humans and yet is completely immanent in
them. This principle o f Heaven is an aim that humans try and should try to actualize. A
human being and Heaven are understood essentially to be on the same level and the
relation between the two is not hierarchical but horizontal.
These differing understandings o f human nature can be viewed in terms o f what
the nature o f evil is for Mencius and Hsun Tzu. Mencius says that becoming evil is not
the fault o f a human’s native endowment but a failure to make the best of their
endowment. The reason humans fail to make the best of their native endowment is their
disregard for their internal human nature, compounded by their physical or camal desires
about external materials. Therefore, evil, for Mencius, is the physical desire, which
comes from the body and disturbs the human nature. In sum, Mencius believes that the
mental aspect o f human nature is good while its physical aspect is the source o f evil. He
therefore thinks that the mental aspect should be primarily established so it can control
physical desire.
Hsun Tzu argues that human nature is essentially evil. His perspective o f human
nature, however, is essentially different from that o f Mencius; therefore, it is not wise to
compare both o f them in a parallel way. Hsun Tzu’s idea of human nature refers to
sensuous instincts such as hunger, coldness, and tiredness. For Hsun Tzu, these desires
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are essentially evil. Likewise, he thought that envy, sensual desire, and covetousness
are evil. If humans follow these desires, there will be fights, conflicts, loss o f
humbleness, and disappearance of propriety. Therefore, it can be said that Hsun Tzu’s
understanding o f human nature also includes the concept o f disposition.
For Hsun Tzu, however, the goodness of humans lies in human effort or intention.
He argues that all humans attempt to do good things because human nature is essentially
evil. He explains that humans seek wealth when poor, and seek something external when
there is nothing inside. In the same vein, he says that one reflects upon oneself when one
sees something evil. Although he seems to admit that goodness exists within human
nature, he argues that humans can be good or perfected through social and educational
constraints. Human nature, though evil in essence, is malleable to social values and
norms if they are understood by the intelligence o f the mind. In light o f this nature, Hsun
Tzu’s view o f human nature is intended to lead humans onto the right path.
In sum, Mencius’ idea of human nature is ontological, unchangeable, and
universal, while Hsun Tzu’s idea is changeable, experiential, sensuous, and
psychological. In Confucianism, it is generally understood that every human being
possesses a quality that can never be subject to external control. Whether one is a sage or
an ordinary person, one possesses the underlying compatibility o f all human beings. This
implies that morality in the mind is neither learned nor acquired from outside but
manifested from within. It is inborn, can be developed or lost, and yet is recoverable
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whenever one wills to preserve it. This entails the necessity o f moral cultivation, a
perspective which will be elaborated later.
Hsin (Mind, Sim, ^
Hsin is usually translated as mind, or heart, or mind-and-heart in English
literature. In this dissertation, I use mind. In Confucian literature, hsin is not defined in a
word. The usage and meaning o f the word differs according to the context.
First, Chu Hsi says, “Mind is nature.” Nature here refers to the principle endowed
from Heaven. Chu Hsi, therefore, means that hsin possesses the principle o f heaven
which is pure, eternal, and unchangeable. That is why Mencius says, “He who has
completely developed his mind, knows his nature. Knowing his nature, he knows
Heaven.” In this sense, the study o f mind is not simply that o f its emotional aspect but
also that o f the principle o f heaven: cultivation o f morality.
Second, Chu Hsi said, “Mind is life.” This means that mind is produced when the
human being is bom. Etymologically, the origin o f the two words, mind and life, is the
same. In consideration that li and ch ’i are combined when human being is produced, the
mind is said to have the aspects o f not only principle but also material force. This entails
that, though it contains principle, mind cannot function without material force. Fung Yu-
lan says that mind can function only “when the material force has condensed to form
physical shapes, and principle has united with the material force” (p. 551). In fact, the
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five viscera and the six entrails are considered as mind in Confucianism (Kwang Lee,
1992). This is what Chu Hsi meant when he said that mind had a bit o f trace when
compared to nature.
Although many complicated theories and debates about the mind have been set
forth throughout Confucian history, Chu Hsi completed the theory o f mind (Fung Yu-lan,
p. 553). The greatness o f his theory o f mind lies in his notion that both nature and
feelings are seen in terms of mind. He said, “The mind commands and unites man’s
nature and feelings” (Ch’en Chun, p. 60). Epistemologically, the nature, as principle, is
prior to mind: it belongs to the non-concrete world. However, the nature, like feelings, is
contained within the mind when a human being is bom. That is why mind is “the
unifying agent between the nature and the feelings (Fung Yu-lan, p. 557).”
Putting it differently, nature is the substance o f mind and feeling is a function of
mind. For the embodied principles o f heaven constitute one’s nature, but what is
embodied is the original substance of the mind. When the nature responds to all events, it
is a function o f the mind. In sum, “The substance o f the mind is nature, referring to its
state of tranquillity, and the function o f the mind is feeling, referring to its state o f
activity” (Ch’en Chun, p. 58).46
The four virtues suggested by Mencius refer to nature; the principle endowed
from heaven. However, the original text by Mencius reads, “the mind o f commiseration
is the beginning o f jen; the mind of shame and dislike li; the mind o f modest and yielding
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the mind o f right and wrong ch ih ” It is to be noted that though Chu Hsi interpreted
the four Beginnings as feelings, Mencius’ original text reads them as ‘mind.’ The
significance of this lies in the assertion that feeling is understood as mind: a function of
mind. Feeling is not simply what it is but what is controllable and should be controlled
by the mind. Therefore a human being in Confucianism is understood as an autonomous
moral agency in that mind can and should control both nature and feeling. The detailed
implications of this notion will be elaborated later.
The original state o f the mind is illumination. Being illuminating means two
things. First, it means the mind is like a mirror that has no reflection o f the object. The
mind thus can show a state o f the thing when it has the object. Another aspect o f the
mind’s being illuminating is that it has no dust or particle in it. It means that the mind is
not obsessed with selfish desire. When the mind can maintain the illuminating state, it
can reflect the object as it really is, so that it can understand its true shape. “The perfect
Man employs his mind as a mirror. It grasps nothing; it refuses nothing. It receives, but
does not seek. Thus he can triumph over things, without injury to himself.”
Owing to the illuminating aspect o f the mind, the principle o f heaven can be
manifested in body. Since principles are embodied in the mind, it can function in
wonderful ways. However, only through “the intellectual faculty” o f the mind can the
nature be manifested as feeling. In this sense, the mind is the location o f the intellectual
46 Ch’en Chun, p. 58.
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faculty. Putting it differently, mind has a principle governing consciousness. Or,
consciousness, like every other thing, has its own particular principle.
When consciousness or the intellectual faculty o f the mind proceeds from nature,
it is four virtues. This is the mind o f Tao. However, if consciousness proceeds from
one’s physical form and material force, that is the human mind (not Tao), which is easily
opposed to principle.
A Confucian understanding of mind is therefore far different from the idea o f
tabula rasa, the blank and fundamentally receptive state of the mind. Moral foundation,
Heaven, or Principle, is innate, hence the mind is not a tabula rasa. This is an
assumption similar to the behaviorists’ assumption that human being has an inner
organization which develops a certain behavior according to environmental stimuli. The
mind, in Confucianism, possesses the capacity to see and confront the world in a more
active and/or responsible way. In other words, the Confucian self is seen as a moral self.
Ch ’ing (emotion, Chdng, ^ , fjf).
As described earlier, ch ’ing literally means feeling. Feeling is the nature that is
manifested through the function o f mind. According to Mencius, while the four virtues o f
jen, i, li, chi ’h are nature, commiseration, shame and dislike, modest and yielding, and
right and wrong, the four germs of the four virtues, are feelings. According to the Book
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o f Rite, there are seven feelings: desire, hate, love, fear, grief, anger, and joy (Chung,
1990).
In Confucianism, however, emotion includes a moral dimension beyond
psychological feeling. The first chapter o f Chung-yung says,
Therefore the profound person is watchful over himself when he is alone. Before
the feelings o f pleasure, anger, sorrow, and joy are aroused it is called centrality.
When the feelings are aroused and each and all attain due measure and degree, it
is called harmony. Centrality is the great foundation o f the world, and harmony is
its universal path. To cultivate centrality and harmony with thoroughness is the
way to bring heaven and earth to their proper place and all things their proper
nourishment, (p. 5).
Moral cultivation involves controlling feelings. What we are is not separated from what
we should be. The attainment o f self-discipline through controlling feelings arises out o f
our moral responsibility, and the fulfillment thereof.
While nature is what is unmanifested, feeling is what is manifested. Feeling is the
desire of nature. While nature is always good, feeling can be good or evil. It depends on
the human being. When the nature o f humanity, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom is
manifest, the feelings of commiseration, shame and dislike, etc. are manifest, which are
good. However, when the manifestation is hindered by selfish desire, it becomes the
feelings of cruelty or foolishness.
Emotions such as joy, fear, or desire are the mind’s initial responses to a given
situation. The responses then lead to further activity such as thoughtful consideration or
intentions that include moral dimension. Therefore, the quality o f the responses affects or
determines moral behavior. This is why Chung-yung’s description o f the original state o f
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nature and feelings is important. Actualization o f commonality and centrality has to do
with moral behavior. Chu Hsi said, “the state o f commonality and harmony is the ground
o f moral practice.”
Chuang Tzu says that we can transform our emotions by means o f reason, which
is a form o f moral consciousness. “Those who are quiet at the proper occasion and
follow the course o f nature cannot be affected by sorrow or joy”(p. 189).
Mind-cultivation (Self-cultivation).
According to Mencius, a child, who is neither educated nor considerate, is capable
o f doing something good; for him, this is evidence that human nature possesses four
virtues which are good. This means that the good nature of human being or morality is
not simply acquired from education or discipline. Good mind or behavior is simply a
manifestation o f the principle imparted from heaven. Despite his/her good nature and
possibility o f self-actualization, however, a human being still becomes bad or wrong.
There are two reasons for this. The first is the influence of the environment. The second
is inattention to cultivating the imparted human nature.
Therefore, although the good nature o f human being cannot be acquired, it still
requires some processes of mind cultivation, that is moral or self-cultivation. In this
sense, moral cultivation in Confucianism refers to the processes o f manifesting the
Heaven-endowed good nature. Mencius’ idea that human nature is essentially good is not
contradictory to that o f Kao Tzu which states that the morality o f human beings is
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acquired. Put differently, the proposition that morality is heavenly endowed human
nature does not exclude the notion that it requires moral cultivation. For instance, the
four virtues, though they are inherent in human nature, are not manifested in themselves.
They need to be manifested. Mencius says, ‘Tour virtues are lost if they are not thought
and discarded.” Therefore, the focus o f moral cultivation in Confucianism is focused on
enabling the innate morality to become manifest in daily lives.
One who actualizes the Heaven-endowed nature is called a profound person.
Though everyone has a common nature which is imparted from Heaven, everyone has a
different degree o f manifesting that imparted nature (Kwang Lee, pp. 56-47). The
different extent o f actualization depends on one’s own will, effort, and persistence;
therefore, it is his or her responsibility to actualize it or not. Confucius says, “If one
expands human nature, one can obtain the four seas, if not, one cannot even serve one’s
parents.” It is thus correct to say, “If anyone says that he/she cannot perform good even
though he has the good nature, he/she is the one who does harm to oneself.” Confucius
says that it is evil not to cultivate the immanent virtues that Heaven endowed. Leaving
virtue untended and merely hearing about what is right, but not managing to reform or
cultivate it, is evil. Mencius recommends that we endeavor to learn, widen, and fill our
hearts. In this sense, moral cultivation means doing one’s best in order to manifest the
heavenly endowed principle in daily lives. The different extent of actualization also
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depends on one’s inborn nature o f ch 7. The inborn nature of ch 7 is fatalistic and
unchangeable.47
At the very center o f moral cultivation stands the metaphysically based
description o f the structure and functioning o f the mind. The mind plays a crucial role in
a human being. However, the mind cannot function at its convenience. When it follows
the principle of nature, it becomes the mind o f Tao; when it follows the human desire, it
becomes the human mind. In this sense, mind-cultivation means the controlling o f
human desires. In the Confucian tradition, there are two ways o f mind-cultivation:
sudden enlightenment and gradual enlightenment. The former focuses on spontaneity and
the latter effort.
The practice o f sudden enlightenment is based on the fundamental confidence that
“the inherent nature o f principle is the foundation o f the mind itself’ (Taylor, 1990, p.
77). It counts on “spontaneous expression of an individual’s true nature.” An actual
practice for sudden enlightenment is “quiet-sitting.” It is nothing less than a form o f
practice that is capable of “penetrating to the very core of one’s nature.” More
specifically, in quiet-sitting, “one observes happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy before they
are manifest and have assumed material form” (p. 79). However, it runs the risk o f
lapsing into quietude. This is not very different from the theory and practice o f Ch 'an
47 According to the theory o f yin and yang and five materials, there are some unchangeable inborn qualities
such as duration of life. However, there are some qualities that can are changeable such as intellectual
capability, wealth, etc.
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Buddhism.48 In Confucianism, every human being possesses the potential o f actualizing
the Heaven-endowed nature, but no one can actualize it in its fullest sense. While the
process o f development and cultivation is existential, the reality of the Four Beginnings is
ontological. In this sense, the spontaneity o f the mind is the primary reason for morality.
On the contrary, gradual enlightenment focuses on “efforts and discipline in order
to acquire knowledge o f the basic principle within things as well as one’s own nature” (p.
79). Hu Wu-feng thought that the Principle o f Heaven could only be realized in “the
active or manifest capacity o f the m ind.. . The focus o f the attention was placed upon the
manifest as the basis for learning” (p. 79). Chu Hsi emphasized gradual enlightenment.
However, quiet-sitting was also useful for him to the degree that “it remained focused
upon the active component o f learning, the manifest mind, and it was suspicious and
potentially harmful to the extent that it became a practice exploratory o f the unmanifest
mind” (p. 80).
Chu Hsi synthesizes these two traditions o f mind cultivation through the concept
o f ching (ikyong, reverent seriousness) as he synthesizes the understanding o f nature and
emotion through the concept o f mind. Ching refers to “concentrating on the mind.”
Principle is understood to reside in both things and one’s nature but not in mind. Mind,
the cognitive and volitional center of the individual, is responsible for the exhaustive
search for principle. Importance is placed upon “preserving the mind.” That is,
48 It usually aims attaining nothing, which is far different from Confucian spirituality in that the latter
focuses on moral cultivation in daily lives.
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“retaining its clarity particularly through reverent seriousness in order to succeed in the
exhaustive search for principle” (pp. 105-106).
In conclusion, it is to be noted that the self-cultivation of morality is not
instrumental; the process o f self-cultivation itself is a goal. Tu Wei-Ming argues that it is
to be differentiated from the spiritual disciplines of Western mysticism or Taoism.
Chung-yung states that self-cultivation can never be isolated from our daily lives. When
Mencius mentioned the goodness o f human nature, he was not talking about metaphysical
speculation, but about real people, such as King Yao and Shun, who were construed as
embodying the good.
Four Beginnings in Mencius and Seven Emotions in Chung-yung
There are two major texts that are related to the issue o f Chong'. Mencius and
Chung-yung. In Mencius, the passage regarding the Four Beginnings reads as follows:
A person without the “mind-and-heart” of commiseration is not human; a person

without the mind-and-heart o f shame and dislike is not human; a person without
the mind-and-heart of courtesy and modesty is not human; a person without the
mind-and-heart o f right and wrong is not human. The mind-and-heart o f
commiseration is the beginning o f benevolence; the mind-and-heart o f shame and
dislike is the beginning o f righteousness; the mind-and-heart o f courtesy and
modesty is the beginning of propriety ; the mind-and-heart o f commiseration is the
beginning of wisdom. All human beings have these Four Beginnings just as they
have their four limbs. If one who has the Four Beginnings is unable to develop
them, one destroys oneself. (Mencius, 2A:6. See D.C. Lau, tran., Mencius (New
York: Penguin Books, 1970), pp.82-83).
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The text addresses four virtues and four beginnings. They are usually interpreted
as evidence for the original goodness o f human nature. Although later Confucianists,
especially Neo-Confucianists, devoted much of their deliberation to these subjects, they
have never deviated from the general direction laid down by Mencius that human nature
is originally good (Chan, 1963).
The text o f Mencius addresses the issue o f Chong or emotion by saying that the
Four Beginnings refer to feelings. The Four Beginnings, according to Chu His, are
interpreted as feelings. Confucian scholars throughout Confucian history have generally
agreed with this point. It is to be noted that Mencius refers to the Four Beginnings as the
“mind-and-heart o f commiseration,” not “feelings o f commiseration.” This implies that
nature, feelings, and the mind are somehow related to each other. The implications o f
this point will be elaborated in detail later in the text.
There are two important points in Mencius’ notion o f the goodness of human
nature. The first point is that the Four Beginnings are indications that human nature is
originally good. Mencius’ famous illustration o f a child who is about to fall into a well
explains this point. Since humans show the Four Beginnings, this indicates that humans
inherently possess good nature. That is, goodness is not acquired from the outside.
Every human being has the same good nature and thus can be perfect. Therefore, the fact
that human beings can become evil is not because their nature is inherently evil, but
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because they do not pay attention to the heaven-endowed good nature which is inherent
in them.
This first point entails the other point: human nature needs to be manifested.
There are two aspects concerning the manifestation o f the human nature. On the one
hand, it presupposes that something exists in us which is not manifest. This something
may either be nature (hsing) or a state of something that is different from nature.
Yet at the same time, whether it is nature or something else, when manifested it
becomes a feeling. For instance, benevolence exists in us in a state that may not yet be
manifest. When benevolence is manifested by an external stimuli; then benevolence has
begun. According to the text, the beginning o f benevolence is “the mind-and-heart o f
commiseration.” Based on the interpretation o f Chu Hsi, the beginning o f benevolence is
the ‘feeling’ of commiseration. In sum, the mind-and-heart o f commiseration is manifest
in the feeling of commiseration.
It is necessary to elaborate on the meaning o f the fact that Mencius uses “the
mind-and-heart” o f commiseration instead o f the “feeling” o f commiseration. Mencius
seems to have emphasized the importance of the function o f the mind. In other words,
the manifestation o f virtues or morality necessitates, along with the feeling, a cognitive
understanding and a willful determination that are functions o f the mind. This implies
that, at a psychological level, morality involves the processes o f understanding and
having an attitude that willing something makes a difference in behavior. Also, this
somehow implies that emotion, in its purest sense, does not accompany either a cognitive
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understanding or a willful intention. In Confucianism, such functions fall under the
functions o f the mind.
Chung-yung is another text which has to do with emotions. Unlike Mencius, it
addresses a bit o f the seven feelings. It reads:
What Heaven imparts to man is called human nature. To follow our nature is
called the Way {Tao). Cultivating the Way is called education . . . Before the
feelings o f pleasure, anger, sorrow, and joy are aroused it is called equilibrium
{chung: centrality, mean). When these feelings are aroused and each and all attain
due measure and degree, it is called harmony. Equilibrium is the great foundation
o f the world, and harmony its universal path. When equilibrium and harmony are
realized to the highest degree, heaven and earth will attain their proper order and
all things will flourish. (Wing-tsit Chan, 1963. p. 98.)
The text above does not address the relationships between the four beginnings and
the seven feelings. However, it talks about what human nature and feelings are; the
relevance between them, ideal or optimal states o f human nature and feelings, and the
implications o f these states. The text of Chung-yung has important implications for
counseling and psychology. These will be elaborated later in the text.
The close relationships between human nature, feeling, and the mind can be seen
from the perspective o f the mind. Ch’eng I says, ‘Teeling is a movement of nature”
(Kwang Lee, 1994). Wing Chit tsan (1963) puts it in the following way: “Although the
spheres o f man’s [sic] nature and feelings are different, their mutual penetration is like the
blood system in which each part has its own relationship” (p. 595).
In his early thought, Chu Hsi “looked upon the mind as the state after the feelings
are aroused and upon nature as the state before the feelings are aroused” (Chan, p.600).
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Nature was not yet understood in terms of the mind. Chu Hsi was originally influenced
by Ch’eng I who said, “Whenever we talk about the mind, we refer to the state after the
feelings are aroused.”
Chu Hsi, however, by considering human nature in terms o f the mind, corrected
his thought as follows:
Before there is any sign o f thought or deliberation and prior to the arrival o f
external things [of stimulus], there is the state before the feelings of pleasure,
anger, sorrow, and joy are aroused. At this time, the state is identical with the
substance o f the mind, which is absolutely quiet and inactive, and the nature
endowed by Heaven should be completely embodied in it. (Chan, pp. 600-601)
In conclusion, Chu Hsi completes his theory of human beings by seeing both feeling and
nature in terms of the mind. Finally, he says, “Nature is the substance o f the mind, and
feelings are the function o f mind.”
In terms of manifestation, feelings refer to the human nature which is manifested
by the stimulation o f an external environment. Ch 7 intervenes that human nature is being
manifested as feelings. Therefore, it depends on ch 7 whether the feelings are manifested
excessively or deficiently.
The process o f manifestation, however, does not occur automatically according to
the external stimuli. In other words, it is not that human nature is passive in response to
the external stimuli. The unmanifested state of nature can be examined; the process o f
nature’s manifestation into feeling and the state after the feelings are aroused can be
controlled. It is the mind that controls this. The mind, however, does not refer to the
third entity independent o f nature and feelings. It is simply a different perspective for
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looking at human nature and feelings. The concept of the mind is similar to the concept
of the ego which Freud developed into his new tripartite model. This is what Ch’eng I
means when he says that the mind, human nature, and feelings are one.
In conclusion, “The mind controls both nature and feelings.” The role o f the mind
includes examining the unmanifested state of human nature, the controlling o f the
processes o f manifestation, and the manifested state of the mind after the feelings are
aroused. The cultivation of the mind regarding its roles includes the methods of
“seriousness” and “investigating the knowledge.” Chu Hsi integrates all o f this spiritual
discipline of the mind by the concept o f “seriousness.”
Chu Hsi suggests his interpretations o f human nature and feelings as follows.
Because it [nature] is neither excessive nor insufficient, and is neither unbalanced

nor one-sided, it is called equilibrium. When it is acted upon and immediately
penetrates all things, the feelings are then aroused. In this state the functioning o f
the mind can be seen. Because it never fails to attain the proper measure and
degree and has nowhere deviated from the right, it is called harmony. This is true
because o f the correctness of the human mind and the moral character o f feelings
and nature.” (pp. 601)
The importance of his interpretations lies in the way that he addresses the issue of
the relationships o f human nature and feelings from the viewpoint o f the ‘mind.’ In sum,
the role and the concept of the mind are important in understanding both human nature
and feelings.
In Confucianism, according to our understanding of the mind, human beings can
be construed as moral, autonomous, and responsible beings. The role o f the mind
regarding the unmanifested state of human nature indicates that human beings are moral
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beings. Also, knowing that the mind can control the states o f both nature and feeling
indicates to us that human beings are autonomous and responsible at the same time.
The Confucian understanding o f feeling, therefore, is to be differentiated from that
o f psychology and culture in Western thought. The difference is in the moral dimension
of feeling. Feeling in itself, in Confucianism, not only indicates what a human being “is”
but also includes the other aspect—what human being “should be” (Browning, 1982). In
Confucianism, feelings are a response to external stimuli. This response is understood as
“the function o f mind.” Feelings play the role o f connecting the self and the external
world. There is also a way to follow the connection o f the two. It is a principle o f human
nature that is called “the substance o f the mind.” Therefore, feelings can be said to have
its own prototype. The mind is what determines whether or not the prototype is followed.
In sum, the prototype o f feeling is essentially Heaven-endowed human nature:
morality. Lu Hsiang-Shan, who was engaged in one o f the most famous debates in
Chinese history against Chu Hsi, said, “Moral principles inherent in the human mind are
endowed by Heaven and cannot be wiped out” (Chan, p. 580). The moral principles
specifically refer to the four virtues taught by Mencius: humanity, righteousness,
propriety, and wisdom. However, when the process of manifestation from nature to
feeling is seen from the psychological perspective, the prototype of feeling can be the
four Beginnings.
In concluding this section, we note that an emphasis on feelings should not lead to
overlooking the moral aspect, and that an emphasis on morality should not fall into
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moralism. The relationship between what we should be and what we are can be
understood in a different way. We should not understand these two from the dualistic
perspective as if they exist as two contradictory extremes. They do not contradict each
other, but are actually one and need to be balanced. Following the expressions in Chung-
yung, this means attaining “due measure and degree.”
Four-Seven Debates
In order to deal with Chong in more detail, we look now into “the Four-Seven
Debates” (FSD, hereafter) which came from the sixteenth century Chosun Dynasty. FSD
refers to the debates carried out between two distinguished scholars o f Confucianism
throughout Korean history, T ’oegye and Yulgok, and their disciples.49
In brief, the basic issue in the FSD debate is “to understand a meaningful
philosophical, ethical, and psychological link” between the Four Beginnings in Mencius
and the Seven Emotions in the Book o f Rites or Chung-yung (Chung, 1987, p. 48).
According to Michael Kalton (1988), a central issue o f FSD was “whether the Four and
the Seven are only different names for the same reality looked at from a differing
perspective, or rather truly point to some differentiation in the condition whence they
arise” (p. 136). Tu Wei-ming (1985) also points out, “The whole intellectual enterprise
49 The debate between T ’oegye and his disciple Kobong began in 1559 with T ’oegye’s first letter to
Kobong. They interchanged the letter eight tunes for seven years until 1566. The second debate is
between Yulgok and his friend Ugye which began in 1572. There were five letters o f Ugye’s and six
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o f the ‘Four-Seven’ debate, after all, was to define clearly what the connection [between
the Four Beginnings and the Seven emotions] is” (p. 264).
The FSD produced rich philosophical and psychological materials that had not
been articulated clearly by Chinese scholars. In China, such profound debate was not
developed due to the historical circumstances under which the Ch’eng-Chu and Lu-Wang
schools of thought were competing against each other concerning philosophical issues
about human nature and the mind. However, there was no such competition in Chosun
Korea because the Ch’eng-Chu’s school o f human nature and principle dominated all
scholarly and political enterprises from the beginning o f the Chosun dynasty in the late
fourteenth century (Chung, p. 33) onward. As a result, they were able to address
themselves to the ambiguous questions and issues o f the mind, human nature, and
feelings, and its relationships to Chu Hsi’s metaphysics o f i and ch 7. The FSD is
important because the debates concentrated not only on Chu Hsi’s metaphysics and ethics
but also on all Confucian literature, including the early classics “in regard to its moral and
psychological philosophy of mind, nature, and feelings and its implications for the
practice of self-cultivation” (p. 33).
As pointed out earlier, the FSD raised the issue o f interpreting the classic texts
presented above, namely Mencius and Chung-yung. The contents of these two competing
responses from Yulgok. Unlike the debate between T’oegye and Kobong, their interchange was relatively
completed with great intensity within one year.
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perspectives can be summarized as including a dualistic perspective represented by
T ’oegye and a monistic perspective represented by Yulgok.
For T ’oegye, human nature refers to “i without any existence o f ch 7.” In other
words, his metaphysics o f human nature stand for an “unmixability and distinction
between i and ch 7” (Chung, p. 64). Therefore, for him, the original goodness of human
nature in Mencius and the nature endowed by Heaven in Chung-yung only mean the
“pure and original goodness o f i: i itself.”
T ’oegye’s understanding o f the relationship between the Four and the Seven is
also predicated on the dualistic perspective. He argues in the debate with his disciple
Kobong, “Why can we not analyze feelings in terms o f i and ch 7, if human nature is
already spoken o f in terms of i and ch ’iT’ He contends, therefore, that the Four
Beginnings should be understood as “the inborn moral qualities or fundamental seeds of
goodness.” T ’oegye’s point is that the Seven are not moral feelings, the genuine roots o f
morality.
A distinct point o f T’oegye’s thesis is that i must necessarily have priority over
ch 7 in terms o f ontological and ethical contexts. William de Bury (1985) also points out
that the spontaneity o f / is something active, not passive. According to Edward Chung
(1995), T ’oegye means that “the Four have their own status o f self-manifestation and
self-regulation outside the Seven, whereas the Seven should be understood as basic
physical and mental feelings and desires” (p. 64). According to Yu Chi-myung, one o f
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the leading scholars o f T ’oegye’s school in nineteenth century Korea, T ’oegye’s entire
philosophy is based on his belief that *7 is the active entity” (p. 120).
T ’oegye’s position is, however, dualistic, dualism which Kobong criticized. For
Kobong, the Seven Emotions are “the totality o f all feelings.” Also, for Chu Hsi, “the
Seven Emotions cannot be separated from the Four Beginnings.” Therefore, “The Four
Beginnings can be understood from the standpoint o f the Seven Emotions” (p. 46).
Kobong argues that the issuance o f the Four involves both i and ch 7 and that the Four are
said to be good because, when they are aroused, i is undisturbed by ch 7. The issuance o f
the Seven can bring about either good or evil; when i is disturbed by the activity o f ch 7 it
can often be either excessive or deficient (pp. 56-57).
Admitting his disciple’s critique, T ’oegye altered his original position. His new
frame was “reciprocal issuing” or “mutual manifestation”; that is, / and ch 7 need each
other when being issued. / is manifest; i is undisturbed by ch 7 and i rides on the Seven”
(p. 72). When they are about to be manifest, they need each other. Specifically, “In the
case of the Four Beginnings, i is manifest and ch 7 follows it; in the case o f the Seven
Emotions, ch 7 is manifest and i rides on it.”
The practical implication o f T ’oegye’s metaphysics is also characteristic o f the
emphasis o f /. T’oegye’s main emphasis o f self-cultivation is focused on the moral and
spiritual dimension rather than the rational dimension such as the “investigation o f
things” and the “extension of knowledge” (p. 126). Therefore, it is preoccupied with “an
inner-directed type of moral self-cultivation.” To get rid o f evil and to follow good is,
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according to T ’oegye, to “abide in reverential seriousness.” This practice leads one to
realize Heaven’s principle—the ultimate reality o f sagehood. The whole process o f
cultivating reverential seriousness involves the external method o f “concentrating on one
thing: and the internal method o f “being cautious and self-watchful.”
More specifically, T’eogye’s cultivation o f the mind is “to be gravely cautious and
watchful over what is not seen and heard, as well as to be more reverential and serious. It
is to practice self-watchfulness and self-reflection in a more refined way where things are
invisible or subtle and when one is alone.” To attain what the Chung-yung calls “the
centrality o f the mind” before the issuance o f feelings, one must cultivate reverential
seriousness and develop a way of continuous mind cultivation. In this way, the substance
and function o f the mind can become united.
Chu Hsi actually suggested “quiet sitting” developed by Li T ’ung as a
contemplative exercise to help one penetrate into the essence of one’s inner nature. It is a
way to exercise the mind-in-itself: A method o f “examining the unmanifest mind in the
state o f quietude before the arousal of feelings.” (TC 41:32b vol. 2, p. 338).
The other position in the FSD is the monistic perspective o f the relationship
between the Four and the Seven represented by Yulgok. Yulgok argued that i and ch 7
are inseparable in understanding human nature. For him, “The Four refers to the moral
mind in particular; the Seven refers to the moral mind and the human mind combined as a
whole.” He means that the Four cannot have their own moral ground other than that o f
the Seven and that all of the Seven have the moral potential to become good feelings like
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the Four. Chu Hsi says that “the Seven Emotions cannot be separated from the Four
Beginnings” and that “the Four Beginnings can be understood in the context o f the Seven
Emotions” (CTYL, 87: 16a-b).
Yulgok’s emphasis is on “the oneness o f the mind.” In other words, the moral
mind and the human mind just refer to “two realms o f one mind” (p. 96). The distinction
between the two should be conceived in such a way that they are two related phenomena
o f the mind. There must be a continuum between them. Wing Chit tsan puts it in the
following way; “Although the spheres of man’s nature and feelings are different, their
mutual penetration is like the blood system in which each part has its own relationship”
(Chan, 1963, p. 595). Chung also says, “The reality of the mind is ontologically one, and
there are only two conceptual terms according to two interrelated perspectives used in
describing intellectual, moral, physical, and psychological dimensions o f the mind as a
whole” (p. 96).
Yulgok criticized T ’oegye’s position that / has its own self-manifesting capability
in the case o f issuing the Four. For him, it is not possible for our mind to have two
ontological or ethical foundations. The mind is ontologically one in its unmanifest state
and has its two names—the moral mind and the human mind. They are used in
describing the manifest mind according to whether it is manifest from moral principles or
physical desires and sensations (p. 91). The moral mind and the human mind both pertain
to aroused feelings. “The Four are to be understood as “the good side o f the moral mind
and the human mind together.” (YC 10:7b vol. 1, p. 199) In other words, the moral mind
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that pertains to the Four is included inside o f the human mind and the Seven includes
both the moral mind and the human mind as a whole. The Seven is “the whole name o f
the human mind and the moral mind, good and evil.” In conclusion, Yulgok presents a
more positive view that basic human desires can be controlled to become good feelings
like the Four.
Yulgok’s emphasis on the totality o f emotions entails that the nourishment o f ch 7
is important in moral self-cultivation. “CA 7 can be transformed by nourishing it.” He
says, “One must straighten and control what is partial and turbid in one’s physical
endowment o f ch 7” (p. 144). Ch’eng Chu also says, “the great benefit o f learning lies in
the transformation o f physical nature” (p. 86). Such a discipline, o f course, involves the
harmonization o f feelings. His argument shows that one cannot make any exclusive
distinction or contrast between the virtuous behavior and the emotional and physical
desires, between the moral mind and the human mind, and between the original human
nature and the physical human nature. In other words, the Four and the Seven have what
he calls “a mutual relationship of continuum and interaction” (p. 145).
More specifically for Yulgok, “Resolve is the commander o f ch 7” in moral
cultivation. If one’s resolve is not established first, one cannot complete one’s learning.
If, however, a person’s resolve is one and undivided, there is nothing that ch 7 can move.
Furthermore, one’s resolve is naturally established only when one is sincere. “Sincere
will is what really accomplishes self-cultivation.” According to Yulgok, one can neither
nourish one’s ch 7 nor harmonize one’s feelings unless one cultivates sincerity, which is
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the basis for the Neo-Confucian learning o f sagehood. “One should cultivate sincerity
to investigate things, to rectify the mind-and-heart, to regulate one’s family, and to bring
peace and order to the world” (Chan, p. 86). Therefore, sincerity enables one to nourish
one’s own ch V, so that one can transform bad thoughts, feelings, and desires.
The practical implication o f Yulgok’s argument in self-cultivation is that even
when one begins with his/her mind mixed with basic human feelings, one can always
transform it into a moral mind if one follows moral principles to overcome selfish desires
(p. 94). However, Yulgok’s position cannot avoid the relativistic view that goodness is
not an absolute value but is something that can be achieved through a human’s self-effort.
In other words, the state o f the harmonization o f the feelings, neither excessive nor
deficient, is good.
Implications of Studying Theoretical Chdng
Chong, as explained above, literally means a feeling or emotion which is one of
the elements which constitutes human nature and society. Since the Confucian
understanding o f human being is cosmological, Chong does not simply refer to a
psychological feeling, but also includes moral and social implications. Therefore, its
psychological and moral implications were explored along with a brief explanation o f
other elements comprising human being in Confucian context. In this sense, the meaning
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and implications o f Chong in Confucianism may be construed as an archetype o f actual
Chong which is the subject o f this study.
It would be helpful to clarify necessity for studying Chong at the theoretical level.
First, in order to provide proper pastoral counseling for Korean Christians, the
fundamental and optimal state o f Chong should be understood as the goal o f personal
maturity. In fact, the Chong that Korean people feel and experience is not an original or
optimal one. It includes not only positive aspects but also negative features. When
Chong is excessive, it becomes symbiotic and dependent; when deficient, Chong
becomes Han. Therefore, it is necessary to have a clear understanding o f the optimal
state o f Chong. Understanding the optimal state o f Chong will enable the Korean people
to restore, develop, mature, and then transform the negative aspects o f Chong into a
Chong that is positive.
Secondly, understanding o f the original meaning of Chong in Confucianism can
enable Korean Christians who are embedded in Chong to understand themselves in a
more genuine way and then to develop some more appropriate pastoral theories and
methods for ministry especially appropriate to their human nature. This transformation is
quite important because most pastoral theories and methods currently used among the
Korean churches come originally from the Western church or theology. More
specifically, such theories and methods are grounded upon the Western cultural
understanding of human nature. This understanding o f course shares some commonality
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with the Asian understanding the human nature. However, there still remain significant
differences.
For instance, the understanding o f the individual in the Western society is based
upon a concept o f the “monad;” a concept which means not open, but closed and
discontinuous. Therefore, the development of the individual’s dignity, autonomy, and
independence are valued and stressed. Individuality is given priority over community.
Due to this understanding o f an individual, in counseling, it is primarily important to
consider what he or she “is.”. That is, the counselee’s self image and self-concept are o f
importance. To accept the client’s feeling and suffering is a primary concern in order that
the individual can come to accept them, and begin to cope with them. Such trend in this
emphasis on individual development in the context o f acceptance in counseling has
caused an overlooking o f the moral dimension in pastoral care and counseling. Don
Browning (1987, p. 4) points out the danger of such trend in the current theory and
practice of pastoral care and counseling in the American society. He argues that
counseling needs to consider what a person “should be” is supposed to be. Korean
Christians who have been influenced by Confucianism are generally more strict in this
morality-oriented tendency than are Western peoples. If the moral dimension is not
properly considered in providing pastoral care and counseling for the Korean Christians,
it can cause the distortion o f their cultural and individual identity. In conclusion, a proper
theoretical understanding o f Chong is indispensable for a correct understanding o f the
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Korean people and for providing some suitable practical theories and methods o f
ministry among the Korean churches.
This chapter introduced the concept o f Chong in various ways. The definitions
o f Chong, theoretical and actual, were suggested; attributes o f Chong are described;
Confucian understanding o f the human being is summarized; and the four-seven debates,
which is the discussion of the origin and moral dimension o f Chong, is explained.
The next chapter expalins the processes o f in-depth interview methods that
include research design, interview procedures, personal backgroudns o f research subjects,
and data analysis.
Chapter Five
Research Methodology
Chapter four reviewed some existing materials about Chong extensively. The
materials included academic studies about Chong, literary materials such as novels and
poems, kinds o f arts about secular culture such as pop songs and soap operas, and
Confucian philosophical articles related to Chong or emotion.
This chapter will review the methodology for the empirical research o f Chong. A
qualitative methodology will be used for this study. Many scholars such as Strauss and
Corbin (1990), Denzin and Lincoln (1994), Pidgeon and Henwood (1997), Bogdan and
Taylor (1998) and others inform the basic concept, paradigm, and methods o f the
qualitative research. The in-depth interview will be used as the specific method among
qualitative methods. The procedures o f the in-depth interview method for the dissertation
will be elborated on later.
As explained above, Chong is a psychological concept in its nature. However,
Chong does not simply refer to an emotional phenomenon but to the cognitive and
behavioral phenomena that have been shaped throughout the social and cultural
influences o f Korean history. Therefore, it also refers to a behavioral pattern based on its
psychological dynamics. In sum, Chong is a major sentiment o f the Korean people that
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constructs and determines the emotions, views o f value, lifestyle, ethical consciousness,
etc. o f the Korean people. Chong represents the Korean people’s identity. This entails
that the study o f Chong should be done in a “holistic” way.
In this sense, a quantitative method is not appropriate for the study o f Chong. In
general, the quantitative method is done with a certain set o f hypotheses. Due to this fact,
its outcome is experimental and confined to the researcher’s priori. It is therefore partial
and deductive. Therefore, we can “lose sight o f the human side o f social life” (Taylor &
Bogdan, 1998, p. 8). On the other hand, the qualitative method is intended to induce the
holistic picture o f reality. In qualitative research, “people, setting, or groups are not
reduced to variables, but are served as a whole” (p. 8). Therefore, it fits the study o f
Chong.
The “narrative approach” as major rationale for the methodology o f this
dissertation is employed especially in terms of its central theme: Chong. The basic
concept of the narrative approach was discussed by Hauerwas (1989) and Sarbin (1992).
According to Nassabaum (1989), “emotions are social constructs; that we learn how to
feel in and through the narratives of particular societies” (p. 13). Because Chong literally
means emotion, even though emotion and Chong are not identical, Chong itself can be
regarded as a narrative. Nassabaum says that emotions are narratively constructed.
Therefore, emotions can be equated with the narrative. For example, Nassabaum says
that narratives are one o f the child’s most pervasive and powerful ways o f learning its
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society’s values and will be “a major source of any culture’s emotional life” (p. 225).
Stories “contain and teach forms of feeling, forms o f life.” In conclusion, Chong is a
story. Chong, for Korean people, is the story of their lives. They feel and experience
Chong in their lives. They find their identity through Chong.
This dissertation also employs a “grounded theory approach” in that it intends not
to “verify or test propositions about the nature o f social life” but to generate a social
theory (Taylor and Bogdan, 1998; Glaser and Strauss, 1967). On the one hand, this
dissertation employs the “theoretical sampling method” in that data about Chong is
collected through literary survey. As a result, a rough theoretical framework o f Chong
could be obtained. Also, Chong within the context o f the Korean Christians’ lives in the
church is studied: one “substantive area” is chosen. On the other hand, a theory o f Chong
can be generated by way o f analyzing the data from the interviews using the “constant
comparative method.”
Research Design
During the processes o f pre-interview data collection, the nature o f Chong was
explicated and a description o f the life of Chong was provided in terms o f interpersonal
relationships. Then an implicit theory o f Chong based on this information was
developed. However, emphasis was laid more upon interview material. The interview
questions were prepared based on materials collected before the interview. Because
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interviewing is “a form o f discourse between speakers” that is grounded in and depends
on “culturally shared and often tacit assumptions about how to express and understand
beliefs, experiences, feelings, and intentions,” varied complex procedures, including
questions, are required to understand what the participants intend to say (Mishler, 1986,
p. 7). During the interview, the questions prepared were not followed but reformulated.
The reformulated questions are provided in appendix A.
Researcher
Janesick (1994) says that the researcher is a “product o f different theoretical
backgrounds, training, experience, and personality factors.” Taylor and Bogdan (1998,
p. 88) say, “The interviewer, far from being an impersonal data collector, is the research
tool.” In the open-ended in-depth interview, the interviewer lets his/her personal feelings
influence him, and thus deviates from the ideal o f a cool, distant and rational interviewer
(Fontana & Frey, 1994, p. 366). This indicates that the interviewer’s personal
background as the researcher is relevant to all the research processes.
The interviewer is a forty-two year old first-generation Korean-American bom in
Korea. He grew up in a Confucian family and was educated in Korea for thirty-three
years until he came to the United States in 1990. This indicates that he has felt,
understood, and experienced Chong throughout his life. In short, he has been embedded
with the subject o f the study. This, in fact, has functioned in a positive way. He did not
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need an informant “to act as a guide and transfer o f cultural mores and, at times, jargon
or language” (Fontana & Frey, 1994, p. 367). There was no cultural gap in
communication between the researcher and the participant. The interviewer was able to
establish a close rapport with the participants. The fact that the researcher was a pastor
and was pursuing a doctoral degree was another factor that contributed to forming close
relationships with the interviewees. Among all things, the fact that the theme o f the
interview is Chong made it easy for him to form a close relationship between researcher
and participants.
That the researcher is Korean, however, may play a negative role in studying
Chong. Fontana & Frey (1994, p. 367) point out that the interviewer may become a
“spokesperson for the group studied, losing distance and objectivity, or may ‘go naive’
and become a member o f the group and forego the academic role.” Therefore, he needs
to be aware of a certain expectation or prejudice as a researcher. This entails that he
should pay full attention to interview material for interpretation in order to exclude his
prejudice.
After the researcher came to the United States in 1990, he has observed and
participated in the Korean-American immigrant church for ten years. Furthermore, he
has served the same church in the northwest side o f Chicago for nine years. This has
enabled him to compare the Korean churches in Korea with the Korean-American
immigrant churches. He has been able to discover both common features and differences
I ll
between them in regard to Chong. The implications for the Korean-American
immigrant churches will be elaborated on later.
Research Subjects (Interviewees)
The Human Subject Department on April 5, 1996 approved this research project.
After the approval, several fellow pastors in Korea were called to select some participants
for the interview because the Korean churches and Korean Christians in Korea were
chosen to study. Information on fourteen participants could be obtained. They were
called and told that a letter would be sent to them with information on some outlines o f
the study including the theme of the dissertation, the method o f study (interview), time o f
interviewing, confidentiality, etc. Four close friends o f the interviewer were contacted to
be interviewed. The same letters were also sent to them. The letter form that was used is
attached in appendices B and C.50
The interviewer flew to Korea in May 1996 and called each participant to arrange
the time and place for the interview. He met twelve o f them in the church; five o f them at
their homes; one in the professor’s office. Most o f them felt comfortable with the place
where the interview was carried out. The interviews were intense because they involved
stories about their church lives focusing on their interpersonal relationships in the church.
Out o f eighteen participants, three of them were not adopted for the study because the
interview with the three people, for some reason, could not be focused on Chong or
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interpersonal relationships. It was found later that the length o f their church lives was
less than one year.
Among the eighteen participants, there are twelve men and six women—six
pastors and twelve laypersons with an age range from the late 30s to the mid 50s. They
are from seven churches; the size o f the churches ranges from one hundred to twelve
thousand in membership. Details o f the participants’ information are on Table 1. (See
page 113.)
The interviewer asked his fellow pastors to select participants whose ages ranged
from the 30s to the 50s. Based on his cultural experience, he was concerned that people
in their 20s may not be old enough to explain the full implications o f their experiences o f
Chdng. The people who were over 50 were also excluded due to his concern that that
they may not be able to articulate their lives of Chdng consistently.
By virtue o f being interviewed, people develop new insights and understandings
o f their experiences. In this sense, interviewees are narrators, not merely reporters o f
their experiences. They can obtain “knowledge-in-the making” (Taylor & Bogdan).
Procedure
Interview techniques can be varied to meet various situations. The interviewer
used an unstructured interviewing technique. According to conventional understanding,
the researcher begins the interview by getting involved in an informal conversation with
51 Appendix B is a letter in English and Appendix C is a Korean o f the letter.
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Table 1: Personal Background of Interviewees
Marital Church Size

No Name Sex Age Role Children Job
Status Years of Attn
800 Members 1 Son
Lee M-50s Married Deacon Housewife
12 years 2 Daughters
800 Members
Yi B-40s Married 1 Son Housewife
Deacon 14 Years
800 Members Nursery
Ryu M L-30s Married Deacon 1 Daughter
21 Years Director
1,300 Members
Cho M B-50s Married Pastor 2 Sons Pastor
11 Years
1,300 Members 1 Son
Kim M L-30s Married Pastor Pastor
2 Years 1 Daughter
1,300 Members 1 Son
Sun B-40s Married Deacon Housewife
4 Years 1 Daughter
1,300 Members
Shin M L-40s Married Deacon 1 Son Janitor
4 Years
13,000
Members 1 Son
Pan M L-30s Married Pastor Pastor
1 Daughter
7 Years
1,3000
Members 1 Son
Song M M-50s Married Elder Professor
2 Daughters
12 Years
200 Members 2 Sons
10 Nam M B-50s Married Deacon Novelist
10 Years 1 Daughter
200 Members 1 Son
11 Choi M M-40s Married Pastor Pastor
11 Years 1 Daughter
50 Members Part-time
12 Jung B-40s Single Deacon None Lay
17 Years Minister
700 Members
13 Yoo M M-50s Married Elder 2 Sons Principal
28 Years
2,300 Members
14 Chang M B-50s Married Pastor 2 Sons Pastor
15 Years
1,200 Members
15 Suh M L-40s M arried Pastor 2 Daughters Pastor
13 Years
M: Male. F: Female. Years o f Attn: Years o f attending or ministering church
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the participant. Then, he or she can and must establish and maintain a tone o f “friendly”
chat while trying to remain close to the guidelines o f the topic o f inquiry he or she has in
mind (Lofland & Lofland, 1984, p. 371). The interviewer was actually able to get
engaged in a “real” conversation with “give and take” and empathetic understanding
(Daniel, 1983). This makes the interview more honest, morally sound, and reliable,
because it treats the participants as an equal, allows him or her to express personal
feelings, and therefore presents a more “realistic” picture than can be uncovered using the
traditional interview method.
The interviewer intentionally met interviewees at different places in consideration
o f the interviewing quality. He met most o f those whom he personally does not know in
the church.. Those whom he personally did know, he met at their homes. In the
beginning o f each interview, he shared greetings to foster a warm environment for an
interview. Afterwards, the interviewer explained the theme o f the interview briefly even
though every participant had already been informed through the letter. Every
participant’s response to his explanation of the theme was a smile. It was an indication to
him that they felt familiar with and interested in the theme. They seemed to feel safe
about what they should talk about for the interview. He showed them a formal consent
form verifying that they would agree to do their best in the interview and that all the
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information would be kept in confidentiality. He asked them to sign the form before he
began the interview. The form is attached in appendices D and E.51
The interviewer began interviewing and continued in an open-ended way in order
to elicit an honest response. He first asked him or her to talk about his or her Chongful
life in the church with an assumption that every participant knows, feels, and experiences
Chong. However, ambivalent feelings o f Chong seemed to be in operation when they
were asked to talk about the experiences o f Chong within the church they served. In
other words, “within the church” seemed to make them think that what they talk about
should be somewhat good and positive.
The interviewer did not have difficulty in using language and specific terms so
that “shared meaning” could be easily obtained. He made note o f emerging themes,
interpretations, hunches, striking questions, and non-verbal expressions essential to
understanding the meaning of an interviewee’s words. He made some comments that
were reflective, not responsive, in order to elicit some detailed and deeper descriptions.
He asked questions only when he needed further clarification and when what the
participants said aroused his interest. Although the interviewer tried to speak less, he felt
he was being engaged in dialogue. He became involved in the discussion with some
participants when they somehow wanted him to explain and elaborate on what Chong is
to them. At the end o f interviewing, he asked each participant what he or she thought
51Appendix D is a letter in English and Appendix E is a Korean of the letter.
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Chong was. If he could not fully understand what they said, he tried not to ask in a
challenging way, but as a descriptive question. He intended to avoid pre-judgement and
to listen to the “truth o f experience.”
The average time o f each interview ranged from 40 minutes to 90 minutes. Every
participant’s name will remain anonymous. The personal background information of
each participant will be provided in the next chapter. Every interview was conducted in
Korean. The entire interview was recorded and transcribed in Korean. The interviewer
completed the processes o f interpretation in Korean before he translated the material in
English. This is because he did not want to miss any particular cultural nuances o f their
Chongful experiences during the processes of translation before he analyzed them. It may
distort the interpretation o f the interview data.
Data Analysis
Before interviewing, the researcher did a literary survey on the Korean culture and
Chong in particular. He read not only “technical literature” (Strauss & Corbin, 1990, p.
48) that studied Chong academically but also “nontechnical literature” such as poems,
novels, popular songs, and soap operas. He has carried his own personal experiences and
observations about Chong throughout his life. In short, he has already familiarized
himself with the “theoretical framework” of Chong.
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The researcher attempted to look into interpersonal relationships within the
church setting and its relevance to faith. He broke down all the data; he underlined major
words, sentences, and phrases and coded some o f them that relate to Chong. However, he
was always aware o f the fact that codes fit data, not data fits codes (Taylor and Bogdan,
1998). This refers to “interim analysis” (Miles & Huberman, 1994) or “open coding”
(Strauss & Corbin, 1990).
The researcher listened to the interview tapes repeatedly and read and reread the
transcribed interviewing data. As he listened to the tapes and the transcribed material, he
continually made notes of hunches, ideas, and interpretations. During this process, he
attempted to refine his ideas and themes. He sought to look for “emerging themes or
patterns” (Taylor & Bogdan, 1998); for instance, conversation topics, vocabulary,
recurring activities, meanings, feelings, or folk sayings and proverbs (Spradley, 1980).
Also, he talked to his wife thoroughly about his findings and hunches in order to go
beyond his own prejudice which may elude to important aspects o f Chong.
After this, the researcher classified schemes or constructed “typologies.” He then
began to make a conceptual linkage between seemingly different phenomena (Taylor &
Bogdan, 1998). This refers to “open coding” by Strauss and Corbin (1990). He then
developed concepts and theoretical propositions; this is the procedure o f “axial coding”
(Strauss & Corbin, 1990). It is to develop a “sensitizing concept” (Blumer, 1969) in
which the process is “an intuitive process.” The concepts are used “to illuminate social
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processes and phenomena that are not readily apparent through descriptions o f specific
instances” (Taylor & Bogdan, 1998, p. 144). It is important that he identify different
themes and look for underlying similarities between them” (p. 145). Up to this point, he
was able to develop his theoretical framework o f Chong through interviewing data,
though it was vague and multiple. Based on the themes developed, he created charts to
highlight the patterns o f Chong shown in the data. Through these processes, he was able
to integrate the data in a more structured and comprehensive way. Along with all these
processes, he kept on writing “analytic memos.”
The next step was to develop a “story line” to analyze the data in a more
integrating way. The story line means “the analytic thread that unites and integrates the
major themes in a study” (Taylor & Bogdan, 1998, p. 151). This also refers to “selective
coding” by Strauss and Corbin (1990, p. 96). The researcher was able to finally generate
a sentence that can describe Chong generated from the data up to this point: “The shaping
processes o f a Chongful relationship.”
Korean people’s experiences o f Chong within the context o f the church will be
studied as “a living text.” Those experiences will be interpreted and then the experience
o f Chong will be reformulated through the processes o f interpretation. Both the
experiences and the interpretation will also be influenced by the internal value o f their
Christian faith in God.
Based on the analysis o f the interview material, it will be attempted to develop
the self-concept o f Korean people based on Chong. It is not intended to pursue
universality of the theory of Chong. Therefore, it may not be applicable to any other
group or case. It is hoped, however, that this study can contribute to understanding not
only the internal shape o f the Korean people but also the strengths and weaknesses o f
their personalities. In the next chapter the findings will be written out.
Chapter Six
Research Findings
Chapter five explained the procedures o f the research. The research involved
collecting data, the personal backgrounds o f the subjects, interviewing procedures, and
data analysis. This chapter will interpret and analyze the interview data. The primary
objective o f the interpretation of data is to understand what the data is saying about
Chong regardless o f its pre-existing data. The reason for this is that qualitative research
is basically characteristic o f grounded theory. According to the results o f the analysis o f
the interviewed data, it may be fair to say that there are similarities between the
interviewed data and the pre-existing data about Chong. However, the interpretation o f
the data does not intend to prove that they are similar to each other in this dissertation.
Rather, it will lay out the findings from the analysis o f the data. If necessary, brief
explanations or comments about any relevance or similarity between the findings from
the interview data and the existing data about Chong will be added.
A major finding from the analysis o f the interviewed data is that there are three
dimensions in Chong', emotional, material, and moral. Each dimension has three stages:
beginning, developing, and mature stages. Each stage o f each dimension has its own
distinctive feature which will be elaborated on later. In addition, there are other findings
in general such as the understanding o f Chong, the frequency and the extended period o f
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time that are necessary conditions for its formation, and its “personal” dimension. For
convenience, the general findings will be dealt with first and then the major findings will
be elborated on.
Interviewees* Understanding of Ch6ng
First o f all, the interviewers’ understandings o f Chong will be introduced. In
chapter one, Chong was tentatively defined as “a sense o f the strong emotional tie
between people who are very intimate with one another” (See page 4). Another
definition given by Young Y. Kim (1995) was that “Chong is a mental sense o f ties that
is unwittingly shaped through direct and/or indirect contact with and through common
experiences o f the given person” (See page 45). Mr. Ryu, who is in his late thirties,
answers the question o f what Chong is:
So, I think Chong is like this. We think o f the person, love the person, and
sacrifice for the person so that gentle Chong and spiteful Chong are accumulated
between people. This is what a human being’s life looks like. I think our lives
should be seen in this way in the church. So, later when we say that we believe in
God and then people may say, “Oh, yes, I see!” That is the way through which
people can know and understand God.
Mr. Ryu’s understanding o f Chong includes a sense o f morality in that Chong
refers to the life that we ought to live. As we live our lives, our relationships with people
around us may not only be good, but also bad. Despite this, Chong is the way that we
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ought to treat others. Mrs. Lee, who is a deaconess in her early fifties, said the
following as we closed the interview:
Now we are talking about Chong and I feel that we live because of Chong. What
do you think church or Jesus is? In fact, you know, there are many churches
around us. Some churches have a wonderful orchestra and famous conductors and
they perform concerts with great music programs every year in a fancy music hall
such as The Hall o f Art, you know? But, why don’t we go to such churches? It’s
because o f Chong.
For Mrs. Lee, who majored in piano performance in college and has run a private
piano school, Chong is the meaning and worth o f life. The common feature for Mr. Ryu
and Mrs. Lee’s understanding of Chong is that even Christian faith is seen and interpreted
through the eyes of Chong. In other words, faith is meaningful only when it is Chongful.
In this sense, for Korean Christians, if Christian faith is not seasoned with Chong, it is
regarded as defective.
Mrs. Yi, who is in her early forties, describes what the Chongful person is in terms
o f interpersonal relationships:
The Chongful person, to me, may be the person who thinks o f me in this way:
“What would I do if I were in her situation?” She may be the person whom I call
at the time of difficulty. As if she needs help preparing food for dinner and
worship for some o f the parish members, I would be the first person she would ask
for help, and I would help her, and she, in turn, would do the same for me. When
I cook delicious food, I will always take some to her. When I feel distressed, it is
so important to know that I have a person who is willing to listen to me. How
nice it is to know that you have this type o f friend to talk with on the phone, and
to even be able to speak ill of someone without anxiety (laughing).
According to Mrs. Yi, a Chongful person is one whom we can identify with
ourselves. This person is someone we can depend on for practical help every time we
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need it. The actual understandings o f Chong by the interviewees are much more
inclusive than some definitions by scholars. This seems to be because Chong is a
consolidation o f emotions or sentiments shaped over a long period of time and also
because it is a complicated sentiment including not only good but also bad feelings and
experiences. Chong is a heavily loaded concept as is life itself. Therefore, when Korean
people refer to Chong, they often do so reflecting upon their entire lives.
Shaping Processes of Chdng: Length of Time and Frequency o f Contacts
Reflecting upon the all o f life implies that Chong is shaped over a long time.
Analysis o f the interview data clearly shows that Chong is formed over a long period of
time and through many contacts. This result proves the result o f the study by Soo-jin
Choi et al. (1990) that Chong has the attributes o f historicity, togetherness, and
simultaneity (See page 45).
Mrs. Yi explains the details about how she became fixed in the church.
In the beginning I was reluctant to go to church. When the senior pastor visited
my house, I didn’t like it either. I just could not look forward to his coming. But
after a couple of years I came to have some relationships with other people in the
church and then finally I came to have a sense of belongingness to our church.
Especially after ten years it is unthinkable that I leave this church. I wish for my
children and grandchildren to attend this church for generations to come.
It took at least a couple o f years before she considered it “her church;” before she
became Chongful with her church and had some interpersonal relationships among the
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church members. Her relationship with the church as a whole developed further in time.
This actually describes the process by which most people become fixed in a church.
Pastor Cho, who has served a church for thirteen years, convincingly tells his
experience as follows:
O f course! Chong is really important in church life. I am sure that newcomers

will never leave their church if we can somehow hold onto them for at least
three years. It doesn’t matter whether the pastor o f the church is capable or not.
Once they register in the church and stay for three years, they rarely leave. The
reason why they don’t leave the church varies. But I think the main reason is
Chong, you know. So I think Chong enables laypersons to get to know one
another and fellowship with one another in the parish and serve the church
together, and so on. This really has an important effect on fixing the people in
the church.
What Pastor Cho says indicates that people become fixed in the church through
getting to know many people and then developing relationships with them for three years.
There is a case in which these relationships can be seen on a more personal level. Pastor
Pan, who has served as an associate pastor for seven years in a church that has grown to
13,000 members in twelve years, shared about his relationship with a deacon in the
church as follows:
One o f the persons whom I become Chongful with is Mr. Lee. He was a
chairperson o f the committee for the junior high students. And I was the junior
high youth pastor. He is a pastor’s son. . . . In the beginning, he gave me hard
time. My relationship with him was really bad. He was so proud o f being the son
o f one o f the most famous pastors in Korea. All o f his brothers are pastors, too.
To him, I was so young and immature because I had just graduated from seminary
at that time. So, he kept on trying to correct me and stop what I was trying to do.
He and I were both very passionate. But when he and I came into conflict, it was
very difficult to endure. So, I always wanted to stop working with him. But I
worked with him for seven years. Can you believe that? After serving as the
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junior high youth pastor for three years, I worked with him in the committee for
the church support ministry for four years. It was a total seven years. He and I
were different from each other in terms of spiritual orientation, vision for ministry,
etc. But, upon the event o f his being arrested for a dishonored bill we personally
became very close with each other. So, even though we do have different
opinions, we now can encourage and support each other. Our relationship is now
so close that if someone speaks ill o f him, or of me, we really advocate for each
other.
Whether he likes it or not, Pastor Pan maintained his relationship with deacon Lee
for seven years and became Chongful with him due to their official relationship in the
church. He shared another Chongful relationship with an elder in the church for five
years.
I think it is fair for me to say that I became Chongful with elder Song when we
worked together for the church in the same committee . . . Because he was in
charge o f the committee that I worked for, we spent a lot o f time together. I
stayed with him for five years. His personality and mine are so different from
each other. . . Because we have kept company with each other for so long we
shared our pleasure and agonies about family matters, and we prayed for each
other. I think we have stayed together for so long that we sort o f support and
protect each other despite our faults.
As described above, Chong is a sentiment shaped “over a long period o f time and
through frequent contacts.” This refers to the historicity and togetherness o f Chong.
There is a lesson that can be learned from this nature of Chong: Despite continual
conflicts and differences in people who cannot easily be changed, such conflicts can be
resolved, and differences can be understood, accepted and even embraced if these people
stay together long enough. O f course, it should be noted that the patterns o f acceptance
and understanding are not necessarily healthy or desirable at all times. In other words,
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some patterns o f acceptance may become “stuck” to each other. From an objective
perspective or from God’s perspective, the relationship may not be appropriate.
However, there is no chance that they give each other up and become separated or
alienated from each other.
In this sense, it may be desirable to theologically describe our relationship of love
with God as the relationship o f Chong. Who else besides God has ever covered our sins
and understood us in such a marvelous way for such a long time?52 We usually live
thanking and serving God on the one hand; we also live complaining to and betraying
God on the other hand. Despite this, we can maintain our relationship with God because
o f God’s grace. This becomes the ground for which we can not only maintain our
relationship of love but also draw closer to God, in spite o f our defects and shortcomings.
In this respect, Pastor Cho describes his relationship with church members as
follows:
What I have felt as I served in the same church for eleven years is that everyone
changes even though there is a difference in the extent o f these changes. For
example, in the beginning, when people do the bible study and accept the Gospel,
they respect the pastor almost as they would respect God. Everything looks fine.
They really want to treat the pastor well, with their whole heart. Then, if they
enter high school (Highs school is an analogy o f growing old and mature), they
start to compare their pastor with other fathers (pastors) and begin to think that
their pastor is not that good. And then they become cold, like a refrigerator. But,
you know, when they get married and have children, they realize that they
themselves as fathers fall short of something but they still owe their growth as
people to their father (pastor). I mean they become mature spiritually and leam to
have good relationships. Because o f this principle o f growth, I find myself
32 Romans 2:4 “Or do you show contempt for the riches o f his kindness, tolerance and patience, not
realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?”
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growing distant to someone who really wants to have a close relationship with
me. If someone seems to distant himself from me, I try to get close to him so that
they won’t leave the church. I think I now fully understand all o f this.
As a pastor, Pastor Cho explains his relationship with church members from a
pastoral or spiritual perspective. As far as the relationship can be maintained, they
sometimes become close o r distant. However, if the relationship continues for a long
time, it finally results in the relationship of Chong.
Pattern of Chdngful Relationships; “Hierarchical”
One o f the findings discovered by the analysis o f the interview data is that for
Koreans, age and social status are very important factors in forming interpersonal
relationships. Referring to Chongful relationships, many interviewees use expressions
like these: “Although he/she is younger than me . . . ” or “Because he/she is older than I
am . . . ” The patterns o f relationships are naturally judged and evaluated from the
perspective o f age. This reveals the pervasive cultural awareness that for Koreans, age is
a crucial factor in their relationships which determines superiority in experience,
knowledge, intelligence, personal maturity, etc.
In Korean Confucian culture, the awareness o f age is taught and practiced in the
family since early childhood. It is made clear to children who is the elder and who is the
younger—even between twins. By distinguishing the ages, the older and the younger
come to have his/her identity and role established in their interpersonal relationships.
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Even since childhood, they come to have an awareness that the older is superior to the
younger in experience, wisdom, and knowledge so that the former ought to teach, protect,
concede and be a good example to the latter. The fact that “teacher” in Chinese character
literally means “the one who is bom earlier” supports this awareness. At the same time,
the younger is always expected to respect and follow the older and be humble and show
good manners. Therefore, age has a great influence on the pattern of relationships.
A social or official position, status, or role is another important factor influencing
the pattern and interpretation o f relationships. A person’s understanding o f another’s
social or official position determines his/her expectations and obligations o f the other in
the relationship. For example, the relationship between pastor and layperson is not
understood simply from the perspective o f their roles. The understanding in such a
relationship is not limited to the horizontal—that the pastor is the care-provider and the
layperson is the care-receiver. Pastors who provide care are those who are “superior” to
and have authority in knowledge, experience, personal maturity, etc. so that the layperson
feels that he/she should respect, serve, and follow the pastor.
In short, hierarchical interpersonal relationships are formed in the Korean society
by age and social position. Therefore, the relationship o f Chong reflects this hierarchical
element. Such hierarchical patterns o f interpersonal relationships are typical in the
Korean church and have exercised both positive and negative impacts on the growth o f
Korean churches. Hierarchical relationships have engendered respect to authority,
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service, commitment, and obedience, which have positively contributed to the growth
and maintenance of order in the church. It, however, has also been the root of
inefficiency due to the ignoring o f objectiveness and reason in organizing and managing
the church. It has also become the root o f authoritative attitudes in interpersonal
relationships.
For pastors, a church member’s commitment, sacrifice, and obedience are helpful.
However, pastors may become authoritative, and democratic decision-making processes
are inappropriately difficult to keep. The layperson’s role is to practice spiritual virtues
by obeying the Word o f God and cooperating in pursuing the goal o f the church, which
the pastor suggested. In such cases, objectiveness is ignored and autonomy is not
nurtured.
My own ministry experiences in the Korean American church for nine years
clearly proves the point above. For instance, there was an election for elders in the
church. Three men were nominated as candidates. Objectively, all o f them were very
qualified people. One out of the three men, however, was in his late thirties, which is
considered a relatively young age for an elder in the Korean Confucian culture. He was
forced to withdraw from the candidacy because the older people objected.
The case above is an indication that Korean people have authoritative attitudes in
managing church activities in some respects. The Korean people’s understanding o f an
elder in general is a man o f authority. It means that he or she (there are few female elders
in the Korean churches) has power and spiritual maturity and deserves respect. If,
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however, he or she is not old enough to be an elder, he is not respected simply because
o f age. In short, age is authority. Other external qualifications such as spiritual
experience, specialty, example, etc. are secondary in assessing people. Due to the respect
for age, democratic decision-making processes or efficient church management cannot be
achieved. For instance, if there are some ideas suggested by elders or activities managed
by them, objective judgements or constructive criticism cannot be made in the open
meetings such as the session meeting or the congregational meeting.
A common understanding among Korean Christians is that regardless o f other
qualifications, an elder should be old enough generally to be accepted by a community.
The accepted age in a community may refer to the age that is similar to the average age of
most o f the elders who are currently serving. In other words, it may be the age o f those
who are the eldest among those who are actively serving in the church or working in the
society. The average age for elders among the Korean church is the fifties, or the late
forties in special cases. Although the church that the author has been serving at is a
Korean American immigrant church that belongs to the Presbyterian Church o f United
States o f America and thus follows American culture in many respects, it is obvious that
the traditional Korean Confucian culture still prevails in the church members’ mentality
and behavior. Due to the influence o f the Western culture, Korean people as a whole
have changed their prejudices about age and the age limitation has become lower and
more flexible than before. In general, however, the preferences for and the superiority of
the aged in their mentality still prevails.
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Pattern o f Chdngful Relationships: “Personal”
As Chongful relationships become deeper, interpersonal interactions increase and
the relationship develops further. One o f the important changes in these processes is that
the relationship becomes more personal. “Personal” means that as the relationship
becomes like that o f family members or close friends, it becomes more important than the
official relationship in the beginning and the communal situation that they belong to.
Although the relationship is formed at an official level in the beginning, the
understanding of and expression o f the relationship become personal once it becomes
Chdngful. Pastor Pan describes his seven year relationship with deacon Lee, which is
introduced above as follows:
One of the people whom I became Chdngful with was deacon and chairperson o f
the committee for the junior high youth. He is a son o f Pastor Sang Lee (He is
one of the most famous pastors in Korea). He went through a very difficult time
about two years ago. He went to jail because o f some financial matters. So, I had
a special concern for him and visited him more than his family and other church
members did. I became really Chdngful with him not only because we worked
together but through this difficult time. Sometimes, even though he is a deacon
and I am a pastor, I think o f him as my elder brother and he thinks o f me as his
younger brother, and we became very close. I think there was a Christian love in
our relationship but I am sure we became close because we were very personal
with each other.
In the beginning, their official relationship was that o f youth pastor and youth
committee chairperson and then that o f pastor and deacon. However, as the relationship
became Chdngful, they become like brothers.
Mrs. Lee shares her personal closeness with an associate pastor o f the church that
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she goes to:
After he moved into his new house, some church members and I went to visit him.
He prepared such delicious food for us with all o f his heart. The other deacon I
went with said that she could not imagine eating at the pastor’s house; she said
that she could not eat. (How can a layperson dare to eat at pastor’s house!
Laypersons may feel awkward o f eating due to their hierarchical understanding o f
the relationships between pastors and laypersons.) But I rather thought it was to
love to e a t . . . But the associate pastor was not able to come home on time. So,
we called him asked, “When are you gonna be at home?” And he told us to wait
just a little bit more. Finally he couldn’t come. The following day, this is what I
could not forget. He called me and said, “I really wanted to see you and got off
the bus and ran to my house and ascended to the third floor every two steps and
got home but the face that I wanted see was not there.” I was really moved. After
he went to the United States, he sent me a letter saying that he that he really
missed the time he had spent with me and saying that he found later that it was
actually that he really likes me not that I liked him. All of these things really tell
me that we became Chdngful and I think we were very frank in sharing these
thoughts . . . (Changing her exciting tone into an orderly one) So, this is Chong
that I experienced.
In many respects, her description o f her relationship with the associate pastor
seems to be a very intimate one, which even sounds like a romantic relationship. Her
description o f the relationship, however, is simply that they both have a personal
relationship like close friends though their relationship was between a pastor and a church
member. As they become Chdngful their relationship became close enough to have a
meal at her pastor’s house. Although there was an excuse that he moved to a new house
so that they could visit him, it is almost unheard o f that church members personally visit
a pastor and have a meal at his house. This indicates that the official relationship
developed into a personal one as the relationship developed further.
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It is to be noted that Mrs. Lee shows compulsive need to receive care compared
to the other interviewees. Ii is not intended to examine the relationship between her
childhood and the pattern o f her Chongful relationships as an adult. It appears, however,
that her relationship with other people has to do with her childhood. In considering her
personal background, her relationship with her mother during childhood was extremely
negative. She was severely abused by her mother. Her mother always made fun o f her
because of her physical appearance and called her ugly. She heard from her hundreds of
times that she ought to die. In short, she lacks the mother’s love that she needed growing
up, and she was not able to attach herself to anyone in a healthy way. This makes her
seek attach herself to any people with authority around her.
There is a danger when a personal relationship between a pastor and a church
member develops further in a church. Regarding this matter, Pastor Suh says as follows:
It is usually like that, you know. If anyone in the church becomes close with a
senior pastor, he becomes an object of jealousy and envy from other people and is
confronted with hard times.
The fact that a person becomes an object of jealousy and envy from other church
members is because o f the personal aspect of the Chongful relationship. A pastor, as an
official person in the church, should have relationships with everyone in a fair way.
Pastor Choi, who established a new church about ten years ago and whose
congregation is now about two hundred people, shares his experience in the beginning of
his ministry:
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When I first started a new church there was a married couple. They worked as
choir conductor and took care o f the youth group because we could not afford to
pay a regular-trained pastor. The husband had actually dropped out o f the
seminary and had tried to study music, but quit after a while. He said that he
would go back to seminary later but did not have a regular job at that time. So I
let him do ministry for young children. Also, he told me that he wanted to
become a pastor. So I thought that he could continue his ministry in the church,
and when he decides to go back to seminary the church would be ready to support
him as he studies. Although we could not support him like a full-time pastor,
I considered him my co-minister and somewhat distinguished him from other
people. He really carried the burden o f the church together with me . . . As the
city was newly developing, the church grew quickly and everything in the church
had to be changed. If he had determined to go to seminary, we would have
supported him. But he did n o t And as the pastor of the church, I could no
longer just w ait I could not let him continue the ministry for the young
children. So, I limited his ministry in the church and could only allow him to
serve as a conductor. He felt so much regret about i t I felt that as a pastor, I
should have a regular seminary student leading the young children’s
ministry. He personally understood my thoughts and yet felt some angry.
From then on, he got involved in the church activities very passively and
reluctantly and then stopped coming to church one year after th a t He finally
left the church.
As the couple and Pastor Choi worked hard together in the beginning o f the
church, they came to form a Chdngful relationship. Pastor Choi showed a special concern
for them as much as the church could afford to. As the church situation changed,
however, the church needed many changes to grow. Both the couple and Pastor Choi
acknowledged the need for change. However, the couple was not actually able to accept
the change emotionally. For the couple, their relationship with Pastor Choi was Chongful
and thus personal. Therefore, they wanted keep the Chdngful relationship, which meant
that they wanted Pastor Choi to consider their personal situation regardless o f the church
situation. For them, the fact that Pastor Choi limited their ministry conducting was taken
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as neglecting the Chongful relationship. This case shows the personal aspect o f the
Chongful relationship.
Pastor Kim, an associate pastor o f a church, says about his relationship with
church members in general:
My experience with Chong is like this. As for me, to a certain extent, I

intentionally keep my distance from church members. As an associate pastor, I do
have close relationships with church members, you know. But, I try to be close in
my heart and try to treat everyone fairly. If possible, I try not to reveal feelings. I
just want to feel close to them only in my heart. As I do ministry in the church,
senior pastors, associate pastors, and even elders have their own boundaries that
cannot be invaded. It is almost like a small sector. I’m sure that everyone has it
and every church has it. So, I have seen and experienced such things many times;
I try to feel close only in my mind and try to treat everyone in a fair way. But,
you know, it is not that easy.
In the context o f ministry, when person A becomes close with person B and
person B is already in a close relationship with person C, it may cause a problem
emotionally in their relationships. For person A, forming a close relationship with person
B is as the same as invading the close relationship between persons B and C. It is
regarded as an invasion because o f the personal dimension o f the Chongful relationship.
From the perspective o f groups of people, there are many “in-groups” within a
church. If anyone tries to form a close relationship with a person who belongs to an in
group, it is considered to be invading the private boundary o f the in-group. Therefore,
when Pastor Kim says that he intends to maintain some distance with his laypersons
means that he does not intend to develop the Chdngful relationship further into a
relationship where a personal dimension is shaped.
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Pastor Chang shares his experience about the Chongful relationship as follows:
Okay, the question is, “What does it look like to become Chdngful,” right? Well,
for my own personal ministry philosophy, my principle is not to get too close with
laypersons. The former senior pastor before me had very close relationships with
the people close to him. The problem was that when the relationship with
laypersons is somehow related with the official pastoral leadership o f the whole
church, the relationship affected other aspects o f the church negatively. I was then
an associate pastor and could see the negative aspects o f the close relationships.
So, I thought it shouldn’t be common and I tried to control m yself and tried to be
fair to everyone. However, there were some people whom I couldn’t help but get
close to. There were some people whom I really came to care for and have
genuine concern for.
Pastor Chang experienced that personal close relationships may cause negative
effects and be harmful to ministry and to the church on the whole. In conclusion, forming
the relationship o f Chong means developing a personal dimension o f the relationship,
which may hinder the growth and maintenance of the church’s order at the communal
lev el.
Three Dimensions of Chdng
According to the analysis o f the interview data, it is found that the interpersonal
relationships that the interviewees have within the church also include the attributes of
Chdng that are elaborated on in chapter four: warmth, mutuality, other-directedness,
stickiness, stillness, and unselfishness. This finding clearly indicates that one o f the most
important factors determining basic interpersonal relationships for Korean people is
C hdng, whatever the relationships are. Considering that such Chdngful interpersonal
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relationships are shaped within the church, Korean Christians’ spiritual tendencies may
have to do with Chdng in many respects.
According to the analysis of the interview data, it is discovered that Chong has
three dimensions: emotional, material, and moral dimensions. Also, each dimension can
be divided into the beginning, developing, and developed stages according to the flow o f
time. Each dimension o f each stage shows particular features in various ways.
Emotional Dimension of Chdng
The most fundamental dimension o f Chong in interpersonal relationship is the
feeling o f warmth toward the other person. In Andrew Park’s book, Racial Conflict and
Healing: An Asian-American Theological Perspective (1996), Chong is interpreted as
“endearment” and “warmth o f human-heartedness” (p. 110). This warmth o f feeling is
one that people naturally have toward other people when they try to be kind and generous
and concerned for them.
Andrew Park also says:
In Korea, most people overcome loneliness through sharing theirjung.Si People

are fond of people. In contrast with limited natural [resources] and capital
resources, the endearment of jung among people is bountiful. The nature o f
Korean people is gregarious and friendly, (p. 110)
From 1997-19991 taught as a visiting lecturer at Cendant Intercultural Company
in Chicago which is an international marketing company. The company provides service
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for people who are relocated to different countries in the world. They provide seminars
about the basic knowledge of the history and social and cultural information about the
country to which people will be relocated. I led the seminar about “the social and cultural
customs and expectations” for those who will go to Korea. The trainees usually visit
Korea before they come to the seminar. Most o f them share their experiences with the
Korean people, saying that they were always friendly and hospitable. Therefore, warmth
and hospitality can be said to be a national characteristic of the Korean people.
Warmth and friendliness o f the Korean people are shaped by the Confucian view
that humans and human relationships are to be valued. According to Chung-yung, human
beings have the nature that is imparted from Heaven. Also, understanding humans is not
0
possible without considering human relationships. The Korean term for humans is in-gan.
In-gan consists o f two words—m(person) and gan(between)—denoting that a human
being exists between persons (Park, pp. 75-76). We can be human when we stand
between persons. Human beings can be human only when they are in relationships. In
short, valuing humans means valuing human relationships, and vice versa.
The Korean people’s attitude o f valuing the human and human relationships
comes into view through their ethical behavior. The custom and manners that they ought
to observe in interpersonal relationships reflect humanness, which they feel is Chdng.
They consider it good and natural. In this sense, Chong is fundamentally rooted in jen,
53 Andrew Park transcribes Chdng as jung.
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which refers to valuing humans. Andrew Park discusses the relations between jen and i
as follows:
Jen is inner morality, not an external moral relationship . . . / is an extemalization

of jen in a concrete social context. Jen needs to be embodied. / is the process of
its actualization, (p. 77)
In this sense, the feeling o f warmth exists even before personal interactions or
contacts are made. It is rooted in the innate nature of humans.
Beginning Stage.
The feeling o f warmth that Korean people commonly share develops as
interactions and contacts begin to increase. This feeling refers to one o f the attributes of
Chong: warmth. According to the interview data, in the beginning, the context in which
such warm feeling is shaped is divided into two contexts: personal and communal.
When a person begins to go to church, he or she can build warm intimacy with
church as a whole or many church members rather than with a specific person. Mrs. Sun
describes her first impression o f the church when she began going to the church:
In 1991 I had a boy and his behavior was active and wild. So, it was hard for me
to go to church with him. I had to attend worship service not in the main
sanctuary but in the infants’ room through a TV monitor. I now feel that it could
have been better if I had attended the worship seeing the pastor in person in the
main sanctuary. Then one time I tried, my son kept on whining and I couldn’t
concentrate on worship. So, I came to think about why I even bothered to come to
church! So, I did not come to church for a while . . . As my son grew older I was
not bothered by my son any more I was asked to attend the bible study. Through
the bible study, I was able to understand just a little bit o f what faith meant. As I
kept on coming to church, the parish leader and many deacons prayed for me
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a lo t I really owe much to their prayers. And our church members really
treated me well. Before I started going to church I usually stayed at home by
myself. But the reason I was able to want to keep coming to church is
because church members dropped by my house and brought food and gifts
and we had good fellowship. I felt that Christians are really loving people.
Mrs. Sun was able to have fellowship with many people through the bible study.
She was able to get to know church members and develop intimate feelings with them.
Also, she remembers experiencing warmth when the church members treated her really
well. As a result, she came to have warm feelings toward the church and toward church
members.
The feeling o f warmth may be felt as belongingness. Pastor Pan elaborates the
sense o f belonging to church in terms o f Chong:
When we say ‘our church’ it means there are many people whom I know and I
have become close to. Then, according to our Korean expression, ‘being close’ or
having an intimate friendship is usually expressed by Chong. So, the church
becomes ‘our church’ when we have many close people, or Chongful people.
Nobody says that it’s our church when they do not know anybody in the church.
One o f the most fundamental ideas about church members settling in the church is
the sense of belonging. In other words, the sense of “our church” is important. Spiritual
life is the process of the sense o f belonging that is maintained and enriched in the church.
The specific chances for such a sense to be built up are parish worship, small group bible
study, the mission club, etc. The point is that the sense o f belonging refers to the feeling
o f warmth in Chong.
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The feeling o f warmth can be experienced through a specific personal
relationship. Mrs. Lee shares her experience with an associate pastor in her church:
Do you know why I became so Chdngful with him? It’s because he made it
Chdngful. Because he made it Chdngful, I felt Chdngful. For instance, what I
will never forget the times when I would enter the room for associate pastors. The
other associate pastors would just look at me and ask, “What can I do for you?”
This somehow made me nervous because I felt that I should never go to their
rooms unless I had specific business to discuss. But he was not like that. He
always says, “Oh! Mrs. Lee, welcome. How are you?” And he would stop
whatever he was doing, clean up his desk, and come to me and invite me to have a
seat. Then he would say, “Why don’t you begin?” Then I would start talking on
and on, and while I was chattering verbosely, the expression o f his eyes never
showed boredom or “When is she going to finish?” He always listens with a
smiling face. When I finally finished what I was telling him, he would say, “It
must feel so good letting that out, doesn’t it?” And then he would say, “Maybe
it’s time for you to go home.” He is like that (laughing). I think he really knows
and understands how people feel and how to deal with. He really knows people’s
minds and hearts.
Mrs. Lee was able to feel her pastor’s warm heart through his attitude o f attentive
listening. Her thankfulness for his understanding o f her feelings and his recognition o f
her emotional need is described as Chong.
Mr. Shin, who was looking for a new church because he moved to a new area,
explains why he decided to register as a member o f the church to which he is now
attending:
I had to move to this area because o f the business that I am doing. So, it was too
far for me to go to my church on time because of business. So I started looking
for a new church around this area. I visited many churches and finally chose this
church. I decided to stay because our senior pastor was really kind and good.
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He does not verbalize what he means by “kind and good.” However, it seems
that he was able to feel the warmth o f Chong through the pastor’s kindness to him. The
pastor’s kindness was a decisive factor that made him choose the church. As such, it is
important for Korean people to feel and experience the warmth o f Chong in interpersonal
relationships.
This warmth should be shaped naturally as the personal relationship develops
further. If the warm feeling is not shaped for some reason, despite the increase o f the
contacts and interactions, some bad or negative feeling emerges toward the other in the
interpersonal relationship. The bad feeling usually comes with a moralistic judgement of
the other person. It is because, as discussed above, the warm feeling is regarded as being
a fundamental ground for the Confucian moral teaching that humans are supposed to be
valued and that warmth is supposed to be expressed through manners.
For instance, what really matters is the relationship between a pastor and the lay
people. Lay people do not have to continue a relationship if they cannot get along with
one another. However, between a pastor and lay people, it is almost impossible not to
have or maintain a relationship. They must meet each other at least once or twice a week
through worship, bible study, or home visits. Therefore, pastors and lay people must
form a relationship through which they can experience the feeling o f warmth toward each
other.
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For some reasons, however, such warm feeling cannot be formed in the
relationship. Mrs. Sun expresses her feeling that she was not able to feel such warm
feelings with the senior pastor when she first came to the church:
When I was new to the church, I felt disappointed with the church. I asked
myself, “Why doesn’t our pastor have concern for me,” you know? “Has he ever
really prayed for me?” Right after the worship is over, the pastor usually shakes
the hands o f people talking with him about something. He seems to have concern
for them. But he didn’t do that to me. He just shook my hand and said nothing to
me. I really wanted him to show some concern for me but he didn’t and I felt
regret and discouragement. But when he and I sometimes made eye contact and
talked to me, I felt so great like a baby (laughing).
Mrs. Sun, at that time, had already formed a Chdngful relationship with the church
as a whole. It was then, however, that she felt regret towards her pastor. From the
perspective o f Chong, she wanted more personal concern and care from the pastor, as she
became Chdngful with the church. In general, church members want to be cared for by
the pastor. More specifically, they want to be cared for on a more personal level.
However, because her desire was not satisfied at the time, she complained about it.
There may be a couple o f reasons why she felt regret. It is relatively difficult to
form a close relationship between a male pastor and a female church member in a short
period o f time because o f patriarchal nature o f the Korean culture. Socially, there always
exists some awkward feelings between males and females. Such feelings made her feel
distant from her pastor. In fact, another interviewee Mr. Shin, and Mrs. Sun belong to the
same church. As described above, however, his first impression was much different from
Mrs. Sun’s. Mr. Shin’s first impression o f the pastor was “kind and good.”
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The intensity of emotional attachment may differ between men and women.
Women are usually said to be more relational. It entails that women have stronger desires
to relate to people. They are more sensitive to relational desires internally and externally.
If such needs are not met, it evokes more regret and discouragement.
Such feelings o f regret and/or discouragement also come from jealousy and
judgement due to the spiritual immaturity that is observed in comparing or being
compared to other people. Such problems commonly occur in the church. But, such
problems can be resolved when the church members become maturer spiritually. In fact,
Mrs. Sun interprets her feelings o f regret from a spiritual perspective:
But reflecting upon that time, I can now see how a pastor can make eye contact
with everyone and talk to everyone with warm concern, you know? Then, I was
like a baby spiritually. Now, I don’t have that attitude any more. I don’t think
that a pastor can respond to every person’s need and request. I think he may
believe that those who are spiritually more mature will be able to take care of
themselves and he may be able to show a little bit more concern for those who are
not as mature in their spiritual life. I am not sure though. But I just think in that
way.
Mrs. Sun thinks that she can now understand her pastor’s situation because o f her
spiritual growth. Her spiritual growth enables her to understand the pastoral situation and
the professional nature of the pastor. In short, during the process o f becoming mature,
however long it took, she was able to increase her contacts with the pastor and have some
occasions to feel and experience her pastor’s concern and Christian love for her.
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Even over o f a period of long time, however, there are some occasions in which
negative feelings are not resolved. Mrs. Lee complains about her senior pastor’s distant
manner as follows:
Our senior pastor has many good qualities, you know. He is always polite in
his manner and so punctual and prudent in everything because he hates
when things go wrong. He and I are similar in this aspect So, I like t hat . . .
But he does not seem to accept me. He never does. So I have tried to form
close relationship several times and finally gave up. His pastoral philosophy is
that pastors should not be close to lay people. I thought there was something
wrong . . . But other people in the church, well, I don’t know. They actually do
not speak well o f him because he is so indifferent and frigid. Everybody says the
same thing about him. I can tell from his facial expression. When he is in a good
mood, his face blooms like a flower. But when he feels bad, he becomes so
indifferent to others. From our perspective, you know, pastors are not supposed to
be like that. So, when he talks to people whom he likes, he laughs and jokes and
smiles a lot. But to those whom he somewhat feels distant to, the expression o f
his eyes is even different. So, one time I confronted him and said, “Why does
your mouth smile but your eyes do not? Your mouth and eyes act independently.”
And his attitude is also very business-like. Well, to be honest, we now just like
and respect him and we just want to pray for him more and we want to share more
warm eye expressions and conversation. That’s it, you know? But he doesn’t
seem to accept it. So, we do not go to see such a person who doesn’t accept our
efforts.
Mrs. Lee complains that she was not able to have closer relationship with her
pastor and receive care from him at a more personal level. Her dissatisfaction may come
from her own excessive desire for care, especially from a spiritual figure. Two other
interviewees from the same church also have similar thoughts about the same pastor. Mr.
Ryu, a male deacon o f this same church says as follows:
If I were to speak well of him, I would have to say that he is a sharp and shrewd
person. But as a pastor, he is too formal a person. O f course, old church members
say that he is not like this in his heart. But it’s not easy to feel close to him until
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you’ve experienced his heart. So, I would say in general, that he is cold-hearted
and business-like.
Therefore, unless that warm feeling is not shaped between a pastor and church
members, it is difficult to build a deep relationship between them. In other words, it will
not be possible for fellowship, healing, and dedication at deeper spiritual level can occur.
Developing Stage.
The developing stage is the stage in which interactions and contacts with the warm
feeling increase at a personal level and therefore strengthens the emotional ties between
people. As the emotional tie becomes stable, the personal relationship develops further.
Mr. Shin, who used to run a small business and now works as a church
custodian54, describes his Chdngful relationship with one o f the elders in the church as
follows:
By then I had a very deep relationship with an elder Kim, who also managed a
factory. Because his factory and mine were close, we had a chance to meet
regularly and get along. We visited each other and had a lot o f conversations
together. We met not only in the church but also outside o f the church. We talked
about business, church matters, spiritual concerns, etc. We often had lunch
together.
u Church custodian in the Korean church has a very distinctive position. Not only is he or she hired as a
paid worker, but he/she is also a church member. His duty is not simply taking care o f building
management and cleaning but also all the chores for the church activities. A custodian’s wife is also
considered as a worker with her husband. In other words, the duties o f a church custodian is the couple’s,
or family's job. Therefore, the family is also provided with a residence close to church.
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Mr. Shin met elder Kim not only in the church for spiritual matters but also
outside the church for other matters. Mr. Shin’s frequent contact and interaction with
elder Kim helped him form a Chdngful relationship with him.
Mrs. Yi expresses the change in her feelings about her senior pastor, whom most
church members feel distant from, as follows:
When he first came to our church, my first impression about the senior pastor was
distant and cold. So, I thought that he was not virtuous. I did not think that he
was well qualified for a big church. But these days, as I have come to understand
him better, I feel that he is so good at church administration. You know, this
church is really old and old members tend to become hardened. I thought it might
be hard for him to manage such hardened people. So, as time went by, I was able
to better understand him and I think I really became Chdngful with him. As time
passed by I came to understand him more. In the past I wondered why he was so
smart but cold-hearted and now I say that I like him because he is so smart
(laughing).
Her distant feelings toward the pastor changed as time passed by and contacts become
more frequent. She was able to have warm feelings toward him and accept him with her
heart.
One important aspect of Chong in this developing stage, however, is that people
tend not to express their warm feelings at a personal level even though the relationships
develop further and become more intimate and personal. Though an intimate relationship
is shaped at a personal level, they are not accustomed to expressing their personal
intimate feelings. This demonstrates the attributes o f stillness in Chong.
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Therefore, Korean people tend to express their feelings o f Chong indirectly when
their personal intimacy increases. Mr. Shin shares an occasion o f when he spoke with a
Chdngful church member who was about to leave the church for good:
I usually tell such people to pray first. If God wants you to leave, He will let you
leave; if you complete your job as God’s servant in that church and God wants
you to serve Him in another church, I am sure that you can go. First, listen to
God’s voice and then leave the church. I always tell them in that way. There was
a person who needed to move to a new house. I told him, “Well, you want to
move to a new house but I don’t think God will allow you to get the deposit
money back so that you can’t move.” I said to him because I think he had a job to
do in this church. I said, “Do not even dream o f moving to a new house because
God wants you to stay in this church.” I always encourage people in this way.
What Mr. Shin says is actually his Chdngful emotion for that person because he
does not want the person to leave the church. Instead of expressing his feelings o f being
separated directly, he says indirectly, “God will not allow you to move.” He does not
show how he feels about the person’s leaving. His description o f the senior pastor also
demonstrates this aspect o f the senior pastor:
All of our church members agree that our senior pastor is never relaxed at all. He
is so alert that it is said even one hair on his head is disheveled. That is why I
think church members feel distant from him. But, I have been close to him for a
while and have had some personal conversations with him and found that he has
the heart of a parent. Even though he seems to be distant externally, he has such
deep love in his heart. So, I realized that he loves as parents love, and this is also
the love o f God. He looks cold-hearted externally but he really has a lot o f Chong
internally.
His understanding o f the senior pastor is that he has deep Chong in his heart
though he is silent and looks indifferent externally.
Mrs. Lee shares her relationship of Chong with an associate pastor as follows:
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After he left for the United States, he sent me a letter saying that he really missed
the time that he had spent with me and it was really a useful time for him and
saying that he found later that it was actually that he really likes me not that I
liked him. All o f these really tell me that we became really Chdngful and I think
we were really frank in sharing these thoughts.
According to the letter, it seems that Mrs. Lee had a very close relationship with
the associate pastor. The associate pastor’s expression, “he found later . . . ” is not
actually so. Rather, he already felt this way as he expressed in the letter, but he was not
able to express the close feeling frankly. After he left, he was able to freely express his
feelings by writing. This indicates that Korean people do not express their Chong as
much as they actually feel it.
Such non-expressiveness among the Korean people is also evident even in the
relationship between dating couples. Mr. Ryu, in his late thirties, shares about a dating
experience with a woman whom he served with and later married:
Because I was the director of the preschool program o f the church I knew what to
do. So, she asked me many things about how to do things within the ministry. I
felt that because she was new at the church, she might have many difficult with
her responsibilities. So I suggested that I help her, and I helped her little by little.
I did my best to help her and I gave her advice details and said, “You should do
this in this way and that in a different way, you know. Or, “If you want to get
approval, you’d better do this.” I knew that I didn’t have to do this for her, but I
would feel sorry so bad if she got in trouble. So, I showed deep concern for her
and I always helped her as if I were the one in her position. And she really
appreciated my help. Everything went well and sometimes we would have lunch
together and just talk a lot. Later, she said that she felt that I was very interested in
her. At that time I had not shared any personal matters with her; I didn’t dare
because she was a pastor. But one day, all o f a sudden, she shared her feelings
with me. I had considered everything that had happened to us official, as in doing
ministry, and not personal. But had thought differently. One day, after our
Wednesday evening service, she came to me and said that I had to go to her house
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to see her parents because they had came to visit. She made me meet her parents.
So, marriage discussion was done very quickly.
While Mr. Ryu and his wife were dating, they thought about marriage and yet had
never talked about their loving feelings toward each other. Meeting the other person’s
parents unspokenly signified that the parents officially permit the marriage. Therefore, in
general in the Korean culture, two persons usually share their loving feelings and
commitment to marriage before they meet one another’s parents. However, according to
Mr. Ryu, he had not shared his loving feelings with her until he had met her parents.
Also, his wife did not share her feelings to him although she felt that he liked her through
his sensitivity, care, and deep concern. She, all o f a sudden, shared her feelings at the
decisive moment. As such, Korean people do not express their feelings o f intimate love
or Chong although their relationship goes deeper. Therefore, the fact that they do not
express their Chdngful feelings, even in a close relationship, does not mean that the
relationship is distant or that something is wrong. Rather, it is an indication that the
personal dimension o f the relationship has developed further.
Non-expressiveness among the Korean people has to do with the values o f
Confucian cultural. On the one hand, they deter assertiveness because it is considered to
be an arrogant attitude and spontaneity, which is considered to be of bad manners (Sue &
Kirk, 1982). On the other hand, the inhibition o f feeling is considered to be a
manifestation o f self-control (Uba, p. 70). Therefore, it is natural for them to withhold
their feelings whether they are good or not.
This non-expressiveness also has to do with authority. A chief in a community,
such as father in a family or the pastor o f a church, does not usually express his/her
emotion because it is regarded as maintaining authority in the community. By keeping
the distance from those o f a “lower” position, he can maintain his authority. The people
in the lower position are also taught not to express themselves because it is considered to
be respectful and obedient to authority. In terms o f family dynamics, they are not
allowed any personal space or orientation for the sake o f interpersonal harmony. This
entails that expressing personal feelings or desires is not accepted. Many problems occur
as the result of not expressing their emotion: It generates passivity in their behavior, it
causes many communication problems, and it also brings about a dependency problem
(Sue & Kirk, 1982). It is, however, to be noted that they still have deep love and concern
for others internally. A father’s love for his children in the Confucian culture was well
described in the novel written by Jung Kim (1997).
The Korean novel written by Jung Kim and entitled, Father, was one o f the best
sellers for two or three years from 1995. The novel marvelously describes the Korean
father’s affection for families in terms of Chong. The novel begins with a story that the
father turned out to have a pancreatic cancer. He only had three to four months to live.
He did not tell his family about his cancer because he loved them: Chongful love. He did
all his effort to prepare all the plans to take care of his family after his death. There were
many misunderstandings and even conflicts because he did not tell his family about his
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cancer. Not only the fact but also the love is held back and cherished because he does
not want his family to suffer. The whole story describes this Chdngful love or stillness o f
Chong that he showed toward his family.
In a sense that the father in the novel does not express or explain his affection, it is
still. It is vague rather than clear. However, being still or vague never means it is weak
or feeble. Chong, thus, has no passionate movement at the moment and yet is stable and
continuous. It may be stronger than love in some respects because it does not get cool
down easily. It is the same as the flexible bamboo that does not get broken easily. In
conclusion, Chong is not so much o f a dynamic as static; direct as indirect; passionate as
still; clear as vague.
The tendency not to express feeling accompanies the feeling o f vagueness which
is grounded upon the Buddhist idea or sentiment. Meeting or relationship in Buddhism is
not an accident but an outcome o f Karma (Kyu-tae Lee, 1994). Its present feeling and its
possibility in the future therefore cannot represent the present incident. Rather, the
meaning of the meeting is based upon the idea o f fatality. Fatality implies that every
moment o f meetings in the past is thus meaningful and is to be embraced (Du-won Lee,
1995, p.45). The meaning is somewhat indirect and vague. More and deeper meaning is
placed upon the past moments than the present visible and clear understanding o f the
meeting even though the former is not an actual experience. Or, the thought that meeting
itself is important makes people have fatal sense o f duty that the present meeting cannot
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be vain. The sense o f unity based on this fatal thought has become a social value which
has been able to combine the community and to reduce the probable conflicts ahead.
Mature Stage.
When the interactions and contacts continue at the developing stage, the
relationship moves to a mature stage where interpersonal relationships go deeper and the
emotional tie becomes stronger. The emotional tie at this stage is so strong that it cannot
be separated easily. Therefore, the relationship continues despite continual conflicts
and/or differences. The non-expressiveness somehow seems to contribute to this
attachment and inseparableness o f the emotional tie. This is because the feelings that are
not expressed are held back in the mind and become a centripetal force moving inwardly.
They do not go away but remain in the mind as stronger and tightly-bonded feelings.
The feelings at the mature stage can also be understood at two levels: communal
and personal levels. From the communal perspective, most understandings and feelings
about church life reflect the elements o f Chong in the mature stage. Mrs. Lee reflects
upon her spiritual life in the following way:
As for me, I have been in this church for eleven years and I would say that more
than being filled with the Holy Spirit, I feel like I just have more Chong with the
church . . . I think our church is especially like that, you know? Everybody says
so. They say they want to move to other churches because our church is not as
devout or spiritual. But they can’t leave and they say, “Oh, no! We can’t leave
because we miss the members o f the women’s club. It is the attaching power o f
Chong\ I really think it is. When we are together, we usually point fingers at each
other and get upset with one another’s behavior or attitude. We then say in
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frustration, “How can they say they are Christians? So, should we just leave the
church?” But the answer is no. Absolutely not. So, Chong makes us see that
people’s faults are bearable. And we learn to accept people as they are.
Reflecting on her Christian spiritual life as a whole, she feels that interpersonal
intimacy is more real, influential, and precious than faith in God or the Holy Spirit. In
other words, the feelings and experiences concerning a relationship with God are seen
from the perspective of the growth and maturity o f the interpersonal relationship. This
means that understanding or accepting people becomes easier.
At the personal level o f the mature stage emotional ties are very strong. Pastor
Suh shared about an experience demonstrating the emotional tie he had with one o f the
elders o f the church that he had served at for fourteen years when he was moving to a
new church.
Do you know how much he loved the pastor (Pastor Suh)? Even though he was
older than me by about three or four years was, he really showed Chong as a man
to another man. But he never gave me a negative attitude simply because I was
younger than him. He genuinely treated me as his senior pastor. I think it was the
day before I moved to a new church in Seoul. One elder from the new church
came down to my old church in Pusan to pick up my luggage. He, without telling
me, took the elder from Seoul to the coffee shop to talk with him. Later, the elder
from the new church told me about their meeting. He said that as soon as they
went into the coffee shop, the elder o f the old church burst into tears without
saying a word. And he asked the new elder to take good care o f me, his new
pastor. He was so childlike, you know. I think it was Chong.
It is not easy to find a man crying publicly because Korean culture considers
crying an extreme expression o f emotion. Koreans usually do not cry much even when
their parents have died. Therefore, Chong is the only reasonable explanation that we
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have for the elder bursting into tears when the pastor left the church. He became
Chdngful enough to love, respect, and serve his pastor regardless o f age. Therefore, there
is nothing negative in the elder’s feelings about the pastor’s leaving except feeling
sadness.
Being separated from the Chongful person, however, is not always handed in such
a good manner. In fact, many of the church members whom he ministered to for fourteen
years could not accept his leaving at an emotional level. Because his leaving did not
make sense to them, they judged him moralistically. This caused in them very bad
feelings against him. Pastor Suh shares his uncomfortable feelings about it at that time:
When I left Yangjung church, I prayed a lot to see whether it was God’s will or
not. I think it was my personal decision before God. But the church blamed me,
saying that it was my selfish desire. I can’t deny that there was a bit o f my own
preference in making this decision. But you know, some of the church members
were calling me a betrayer. I felt so bad about it. I think it may have to do with
the spiritual maturity of Korean Christians. I know that Chong is good and
positive but I think that to some extent it has to be controlled. Then it can
demonstrate its powerful energy. But if it goes to an extreme, it rather causes
problems.
Pastor Suh had his own reasons for leaving the church. He also desired that the
church members graciously understood his leaving. However, the church members felt
betrayed by him because they thought that his decision was breaking the Chdngful
relationship with them for the sake o f his own selfish desire.
The problem with Pastor Suh’s situation was that he wanted to leave the church,
which meant breaking his Chdngful relationship with the church. There are some
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occasions in Chongful relationships when there are conflicts and problems, but the
relationship can be continued without being broken. They cannot easily be separated in
these relationships and in fact, the conflicts and disharmony rather strengthen the
relationship. We refer to this as “spiteful Chong." Mr. Ryu shares about his relationship
with a fellow worker in the same office:
As you know, there is a saying that there is gentle Chong and there is spiteful
Chong. Many people say that Chong is love, or giving and receiving. But for me,
Chong is a sentiment o f living. In short, it may be love, but spiteful Chong is
Chong and gentle Chong is also Chong, you know. Spiteful Chong actually
means that there was concern! To be honest, I didn’t have a good relationship
with the secretary in my office. For some reason, she was really hurt. It didn’t
make sense to me. I tried to understand but I just couldn’t. However, some time
later, I realized that it was also Chong. I disliked her but it was Chong\ That I
disliked her means that I had a deep concern for her. So, I think that Chong is an
aspect o f our life.
Therefore, even though there exist spiteful feelings and conflicts in the Chongful
relationship and problems are not resolved, it is almost impossible to end the human
relationship because of the Chongful relationship. This type o f spiteful Chdng later
makes the relationship closer.
Mrs. Lee’s relationship with her senior pastor became extremely bad due to the
conflict caused by her daughter’s wedding. The senior pastor insisted that his ministry
philosophy does not allow the time o f their wedding to be more than 30 minutes. So, she
was told that the special music could not be inserted in the wedding ceremony.
Therefore, she could not include one special song that she really loved. She, however,
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obeyed the pastor’s recommendation. There was, however, another wedding ceremony
in the church a couple months later. The wedding ceremony went on for forty five
minutes and there were three special songs. She was extremely upset with him about it.
She explained what happened afterwards:
“. . . (Very exciting and angry tone) Well, I decided to leave the chinch. But you
know, I still felt really really upset. So, I called his wife and explained everything
and why I was upset. Right after I talked to her on the phone, he (pastor) called
me and asked me to come to the church by six o’clock. So, I thought I would tell
him everything because I already decided to leave the church . . . I told him that I
would leave the church, and that I didn’t think we could get along w ith each other.
I said that he somehow must have felt uncomfortable with my presence.
(Changing tone) But I realized that the pastor was different. He said nothing and
just listened to me. And at the end, he just said that he always has trouble at the
session meetings whenever a church member leaves the church. H e said that the
last time, when Mrs. Chung left the church, he really went through a difficult time
at the session meeting. And he said that there is nothing that can be said to
explain people leaving. So, you know what I said to him? I said, “W hy you don’t
think you have something? You do. I am leaving the church because o f only one
reason. It is because o f you (emphasizing) that I leave the church. There is no
other reason than that. You know that I can’t get along with you.” Then, he
somewhat cooled down and softened his attitude, you know? And he said in a
gentle manner, “We have known each other for ten years and we can tell what we
want simply by looking at the expression on our faces, right? Even though we
have to fight, let us do it together in this church.” (Lightly) So, you know I also
agreed with him, that we are gonna fight in the church.
According to Mrs. Lee, the pastor did not give her reasonable explanation or
apology. In conclusion, despite her dissatisfaction with his unreasonable way o f dealing
with matters and her anger toward his personality and her complaints about his insincere
attitude, those were dissolved in the crucible of Chong.
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The group o f people that is composed o f such strong feelings o f attachment is
bound to one another internally but is very exclusive externally. Mr. Ryu describes the
church that he has attended for a long time as follows:
On the one hand, I would say that the church is sort o f numb. They show
reactions to external stimuli and fear o f change. People outside say that our
church has a familial atmosphere. But I think that that is a stumbling block to
church growth; that is a problem. Actually, our church has ninety years o f history.
When the church first began, as far as I know, it consisted o f several families.
Even now the church is composed o f four or five big families.
The internal mood o f the church gives off a feeling o f warmth and attachment.
Mrs. Lee describes how the church members are bound to one another:
Once I entered this church, I found that no other church is more exciting than this
church, you know? Also, the people are so nice and friendly. As for me, because
I now work as a leader o f many small groups, people just follow me. They are
very supportive with me in whatever I want to do
Such internal ties, however, are manifested as external exclusiveness. Mrs. Lee
also shares her feelings about the church:
Non-members generally say that our church is cold. They say that we don’t greet
other people well. For instance, other churches usually welcome newcomers and
ask where they live and questions like that. But we never do that kind o f thing,
you know? So, the newcomers have to take care of themselves. They have to
introduce themselves. They even have to figure out what age group they should
go to. Our church members never guide people about where to go and what to do.
You take care o f yourself. That’s what our church tells people. One extreme case
was when a certain newcomer was never asked to register in the church for almost
a year. So, she said that she would register for herself.
Mrs. Yi, who goes to the same church, also says similar things about the church:
I think our church is kind o f conservative on the whole. For instance, some new
churches really welcome newcomers, but we never pay attention to them. We
rarely even acknowledge them. So, it takes time for them to adjust themselves to
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this church. Because the church does not show any concern for the newcomers,
they have to make the effort to adjust themselves. We neither hold the people
leaving nor welcome the newcomers.
Such exclusiveness brings about in-groups and out-groups within a community.
This is especially recurrent in the Korean culture. It is no wonder that the Korean
churches have gone through continual church splits for a long time.
Kyu-tae Lee (1994) describes Chong as a “sticky viscid zone o f sympathy” (p.
72). He compares the Western human relationship to raw soybeans; the Korean, to
fermented soybeans. In Western interpersonal relationships, people are not intermeshed
emotionally with each other and the individual self can be distinguished from each other.
However, in Korean interpersonal relationship, once it is formed, it is hard to distinguish
one person from the other. A “chemical change” has occurred in the relationship.
Therefore, it is almost impossible to revert to the previous relationship before it was
formed. The relationship has become a sticky one and a complete separation from the
relationship is hard. That is why personal and the official matters are mixed and
indistinguishable for the Korean people. Once they get tangled, they do not want to get
separated. If they must get separated from each other, they feel awfully sad and it
becomes Han.
Chong is so sticky that the sense o f “I” is mingled or even melted into its
relationship. What people in the Chdngful relationship experience becomes an adhesive
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tying together: The adhesive is Chong. That is why Chong is described as sticky,
adhesive, bonding, baraacle-like, leech, hanger-on. etc.
It is considered mercenary to pay the price or receive a reward in the relationship
o f Chong. This is considered non- Chongful behavior. He or she is treated in a cold way
because he is considered selfish. In literal Korean expression they say, “Chong has fallen
off!.” However, once they feel they are tied to each other, they behave based upon the
sense of tie. If one attempts to pay back, it is construed as breaking the sense o f tie, or
the ties is not yet formed. It is only as good as a commercial transaction or a distant
relationship. One is even not allowed to say “Thank you” for the favor that the other
does; one is not supposed to say “I am sorry” for a mistake which causes inconvenience
or a loss for the other. This is because saying so is understood as proclaiming their
relationship as official and thus distant, not Chongful. This entails that a favor or mistake
is to be accepted as natural in a Chongful relationship.
A particular aspect o f the Korean people’s interpersonal relationships can also be
observed in their language structure. For instance, Koreans generally use words such as
“ we” or “ us.” They say “ our house” or “ our wife” instead o f “ my house” or “ my
wife.” This indicates that a sense o f communality, instead o f individuality, is embedded
in their language structure. The sense o f “ I” is not individual but communal. Such a
concept of communality indicates to us that they understand themselves relation to others.
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Studying the relations between language structure and mentality, Chang S. Yoo
et al concluded that the Korean language falls short o f logic. Korean people rarely use
verbs that have to do with judgment, logic, or statements. Also, the singular and plural
are not clearly distinguished from each other because they are vague about numbers,
which are closely related to logic. Chang S. Yoo et al also point out that there is no
purely Korean translation o f the word, ‘if.’ It is an indication that they have neither
vision for the future nor rebellion against the present reality. It is because they lack
judgment about facts or reality.
Such a lack o f objective judgment or logic in the Korean language has to do with
their lack o f attitude looking at nature objectively or grasping things in a reasonable way.
The attitude may be influenced by the Oriental thought that nature and humans are not
seen from the dualistic or contradictory perspective; nature and human are seen in
harmony with each other. In other words, the Korean people tend to rely on intuition
rather than on precise analysis or acknowledgment.
Wan-ki Paik says,
They seek psychological security by relating to others; the quality o f the

relationships determines their emotional satisfaction. In a certain sense, their self-
esteem is also affected by the relationships, (p. 69)
This aptly describes the emotional aspect in their interpersonal relationships. Crane
(1968) also points out this emotional aspect o f their interpersonal relationships by saying
that Kibun is one o f the most important factors influencing conduct and relations with
others. Kibun has no true English equivalent. “ Mood” may come close. He says that
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Kibun refers to “ the state o f his inner feelings, his prestige, his awareness o f being
recognized as a person, the deference he receives from his fellows.” It determines a
person’s morale, face, or self-esteem; essentially his/her state o f mind. In sum, the
relationships o f Chong include the emotional aspect.
Material Dimension of Chdng
According to the analysis of the interview data, the relationships o f Chong consist
o f exchanging material. Though the types o f material shared through the Chongful
relationships depend on the situation, they can be largely divided into two categories:
materials that express caring for others and materials o f mutual sharing. Park (1996)
describes the culture o f sharing in reference to the warmth aspect of Chong as follows:
People love to share their food with their neighbors and strangers. When Koreans
invite friends to their homes, they serve an abundance o f food. After dinner, the
hosts [wrap and] distribute any [remains] to their guests [to take home] as an
expression of jung. Jung can also be seen in gratuitous gift giving. Unlike
Western gift-giving, Korean gift-giving is often an expression o f jung. . . . By
exchanging gifts Koreans communicate their mutual care and jung (p. 111).
In short, for Koreans, materials are a token of Chong. They give and take Chong through
material.
The specific meanings related to sharing and caring in the church depends on the
nature of the Chongful relationships. The relationships in the church can be divided into
two: relationships between pastors and lay people and relationships between lay people.
Between lay people, food or small gifts are usually shared and donations are given at
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occasions o f celebration and condolences. They sometimes give financial support for
businesses. This, however, is sometimes reluctantly done due to the fear o f breaking the
Chongful relationship. Between pastors and lay people, lay people almost always provide
material for pastors unilaterally. The materials include gifts, food, money, or sometimes
expensive items such as cars.
Beginning Stage.
The meaning of material sharing or exchanging between lay people is not clearly
distinguished from that o f the developing stage. In the beginning stage one party usually,
if not always, provides care for the other in most Chongful relationships. Some people
begin the relationship by sharing with each other. The relationship that Mrs. Sun formed
in the beginning was that between a newcomer and the parish leader. In other words, she
was given care from her parish leader through the relationship. She explains the situation
in which the Chdngful relationship was formed.
In the beginning, I took my son to the church because he wanted to go to church.

There were many children in the church and they really welcomed me kindly and
w arm ly... I guess it was the Four Spiritual Laws. I had a conversation with a
person about it. But she (the parish leader) kept on coming to my house after she
introduced the Four Spiritual Laws to me. To be honest, it really bothered me but
she kept on coming to me. But, you know, I just couldn’t say anything because
she always brought delicious food and I felt sorry that she did so. Actually, I
came to open my heart because o f this.
At the time of visiting her home and evangelizing to her, it was not the gospel but
food that first opened Mrs. Sun’s heart. For Korean people, the meaning in providing
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food is concern and love expressed through food. It is a token of love and concern
accompanied by spiritual care.
Mr. Shin was not a beginner in his religious life but he was already a Christian
when he first came to his current church. He moved to the church. It seems that his
relationship with elder Kim was formed because o f the fact that they both had similar
jobs: they ran small businesses. He describes his relationship with elder Kim as follows:
In many ways I owe him. In my spiritual life, business, and so o n . . . He is older

than I am so whatever he says is useful for me. I always thank him for his advice
for business and church life. I am really thankful for him in many respects. For
instance, as I was running a small business, there were some occasions when I was
in urgent need for money. There were many times when I needed cash, you
know. In those cases, I received financial help from him many times.
As they got to know each other, they had many meetings both in the church and
outside the church. During their time together, they had many conversations through
which Mr. Shin usually received help emotionally and spiritually. Their Chongful
relationship was formed through the process. Through their Chongful relationship elder
Kim provided care and Mr. Shin received care. Other than emotional and spiritual help,
Mr. Shin also received financial help. It was the financial help that made Mr. Shin thank
elder Kim further and that strengthened their Chongful relationship.
One o f the most significant aspects o f the relationship between pastors and lay
people is caring. The specific ways in which caring is expressed vary and need
elaboration. Traditionally, the meaning o f caring, for pastors, was to take care o f
people’s basic needs for living. Ministry has been regarded as a poor job in the Korean
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society. The standards o f economic life were very low when churches were first
established in Korea. This situation lasted until the 1970s. It was really hard for a pastor
to make a living based on the income provided by the church. Therefore, Korean
churches used to have a tradition called “holy rice” to support their pastor. Church
members gave rice as an offering. It was an offering to the church and at the same time,
it was actually for the pastor. The holy rice tradition was originated from Korea’s
traditional culture in which people always shared rice with the poor families in the
village. Therefore, the tradition of caring a pastor in the church today is basically rooted
in Korea’s church tradition that the people support their pastor’s living.
However, such traditions have almost disappeared in the current Korean churches,
except for some churches in the rural area. The pattern o f caring has changed but its
tradition still exists. Pastor Kim shares an aspect o f his ministry as an associate pastor:
There are many people in this church who help me a lot. Not only do they pray
for me, but also one elder actually encourages me personally and helps me
financially (laughing). Also, because we meet many times for church activities in
the church it really is helpful materially and emotionally.
Economic improvement and modernization o f the lifestyle in the Korean society
have changed many church traditions, including the holy rice tradition. It is obvious that
the Korean churches have become rich financially. Therefore, there are many pastors
who live affluent lives above the average citizen due to the growth of many mega
churches. However, according to the average standard o f living in Korea, most pastors do
not have sufficient income. Lay people know this and take care o f their pastors. So the
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tradition o f caring for the pastor still exists. The method of helping the pastor, however,
has changed. People give pastors money under the guise o f helping their financial need
for books, tuition, child rearing, etc. Both pastors and lay people in the Korean church
consider this tradition to be good and biblical.55
There are some lay people who care for their pastor in a different way. Pastor
Chang shares about his experiences in the church:
She is a deaconess and is about fifty-five years old. She owns a farm and she is
like a heroic woman who is and very faithful and who never compromises. She
took good care of the previous pastor and prays for me a lot. In the beginning I
was not close to her. But I saw she never brags about herself even though she
really serves a great deal, and in a special way. She serves the church very
actively and especially tries to serve the pastors a lot. So, my relationship with
her became very close. She was especially very concerned about the pastors’
health. She herself made good food for the pastors so many times. Or, sometimes
she took us to a good restaurant. But it encourages us the most that she prayed for
us.
It is common in the Korean churches that lay people take care o f their pastor in
such various ways. This church tradition is rooted in the Korean traditional custom.
There is a Korean word, ‘deom' in transactions among the Koreans. It is an abbreviation
o f “deo-ham” which means “adding.” It involves the meaning o f “a little more.” Thus,
when they say, “Give me some deom” or “Don’t you give some deom?” it means, “I want
to have a little more for the same price.” However, the focus, for Koreans, is not so much
on the desire to have more materially but on humanness. In short, if there is no deom, no
exchange or sharing of Chong. Therefore, if there is no deom, it definitely means being
55 Elijah was supported by crow.
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cold-hearted or stingy.
The Koreans’ traditional custom illustrates the point that deom is Chong. There
were many kinds o f peddlers in the mountainous or agricultural villages where there were
no permanent markets. Among them, especially when salt peddlers or pickled fish
peddlers visited villages, deom became important. When people bought fine salt which
was more expensive, the salt peddlers customarily had to give them thick salt which was
less expensive. The pickled fish peddlers also had to give pickled juice as deom when
people bought pickled fish. If any of the peddlers did not give deom, they could not sell
anything. The important thing, however, is that the deom was then called Chong. If the
deom was too little, they said, “Chong is too little!” or “Give me more Chongl” Kyu-tae
Lee describes this as follows: “The Korean people in one way or another managed to live
under the warmth o f Chong without being enslaved by stingy calculation” (Kyu-tae Lee,
1994). Significant meaning in life for them lies in sharing. Though they give others
more and may lose money, they appreciate the fact that they shared despite their poor
lives. The way in which they give concrete material value upon Chong, which is an
abstract value, indicates how deep and practical the sentiment of Chong is for Koreans in
their daily lives.
Chong was commonly expressed even in commercial transactions in the
traditional Korean custom. It is still practiced and remains in the Korean people’s
mentality although its pattern has changed. Thus, they almost always make a price deal
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for the products which have no price tag. Buyers always wish to cut the price down.
Cutting the price down is not simply a matter o f dealing but that of Chong. Both buyers
and sellers feel the warmth o f Chong with each other through giving and receiving a
discount. If this does not happen, they feel it is not Chongful. Unfortunately, due to
standardization and the price tag system o f the industrialized society, the sharing o f
warmth o f Chongful relationships can no longer be expected through commercial
transactions.
Developing Stage.
In the developing stage, people mutually share with each other rather than simply
helping each other unilaterally. As the relationship develops further, the sharing becomes
more frequent and the pattern o f sharing changes from a unilateral way to a mutual way.
Sharing then intends to express thanks for caring and helping. Such a relationship o f
sharing continues throughout the developing stage.
Mrs. Sun says about the continual relationship with the parish leader who helped
her at the beginning o f her spiritual life:
After I got married, I don’t really think I had difficult time. Rather, she (the parish
leader) was in a more difficult situation than I was financially. So, even though I
had support from her spiritually, I actually helped her more financially. Anyway,
I had the closest relationship with her. I moved to a new house and then she
always brought something to the church because she felt like giving to me. Then,
sometimes we wouldn’t be able to meet on Sunday. Then she would call me at
home and suggest that we meet at some place in between her house and my house.
Then she would hand some food over to me. So, I tried to look for something,
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anything that I could give her. I would feel like giving something and take it
with me. Then we would meet together and share and exchange the food that we
brought. When we lived close together we did this many times. But after I moved
far away, it became a little more difficult. However, if there was anything special,
we always felt like giving to each other and would pick up the phone and start
talking. She is the one with whom I can share everything.
Compared to the pattern of the relationship in the beginning, this pattern shows
more mutual sharing. The parish leader still intends to provide care while Mrs. Sun
wants to show thanks for it. And such a mutual-sharing pattern continues. What is
shared is not an expensive item, but it is usually food. It is common among Korean
women to cook food and share it with others. It is an easy and convenient way to show
and share Chong with each other.
Mrs. Yi describes her relationship with her friend in the church as follows:
The Chongful person, to me, may be the person who thinks o f me in this way :
“What would I do if I were in her situation?” She may be the person whom I call
at the time of difficulty. As if she needs help preparing food for dinner and
worship for some o f the parish members, I would be the first person she would
ask for help, and I would help her, and she, in turn, would do the same for me.
When I cook delicious food, I will always take some to her.
Both Mrs. Yi and her friend take care of each other and share with each other.
And the way that they share their relationship o f Chong is with food.
Mrs. Lee introduces her wonderful relationship of Chong with a deaconess in the
church:
Mrs. Kim is younger than I by seven years, but she is a broad-minded person.
What I will never forget is that she cooks for me some food that is so expensive
that I almost can’t eat it. You know, pine-mushroom is really expensive. She
would say that she received it as a gift from somebody and would ask me to come
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over to her house and eat together as much as we could. Then I would say that
she should cook some for her husband, but then she would assure me by saying
that she wouldn’t worry about a person who was not there at the time. Rather, she
would only worry about someone who was there with her. And I am the kind of
person who never forgets this kind of thing. She always used to say that she
didn’t know what she was doing or how she was to me. But for me, it was a love
and concern that I have never received before . . . Despite her move to Incheon
city (city located about eight miles west from Seoul), I always visit her every
summer and winter. She always brings kochujang.56 It’s not easy for women to
make kochujang for someone else. But she always called me and said, “Oh, Mrs.
Lee, I just cooked special kimchi that reminded me o f you and made me feel sorry
for you.” It really touches me, you know, because I really love that special kimchi
so much. I am not her relative or family member, but I feel that I should treat her
in the same way. When my daughter got married, she came to me several days
before the wedding with a donation because she would not be able to come the
actual wedding. I never wanted to forget what she did, so I gave her donations to
her two children who were graduating from junior high school. Then, she came to
my son’s graduation. Her younger brother-in-law is a pastor and she is also
spiritually so mature. I think, even if she were to move to Cheju island57,1 believe
that our relationship would still go stronger in our Christian faith.
Mrs. Lee continually develops the relationship o f mutual sharing with Mrs. Kim,
which goes deeper. As such a relationship of sharing develops, their Chongful
relationship goes deeper and their spiritual relationship also becomes strengthened.
In the relationship between pastor and lay people, caring for the pastor develops
into a more personal level. The relationship can be seen from the lay person’s
perspective at this time. Mrs. Lee shares about her relationship with an associate pastor
in her church:
56 This is a thick soy-paste mixed with red peppers. It needs many different time-consuming processes and
takes several days to make. It is also not easy to make it delicious. It takes much patience and special skill
to make.
57 Cheju island is the most distant place from Seoul in Korea.
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Well, for instance, there was an associate pastor, Pastor Kang, who was there
when I first came to this church. He now lives in the United States. I think my
relationship with him was really a Chongful relationship. He likes squid so much
that whenever I see squid, it reminds o f him. If I happened to see a person who
came from the United States and lives close to him, I always buy squid and ask
him to take it to Pastor Kang. As soon as I hear that he visited Korea I visit him
with a gift o f squid. And whenever I eat squid soup, I always say, “Oh, this is
Pastor Kang’s favorite!” Sometimes I felt like have to buy some good expensive
food for some pastors, but he is one who is willing to eat a simple kimchi soup of
five dollars. So, I always have him on my mind. I think this is what Chong is
about, right?
Mrs. Lee wants to share food with Pastor Kang. Her feelings and caring for Pastor
Kang seem to be deeper than the typical care of a lay person for his/her pastor. She
shares about another occasion with another associate pastor, which is relevant to the
personal level of the Chongful relationship:
There are several occasions when I reluctantly did something because o f Chong. I
usually want close relationships with pastors and that’s actually what I aim for.
Because I became Chongful with a new associate pastor Han, I always helped him
in many ways and in any way that I could. For instance, I am a coordinator o f the
Bible class that he teaches. At the end o f the year he came to me and said that he
would have prizes for his Bible class. He said that he would buy some books for
those who were not absent for a year, and told me to buy the books as year-end
gifts for the rest o f the people. This really made me upset and I asked him, “Do
you mean that I have to pay for the prizes?” He said, “Why not? You are a
coordinator of the class!” So, actually I bought the prizes for them because of
Chdng. It was not big money. It was just thirty dollars a book. Actually I
had bought him a three hundred-dollar suit and it was fine. But, it’s bad. He
might think that I would be willing to buy some books just because I willingly
spent big money for his suit. But, it’s not that way, you know. It really
bothered me and made me upset.
Mrs. Lee’s reaction to pastor Han’s request indicates that she wanted her
generosity to be limited to a personal level. As long as it was personal, she was always
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willing to spend money for the Chongful relationship. However, when it was not
limited to the Chongful relationship, she did not feel as generous.
The specific meaning of caring from a lay person to pastor is appreciation. In
general, lay people always appreciate the pastoral ministry for themselves. They then
want to show their appreciation by way o f material. Although the church officially pays
the pastor for his/her ministry, Korean Christians still tend to express their token o f
appreciation at a more personal level. This tendency is attributed to the personal
dimension o f the Chongful relationship in which people want to form personal
relationships.
A pastor is understood to be a person working twenty-four hours a day. In fact,
Korean pastors are expected to immediately respond to the congregation’s needs such as
patients, births, and waiting upon a dying person. And these events are not scheduled in
advance. In the past it was typical for the pastor to wash and clothe the dead in the
church. So, Korean Christians always have a sense o f appreciation in their minds for the
pastor’s job. Therefore, for instance, they treat their pastors with food and money
whenever they receive home visits, they celebrate the pastor’s birthday with a card and
gift from every age group, and they also personally pay for their services for weddings,
funerals, and other ceremonies.
Such tradition in the Korean church has been a way o f encouraging the pastor for
a long time. However, many people have recently been saying that this treatment has
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spoiled pastors in a negative way. Such a custom is not limited to the church but
prevails in the Korean society. Parents usually show appreciation to their children’s
teachers several times a year; in business companies people in lower positions visit those
in upper positions during special holidays in the name o f greetings. Such social and
cultural customs has been a morbid practice in which people take advantage o f one
another for the sake o f personal benefit. Bribery has overtly prevailed in the Korean
society since Korea’s industrialization and economic growth. It also should be noted,
however, that often time, the difference between showing a token o f appreciation and the
act o f bribery is not clearly distinguishable at the emotional level. Those who receive
bribery may take it as a token o f appreciation in order to avoid the guilty feeling and the
same for those who give bribery.
Interpersonal relationships through which the Korean people care about one
another have been traditional custom. Kyu-tae Lee describes a traditional custom as
follows: In rural villages, rich families usually cook rice for three more persons besides
family members. The rice for the three persons was called “three in-Chong” (humanness)
or “three virtues.” It was regarded as an act o f rendering virtue. The rice was actually
cooked for the poor people in the same village. They usually went to the rich person’s
house and helped with family chores such as washing clothes, dishes, weeding, etc. They
were not asked or requested to do so. Therefore, the rich were not responsible for paying
for their jobs. However, the poor could take the leftovers to eat and feed their children.
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Kyu-tae Lee says that in such relationships, there was neither arrogance o f rendering
alms nor servility o f begging. It was just a natural custom o f Chong.
Mature Stage.
The mature stage refers to the stage in which people do not differentiate mine
from others’ regarding any material that they share in the relationship o f Chong. Also,
once the Chongful relationship is secured, people provide or donate materials, whatever
they are, with a commitment and sacrifice that almost goes beyond reason.
Mr. Shin says about the relationship with Elder Kim regarding the financial
matters:
In my opinion, the Chongful person is the one who helps me when I am in need.
In other words, he helped me because he trusted me and supported me. If the
person does not trust me, he cannot give me support. I think I have one person
who did trust me like t hat . . . It was financial support. When I needed some
money I always called him and asked him if I could borrow some money, and
promised when I would repay him. He always lent me money without hesitation.
According to the Bible, do not lend money but give and do not expect that you
will get it back. He is one who follows that command, you know. He always had
the attitude that if I pay the money back, then he will get it. But if I don’t, then he
is okay with that, too. Although he is younger than I am, I really respect him.
Christians in the early church shared materials altogether and brought materials
for other people’s need.58 Once they have a deep Chongful relationship it is important
for them to maintain that relationship in the Korean society. Then, financial calculation
58 Acts 2: 43-47. The Scripture describes the picture o f the early church in the way that they share all the
materials they had.
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is not considered to be appropriate behavior fit for the Chongful relationship. Rather,
calculating money is rather regarded as behavior valuing money more precious than
people or relationships.
Mrs. Yi shares about her experience with her friend:
When I first began my Christian life, there was a person who really supported me
spiritually. I guess I was in my early thirties. Both she and her husband were
raised as Christians and were very faithful. They were deacons in the church and
they also served as choir members. They immigrated to the United States. Before
that, we were very close, you know. Sometimes we even shared meals together
and shared everything whether we were in a difficult situation or not. I think our
relationship went for ten years. We never met after they went to the United States
but still keep in touch with each other. There was an incident when I once had
about 13,000 dollars in cash. By lot she won the entitlement for an apartment at
an installment sale, but she had no money at all.59 So, I lent her seven thousand
dollars. Then when she was about to immigrate to the United States, she couldn’t
pay me back. So, I got into a very difficult situation. I couldn’t tell her
anything at all because I didn’t want anyone to get hurt. So, I didn't say a
word and I believed that she would pay me back. Then she called me from
the airport on the day that she was leaving for the United States. When I had
lent her the money, we agreed that I would not get interest. I didn’t even get
a dime from her for two years. She eventually sent me the money through
another person. And I still have a good relationship with her.
It is very important and difficult to own a house or apartment in the Korean
society. The Korean economic system is not as stable as that o f the U. S. economy.
Therefore, the financial interest rate is very high; the rate o f home owners is very low;
bank loans for home purchases are not available; it is impossible to pay for homes in cash
with a regular salary; the inflation rate becomes high, and so on. The more time that
39 An apartment in Korea refers to a condominium in the United States that can be owned and sold. It is
one o f the best ways for investing money. Therefore, if there are newly built apartment completed,
Koreans allocate the entitlement for buying by drawing lots.
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passes, the more difficult it becomes to own a home. To own a house or apartment is a
life-long dream for Koreans. Therefore, at any chance there is to apply for a newly
developed apartment complex, a large number o f people apply for it and the chances are
usually higher than one hundred to one. Once someone has won it, they have to pay for
the apartment through installment payments over a couple o f years. If they cannot make
a payment on time, they will lose the entitlement. Once they have won it, the price
usually goes up and a lot o f premium is added to buy it. That is why the apartment is one
o f the best ways of investing money.
Therefore, it was a big financial help for Mrs. Yi’s friend to be able to borrow
money from her in this situation. For Mrs. Yi, it was a great concern to her to help her
friend by lending her money without any technical guarantee for repayment. Such an
exchange is what can be done only in the Chongful relationship. Mrs. Yi was also not
able to say a word even when her friend could not pay the money back. This is simply
because o f the Chongful relationship; this demonstrates what significance money ought to
have in the Chongful relationship. Human relationships are more important than money,
however important money is.
The relationship between pastor and lay person in the mature stage is that o f
service and sacrifice. Pastor Cho introduces one o f many lay persons who were
financially committed and sacrificial:
For instance, there was a deacon whose name was Mr. Yang. His wife has been in
our church for long time but he has been in the church for just a couple o f years.
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He was so poor and always drunken. But, you know, he came to our church and
attended the bible study class and then became a model Christian in our church in
just a couple o f years. Do you know how much he was changed? I like him
because he treated me well (laughing). He says that he has three fathers, God our
Father, physical father, and he says that his pastor in the church is his father, too.
So, he gave me several hundred dollars every month as much as he regularly sent
to his parents at his hometown for quite a while. Though he missed a couple o f
times when he was financially difficult. He showed such love for me. And also,
the car that I am driving is Credos from KIA Company is the one that he
personally bought for me. He is just a second-hand dealer. All education he had
is just elementary school. But once he leams how to obey God, he moves from a
small studio to a small house and finally buys his own house. Now his business is
prospering. He owns big truck and purchased some land and enlarged his office
and so on. So, he became an exemplary Christian in our church. So, I have a
deep Chong for him and then come to have more concern for him. We have many
people like that in our church.
Mr. Yang is an example o f one who serves his pastor financially. Such a custom
of serving the pastor materially is grounded upon the custom o f the Korean churches
emphasizing the biblical tradition o f the Old Testament that the priest should be well
served and respected. A personal spiritual commitment also affects and increases the
sacrificial attitude. In addition, his serving behavior has been influenced by the cultural
custom that they honor their pastor as their spiritual father at home. Spiritual father here
does not refer to “Father” in the sense of a Catholic priest but to a father at home as in the
most authoritative person.
Serving the pastor also means helping in the pastor’s significant need in his life.
Mrs. Lee talks about an occasion when she helped an associate pastor in her church:
So, until he went to the United States, we organized a kind o f sponsoring group
for him. I just gathered only the rich people. We gave to him whenever he
needed big money for things such as tuition for school. Then, after he went to the
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United States, we couldn’t give him any support because we did not know his
situation very well at that time. We could not get in touch with him after he left.
A couple o f years later, his wife visited us during the summer. She shared about
their financial difficulty and I felt so heartbroken because we did not support him
after he had left for the United States. I don’t think it was a matter o f big money
but Chong. One hundred dollars a month is not big money for me, you know.
According to her, they struggled so much financially that she would take long
walks outside and would just weep and weep. Then she would stop herself from
crying and would put on a laughing face because she did not want to show her
husband her tears. I felt so much sympathy for her when I heard her story. So, I
guess I have to organize the group again. But I think this is Chong. I don’t think
this has to do with Christian faith.
In Korean churches, there is a big difference between the senior pastor and the
associate pastor in almost everything. Not only do people understand them from a
hierarchical perspective but people also treat them differently regarding finances such as
monthly payments, allowances, housing, etc. In short, the associate pastor makes a living
to cover bare necessities. The sentiment o f the Korean churches does not allow associate
pastors to officially be treated fairly. This is because their hierarchical mentality makes it
natural for the associate pastors be treated and cared for differently from the senior pastor.
However, church members are aware o f the living situation o f associate pastors and try to
help and encourage them in many ways. In other words, church members want to treat
their associate pastors in a Chongful way. It is more natural and comfortable to help them
through personal relationships.
And it is encouraging that church members want to help their pastors in a
Chongful way. Pastor Cho says as follows:
To me, such people are a vital factor for ministry. They are committed to the
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church physically and financially. There are times when we pastors get burned
out and tired, you know. During those times it is those types o f people who really
encourage and strengthen us. Sometimes a simple word or many different ways o f
showing concern and love encourage us.
It seems that his expression o f “many different ways o f showing” refers to
financial help or support. For instance, buying food in a restaurant, buying some books
or clothes, giving money for books or travel and so on are ways o f helping and
encouraging a pastor and his ministry.
There is a good story that can illustrate the characteristics o f the relationships in
terms of Chong and its impact on their attitudes or behaviors:
A Korean professor planned to go to France for his sabbatical year. Because he

was not able to speak French, he needed a tutor to teach him how. A divorced
French woman in her late twenties was introduced to him to be his tutor. T hey
met once a week and went to many places such as famous temples, mountains in
the suburbs, resort places, etc. They also met for dinner, movies, and so on. In
other words, they became very close friends. However, something happened two
months later when he had to pay his tuition. He calculated the amount o f the
tuition that he had to pay according to the contract that they had made. Although
she missed a couple o f sessions due to personal matters, he did not subtract the
amount o f money for those sessions. He put the money in an envelope to hand it
over to her. At first, she was simply surprised by the fact that the money w as put
in the envelope. She then counted the amount o f money before him and
subtracted an amount for the sessions that she had missed; she showed him
another slip with a summary of the extra meetings that he, not she, asked to have.
This was extremely awkward for the Korean professor. (Kyu-tae, Lee, 1987, pp.
143-144)
This incident was awkward for the Korean professor because he was not
accustomed to having everything calculated in this way. Some attributes o f Chong
introduced in chapter three can be found in the story. Their interpersonal relationship is
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not limited to the official relationship between tutor and student. It was further
developed into a more personal relationship with some sense o f intimacy, commitment,
concern, favor, liking, etc. This is an indication that there is “ warmth” in their
relationship. He put the money in an envelope because he needed to hide it for the sake
o f the relationship that he had formed with her. The Korean people do not want to appear
money-minded, mercenary, self-interested, or calculating. This clearly indicates that
there is an attribute o f “ non-calculating.” Whenever a gift o f money is made to a person,
it is always said, “ I t ‘s not much.” Most of the time the gift o f money is called “ an
envelope” in the Korean culture. The value implied in such behavior is that a human
relationship can never be measured by money. Though the relationship between the
professor and the tutor was formed by “ contract,” he handed over the money in an
envelope because they formed a “ human” relationship and even became close to each
other as friends.
Thus, when the Korean professor saw her taking the money out o f the envelope to
count to check if it was correct or not, he felt a kind o f betrayal from her. He felt that
their human relationship was measured by money. The fact that the professor handed
over the money in the envelope delivers the message that the relationship already formed
would not be measured by the amount o f money. Thus, it is appropriate for him that the
money should not be disclosed before them for the sake of “ the human relationship.” If
the relationship had been such as one between seller and customer, he might not have put
the money in an envelope. The relationship between tutor and pupil, for the Korean
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professor, which became more intimate by frequent meetings, cannot be assessed in
terms of contractual exchange. In other words, the Korean professor came to form the
relationship of Chong with his tutor.
William Elliot Griffis (1889), a missionary in Korea, wrote a book, Corea: The
Hermit Nation. The observations in his book tell us that the Korean society was
structured by Chong. He said, “the kindness o f the people is so great that it is not unusual
for the inhabitants o f a village to unite and help build a house o f a newcomer or an
unfortunate loser by a fire or other calamity” (p. 119-120).
Griffis described such aspects o f these relationships in more detail. He said:
Yet with this provision for locomotion, the country is very deficient in houses for
public accommodation. Inns are to be found only along the great highways, but
rarely along the smaller or sequestered roads. This want arises, perhaps, not so
much from the poverty of the people, as from the fact that their proverbial
hospitality does away with the necessity of numerous inns . . . The traveler usually
takes his provisions along with him, but he need not eat it out-doors. As he sits
along the way-side, he will be invited into some house to warm his food. When
obliged to go some distance among the mountains to cut wood or make charcoal,
a man is sure to find a hut in which he can lodge. He has only to bring his rice.
The villagers will cook it for him, after adding the necessary pickles or sauces.
Even the oxen, except during the busy season, are easily obtained on loan. (pp.
287-288)
Griffis continued to say,
The great virtue o f the Coreans is their innate respect for and daily practice o f the
laws of human brotherhood. Mutual assistance and generous hospitality among
themselves are distinctive national traits. In all the important events o f life, such
as marriages and funerals, each one makes it his duty to aid the family most
directly interested. One will charge himself with the duty o f making purchases;
others with arranging the ceremonies. The poor, who can give nothing, carry
messages to friends and relatives in the near or remote villages, passing day and
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night on foot and giving their labors gratuitously. To them, the event is not a
mere personal matter, but an affair o f public interest. When fire, flood, or other
accident destroys the house of one o f their number, neighbors make it a duty to
lend a hand to rebuild. One brings stone, another wood, another straw. Each, in
addition to his gifts in material, devotes two or three days work gratuitously. A
stranger, coming into a village, is always assisted to build a dwelling, (p. 288)
His observation clearly shows that the relationship o f Chong was a natural life pattern.
M oral Dimension
The most important dimension o f Chong is the moral dimension. The moral
dimension deals with moral values and behavior. Though Chong literally means
emotion, it also obviously includes a sense o f morality. The moral dimension includes a
concern for others, a sense o f othcrs-directedness, and help, commitment, and a sacrificial
behavior based on a concern for others and an attitude o f others-directedness.
Beginning Stage.
The beginning stage o f the moral dimension is the stage in which people have
concern for others. More specifically, it refers to the attitude in which they think and are
concerned in terms o f other peoples’ positions. Because the interpersonal relationship is
not shaped deeply, commitment and/or sacrifice do not occur in the relationship. This is
the stage in which the good human nature that Mencius refers to is stimulated internally.
Mr. Ryu elaborates on his understanding o f Chong as follows:
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I think we have to try to understand others and try to be in others’

positions. This is the way we are supposed to be. I always tell my wife that
the first thing she should do is to understand them, whatever church she goes
to. And then she can serve them. If we understand them, then we can and
must serve them. For instance, if I find that other people are in a difficult
situation, I should go and help. If we do not help people even though we know
about their difficult situation, then I don’t think we are even Christians. Even
non-Christians help other people when they find that other people are in
need. That is the human mind and heart I think Ch&ng is the fundamental
heart of the human being.
Chong is showing a concern for others when considering other peoples’ situation. Mr.
Ryu says that it is human nature. It is natural for people to help others in need. The
Korean people’s mind is embedded with this moral mind and heart.
Pastor Pan explains Chong in terms o f human relationships as follows:
I think Chong is a very important part o f our human relationship. When we have
human relationship, we need to have one in which we can really share our hearts.
When others are in need, even though we have different ideas and thoughts we
must think from the perspective o f others, you know. I think Chong is our attitude
to empathize with people. Because o f others’ situations, even though I may have
to go through inconvenience or discomfort, I can’t reject or ignore their situation.
When we have the relationship for a long time, we can understand their situation.
Then, when we know their situation and find out their needs and difficulties, we
call it non- Chongful (inhumane) if we ignore the situation even though we can
help them and the relationship is over, you know.
When we have an interpersonal relationship for a long time, we naturally come to know
the other’s situation. If it is a relationship o f Chong, we should consider their situation
and need and then show concern and sympathy. Then practical care at a personal level
will be provided with such consideration o f and concern for others.
Mr. Ryu shares about his relationship with a pastor whom he would later marry:
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Because I was the director o f the preschool program o f the church I knew what
to do. So, she asked me many things about how to do things within the ministry.
I felt that because she was new at the church, she might have many difficult with
her responsibilities. So I suggested that I help her, and I helped her little by little.
I did my best to help her and I gave her advice details and said, “You should do
tliis in this way and that in a different way, you know. Or, “If you want to get
approval, you’d better do this.” I knew that I didn’t have to do this for her, but I
would feel sorry so bad if she got in trouble. So, I showed deep concern for her
and I always helped her as if I were the one in her position. And she really
appreciated my help.
The way in which Mr. Ryu helped a new pastor was to have deep concern in detail and to
provide practical help. Whether or not his motive was because he liked her, he had deep
concern for her.
Mrs. Lee talks about the concern o f a church janitor’s wife when the water was cut
off for a while before Mrs. Lee moved in to her new house:
Before I moved to my new house, I stayed at her house for a month because the
water at the old house was cut o ff and the power was down. Her house was really
small. You know what a church janitor’s house would look like. But I had to stay
there for a month. Well, you know enough about me to know that I am kind o f
oversensitive I get easily offended by little tiny things. But, you know what?
Never did that happen to me. I felt so comfortable while I was there. I would not
have stayed there if anything about her had bothered me. But she was always the
same and said, “Why don’t you come? What would you do there without water
and electricity? What about the laundry?” You know what? Even a very close
friend would not be concerned about laundry even if they knew that the water was
cut off. But even though we have just three family members there is some laundry
to do everyday. And I obviously can’t do the laundry without water. Mrs. Bang
(church janitor’s wife) was the only one who called me every three or four days
and said, “Bring your laundry.” Just like that, you know? This made me think
that I should deeply consider what people might need when they are in need.
Also, I mix all the clothes altogether when I do laundry. But she distinguishes the
white clothes from the colored clothes. I guess such a natural concern comes from
the childhood. Even her name is Shin-ae (faith and love). Her mother is also a
faithful Christian.
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Such concern for others also generates mutual concern.
Mrs. Lee shows her concern for the janitor’s wife:
I started making a fuss in the church about their living situation. When I was the
president o f the women’s club o f those in their fifties, I talked about the janitor’s
monthly salary. It is less than twelve hundred dollars a month! But the elders did
not exactly know their situation, and the church was making both wife and
husband work for so little. So, I said to one o f the elders, “How come the church
does not even provide the tuition for their son? They have only one child.” And
he said, “I think the church may already be paying.” But I said, “No, they said
they didn’t receive anything.” I do this kind o f thing for her, you know? So, she
gets some practical support through me.
As I explained above, the janitor’s job is not considered to be a preferred job from the
hierarchical perspective (See footnote 56 on p. 141). In other words, their social status is
considered to be low and thus their payment is low. In such a social and cultural milieu,
Mrs. Lee feels thanksgiving and also a need to reciprocate to the janitor’s wife the care
and concern that she received at the emotional and spiritual level. She so deeply
appreciates the janitor’s wife’s care and then in turn, tries to show concern and provide
caring for their economic situation. Mutual care and concern are done through the
Concern for the personal situation is sometimes connected to communal situation.
Pastor Choi shares about his experience when he had first established a new church:
When I first started a new church there was a married couple. They worked as
choir conductor and took care of the youth group because we could not afford to
pay a regular-trained pastor. The husband had actually dropped out o f the
seminary and had tried to study music, but quit after a while. He said that he
would go back to seminary later but did not have a regular job at that time. So I
let him do ministry for young children. Also, he told me that he wanted to
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become a pastor. So I thought that he could continue his ministry in the church,
and when he decides to go back to seminary the church would be ready to support
him as he studies. Although we could not support him like a full-time pastor,
I considered him my co-minister and somewhat distinguished him from other
people. He really carried the burden o f the church together with me . . . As the
city was newly developing, the church grew quickly and everything in the church
had to be changed. If he had determined to go to seminary, we would have
supported him. But he did not. And as the pastor of the church, I could no
longer just wait. I could not let him continue the ministry for the young
children. So, I limited his ministry in the church and could only allow him to
serve as a conductor. He felt so much regret about it. I felt that as a pastor, I
should have a regular seminary student leading the young children’s
ministry. He personally understood my thoughts and yet felt some angry.
From then on, he got involved in the church activities very passively and
reluctantly and then stopped coming to church one year after that. He finally
left the church.
Pastor Choi’s concern and caring for the couple was the beginning o f the
Chongful relationship. However, his practical caring was closely connected to his church
ministry. When the church grew, it also demanded changes in the ministry that were
connected to the personal situation o f the couple. Unless either o f them was willing to
adjust to each other in an appropriate way, conflicts would occur. Some negative aspects
o f Chong are relevant to this situation. If a personal situation is preferred to the
communal situation, or the communal interest is ignored due to a personal interest, many
problems and conflicts arise within the community.
Korean people consider important the proper interpersonal relationships, almost
all o f which are vertical or hierarchical. Therefore, it is important for them to consider
what others would feel before they respond to them instead o f just saying what they think
or feel. It is because they should consider others’ feelings, moods, backgrounds, social
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status and position, etc. This clearly appears in their language and/or conversations:
They use a lot o f honorary expressions. However, such a humble attitude goes beyond
the virtue o f humility; it is an attitude o f self-negation and self-effacement.
The attitude o f self-negation creates a particular climate in the group. Everyone in
the group expects certain behavior or attitude from everyone else. This expectation
operates as a rule that everyone should respect and keep. If anyone breaks it he or she is
considered rude or egoistic. A student, for example, who leaves the classroom without
permission or drinks and eats during class is regarded as rude. In this sense, the
expectation functions as enforcement o f conformity. Such conformity in the group brings
about the diminution or extinction o f individuality; the sense o f “ I” is not approved o f
but rejected. In the group, individuality is not claimed. Thus, a sense o f “ I” from the
perspective o f the individual is not formed. Rather, it is formed as the “ communal I.”
This “ communal I” sometimes brings about fusion or violation o f the boundary between
others and I. For example, one may behave in such a way as to demand commitment or
duty because one assumes the common area that both I and others share. The existence of
common area between each other has been a cause of not only commitment and sacrifice
but also o f judgment and unfair requirement.
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Developing Stage.
If the interactions and contacts increase with concern and caring, the Chongful
relationship develops further. The development o f the relationship means becoming more
intimate at the personal level. Such close adherence at the personal level affects the
relationship mutually. This means that decision making is influenced by the relationship
with the person. For instance, if both parties have the same objective, one’s decision or
choice may simply conform to the other person’s choice or decision. It is because the
emotional tie to the person is preferred to an objective choice or decision itself.
Mr. Nam is now a deacon of the church o f two hundred members. He has been a
member of the church for four years. He attended two other churches before he came to
this church. He talks about the general tendency o f Korean Christians in terms o f human
relationships based on his experience:
Let me talk about my situation. My first church was located in Nonhyundong. I

went to this church for a long time. Then I moved to Jamsil. But I kept on going
to the first church. It was approximately a twenty minute drive. It wasn’t that
close in terms o f distance. But you know, I just went to the church because o f
Chong. There are many churches around the area that I moved to. However,
when the associate pastor whom I became Chongful with finally left the church, I
also left the church, too. I moved to a new church around the Jamsil area. So, I
guess I go to church because o f Chong. By the way, I believe that Chong plays an
important role in our spiritual lives. In the beginning, when people first go to
church they start going because o f someone’s recommendation or simply because
the church is close to their house. And finally, as they continue coming to church,
they continue because o f Chong through the fellowship that they have with pastors
and church members. I think most o f the Korean churches are like that. Also,
when they move to a new church they move because of Chong. As you know
there are some people who move to the new church that their Chongful pastor
moves to. Many people just follow the pastor wherever they go because o f Chong
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with the pastor. There are some people who follow their Mends too.
When Mr. Nam moved to a new area, he could have moved to a new church.
However, he continued to go to the old church because o f Chong with the associate
pastor. Also, he finally left the old church when the associate pastor left the church.
Chong was the primary factor for him to choose which church he should go to.
According to his observation o f the Korean churches, Korean Christians in general are
not different from him. Korean Christians’ choices or decisions are made in
consideration o f the situation or decision o f people they Chongful with.
According to Pastor Kim, some people attend the worship service on Sunday
because o f the senior pastor:
I think we can understand Chong from a positive point o f view. When we relate
Chong to people’s religious lives in the church, there are many things to say. For
instance, once they skip a Sunday they say that they feel that the senior pastor
would feel regret toward the senior pastor. In my case, I now teach Bethel Bible
study and in the beginning I warned them that if anyone was absent more than
three times, he or she would be dropped out of the program. But, when we do
have people who are absent more than three times, we just can’t do it. We just
cannot help but let them continue to come (laughing).
A personal relationship with the pastor is an important motivation to go to church. What
the Chongful person thinks and feels really affects what we do and how we do things.
Once the author happened to meet one of the church members at the grocery store. She
had not been able to come to church for several months because she had to visit her
daughter in California. The author greeted her and she kept on saying, “I am sorry for not
being able to come to church for a long time. I am sorry, Reverend.” At the emotional
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level, attending service or coming to church has to do with a personal relationship with
the pastor.
The church member o f the author’s church feeling sorry towards the person may
not simply be because o f Chong. It does not necessarily mean that she has a Chongful
relationship with the author. Other issues may be related to feelings such as guilt, shame,
etc. However, her saying that she feels sorry implies that her coming to church or not is
somehow seen from the perspective of her relationship with me. The pastor also has to
know that there was a possibility that the Chongful relationship was the motivation to
take pastoral action. Pastor Pan shares his experience:
For instance, in case o f home visits, there are some home visits that I do not
necessarily have to do. But simply because o f the relationship, we go whether it is
a wedding, a dinner invitation, or whatever. When I visit hospital patients I go at
least once to everyone in the hospital. But for some people, I visit them twice. It
is not because o f God’s love. To be honest, we go twice because o f Chong. The
more Chongful I become, the more I go. If I am not Chongful with the person, I
just go with a sense o f duty or for some people I just go once even when I should
go more. The thing is, once I become Chongful with a person, I actively defend
the person and become an advocate to the person. I can’t be objective. If there is
conflict, we side with the person not because he is reasonably right, but simply
because I have a Chongful relationship with him. And even if I have a different
opinion from him, I do not object to him but rather help him.
Chongful relationships actually affect pastoral ministry. Mrs. Yi makes a decision
following her friend’s opinion:
It is useful to have a Chongful relationship. For instance, today was the first day
o f the bible study o f the semester. But she and I like exercising, and we could
register for the exercise class. In short, today is the decisive day o f whether we go
to Bible study or do exercise. I said I would go exercise but my friend said that
we should go to the Bible study. So, I decided to go with her. I was hesitant
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about what to do, but my friend suggested that we go to the bible study and I
followed. Who cares that I don’t go to the Bible study, you know? To be honest,
I don’t think the pastor would have found out that we went to exercise instead o f
going to bible study.
Mrs. Yi did not want to go to the Bible study in the beginning. But she followed her
friend’s suggestion that they both go to the Bible study. And she seemed to be happy
with her decision.
The cases presented above demonstrate occasions when his or her own decision,
based on the Chongful relationship, was not burdensome but helpful for him/herself.
However, there are also some occasions when he/she is forced to follow the other
person’s suggestion or opinion because o f the Chongful relationship or the other person’s
need. Such decisions are usually made reluctantly. Pastor Chang shares about his
difficulty o f not being able to decline personal requests from other people despite his own
feelings which would normally not allow him to accept it.
Many times I was asked to preach a sermon or lead a seminar or retreat that I
could not easily turn down. I am the kind o f person who hesitates about whether
to say yes or no. Sometimes I felt forced to accept a request. In these days I try to
be strict on myself. But it’s still not easy to do that. I always struggle with that.
But, I can’t seem to easily turn it down. I just become faint-hearted, you know.
It’s because I feel that I have to consider their need or situation. I usually do that.
I am afraid whether he might be hurt or offended. So, it’s not easy for me to make
myself clear to them. I don’t want to be misunderstood by them.
Considering his personal situation, Pastor Chang should not accept the request
from the other person. But he unwillingly accepted the request in consideration o f the
other person’s situation. His acceptance, however, is not simply based on his
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consideration o f others. He is also afraid that other people might misjudge him morally
for his refusal. The feeling o f anxiety or fear, however, is not due to the lack of
autonomy or self-reliance from the perspective o f the Western culture o f individualism.
It originates from the inner sense o f morality grounded upon the Confucian value that it is
human nature to consider the other’s situation.
Depending on the situation, people face delicate occasions. Miss Kim shares her
observation o f her pastoral situation in which a lay minister living with her deals with:
You know, we sometimes have to face this kind o f situation. For example, there
are certain types o f food or clothes that we receive as gifts from the church
members, which we don’t like to eat or wear. But we have to eat food and we
have to wear clothes in the context o f ministry (laughing). So we m u s t . . . Pastors
especially seem to have such conflicts a lot. There were times when the pastor
had better not eat this food due to her physical condition or disease. But when we
do home visits and people prepare good food but if we don’t eat this food, the
person may feel hurt. So, we are not supposed to hurt them. So, you know, there
are some occasions that we cannot help but eat even when we don’t feel like
eating.
Because of the Chongful relationship with the person, the Korean pastors had to
eat the food that they did not want to eat and wear clothes that they did not like. It may
be considered ignoring the person’s care and concern if they do not eat the food or wear
the clothes the church members give. Therefore, such things must be done in
consideration o f the person, that they might not be hurt.
The cases presented so far were about the personal relationship o f which the result
is limited to the personal level. However, some Chongful relationships affect the group
or community that they belong to. Mr. Yoo is an elder and the principal o f the Christian
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Senior High School. He shares o f his experience at a session meeting where they make
an important decision:
In fact, we almost leave it totally up to him (senior pastor) when we search for
full-time or part-time pastors. So, we almost do not raise a question about the
person that he recommended. But, from the objective perspective, we sometimes
think that some o f the pastors who are recommended pastors seem to lack spiritual
training or leadership. However, it is difficult to suggest our opinions openly. In
the Korean society, it is not considered to be appropriate.
In general, people do not feel the freedom to communicate with each other in an
objective and healthy way in the communal setting. It is especially not only emotionally
difficult but it is also ethically inappropriate for a person in a lower position to raise an
opposing opinion against the person in the higher position. This is because raising the
question, whether it is objective or not, is construed as challenging the authority o f the
person in the higher position. Such patterns are naturally accepted especially in the
Chongful relationship. Therefore, becoming Chongful in such a situation means that the
pre-existing order is fixated. A hierarchical understanding o f the relationship is justified.
Maintaining the status quo is emotionally comfortable and ethically right in this system.
This is when the idea o f harmony for the community is abused in the Korean culture.
Pastor Suh points out the morbid practice of the Korean churches regarding this matter:
I don’t know where I can start because there are so many things to say. One o f the
difficulties that Korean churches have suffered is because o f the interpersonal
relationships among session members which makes them unable to distinguish
between what is right and what is not right. This has been a morbid practice. For
instance, the session appoints an incapable person as the chairperson o f a church
committee simply because he is the son of the senior elder. All o f the fifteen
elders acknowledge this but no one points this out. They think that what is good
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for everybody, to whom, is good. This is a serious problem in the Korean

churches.
This demonstrates that the communal situation or interest is ignored because o f
interpersonal relationships. They would rather allow people to suffer from the
disadvantage o f the group rather than doing harm to the relationship. If the relationship is
especially Chongful they definitely prefer maintaining the relationship to the interest o f
the group. Pastor Cho adds some comments regarding this issue:
I think our church is all right. But there are many occasions when the church or
the presbytery got into the trouble because o f Chong. In other words, a certain
pastor who has many Chongful persons around him ignores the basic principles
and structure o f the session or deacons meetings and takes care o f church matters
themselves. So, the church got into big trouble or spilt. That is a negative
characteristic that Korean churches have.
Pastor Kim introduces a case when the whole church got involved in such matters
in the community to which the church belonged.
I think ‘because o f Chong’ means ‘because o f interpersonal relationships.’ When

our church moved to this area, we had a lot o f trash and garbage to throw out. We
just couldn’t leave them, you know? But our church could not afford to pay for it.
So, we decided to bum it. As a result, we really hurt the neighbors and the
neighborhood. Especially these days, many people are concerned about
ecological matters so some people in the church had suggested that we not bum
the garbage. Some people had even made repeated suggestions. But the elders in
the session meeting finally decided to do it. So, everybody in the church just
“closed their eyes” regarding the matter. Well, when we burned the garbage,
there was a lot o f smoke and it spread throughout the whole village and many
neighbors called us and complained. But because o f interpersonal relationships,
you know, people in the church could not continue raising the issue. So, it wasn’t
possible to resolve the issue within the church even though we knew we had to.
It is not appropriate in the Korean society to question the decision that the group
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already made. This is because such behavior might cause some disadvantages against
the group. In addition, through the process o f raising an opposing argument, the
interpersonal relationship may be damaged between those insisting on their opinions
based on reason or justice, and those who have different opinions for the sake o f the
group’s opinion whether it is reasonable or not. However reasonable or objective they are,
if they insist on their opposing opinions against others, they evoke uncomfortable feelings.
Therefore, people tend to withdraw their opinions if the others do not accept them. Good
interpersonal relationships are preferred to reasonableness or objectiveness. As a result,
for the sake o f the benefit of the group, reasonableness or objectiveness is ignored. In
short, the Chongful relationship may play an important role in how the group decision is
made. This is a good example of how a group becomes selfish.
However, Chongful relationships without a certain boundary in interpersonal
relationships or community may become the cause of lacking reasonableness, justice, and
principle in the Korean society. Bribery scandal o f the previous Korean presidents is an
example o f such Chongful relationship. Crane (1968) well points out this aspect in his
book. According to him, the Korean people somehow take advantage of close
relationships for the sake of personal interest. In fact, the Korean society has been
suffering chronically from the aspect o f Chong: lack of reasonableness, or principle, or
justice.
Interpersonal relationships are all-important in the Korean society. Soon M.
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Chung (1980, pp. 20-23) says that it has been evident in the thoughts o f the Korean
people throughout their history. It is so important that a failure of interpersonal
relationships is considered a failure in life. In this sense, their sense o f relationship is
“total relationship.” Total relationship means that the relationship is formed not for a
certain specific benefit or as a means to achieve a personal goal but for realization and/or
completion of the relationship itself. Thus, Korean people tend to demand trustfulness,
mutual dependency or commitment in forming the relationship.
Wan Ki Paik (1982) says,
Affection, emotion, friendship, fidelity, commitment, etc characterize human

relationships in the Korean society. Generally, the Korean people feel that they
are valuable when they can maintain the warm affectionate relationship with
others, (p. 69)
Such human relationships, however, sometimes result in a negative relationship if
it is not proceeded as it should be. Koreans expect commitment, mutual dependency, and
concern for each other from the relationship and yet, if such expectation is not met
appropriately, they feel discouragement, regret, anger, or betrayal.
Mature Stage.
The mature stage is the stage in which close adherence does not allow any
distance or discrepancy that draws a sharp line between each other. Because there is no
clear distinction between each other, Korean people tend not to make a distinction
regarding matters of interest or conversation topic. Therefore, if necessary, they are
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willing to commit or sacrifice themselves in this stage o f the Chongful relationship.
Also, they better understand and embrace each other more despite defects or
uncomfortable feelings. A spiritual factor is also believed to play an important role in the
dynamics of Chong in this stage.
Pastor Pan elaborates upon his relationship with an Elder Song who has worked
with him for five years in the same committee o f the church:
Elder Song’s youngest son was not able to adjust himself to the high school so he
ended up dropping out o f the school. His son was sent to the United States but he
could not make it out there, either. He finally came back to Korea again. This was
a very difficult time for Elder Song’s family, but he was able to share such a
difficult family matter with me. This is not easy to do but he and I share such
things and pray for each other. When we have trips together for the church
support ministry, he never buys gifts for anyone. He didn’t even buy for his wife,
you know. But he always buys some gifts for our children. We are so close with
each other. This time, he and I also drove three thousand and five hundred miles
for eight days. We stayed together twenty-four hours a day. We ate and slept
together. He and I are so different from each other. He said that he could never
sleep with a person who snores, but he could get along with me.
Considering the exclusive attitude o f the family oriented tendency o f the Korean people,
it is not easy to share such family problems with a person outside the family. It is so
shameful that family members, especially fathers, are extremely careful about talking to
outside people about family matters. In short, the fact that elder Song shares his family
problems indicates that his Chongful relationship with pastor Pan is very close and
mature.
Mrs. Yi also talks about her relationship with her friend in the church:
What we usually share is not only about church matter but also about how we
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raise our children, and sometimes we even talk about our husbands speaking ill
o f them. To be honest, it is disgraceful o f us to speak ill of our husbands. Despite
that, however, we do it because we are consoled when we do. The thing is, it is
the relationship o f Chong that allows us to do that without hesitation from each
other.
Mrs. Yi has shaped the relationship o f Chong with her friend in which they can even
speak ill o f their husbands. It is an indication that it is neither shameful nor disgraceful to
do so in their Chongful relationship.
Another aspect o f the Chongful relationship in the mature stage is to go beyond
the personal interest. Pastor Pan talks about this matter in the following way:
We need to understand our minds and hearts carefully because whenever we have
problems or conflicts in the church, instead o f following the truth o f God, we are
affected by the Chongful relationship and then begin taking sides o f some people.
Then our focus becomes who is closer to whom and who is more Chongful with
whom things like that, you know. The positive aspect of Chdng is that we go
beyond our personal interest, sometimes to the point where we do this despite
suffering loss in terms of money, time, and effort. In fact, there are many
people who cannot go beyond their personal interest. When we consider our
situations first, it is difficult to do that. However, Chong can be a powerful energy
if it can be used for the purpose o f God’s kingdom and the church. So, it is very
important for the spiritual leaders o f the church to elevate and utilize this kind o f
mental power spiritually and guide it well so that it can fit the heart o f God.
Pastor Pan contends that the Korean Christians possess the spiritual energy o f Chdng
which can go beyond personal interest. If such power o f Chdng is implemented by a
spiritual element, it will contribute to the growth o f the church.
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One more aspect o f Chdng in the mature stage is to understand the other’s fault
and shortcomings and embrace them. Pastor Pan describes his relationship with Mr. Lee,
who has worked with him for a long time:
One o f the persons whom I become Chongful with is Mr. Lee. He was a
chairperson o f the committee for the junior high students. And I was the junior
high youth pastor. He is a pastor’s s o n . . . In the beginning, he gave me hard time.
My relationship with him was really b a d . . . But, upon the event o f his being
arrested for a dishonored bill we personally became very close with each other.
So, even though we do have different opinions, we now can encourage and
support each other. Our relationship is now so close that if someone speaks ill o f
him, or of me, we really advocate for each other.
They become to form the relationship o f understanding and forgiving each other. They
understand and forgive each other not because they were dramatically changed and
became new people. It was not because they forgot about their pasts. Despite their
shortcomings that could be criticized, they can accept and encourage each other.
Pastor Cho describes his relationship o f Chong with some o f the church members
briefly in this way:
There are two kinds o f people who have become Chongful with me. One kind of
those people are those who really bothered me and gave me a hard time and then
were changed in the Lord. We grow to like each other a lot. I also have Chong
(spiteful Chong) with such people. There are many.
From the perspective o f traditional Korean culture, spiteful Chdng does not necessarily
reflect any changes in behavior or character. Pastor Cho’s experience, however, talks
about the people who are spiritually changed. This implies that there was spiritual
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change as time passed by in the church. If people continue to come to church, whether
they are spiritually ready or not, they are influenced spiritually one way or another.
Chdng in the mature stage also shows sacrifice and a sense o f responsibility.
Pastor Suh introduces an elder’s mature faith:
He is a man o f meekness. He is a man who would rather suffer loss than damage
others. He is also clear about what is right and what is wrong. He is always very
responsible for matters ordered by the pastor (Pastor Suh) and makes sure that he
completes it.
Senses o f responsibility and sacrifice are based on the relationship o f Chong with the
pastor. Miss Kim also introduces her friend in terms o f spiritual maturity:
Her faithful life is marvelous. She is active in everything in the church life. In
terms of her character, she is so wonderful. She is always sacrificial and
conceding. So, I learn a lot from her. And she is so Chdngful that she can't
refuse whatever she is asked. Everybody has a time when he is tired or feels
down. For instance, if we have to go to the grocery store to prepare lunch for
choir members and we ask her, even if she can’t go for some reason, she
always says, “Well, if I have to, I have to obey God.” I think I have learned a
lot from her. Even if she is younger than I, she is so passionate and she works
hard for church matters.
Miss Kim’s friend may seem to lack autonomy from the perspective o f Western cultural
values. However, she always considers other people or the church’s situation first. At
the emotional level, it is the Chongful relationship that makes her try to do good to other
people. At the same time she is faithful to God. Any such Chdngful relationships
accompanied by spiritual change have powerful energy for the church:
Pastor Suh shares his experiences o f the differences between the two churches that
he served at:
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There is a difference between the church that I’m serving in Seoul and the
church I used to serve in Pusan. When I first served the church in Pusan, the
church did not follow me well. It’s because, I guess, they were not trained well.
But after two, three, and four years, they were better trained. And once the trust
relationship was built between me and the church they totally left everything
up to me. Whatever I suggested they completely cooperated with me. After
ten years, I was able to do whatever I wanted to do, whether it was the
church vision or goal. However, the church in Seoul seemed to be trained well
and very gentle in everything. But there seemed to be a boundary that they didn’t
seem to cross. So, when I set up a plan and suggested doing it they seemed to
follow and obey me but they did not show any explosive power behind it, and
could not seem to go beyond the boundary.
Chdng does not set up the clear boundary between people that sometimes makes them
feel uncomfortable and uncertain. However, it does demonstrate the explosive energy o f
total support and sacrifice because it breaks the boundary that distinguishes personal
interests and others.
Miss Kim introduces a church member who sacrifices herself because o f a
Chongful relationship with her senior pastor:
There is a deaconess who moved to Ilsan city which was recently built. It takes
about two and a half-hours by car to get to church from there. It is almost five
hours for a round trip. It was practically an all day thing to do. And she has a
full-time job so that she always feels tired physically. Then several months ago
she tried to move to a new church around her house. But our pastor talked to her
in detail and explained that the church was going through difficult times. He
almost begged her: “I know your relationship with God is important But
can’t you stay in consideration of me?” Well, she was a little bit upset with the
pastor in the beginning. She was asking why he did not let her leave even though
he let other members leave. She said that she actually liked the pastor because o f
he allowed people to leave freely. She kept on arguing with him in the beginning.
Then she prayed for a while and finally obeyed her pastor’s recommendation. She
said it appeared to be God’s will. When I saw her obeying her pastor, I thought
that she might have discovered God’s will but I feel that it was human Chong that
really motivated her to stay.
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The deaconess’ decision to remain at the church was a very sacrificial one. Even
nowadays, most o f married women do not have jobs in Korea. Therefore, the fact that
she has a full-time job is in itself difficult in terms o f time and physical effort. In
addition, under the patriarchal culture, taking care o f housework is much more difficult
than doing so in the Western culture. Under such circumstances, it was a sacrificial
decision that she decided to go to church driving for two and half hours every Sunday.
The deaconess decided to remain at the church because she deeply considered the
pastor’s request. Her consideration o f the pastor’s request also includes the situation o f
the church. I personally know this church because it is my home church. This church
was established in 1980 and yet still has only thirty people, most o f whom are the original
members when the church was first established. The church does not have its own
sanctuary but it rents a small space in the business area. Church members do not feel that
the church will grow in the future. In light o f such a situation, her leaving would have
affected the whole church in a significant way. More specifically, her leaving may have
affected the church in terms o f losing a devoted worker, offering, and especially a
It may be natural and desperate that the pastor asked her to stay. However, the
ground o f his request was not so much spiritual or objective but emotional. According to
his words, it was simply a personal request: “In consideration o f me.” For the deaconess
who has been together with the pastor for fifteen years, concern for the church situation
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was narrowed down to the interpersonal relationship with the pastor: the Chdngful
relationship. Therefore, her decision was not only based on her Chong for the pastor, but
on her deep concern about the church situation.
In a Chdngful relationship, the Korean people may have to provide practical help
for others beyond their simple choice and decision. In some occasions they are asked to
sacrifice themselves, which is not always easy to do. But sacrifice must occur for the
Chdngful relationship. In the Korean culture, it is not easy to express their own negative
or uncomfortable feelings when the Korean people can’t actually respond to other
people’s needs or requests. This is because it is considered inconsiderate and/or selfish if
they try to excuse themselves for their personal situation.
The relationship o f Chdng can be formed and maintained despite of fault or
shortcoming because it is not judgmental. It is so embracing that it accepts others despite
of its fault or shortcoming. Therefore, forming a Chdngful relationship does not require
that one’s shortcoming disappear. It does not have to be overcome or removed that one is
defective, wrong, or inferior. In other words, that they become Chdngful does not
necessarily mean that they like each other. There is a Korean saying, “Chdng is one thing
and shortcoming is another.” Although one has Chdng for the other, one can still speak
ill o f the other. In Chdngful relationships, people do not become so blind as is usually
said in the relationship o f love. It seems that the Korean churches have been able to be
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maintained and then grow by such Chongful aspects in relationships as love,
understanding, forgiveness, and accepting.
Rather, the relationship is valuable and meaningful because o f the negative
experiences. As they envy, compete, and become jealous throughout the relationship,
people unwittingly become accustomed to each other. As a result, they feel comfortable
with each other and then care more for each other. The saying, “Chong is one thing and
shortcoming is another” also indicates a strong sense o f tie beyond the negative feeling
towards each other. Though one discovers the other’s shortcoming, he or she can still
have or feel Chong toward the other. Rather, in the relationship o f Chong, the
shortcoming can become lovely.
For the Westerners, love is understood as the process through which one finds the
other who can complete him or her (Young Y. Kim, 1994). Love is relatively a self-
centered concept, which is not necessarily negative. On the contrary, for Koreans, love is
considered as being sacrificial considering the other more important than the self. Being
sacrificial means caring for others first despite of one’s loss or damage. Du-won Lee
says:
Koreans’ love embedded in Chong considers natural sacrifice for others; one
thinks and feels from the others’ perspective. This otherness within oneself may
be the power o f Chong which one cannot control even though it is within one’s
heart.
How can one’s sacrifice and suffering be paradoxically a pleasure? It is because of
others-centeredness of Chdng. It is a natural part of oneself that one considers others
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first. The expressions such as “I let you leave because I love” is an indication o f other-
centeredness.
Therefore, the Korean people are accustomed to paradoxical love. The example o f
such love is an expression such as “I let you go away and then I will miss you.” It sounds
very odd. Instead, it may sound more reasonable to say, “I miss you because you are
going away” or “I don’t want you to leave because I would miss you.” The implication
o f the paradoxical love is that one loves the other so that one cannot make the other
suffer. One wishes to suffer for the other instead because one loves the other. In this
sense, the Korean people’s love is passive and spirit-oriented while the Westerner’s love
is active and behavior-oriented (Ki-hong Kim, p. 51).
Other-directedness gives rise to passivity. The passivity may have to do with the
Oriental teachings such as the principle o f the Golden means, due measure, Tao concept,
and philosophy o f accommodation, etc. The core o f the teachings is the consideration o f
others. For instances, one has to first consider others before one exerts one’s will or
desire. Or, one cannot take an initiative in interpersonal relationship. As a result, it gives
rise to passivity in behavior or attitude. In passivity, ‘I ’ is not a center o f the action but
the other. ‘I’ is not autonomous or self-reliant but dependent. Rather than ‘I’ changes the
other ‘I’ accommodate to the other. Therefore, passive attitude also brings about being
cooperative, submissive, and obedient.
Kyu Tae Lee (1987, pp. 25-27) explains Chong in terms of the space that each
individual occupies. He says, according to anthropologists, that there are three concentric
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circles of space that each individual occupies. The first inner circle is the space o f
physical possession which is bounded by his or her skin; the second circle is one or two
yards away from the skin which follows along the body; the third circle is the widest
space where he/she works, relaxes, and projects her/his ego. Western people then tend to
reserve the second and the third circles. When one’s space collides with another’s,
discord or conflict occurs. This has made them arrange clear boundaries with one
another; furthermore, the resolution o f the conflict is important and dealt with through
contract and regulation.
The Korean people o f Chong, however, tend to concede or share space with one
another, especially in the second and third space. When the spaces colluded with each
other, they tend to fuse with each other and try to be in harmony with one another. A
relationship of Chdng refers to having a relationship without distinguishing the space
between the two. They concede or share the spaces with one another as they ought to do
within family boundary. This entails that a relationship of Chong goes beyond interests
or advantages and disadvantages.
However, such a social structure o f Chong were seen negatively by some
foreigners. Isabella said that the Koreans were:
at home with limpness, laziness, dependence, and poverty.. . . A great and

universal curse in Korea is the habit in which thousands o f able-bodied men
indulge of hanging, or “soming” on relations or friends who are better off than
themselves. There is no shame in the transaction, and there is no public opinion of
condemn it. A man who has a certain income, however small, has to support
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many of his own kindred, his wife's relations, many o f his own friends, and the
friends o f his relatives. (Isabella, pp. 445-446)
Griffis also observed in a similar way:
As may be imagined, such a system [of hospitality] is prolific in breeding beggars,

tramps, blackmailers, and lazy louts, who “sponge” upon the benevolently
disposed. Rich families are often bored by these self-invited parasites, who eat
with unblushing cheek at their tables for weeks at a time. They do not even
disdain-nay, they often clamor for-clothing as well. To refuse would only result
in bringing down calumny and injury. Peddlers, strolling players, astrologers,
etc., likewise avail themselves o f the opportunities, and act as plundering harpies.
Often whole bands go round quartering themselves on the villages, and sometimes
the government is called upon to interpose its authority and protect the people.
(Griffis, p. 289)
Although it cannot be denied that the Korean custom o f Chong has been prolific
o f the culture of dependence, the positive aspects cannot be overlooked. According to
Kyu-tae Lee, under the period o f Japanese annexation, among the Korean population,
landlords comprised ten percent, tenant farmers forty percent, and daily laborers fifty
percent. He points out that it was due to the interpersonal relationships o f Chdng that
economic stability was able to be maintained despite o f such harsh economic structure.
He regards that distribution o f wealth was done by Chong: it was neither power, nor
authority, nor violence, nor religious control, nor practice of charity (Kyu-tae Lee). It
was a way o f life.
Underwood was able to observe family ties which are closely related to Chong,
during the Korean War. He said:
The family or clan tie is still strong in Korea. It was largely this family tie that
helped to solve the refugee problem in the last few years. It seemed natural to the
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Koreans that the refugees from the North, almost naked from the Communists,
should move in with relatives-even distant relatives-in the South and find food
and lodging till such time as they could support themselves. (Underwood, p. 16)
He considered the attitude o f helping others as being grounded upon family tie o f which
the essence is Chdng.
In fact, the culture o f Chong has been passed down and is still prevailing even
though its external pattern has been altered due to industrialization. For instance, when
someone’s family member passes away, his/her friends or fellow workers take several
days off and help with all the procedures o f the funeral service and stay with the family
until the whole funeral process is over. The Confucian style o f funeral service can take
three, five, or even seven days and is exhausting both physically and mentally.60 The
fellow workers help the deceased family by taking care o f almost everything. They do
60 The Korean people usually have funeral service at home. However, due to industrialization and
urbanization, the Confucian style has not been available in many ways. Therefore, it has been very
difficult for them to have funeral service at home. In Korea, there are no funeral homes as in the United
States. This entails that family members do almost all the funeral procedures. Though there are funeral
service centers, they do nothing but sell coffins and sometimes shrouding. The Confucian style o f funeral
service demands a lot o f things. The family members should receive and greet visitors for condolence
throughout the ceremony for three or five days. There is no designated time for the visitors to come but at
their own convenient time. The visitors first make bows to the portrait o f the deceased and then make
another bow with the family members each other. The family members usually get exhausted because they
cannot leave the funeral place. The visitors usually stay there for several hours or spend the night eating
and talking in order to console the family members. In sum, there are so many things to do such as
receiving the visitors, preparing food, cleaning after they leave and again on and on. In addition, the
gravesite is usually located in the country area. It also demands a lot o f things to do. Even after arrival at
the gravesite, there still remain some complicated and exhausting procedures. Without the help o f
neighbors, relatives, or friends, they cannot complete the funeral service. In the past, it was possible to do
all things at home. However, in these days of industrialization and urbanization, it is extremely difficult to
do the same thing. Therefore, a new custom appears that hospitals now have the funeral service facilities:
they rent a space so that family o f the deceased can perform a Confucian style funeral service. It takes a lot
of money, time, labor, etc. to finish the funeral. They are in need o f help. There are no neighbors in the
modem Korean society in that they used to help each other living in the same town in the past. However,
there are neighbors who are working in the same company.
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not go to work in the office; they come to the funeral place. It has become a general
practice in the Korean society. They do not get paid for their helping the bereaved
family. There is nothing but helping the family in need. The help cannot be calculated in
numbers: It is invaluable. The family feels thankful for the help. Both the bereaved
family and those who help them feel good about helping and being helped. All the family
should do is to show an appreciation by serving a great dinner for them. In sum, both o f
them share Chong and confirm it as fellow workers by giving and receiving help. Such a
tradition o f mutual assistance is originated from the custom o f Hyangyak in Chosun
dynasty (Kyu-tae Lee, 1984, p. 114).
Chdng and Attachment
Chdng and the attachment relationships developed by John Bowlby is similar to
each other in terms o f the aspect o f the emotional tie. They are also similar to each other
in that they refer to the relationship with a particular person. However, attachment
originally refers to the relationship between an infant and a primary caregiver while
Chong refers to the feeling in the relationship between adults. Therefore, two sides
cannot be compared. Attachment here thus refers to the attachment in adult relationships,
which will be compared to Chong. The main purpose o f comparing the two is to
demonstrate that Chongful relationships include some elements o f attachment in adult
relationships.
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West & Sheldon-Keller (1994) developed some measurements for the
attachment patterns in adult relationships based on the original concept o f attachment
suggested by John Bowlby. Robert Weiss, who was the first and primary person who
studied the attachment patterns o f adult relationships, develops the first three of the eight
measurements. Those three are availability, separation protest, and secure base effect.
West and Sheldon-Keller added five more measurements o f attachment relationship. This
dissertation does not intend to verify whether the eight concepts are acceptable and/or
sufficient to demonstrate the attachment relationship among adults. Therefore, it will be
assumed that they are sufficient and then will also demonstrate that Chong includes some
o f these elements o f attachment.
According to the analysis of the interview data, Chdng includes West and
Sheldon-Keller’s elements o f attachment such as availability, proximity seeking, safe
base effect, separation protest, and fear of loss/rejection (1994).
Availability
The most dominant element of attachment appearing in the relationship of Chong
is availability. West and Sheldon-Keller define the available person as “another
individual who is perceived as available and responsive and who is turned to for
emotional and instrumental support” (p. 101). According to the interview data, the
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Chongful person is the one who satisfies the needs o f the other person. The needs are
emotional, material, and physical.
Mrs. Lee’s Chongful relationship with an associate pastor o f the church
demonstrates that her emotional needs are satisfied through the relationship:
Do you know why I became so Chdngful with him? It’s because he made it
Chongful. Because he made it Chdngful, I felt Chdngful. For instance, what I
will never forget the times when I would enter the room for associate pastors. The
other associate pastors would just look at me and ask, “What can I do for you?”
This somehow made me nervous because I felt that I should never go to their
rooms unless I had specific business to discuss. But he was not like that. He
always says, “Oh! Mrs. Lee, welcome. How are you?” And he would stop
whatever he was doing, clean up his desk, and come to me and invite me to
have a seat Then he would say, “Why don’t you begin?” Then I would start
talking on and on, and while I was chattering verbosely, the expression of his
eyes never showed boredom or “When is she going to finish?” He always
listens with a smiling face. When I finally finished what I was telling him, he
would say, “It must feel so good letting that out, doesn’t it?” And then he
would say, “Maybe it’s time for you to go home.” He is like that (laughing).
I think he really knows and understands how people feel and how to deal
with. He really knows people’s minds and hearts.
Mrs. Lee had an emotional need o f wanting to talk to someone. She needed a person who
would listen to her. The associate pastor made himself available to her. The availability
o f the associate pastor was the factor that enabled her to shape the Chdngful relationship.
Some Chdngful relationships also provide people with necessary care at the point
o f a critical need in their lives. Pastor Pan’s relationship with Deacon Lee was like that:
One o f the people whom I became Chdngful with was deacon and chairperson of
the committee for the junior high youth. He is a son o f Pastor Sang Lee (He was
one o f the most famous pastors in Korea). He went through a very difficult
time about two years ago. He went to jail because of some financial matters.
So, I had a special concern for him and visited him more than his family and
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other church members did. I became really Chdngful with him not only
because we worked together but through this difficult time. Sometimes, even
though he is a deacon and I am a pastor, I think o f him as my elder brother and he
thinks o f me as his younger brother, and we became very close. I think there was
a Christian love in our relationship but I am sure we became close because we
were very personal with each other.
Deacon Lee was given much concern and care from Pastor Pan at the time o f critical need
in his life, when he had to go to jail. Although he did not have a good or smooth
relationship with Pastor Pan, Deacon Lee received emotional and spiritual care from
Pastor Pan, through which they came to form the Chdngful relationship.
Most of the people with whom pastors become Chongful are the lay people who
support and provide help for the pastor. Pastor Cho shares his experience:
For instance, there is a deacon whose name is Mr. Yang. His wife has been in our
church for a long time but he has been in the church for just a couple o f years. He
was so poor and always drunk. But, you know, he came to our church and
attended the Bible study class and then became a model Christian in our church in
just a couple of years. Thank God that his business also prospered by God’s
grace. Do you know how much he was changed? I like him because he
treated me so well (laughing). He says that he has three fathers—God our
Heavenly Father, his physical father, and he says that his pastor in the
church is his father, too. So, he gave me several hundred dollars every
month, as he did when he regularly sent money to his parents at his
hometown for quite a while. And he only missed a couple of times when he
was in financial difficulty. He showed such love for me. Also, the car that I
am driving is the Credos from KIA. He personally bought for m e.. . So, he
became an exemplary Christian in our church. I have a deep Chdng for him and
have come to have more concern for him. We have many people like that in our
church.
Pastor Cho became Chdngful with Mr. Yang by his emotional, spiritual, and material
availability. Pastor Cho was able to have spiritual satisfaction as a pastor because Mr.
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Yang’s dramatic change in his life made him feel the worth o f being a pastor. It can be
the encouraging and helpful support throughout his ministry. Pastor Cho can also regard
material support as God’s spiritual blessing and affirmation o f his ministry.
Pastor Cho was able to enjoy plentiful material blessings although he was not in
financial need. Plenty o f material also enabled him to be able to feel free from the moral
judgement o f the church members. The mentality of the Korean Christians in general that
the pastor should be poor prevails so that a pastor should be careful o f his material life.
There are many pastors who got involved in scandals so and went go through difficult
times even though there was nothing wrong with his material life.
Pastor Cho was able to feel encouraged emotionally by the fact that he was
regarded as a spiritual father by Mr. Yang. In the milieu o f Confucian culture, becoming
a respected father to someone gives him may be the best satisfaction emotionally. Pastor
Chang talks about the spiritual support from one of his congregations:
She is a deaconess and is about fifty-five years old. She owns a farm and she is
like a heroic woman who is and very faithful and who never compromises. She
took good care of the previous pastor and prays for me a lot. In the
beginning I was not close to her. But I saw she never brags about herself
even though she really serves a great deal, and in a special way. She serves
the church very actively and especially tries to serve the pastors a lot. So, my
relationship with her became very close. She was especially very concerned
about the pastors’ health. She herself made good food for the pastors so
many times. Or, sometimes she took us to a good restaurant. But it
encourages us the most that she prayed for us.
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Pastors usually feel Chong from the people who are concerned about their health and
who serve them food. Such small concerns and sincerity are support and encouragement
for the pastors who are in ministry.
For Mr. Shin, the Chongful people are those who provided him support spiritually
and materially:
In my opinion, the Chdngful person is the one who helps me when I am in

need. In other words, he helped me because he trusted me and supported me.
If the person does not trust me, he cannot give me support. I think I have one
person who did trust me like that. . . It was financial support. When I needed
some money I always called him and asked him if I could borrow some
money, and promised when I would repay him. He always lent me money
without hesitation. According to the Bible, do not lend money but give and do
not expect that you will get it back. He is one who follows that command, you
know. He always had the attitude that if I pay the money back, then he will get it.
But if I don’t, then he is okay with that, too. Although he is younger than I am, I
really respect him.
Mr. Shin clearly says that as far as he is concerned, the Chongful person is the one
who gives practical support in time o f need. Mrs. Yi talks about the cooperation from the
church members in terms of Chong’.
When we serve the church as Women’s Club members, we all have to work
together. We especially have to work in the kitchen a lot. When I worked as a
president o f the Women’s Club for two years, the people whom I become
Chongful with are not those who are smart and capable but those who are
cooperative and responsible for the work we have to do.
Proximity Seeking
West and Sheldon-Keller define proximity seeking as, “In the face o f stress,
individuals will attempt to seek contact with their attachment figures” (Weiss, 1982, p.
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173; Sheldon & Keller, p. 99). Proximity seeking does not actually occur in the adult
relationship as much as it occurs in the infant-mother relationship. Adults do not seek
physical contact with the real person but they do in fact depend upon a “working model”
in their minds. Therefore, proximity seeking in adult relationships can be understood at
an emotional level.
Mrs. Lee talks about her experience with the church in terms o f Chong. Her
explanation is about her feelings about her relationship with the church as a whole:
This is how I know that I became Chongful with the church, not a specific person.
I usually go to church every day except Monday. Like pastors, I take the day off
on Mondays. Then, sometimes I think that maybe I go to church so often because
I was not able to have a successful career in my life. So, I have nothing to do
except go to church! So, sometimes I intentionally skip early morning prayer
service.61 (She goes to early morning prayer service everyday at five o ’clock in the
morning.) I am afraid that people may think that I have nothing better to do at
home. But I play piano for the early morning prayer services. So then again,
people may now think that even though I am supposed to come to the service
because I play piano but I didn’t come. So maybe people will think that I’m too
busy to come to the service (laughing loudly). Anyway, I do my best not to skip a
day. But I found that I became Chongful with the church when I went on a
trip. For the last couple o f years, I began taking trips during summer vacation. I
noticed that the farther I go, the more I miss the church. If I am not that far
from the church, I miss the church a little b it Then, I say to myself, “Why
am I here? I am supposed to be at church.** Last year, my daughter was
laughing at me, you know. During my time away, I called home and asked my
daughter, “How is everything going?” And she asked me, “What about you,
Mom?” I said to her, “I don’t know. It is not fun at all here because I’m not at
church!” She said later that she thought, “Does she think she is the pastor?”
(laughing) Just like that, you know. I think to myself, this morning the senior
pastor may be doing this and who is going to play piano? Today, they may be
doing the bible study, but how are they going to do without me? I am not saying
that I am the most important person but I am so embedded in the church. As soon
61 It is common practice that all o f the Korean churches have early morning prayer services everyday five
o’clock in the morning. Many devout Korean Christians attend this service.
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as every face o f the women’s club comes to my mind, I say to myself, “No, I am
not supposed to be here. I’m supposed to be at church.” I really miss every
one of them. So, I have really become Chdngful with the church and I think
I am really living in the midst o f Ch&ng. But I didn't know this when I was
in the church. I discovered this when I was away from the church. Even now,
I am not supposed to be here on Wednesday. I feel empty about that I am
not at church.
Mrs. Lee obviously expresses her desire o f proximity seeking with the church as a whole.
She wants to be in the place where she is used to being; she wants to be with the people
whom she is to used to seeing.
Complaining about her senior pastor, Mrs. Lee talks about some ways that the
pastor falls short o f being a “model” pastor:
Well, he himself says that he is cold-hearted and is not Chongful in that sense.
But sometimes he has tears in his eyes after he finishes his sermon and he may be
Chongful. But I think he falls short of the model o f the pastor that we really want.
It’s because we do not feel like he “embraces” us as a congregation. If we give
him a prayer request, he just says, “OK, but you pray hard, all right?” That’s all.
He doesn’t seem to have any concern or sympathy sharing our sufferings and
needs together.
Angry Withdrawal
The element of attachment is also reflected in the Chongful relationship in a
negative way. When the attachment needs are not met, people angrily withdraw from the
relationship. According to West and Sheldon-Keller, “perceived inaccessibility o f the
attachment figure gives rise not only to anxiety but also to anger” (p. 103). This is what
Mrs. Lee actually shows in her relationship with her senior pastor. In other words, when
her compulsive care seeking is not met, she angrily withdraws from the relationship:
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Our senior pastor has many good qualities, you know. He is always polite
in his manner and so punctual and prudent in everything because he hates
when things go wrong. He and I are similar in this aspect So, I like t hat . . .
But he does not seem to accept me. He never does. So I have tried to form
close relationship several times and finally gave up. His pastoral philosophy is
that pastors should not be close to lay people. I thought there was something
wrong . . . And his attitude is also very business-like. Well, to be honest we now
just like and respect him and we just want to pray for him more and we want
to share more warm eye expressions and conversation. That’s i t you know?
But he doesn’t seem to accept i t So, we do not go to see such a person who
doesn’t accept our efforts.
Mrs. Lee’s expression shows anger toward the senior pastor because she was not
able to have a close relationship with him. She clearly says that she likes the senior
pastor and thus wants to have a close relationship with him. But she withdraws from
him saying that she does not attempt to have a close relationship with him because he
does not seem to accept her.
It may be questioned here as to how to interpret the relationship between Chong
and compulsive care seeking which is not considered to be healthy in the relationship.
First of all, it cannot be denied that Chong has an unhealthy aspect. I have already
pointed out this aspect o f Chong in many places. In short, compulsive care seeking may
be considered to be a negative aspect o f Chong. Putting it differently, that Chong shows
compulsive care seeking demonstrates that it includes the nature o f attachment. It means
that Chong is not simply a close relationship among adults but clearly includes feelings
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shaped since childhood.62 Or Chong can be called “a Korean version o f attachment
feelings among adults.”
Security Base Effect
The security base effect is another important aspect o f Chong. Regarding security
base effect, West and Sheldon-Keller say, “Increased comfort and diminished anxiety
occur in the presence o f the attachment figure.” In terms of Chong, once people have a
person they feel Chongful with, they have more comfort and less anxiety. More
specifically, it may be the security base effect that makes people continue to come to
church and then decide to remain as a regular member, after they have some Chdngful
people. Pastor Cho convincingly says that people would remain for ever if they come to
church for three years:
O f course! Chong is really important in church life. I am sure that newcomers

will never leave their church if we can somehow hold onto them for at least
three years. It doesn’t matter whether the pastor o f the church is capable or not.
Once they register in the church and stay for three years, they rarely leave. The
reason why they don’t leave the church varies. But I think the main reason is
Chdng, you know. So I think Chdng enables laypersons to get to know one
another and fellowship with one another in the parish and serve the church
together, and so on. This really has an important effect on fixing the people
in the church.
From the perspective of Chong, in general, it may take a couple o f years for new
comers to form a Chdngful relationship with the church people. It may also be possible
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that the new comers can form the Chdngful relationship in the beginning. The Chongful
relationship for three years may refer to the mature Chdngful relationship in which they
become so attached emotionally and committed to each other spiritually and so on. They
can have many Chdngful relationships with many people; they can have the sense o f
security; they can also have the sense o f belonging.
More specifically, Mrs. Lee shares her feelings about an associate pastor:
My relation with Pastor Kim is like this. I am sure if this is because o f my

personality. But once I come to the church, I see this care. His license plate
number is 4579. If I see the number I feel so warm and Chdngful. I say to myself,
“He must be inside the church.” I do feel that way even though I do not see him
in person.
Mrs. Lee feels Chdngful when she thinks about her relationship with Pastor Kim.
Fear of Rejection
West and Sheldon-Keller define the fear of rejection as “fear o f losing [the] long-
lived or permanent relationship to [an] attachment figure” (p. 100). As the Confucian
values attach great importance to human relationships, Korean people fear that the
interpersonal relationship may become bad or broken for some reason. Also, because
they have maintained feelings o f security through interdependence they cannot but feel
fearful if the interpersonal relationship becomes more distant.
62 O f course, another interpretation o f the relations between Chong and compulsive care seeking may be
that Mrs. Lee simply shows a pathological aspect o f her personality shaped during her childhood.
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Mrs. Lee was upset with the associate pastor’s recommendation to buy some
books for the people in the bible class:
I was really upset with him. If he wants to buy the books then he is supposed to
buy them. What has to do with it that I am a coordinator o f the class. Why should
I buy the gifts for the Bible class members. It still doesn’t make sense to me. I
never wanted to do them but I did it just because o f Chdngful. I feel he would feel
bad if I did not. And the thing is that I would feel sorry for him if he felt bad. It’s
because I like him. Then, you know, I’m afraid that the relationship would
become very distant.
If the relationship is especially hierarchical, the fear is elevated. The person in the upper
position is understood as having authority, competence, and capability while the person
in the lower position sees him/herself as having to obey the upper person’s authority and
get support from him/her. In the cultural milieu of the Korean church, the relationships
between pastors and lay people are considered to be hierarchical. Therefore, Mrs. Lee’s
fear is that her relationship may become bad. In addition, the teaching based on the Old
Testament that people should unconditionally obey the authority given by God to the
priest strengthens this hierarchical understanding.
Pastor Suh’s pastoral experience shows the fear o f rejection in the Chdngful
relationship:
I don’t know where I can start because there are so many things to say. One of
the difficulties that Korean churches have suffered is because of the
interpersonal relationships among session members which makes them
unable to distinguish between what is right and what is not right This has
been a morbid practice. For instance, the session appoints an incapable person as
the chairperson o f a church committee simply because he is the son o f the senior
elder. All o f the fifteen elders acknowledge this but no one points this out. They
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think that what is good for everybody, to whom, is good. This is a serious
problem in the Korean churches.
Most o f the elders o f the session are afraid o f worsening the interpersonal relationship
and they cannot point out the inappropriate decision by the session. The fear that the
relationship may be broken is attributed to the tendency o f other-directedness. Korean
people always feel obliged to fulfill the expectations o f others. It is important for them to
figure out what the others feel or think rather than what they should do. It has to do with
issues o f autonomy and dependency. It is a matter o f dependence to follow or rely on
another’s will instead of relying on their own feelings and/or positions.
Separation Protest
With regard to separation protest in adult attachment relationships, West and
Sheldon-Keller say, “Separation or threat o f separation from the attachment figure causes
“discomfort and anxiety on discovering the attachment figure to be inexplicably
inaccessible.” Once the Chongful relationship is formed, there is a sense o f resistance,
regret, and sadness against the separation o f the relationship.
Mrs. Lee reflects upon her spiritual life in the church in the following way:
As for me, I have been in this church for eleven years and I would say that more
than being filled with the Holy Spirit, I feel like I just have more Chong with the
church . . . I think our church is especially like that, you know? Everybody says
so. They say they want to move to other churches because our church is not as
devout or spiritual. But they can’t leave and they say, “Oh, no! We can’t leave
because we miss the members o f the women’s club. It is the attaching power of
Chong-, I really think it is. When we are together, we usually point fingers at each
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other and get upset with one another’s behavior or attitude. We then say in
frustration, “How can they say they are Christians? So, should we just leave the
church?” But the answer is no. Absolutely not. So, Chong makes us see that
people’s faults are bearable. And we learn to accept people as they are.
Despite complaints about the church and dissatisfaction with the church, Mrs. Lee
remains in the church because o f Chong. In other words, anxiety or insecure feelings are
greater when separating from the people in the church than the feelings o f complaints or
dissatisfaction when still remaining in the church.
Pastor Pan explains shares his experience of doing pastoral ministry for the parish:
There are many parishes through which people gather together every week for
worship. In the beginning, it is very difficult for everyone to get know one
another. However, after a couple of years, they get accustomed to one another.
They become so close to each other. A problem then occurs when they have to
divide the parish into two or three smaller ones because parish members grow in
numbers. We can’t just tell them to divide the parish because o f the particular
mentality o f the Korean people. They want to continue to gather with the people
they are used to. So, if we do that without deep consideration, a serious problem
occurs.
Through parish worship and fellowship together, parish members get to know one
another and become emotionally sticky. They become Chongful. If they have to be
separated from one another for some reason, they feel regret and sadness. In addition,
they will experience discomfort getting to know new people.
Mrs. Yi talks about her Chongful relationship with her friend:
I have sometimes thought about either one o f us moving to another place. If all o f
a sudden, for some reason, one of us has to move to different states, it would be a
terrible thing. So, I do not even want to think about it.
Mrs. Yi’s feeling that she did not even want to think o f moving indicates that she
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would feel uncomfortable, insecure, and helpless if she were to be separated from her
Chdngful friend.
Summary of Findings
Chong cannot be shaped in a short period o f time, however good the feelings
toward people are in the beginning o f the relationship. It takes at least a couple o f years
to form the relationship o f Chong and in the meantime many contacts and interactions
should occur. The three interview data that I discarded did not include any contents to
interpret ragarding their Chongful lives in the churches. The three people were new
comers whose church lives were less than one year.
The patterns o f Chdngful relationships are characteristically personal. Chdng is
the sense o f a strong emotional bond formed with a particular individual. Also, another
pattern o f Chdngful relationships is hierarchical due to the influence o f the Confucian
culture. This means that age and social status are important factors that determine the
pattern o f the Chdngful relationship.
Chdng has three dimensions: emotional, material, and moral. Each dimension can
be divided into the beginning, developing, and mature stages according to its developing
processes. In the beginning stage, the feeling of liking is formed and those in the
relationship provide support or care materially. Morally, people come to have concern
for other people’s needs or situations. In the developing stage, people become closer
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emotionally but they tend not to express these closer feelings but hold them in their
minds and hearts. Materially, the mutual interactions increase and morally, they behave
and make decisions in consideration o f the others’ needs and situations. In this stage, in
some occasions, people may feel reluctant to do something for others, especially when
they are in difficult situations themselves to do something for others. They, however, feel
forced to do it because o f their concern for others’ needs or for fear o f the break down or
distancing o f the Chongful relationship. In the mature stage, those involved in the
Chdngful relationship become attached and inseparable emotionally. Materially, they
become non-calculating or unselfish. Morally, they become sacrificial and committed to
each other. Each stage demonstrates the common attributes o f Chong-, they are warmth,
mutuality, stickiness, stillness, a non-calculating attitude, and other-directedness.
It is clear that the ground sentiment o f Chong is in nature “attachment” between
infant and primary caretaker proposed by John Bowlby. According to the measurements
o f the adult attachment relationship studied by West and Sheldon-Keller based on the
concept o f attachment by Bowlby, Chong demonstrates the attributes o f attachment:
availability, proximity seeking, security base, fear o f rejection, and separation protest.
The sentiment o f Chong found from the analysis o f the interview material about
the Korean Christians’ church lives is shaped and developed between lay people, and
between pastors and lay people in the church. In short, Chong shapes particular cultural
aspects o f the Korean churches. More precisely, Chong affects both the growth and the
division o f the Korean churches in many respects. On the one hand, Chong contributes
to the growth of the Korean churches in terms of the virtues o f commitment, sacrifice,
obedience, cooperation, care for others, and sharing that are grounded upon the sentiment
o f Chong. On the other hand, it negatively affects them in that Chong is characteristic o f
preferring personal interests or needs and superceding the principles or needs o f the
group. It has a tendency to exclude others who are not Chongful. In short, desirable
Chongful relationships and appropriate control over the feeling of Chdng has contributed
to the growth of the church; excessive Chong is not helpful to church life in many
respects and finally causes the splits o f churches.
In conclusion, Koreans are people who think and feel with Chdng, live through
Chdng, and behave according to Chdng. Chdng is an ultimate value through which they
reflect upon their lives. Even their Christian faith is deeply embedded in Chdng. Chdng
is the core of the Korean people’s identity: the core o f the Korean self.
The following chapter discusses the background o f the formation of Chdng and
discusses some important theological themes related to it. Following the discussion, its
implications for pastoral care and ministry are explained.
Chapter Seven
Implications for Theology, Pastoral Care, and Ministry
In the previous chapter the data from the interviews analyzed was analyzed.
According to the result of the analysis of the data, Chdng appears to affect the
interpersonal relationships in the church as a whole. Internally, it affects the overall lives
o f the church members such as the relationships between lay people the relationships
between pastors and lay people, and the perspectives and attitudes that the pastors have.
Externally, it has contributed not only to the growth but also to the splitting o f churches.
This chapter will discuss the backgrounds in which Chong is shaped and the
important theological themes related to it. Also, the implications these theological
themes have on pastoral care and ministry will be elaborated on.
Chdng and Family
There are two important backgrounds in which Chong is shaped: the family and
the socioeconomic environment. First, the family will be discussed. According to the
analysis o f the interview data, the relationship o f Chdng has the attributes o f attachment
in adult relationships. It then can be claimed that an essential substance o f Chdng is
attachment that is inborn and shaped between infants and a primary caretaker. This
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inborn quality o f attachment is shaped particularly under the culture o f the Confucian
family: Chong. The atmosphere o f the Korean family stimulates the shaping o f the
Chdng.
The family is the place where Chdng is shaped and taught. There are several
aspects o f family that influence the shaping o f Chdng. Compared to the Western culture,
Korean people have more skin contact when rearing children. This usually begins from
birth. When a baby is bom, he or she is not understood or treated as an independent or
autonomous being in the family but considered a member o f the family being introduced
into the existing family structure. Compared to a baby raised in the Western culture, a
Korean baby sleeps with his/her parents in the same room for quite a long time either
because o f limited space or out o f cultural habit. They have to share the room together
and sleep in the same bed under one blanket. Mothers usually hold their babies on their
backs while they are working at home. When they express or show their affection, they
usually mb their cheeks on the baby’s cheeks rather than kissing their babies on the
cheeks, as is the usual case for the Western culture. This physical closeness increases the
emotional ties o f the child to the mother.
In addition, parents teach and nurture their children with Confucian cultural
values that emphasize a commitment to family or unity. Instead o f encouraging
independence and autonomy o f the children, as is the case o f the Western culture, they
recommend their children to leam harmony, interdependence, and concession to each
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other. Those cultural values that the children o f the Korean family internalize also
support the formation o f Chong.
An important factor among the Confucian values that affect the shaping o f Chong
is the absolute authority o f the father in the family. The Korean family system is
different from that o f China’s. The Chinese family system is “ an extended family
system” where parents live with all o f their children even after their children marry; the
children’s families are separated only after the death o f the parents (Kwang-kyu Lee,
1995, p. 12). The Korean family system is “ a directed-lineage family system” where
parents live with only one o f their children’s family— usually the eldest son’s. The
difference between the two country’s family systems has brought about the difference in
the role o f the father’s authority in the family. According to Kwang-kyu Lee, a Korean
father tends not to consult with the eldest son about family matters. In other words, a
Korean father tends to have absolute authority over his family members. The father’s
authority is also sanctioned by a social policy o f the Chosun dynasty where a father was
given the authority to rule over family members.63
The authority o f the father is closely related with family ties. There is again, a
difference between Korean family and Chinese family with regard to this. In Chinese
family, the children are able to restrain their father’s authority. For instance, every son
inherits an equal amount o f property. Also, when the children inherit their parents’
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property, sons have a priority over daughters; even illegitimate sons (Ibid., p. 16).
Therefore, illegitimate sons often inherited more than legitimate daughters inherited.
This indicates that the patriarchal consciousness is stronger than the sense of family tie in
Chinese family.
The absolute authority of the father engendered strong family ties in the Korean
family. When the parents’ property is inherited, the opposite o f the Chinese family
occurs: differentiating legitimate children from illegitimate children precedes
differentiating sons from daughters. In other words, legitimate daughters inherited more
than illegitimate sons. Considering the social milieu o f the patriarchal culture in the
Chosun dynasty, this means that the sense o f being a family member, whether sons or
daughters, is strong enough to surpass patriarchal consciousness.
The strong family tie is manifested in an extreme way in Korean families. In
other words, family ties are extremely strong and absolutized. Kyu T. Lee argues (1982)
that the family ties o f the Korean family may be stronger than those of any other country
in the world—they are even stronger than those o f Japan and China, which share most of
the Asian cultural values held by Koreans. He presents as evidence the particular
phenomenon o f family suicide in the Korean society which can be rarely found in any
other country in the world (Ibid., pp. 232-236). The value or thought behind family
suicide arises from the strong emotional ties between parents and children. It is usually
63 The ideology for the establishment of Chosun Dynasty was Confucianism, which emphasized loyalty to
the King and filial piety to parents. Some scholars argue that the ruling class to justify and reinforce their
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initiated and ordered by the head o f the family, the father. Korean parents believe that
they own their children; they believe that they can control the feelings o f their children,
direct their thoughts, and manage their lives. They even believe that they can order their
children to die. O f course, this is an extreme version of their strong family ties. The
point, however, is that the Korean people share such strong emotional ties which could
allow such an extreme case to happen.
Parents express such strong emotional ties to their children by usually showing
their total commitment and sacrifice for their children. Almost all first generation
Korean-Americans confess that they immigrated to this country for their children and
they live, work, and sacrifice themselves for the future success o f their children.64
Therefore, Korean parents believe that they can demand total submission from their
children.
This demand of the parents brings about the diminution of the children’s sense of
“ I” within the family. It brings about an “ extinct I.” The sense of “ I” disappears or
diminishes within the family boundary. In other words, it does not allow private space
psychologically. For instance, though each family member physically has his or her own
room, mentally it is not theirs. The room is to be left open in the sense that it is to negate
any private occupation. There is no such thing as privacy per se within the Korean family
structure.
ruling over the ruled class politically used Confucianism.
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Another result caused by strong emotional ties within the family is the creation
o f the impenetrable boundary between the family and the outside. The boundary
distinguishes the family from the outside, which is even sometimes regarded as an
enemy. The creation o f the impermeable boundary between the family and the outside
brings about three different behaviors: lack of public consciousness, exclusiveness, and
low participation in communal activities.
The sense o f the “ extinct I” mentioned above is mainly caused by the presence o f
the absolute authority o f the father within the family. In other words, the sense o f the
“ autonomous I” cannot be claimed or allowed before the presence of an authoritative
figure. The children’s virtues o f obedience, harmony, concession, or cooperation are
nurtured under the authority. However, once he or she is located outside the family,
he/she she feels free from the authoritative atmosphere. Or, he/she wishes to claim the
genuine and autonomous sense o f “ I.” The problem is that the virtues raised under the
authoritative atmosphere o f the family are not observed or practiced well without
authority. In short, those virtues are heteronomous to some extent. This means that
Korean people lack autonomy in their moral behavior. The lack of autonomy naturally
results in the lack o f a spirit o f public duty because the latter is grounded upon the former.
64 See Suk Hwan Jueng, “Generativity in the midlife experience of Korean first generation immigrants:
Implications for pastoral care.” Doctoral Dissertation o f Northwestern University, 1997. Pp. 163-189.
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Many Korean scholars point out that Koreans are rude and do not keep order in the
public situation.65
The creation o f the boundary between the family and the outside also brings about
the tendency to exclude anything that might muddle the homogeneity o f the family or
loosen emotional ties. Such exclusiveness, for instance, is manifested in their attitude
toward the Korean adoption o f a Korean child to a non-Korean American family.
Jennifer Lenhart, a Washington Post Staff Writer, wrote an article about this.66 In the
article, she introduced the experiences o f non-Korean Americans who adopted Korean
children. According to the non-Korean parents o f those Korean children, Korean people
ask unsolicited and intrusive questions to them such as, “ Is he your baby?” , “ Is his father
Korean?” , “ Are they a real brother and sister?” Such questions are the indications o f
their exclusiveness that a sense o f family homogeneity or their sense o f family tie was
somehow threatened and unsecured simply by seeing one o f their own people adopted
interracially.67 In short, an aversion of adoption is deeply rooted in the Korean culture.
Over the centuries, adoptions inside Korea have almost been exclusively within families
and often became family secrets.
63 This may seem to contradict the earlier quotation o f someone who said that Koreans are very caring and
giving. They are generous to person with whom they think they have formed a “personal” relationship, but
not in public settings.
66 Washington Post, February 6, 2000. Page C01.
67 This is an example o f “projective identification” in the minds of Korean people who see families of
interracial adoption.
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Low participation in communal activities is another indication that Korean
people distinguish the family from the outside. They usually show little concern or
interest in any activities happening outside the family. The Korean Daily News o f
Chicago o f April 30, 1996 reports that community participation of Korean Americans is
far less than that of other Asian groups such as the Japanese and Chinese.
On the fourth of July in 1999, Won-Joon Yoon, a Korean student who was about
to begin his doctoral study in economics at Indiana University, became a victim o f a hate
crime o f Benjamin Smith. Shocked by the crime, many leaders in the Korean immigrant
community spoke out against discrimination. However, one of the leaders said, “ Lots o f
times, the Asian-American community tends to be kind of quiet about tolerating
discriminatory acts. By our silence we are actually perpetrating further acts o f
discrimination.” 68 As far as the Korean community is concerned, such passivity in
community action is partly due to their strong family-oriented tendencies.
Interestingly, however, they are eager to go to church which is outside o f the
family. This is because Koreans may perceive the church to be a family type o f
experience whether or not they understand it as such. In other words, their eagerness to
attend church is motivated by their strong emotional familial ties to one another.
The most fundamental value supporting these strong family ties is filial piety.69
The primary teaching o f filial piety is the father’s absolute authority and the son’s
68 Chicago Tribune, Metro Chicago Publication, Friday, July 16, 1999.
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unconditional obedience. There is no room for children to claim their own identity.
Therefore, disobedience to parents could be construed as a claiming o f the “ I,” who is
supposed to be extinct. When children are disobedient, parents feel that the children’s
sense o f “ I” is reclaimed. It is considered a violation o f the sense o f “ us” within the
family.
Tu Wei-Ming (1985), Professor o f Chinese History and Philosophy and Chairman
o f the Committee on the Study of Religion at Harvard University, calls the presence o f
others as “ otherness” in his book, Confucian Thought - Selfhood as Creative
Transformation. He basically uses the term to elaborate on the profound meanings o f
filial piety and the related implications. According to him, “ otherness” is an essential
feature in Confucian identity. Tu says,
A characteristic Confucian selfhood entails the participation o f the other and that
the reason for this desirable and necessary symbiosis o f selfhood and otherness is
the Confucian conception o f the self as a dynamic process o f spiritual
development, (p. 113)
Tu’s conception o f Confucian selfhood is reflected in the teaching o f Confucius.
In Analects, “ Wishing to establish oneself, one establishes the other; wishing to enlarge
oneself, one enlarges others” (p. 114). This indicates to us that helping others is or
69 “Filial piety is the foundation of virtue and the root o f civilization,” Hsiao Ching I, (New York: S t
John’s University Press, 1961), p. 3. Filial piety involves not only unconditional obedience o f children but
also accomplishing a father’s ego ideal and resisting wrong father. For other discussions o f filial piety, see
Robert N. Bellah, “Father and Son in Christianity and Confucianism,” in Beyond Belief: Essays on Religion
in a Post-Traditionalist World (Berkeley, CA: University o f California Press, 1991), and Tu Wei-Ming,
Confucian Thought: Selfhood as Creative Transformation (Albany, New York: State University o f New
York Press, 1985), 113-130.
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results in the development of the self or vice versa. The shape o f Chong is influenced
by Confucian teaching in that Chong is the feeling of caring for others.
In consideration of the Chong described above, Chdng can be perceived from the
perspective o f altruism which sociobiology defines. In other words, Chong possesses an
altruistic disposition which the perspective o f sociobiology defines. Sociobiological
theories define altruism as “ behavior that appears to sacrifice one’s immediate
reproductive advantage but which, in the long run, in fact contributes reproductive
advantage” (Browning, 1992, p. 422). Chong, on the one hand, has the altruistic
disposition o f basically having a tendency to care for others; on the other hand, it has a
selfishness in that it has the features o f dependency or demanding from others for the
sake o f personal interests or benefits.
Chdng and Socioeconomic Environment
The socioeconomic environment throughout Korean history further influenced the
shape o f Chong that was shaped in the Confucian family. Historically, as a whole,
Korean people went through political oppression and social injustice and suffered from
hunger due to economic exploitation. The Korean people, however, survived such
difficult situations, which decisively affected the Korean people’s mentality. On the one
hand, they could not but go through the pains and suffer from the wounds. On the other
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hand, however, they were able to grasp ways to help and rely upon one another in the
midst o f sufferings.
Regarding such socioeconomic influences, Monika Hellwig (1976), a Catholic
theologian, provides us with some significant insights in her book The Eucharist and the
Hunger o f the World. In order to point out the theological significance o f the Eucharist,
she emphasizes the importance o f the experience of hunger. She says, ‘T o be human is to
be hungry. Not to be hungry is to be dead” (p.l 1). She continues to say, “Hunger, then,
is a basic dimension o f becoming, o f coming into being as a human person, o f coming to
maturity” (p. 16). Her point is that the experience o f hunger made them feel the necessity
o f one another and depend upon one another. She says,
Beyond all this, hunger is the most basic experience o f dependence, of

contingency, o f the need for others. To be hungry is to experience oneself as
insufficient, as having needs, as being unable to guarantee one’s own existence.
(P- 15)
Hellwig’s description of the experience o f hunger and its theological significance
points out a certain aspect o f Chong and the social context in which it is shaped. She
describes the experiences of hunger more precisely:
Those who are habitually hungry are ever mindful o f this interdependence. They
may not be critically aware o f the patterns it takes, nor able to project the action
required to change those patterns; but the hungry know that they cannot be fed
without the collaboration o f others. They know that their lives are hostages in
others’ hand—not only their sheer survival but the quality o f their lives, the extent
o f their freedom to be human, (p. 16)
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Hellwig’s description o f the experiences o f hunger enables us to construe that
Korean people become more interdependent and collaborative throughout a series o f
sufferings. She positively interprets the hunger experiences as a means for people to
become helpful with one another in time of need. She further says, “There is no human
becoming, without learning to move out of the limelight, to acknowledge others as
persons, to find satisfaction in giving and serving and spending oneself for others” (p.
18). For Koreans, they became more human through the processes in which they
sacrificed themselves and depended upon each other in time o f need and suffering. In
this sense, Korean people are a people of humanness. It is apparent that foreigners
experienced this humanness as hospitality when they met the Korean people.
The experience o f being human, however, is accompanied by conflicts. Hell wig
articulates this in the following way:
To make people feel loved, appreciated and worthwhile, it is certainly necessary

to give much, in patience, service, shared goods, genuine respect, praise,
affection, and so forth. It is also necessary to demand much and in the demanding
itself to express confidence and respect for what the other can become . . . But to
demand is to engage in conflict, and to become involved in the struggle o f the
other, (p. 20)
She points out that being human entails reciprocal interaction, not unilateral
support or charity. At the same time, conflicts must occur in the relationships o f Chong
in which mutual giving and taking occur. Such conflicts, however, are not necessarily
negative. Rather, the existence o f conflicts have important meanings because it entails
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mutual recognition and interdependence. In order to elaborate on the meaning o f
conflicts in Chong, the relation between Chong and Han first needs to be discussed.
Chdng versus Han
First of all, it is necessary to define the sentiment o f the Korean people, the best
representation being, Han. It is true that Han well describes the Korean people’s
sentiment. However, it is not only Han but also Chong that can represent it. In fact, their
behavior in everyday life is carried out much more by Chdng than Han. However, the
reason Han has been addressed significantly is because it implies important theological
meanings such as oppression, violence, injustice, and exploitation which Minjung
theology emphasizes.
The point of Han is that it has been shaped throughout history by injustice
politically and economically. Though the history o f 2000 years cannot be elaborated on
in detail, the Korean people, called Minjung, have been oppressed politically and
exploited economically. The last one hundred years of modem history clearly
demonstrates this aspect o f Han : the Japanese annexation for thirty six years,
sociopolitical chaos after independence from the Japanese rule, the Korean War,
economic poverty and political corruption after the war, a military coup, military
dictatorship afterwards, ideological confusion, struggle, sacrifice for democracy, etc.
Therefore, Han can be described as the feelings o f being oppressed and treated unfairly.
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Andrew S. Park (1993), in his book The Wounded Heart o f God, citing Minjung poet
Chi Ha Kim, says, “ Han is caused as one’s outgoingness is blocked and pressed for an
extended period o f time by external oppression and exploitation.”
Han needs more elaboration in order to understand the Korean people in a deeper
way. With regard to Christianity, Han is defeated by the gospel of liberation. Through
the gospel, oppressed feelings are liberated; wounds are healed; unfairness is appealed.
One meets Jesus Christ and earns genuine salvation and emancipation. These processes
o f healing and emancipation are being and need to be continued. However, Han can
explain only one aspect o f the Korean people’s sentiment: the feeling forced or impinged
upon them by external realities. In other words, the continual presence o f harsh external
realities has produced the feeling of Han in their mentality. Therefore, Han emphasizes
and focuses only on the external reality that creates it. That is why Minjung theology
emphasizes that the feeling o f Han is in the same line with liberation theology. Schreiter
(198S) says, “ It can be fairly stated that liberation theologies are wisdom theologies
turned outward to social conditions” (p. 25).
Due to its own nature described above, Han cannot explain how Korean Minjung
has been able to survive, physically and psychologically, such harsh realities for such a
period o f long time. It cannot explain how they have confronted their realities; Han can
only tell how they were forced to possess the feeling of being “ turned inward, hardened
and stuck to their hearts.” It does not tell us what wisdom or psychology the Korean
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people have used to deal with their harsh realities. Han views the Korean people simply
as the “ victim.”
In contrast, however, Chong views the Korean people as the “ agent.” Chong tells
us how the Korean people have survived the situation o f oppression and exploitation: the
unjust system of the Korean society. Therefore, Chong can be described as a
psychological mechanism which, actively and/or passively, deals with external realities.
While the Israelite people overcame and survived the sufferings through their union with
God through Abraham, the Korean people have developed helping one another in intense
interpersonal relationships and caring for one another in order to survive. Koreans must
share, help, cooperate, and depend upon one another so that they could be secure
physically and psychologically. It was the feeling o f Chong that was developed through
these interdependent human relationships.
Traditionally, the Korean people have had many customs o f helping one another.
For instance, Hyangyag, literally meaning town covenant, prevailed from the Chosun
Dynasty. It includes several regulations that every person in a village should observe. Its
contents are mainly about cultivating cooperation, respect, harmony, etc. Therefore, it is
expected to help their neighbor in need; it is a good virtue to sacrifice for one another.
For example, whenever one family had a season of sowing or harvest, the whole town
worked as if it was one family. Though the covenant disappeared due to industrialization,
its spirit still exists among Koreans and its tradition can still be found in some rural areas.
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One o f the traditions that has survived even until today is gye. Gye is a mutual loan
club similar to a credit union. During the L. A. riots, mass media, introducing the Korean
community, reported that one o f the strengths o f the Korean community was gye. Illsoo
Kim (1988), a professor at Princeton University, in his study of the Korean community in
New York, says, “ The gye association is one type o f traditional Korean cooperatives that
were designed to promote mutual assistance, friendship, and good will. During the Yi
[Chosun] dynasty, the cooperatives called gye were a dominant civic and economic
institution, as opposed to the state economic bureaucracies” (p. 210). He continues that
Korean immigrants in the United States “ continuously rely on these informal, clublike
rotating associations as a means o f accumulating capital for expanding common business
activities and services as well as for financing recreational activities” (p. 211).
Given the description o f the Korean traditions, Chong was stimulated by these
customs or vice versa. Therefore, its characteristics are communality, commitment,
cooperation, interdependence, and sacrifice. Traditional Korean society has emphasized
the community goal and has demanded the individual’s sacrifice for the sake o f it. It was
demanded o f them to spare time and make efforts for the sake of others and the
community. In this sense, Koreans have developed the virtue of giving up their personal
needs. I believe these virtues are what have contributed to the growth o f the Korean
churches.
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Chong, however, has been developed in a negative way because the experience
o f depending upon each other is necessarily affected by the response of the other.
Monika elaborates the experience of hunger in this perspective. She says,
But the meaning o f the experience [of hunger] is precarious, because the shape o f
what each o f us actually experiences is largely determined by the awareness and
responses o f many others—their awareness o f their own hungers and the bridges
o f empathy that they do or do not manage to build to reach a sense o f the hungers
o f others, (p. 16)
Depending upon the recognition and/or response from others, the experiences of
hunger may bring about mixed reactions. People may appreciate others, people may
resent others, people may take advantage o f others, people may become shameless and
totally dependent upon others. Their inevitable dependence on others engendered the
negative aspect of Chong: Chong became a method o f survival. Instead of attempting to
alter or change the external realities, Korean people o f Chong just strove to survive.
Throughout the long historical processes o f being treated and oppressed unfairly, Chong
sometimes operated as a servile spirit of surviving the situation rather than as an active
attitude of transforming the situation. As a result, it has acquired the attributes o f being
dependent, lazy, limp, and random. In this respect, observations by Griffis and Isabella
were correct (See page 200). The continual presence o f social injustice has stimulated the
negative aspects o f Chong\ and the latter has conversely perpetuated the former.
Therefore, both the negative aspect of Chong and the social structure have coexisted
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within a vicious cycle. The aspects o f dependency and tactical compromise o f Chong
opted for adopting itself to the existing situation rather than altering it.
Another negative aspect of Chong is its moralistic tendency. Its emphasis on the
altruistic values such as sacrifice and commitment have naturally engendered the cultural
atmosphere in which those who do not keep these customs were excluded from the
community and judged morally. There are three aspects regarding the moralistic
tendency o f Chong. First, preferring a communal goal to individual needs results in
losing one’s own individuality. Individuality is morally judged and rejected by Koreans.
This disowning o f individuality is closely related to their extended family dynamics, as I
pointed out above.
Secondly, the virtue of helping one another brings about dependency. For if
someone, person A, were in the situation to help somebody else person B, it is natural for
person B to think he/she has the right to get help from person A. A person in need or in a
difficult situation is the ground for that person to demand help from someone else. This
aspect o f Chong has been the cause of much misunderstanding and regret because if
person A does not respond to the person in need (person B), as person B expected, person
B feels regret or thinks he/she misunderstood person A. In this sense, the relationship o f
Chong has been taken for granted in that it has become a wrong intention for selfish
benefit. These days, such negative aspects o f Chong as a further stimulation for the
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accumulation o f wealth is increased due to industrialization and as the pursuit of
personal benefit can be legitimized by the influence o f the capitalistic mentality o f
modem society.
Thirdly, an aspect of Chong that whoever in need should be helped creates a
mentality o f neglecting rationality or righteousness. Interpersonal relationships are thus
sometimes formed not by a reasonable understanding o f the situation but by an emotional
symbiosis caused by the situation. Or, a moral decision is much affected by a judgment
of the situation that appears to be irrational. One famous Korean pastor in Chicago,
despite the fact that he was morally charged for the adultery he intended to hide for three
years, was able to establish a new church with some members o f his former congregation
in an area nearby his former church. Considering the strict morality against committing
adultery among the Korean community it would have been impossible for him to begin a
new church. However, it was Chong that enabled the Korean people to somehow forgive
or disregard his sin.
It should be noted here that Han and Chong are closely connected to each other.
A psychological concept of “oscillation,” that two extremes are close to each other,
affirms this point. Some expressions found in Korean literature demonstrate this. For
instance, a verse from the poem written by Sowol Kim reads, “I let you go away and then
I will miss you.” Another verse from an old poem by an unknown poet reads, “I would
rather die than miss the love who is at arm’s length.” Such expressions reveal the social
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milieu o f the traditional Korean culture—that people were not allowed to form the
relationship o f love without prohibition due to the discrimination o f social status.
Therefore, the discrimination o f the social status created Han in the heart o f the Korean
people in the lower class. This Han paradoxically is an indication that they have a very
strong feeling of Chong towards the people whom they wish to love or relate to.
The important psychological element o f the relation between Han and Chong is
other-directedness. A person suffers because he/she is forbidden to love his/her lover, for
example, and vice versa. The person would rather die, leave, or let the lover leave
him/her because he/she still loves the lover. The person does not want the lover to go
through pain or suffering because the former loves the latter. This tendency o f other-
directedness is the root o f pain, yet at the same time it enables people to be willing to
suffer from sacrifice and pain. The person would rather go through suffering instead o f
his/her lover. This is the consideration o f others: other-directedness. Because o f Chong,
the person is willing to have Han. Sometimes, such other-directedness takes an extreme
position. Giving something up is not enough for the sake o f others so that even death is
more desirable. “I love him/her so much that I would rather die for him/her.” This is an
extreme expression o f Han and Chong. It is Han in that love cannot be accomplished; it
is Chong in that they love so much that they would die.
A positive aspect of the dynamic operating between Han and Chong is that the
latter can exert an explosive power when it somehow overcomes the former. In a
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personal situation, an individual can exercise the power to overcome the difficult
situation; and in the communal situation, Chong is manifested as sacrifice and
commitment.
It can be argued that the acceptance of the Gospel may be partly attributed to the
Korean people’s paradoxical mind rooted in the internal dynamic between Han and
Chong. The psychological dynamic that Chong somehow overcame Han internally
signifies accepting the Gospel. On the one hand, there is an unconquerable object to be
conquered; on the other hand there is a power to conquer it. The social meaning o f the
Gospel is that there is a hope that oppression and injustice will be corrected. In short, the
dialectical aspect o f the Korea people’s mind shaped by the interaction between Chong
and Han have provided the ground for Christian faith. Moreover, the dialectical aspect
will become the ground for which the power of the Gospel can be demonstrated more
efficiently in many aspects o f our lives. Healing, reconciling, guiding, and sustaining can
occur through the Gospel in a better way in the dialectical mind. Because o f Han, people
were able to develop the feeling o f Chong, because o f Chong, Han can be healed and
overcome. The healing o f Han, therefore, does not necessarily mean the doing away with
it. It should, however, be noted that the dialectic aspect always bears the tension and
conflict.
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Theology of Ch&ng: Significance of Tension or Conflict
That the Korean people have the minds of both Han and Chong can be seen from
the perspective of “tension” or “conflict.” Psychologically, there is a tension between the
two in that “Han is caused as the outgoingness is pressed and blocked” and thus tends to
go inwardly; Chong is “a strong emotional bond to the person outside.” Though they are
contradictory to each other in their psychological orientation, Chong and Han are
interdependent with each other as the centripetal and centrifugal forces work against each
other. Therefore, there is tension between Han and Chong. In other words, they both
provide the mutual ground of existence for themselves. They are mirrors for each other.
A theology o f Chong which is characteristic of tension or conflict is suggested in
this dissertation. The theology o f Chong posits that any contradictory aspects are not
necessarily taken away but rather embraced and maintained. Korean churches need to
have the theology of Chong especially when Christianity in Korea is viewed from the
perspective of culture. The sub-culture of the Korean churches may be considered to be
multicultural because not only do they still hold on to traditional values but they also
keep the Christian values that were originally embedded with the Western cultural values
when Christianity was incepted to Korea. In addition, during the last decade, they have
been influenced by the rapid changes and challenges caused by the modem and post
modern Western culture. The author’s theological position is that neither o f those
different cultural values are denied or taken as a whole. All o f the cultural values should
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be balanced and harmonized with one another. Such harmony or balance does not
imply syncretism. It does not mean that the Korean churches should select some good-
looking pieces from each of the cultures. Rather, it means that they keep holding on to all
o f their cultural values while looking at opposite aspects from them at the same time.
Only when they maintain the tension can they obtain the benefit o f dialectical thinking.
However, at the moment they determine to choose only one o f the cultural values, they
lose tension and conflict is gone. Therefore, there should be a tension so that the
dialectical processes can continue.
Walter Kasper (1979), a German theologian, astutely elaborates on the
theological significance o f maintaining the tension between the two extremes.70 He
contends that the argument between conservatives and liberals throughout Christian
history should not be seen in terms o f differentiating right from wrong, but in the
integration of the two (p. 8).
Kasper says that Christianity is the religion o f the future in its eschatological
sense. Eschatological Christianity keeps demanding new changes going beyond the
present status. Such demand is not deterministic and thus is not secure; it is insecure and
uncertain. Kasper argues that the insecurity or uncertainty is the place where the
Christian faith can reside (p. 165). Therefore, according to him, theology should function
70 Walter Kasper, Ein/uhrung in den Glauben, translated in Korean by Sang T. Shim. Waegwan: Benedict
press, Korea. 1979.
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for the future in that the future requires from us new changes that go beyond the present
changes.
Kasper argues that if the theology for the future in the eschatological sense
intends to respond to the requests o f current changes, it should not be grounded upon “the
information and facts” that are deterministic (p. 169). In this sense, he criticizes the
futurists who claim that they can predict the future. He asserts that the computerized
future is simply the end of the world. Therefore, Kasper argues that theology is dead
when it is based on the information and facts that modem technological and positivistic
society requires. The future o f such theology is simply an extension o f the past and the
present.
Kasper continues to argue that there is freedom and a creative vision in Christian
faith (p. 166). Therefore, the nature o f the Christian faith is essentially uncertain,
insecure, and mysterious. The uncertainty or insecurity is, however, not a problem to be
clarified or taken away but a mystery to be maintained in tension. This is the paradox o f
Christian theology. In conclusion, Kasper says, “The middle point is not simply a value-
free geometrical point but a place o f tension where two extremes can and should be
viewed” (p. 9). From this perspective, Chong and Han are two extremes o f tension that
are necessary for the future o f Korean Christians.
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Implications for Pastoral Care and Ministry
The implications for pastoral care and ministry in the context of the Korean
church will be elaborated on. More specifically, suggestions will be given on how the
Korean church should define who Korean Christians are culturally and what pastoral care
and counseling should be provided for them. It will eventually enable Korean churches
to establish the optimal understanding o f “what sort o f human beings we are seeking to
help persons become under our care” (Gerkin, 1991, p. 15).
The ministry o f the Korean church has focused mainly on external growth for the
last several decades. This implies that they have not been deeply concerned about their
internal growth and maturity. As a result, they are not capable o f “undergirding the
central purpose o f a ministry that seeks to embody the meanings and values that have
shaped the Christian tradition over time” or “supporting a ministry to persons caught up
in a culture that is suffering from the malaise o f norms and boundaries” (p. 15).
Regarding this matter there is rebutting evidence that there has been an explosive demand
for pastoral care and counseling among Korean churches during the last ten years.
In order to respond to such urgent spiritual and emotional needs among Korean
Christians, Korean churches began to offer the ministry of pastoral care and counseling
that was mainly grounded upon secular psychologies. Such pastoral care and counseling
ministries were able to provide psychological support and healing for Korean Christians.
It was because they became “increasingly interested in self-expression and self-direction
and more deeply concerned about interpersonal relations than about their standing within
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organizational hierarchies” (Holifield, 1983, p. 308).71 Korean Christians attempted to
seek secular therapeutic possibilities even though it was within the church context.
Pastoral responses to such cultural change from the Korean church were necessary and
appropriate as well.
However, the methods for pastoral care and counseling provided by the Korean
churches were simply an adaptation to the changing circumstances. It appears that the
pastoral care and counseling ministry being used was simply the application o f some
techniques o f pastoral counseling mainly based on secular psychology without
theological reflection. The counseling ministry should have been approached with
caution and deep consideration. Therefore, the Korean church needs to theologically
review their pastoral counseling methods affected by secular psychology, as American
churches have continued to attempt. They can then control the direction o f their pastoral
care and counseling if they really intend to provide a proper counseling ministry for
Korean Christians.
Theological reflection of the ministry o f pastoral care and counseling means to
question the “primary identity o f pastoral care and counseling” (Gerkin, 1984, p.l 1).
More specifically, it entails considering the “correlation between theological and
psychological considerations” (p. 13). The ministry o f pastoral care and counseling in
America has been immensely affected by a psychological approach that was first
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introduced by Anton Boison (Holifield, 1983). Therefore, it is necessary for Korean
churches to examine the psychologically oriented pastoral care and counseling methods
from the theological perspective. By doing so, they can not only provide psychological
healing for Korean Christians but also guide them to be equipped with Christian values.
Theological reflection on pastoral care and counseling in America was carried by
the effort to define the relationship between theology and psychology. Some pastoral
theologians affected by Freudian psychoanalysis understand that the goal o f pastoral
counseling was to clarify the inner conflicts o f the people who sought emotional or
spiritual help. Pastoral theologians such as S. Hiltner and W. Oates believed that people
could grow mature when their inner conflicts were resolved. But other theologians who
were intrigued by humanistic psychology emphasized the people’s potential for growth.
Humanistic psychology believed that human beings wanted to exercise his/her powers
and actualize his/her enlarging capacities; self-actualization was a gradual expansion o f
the powers of true selfhood. The non-directive counseling method based on humanistic
psychology, however, was criticized in that it had nothing but the ethic o f self-
actualization. The ethicist A. T. Mollegen observed that “words like ‘self-realization’
and ‘growth’ were empty o f meaning when used outside the specific tradition that
informed their content” (Holifield, p. 313). The meaning of self-realization should be
examined in the context o f the Christian community.
71 Quoting William Clebsch (1968) and Phillip ReifF(1961), Holifield described the cultural mood o f the
American society in the 1960s. It is apparent that the Korean society has been going through the similar
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Though the pastoral counseling methods influenced by the two different
psychological theories had different goals from each other, they both had the common
feature o f “the social formation o f the self.” They both emphasized the interpersonal
context o f relationships or the “social basis of personality.” Therefore, the social
psychology o f neo-Freudians caught the attention o f pastoral theologians. One o f the
important theories was the “field theory” of human behavior developed by K. Lewin
based on mathematics, physics, and the psychology o f perception. His experiment o f
group dynamics became the beginning o f the small group movement. The small group
reflects the rediscovery that human beings became “persons” in and through
“community” (Holifield, p. 317).
The interpersonal context emphasized by interpersonal psychology was viewed as
“Christian.” Many pastoral theologians were intrigued by the concept o f “interpersonal
encounters” originally suggested by H. S. Sullivan (1954). He thought that the heart o f
counseling interviews was interpersonal crises. C. Wise (1951) thought that the essence
o f the counseling was “communication.” Oates (1951) emphasized the importance o f
“reciprocal participation” in the counseling context. J. Patton (1983) suggests “relational
humanness.”
For most pastoral writers, however, social psychology did not fully clarify the
difference between “the psychiatric goal on mental health” and “the theological goal o f
spiritual growth” (Holifield, p. 323). It could not distinguish the distinctiveness o f
cultural dynamics since the 1990s.
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“pastoral” counseling from psychotherapy. Therefore, some pastoral theologians tried
to discern the meaning o f the “Christian context” for both psychotherapy and pastoral
counseling.
There were mainly two approaches to emphasize the Christian identity of pastoral
care and counseling. On the one hand, some people thought that psychology could
deepen theology. David Roberts (1950) intended to show how psychotherapeutic theory
could deepen theology. Paul Johnson (1966) interpreted theological vocabulary by means
o f his interpersonal psychology. On the other hand, other people thought that theology
could deepen psychology. Albert Outler (1954) emphasized the need for theology to
check and limit the uncritical pretensions o f a secularist psychotherapy. In other words,
he argued that psychoanalysis should be reviewed regarding its own “philosophical
assumptions about the self and its freedom, the good and its realization, and the reality
and relevance” (Holifield, p. 326).
Tillich (1957) in fact provided the theological basis and methodology for
integrating theology and psychology. His “method o f correlation” made it available to
translate the theological concepts into a psychological vocabulary (Ibid, p. 330).
However, he was limited in that “the concept is applied to God symbolically, not
analogically.” Process theology then was able to supplement Tillich’s method. Given the
brief descriptions o f the ongoing efforts to define the Christian identity o f pastoral
counseling in America, the Korean churches should pay attention to the current methods
in pastoral care and counseling.
25S
The “hermeneutical approach” by Charles Gerkin is suggested to be the
theoretical ground o f pastoral care and counseling for the Korean Christians embedded in
the culture o f Chong. Gerkin’s hermeneutical theory for pastoral care and counseling is
as follows:
A hermeneutical perspective sees all human language systems, including both

theology and psychology, as efforts to penetrate the mystery o f what is beyond
human understanding and make sense o f it. The common mysteries o f concern to
both theology and psychology are, o f course, human experience and behavior. . .
A hermeneutical theory will therefore come at the task o f relating two language
worlds, such as those of theology and psychology, to a specific human function,
such as that o f pastoral counseling, by first acknowledging the discrete boundaries
o f each world. (Gerkin, 1984, p. 19)
Gerkin’s hermeneutical theory is essentially based on Gadamer’s concept o f
“fusion o f horizon.” By “fusion of horizon” Gadamer means that there is a dialogical
process o f interpretation between tradition and current human experiences. In this sense
“life o f the self is fundamentally seen as process o f interpretation” (p. 20). Gerkin
suggests his own understanding of pastoral counseling based on the hermeneutical
perspective as follows:
Pastoral counseling will be seen here as a process of interpretation and

reinterpretation o f human experience within the framework o f a primary
orientation toward the Christian mode o f interpretation in dialogue with
contemporary psychological modes o f interpretation, (p. 20)
By “human experience” Gerkin (1984) here refers to the “living human
document.” This means that, in the processes o f analysis and interpretation o f human
experience, “the depth experience of persons” should have the same authority and right as
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a historical document. In other words, theological expression or interpretation should
not be speculative but should have concrete relevance to the human experience. In this
sense, the experience o f Chong and its descriptions have the authority and right to deliver
some theological implications.
Therefore, it is important to note that “interpretation and reinterpretation o f the
human experience” occur in the context o f the Korean churches when the concept o f
pastoral counseling based on Gerkin’s hermeneutic perspective is applied to the Korean
church. Human experiences, as the object o f interpretation, refer to the experiences o f
Korean Christians that are embodied within the values o f the traditional culture.
Precisely, they are the experiences o f Chong.
From the perspective o f hermeneutics, “the self slowly develops a myth or story
by which all experience is interpreted” (p. 20). If so, Korean Christians can be said to
interpret their lives and experiences through “a myth or story o f Chong." This is already
discovered through the interviews. According to some interviewees, their spiritual
experiences are reinterpreted through their feeling o f Chong (See pages 116-118). In
short, Korean Christians’ understanding o f their experiences and o f Chong is actually
referring to the understanding o f oneself through Chong and o f the story o f their own
lives.
In the processes o f interpreting human experiences through psychology in the
context o f the Western society, there only needs to be a “dialectical interpretation
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process” between the Christian view and the psychological perspective. People’s actual
experiences and the psychological theories that interpret them do not collide with each
other in terms o f values. Psychological theories include Western cultural values because
they have been developed in the Western society. According to Don Browning (1987),
modem psychologies have “religious and moral horizons” (p. 8). In other words, they
actually have “religioethical” values. More specifically, Draguns (1989) says, “The ethos
o f counseling is bound up with certain key features o f American culture: individualism,
egalitarianism, glorification of social mobility and social change” (p. S).
In the process o f interpreting the experiences o f Chong, however, the relationship
between the cultural values of Korean Christians and psychological theories for
interpretation needs attention. In the context o f Korean churches, the quasi-religious or
practical moral values that psychologies implicitly have are different from the cultural
values o f the Korean Christians that need to be interpreted through the psychologies.
Psychology implicitly encourages the values o f individualism such as independence,
autonomy, equality, and social mobility, whereas Korean Christians still hold on to
traditional values such as communalism, hierarchy, harmony, the maintaining o f the
status quo, etc. Therefore, Korean churches should be careful about applying pastoral
counseling methods to the Korean context based on secular psychologies. The methods
o f pastoral counseling in the Korean church context require examination o f the implicit
values o f the modem psychologies and at the same time also require a clear
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understanding o f the traditional values. They then can integrate both different cultural
values from the Christian point o f view.
In this sense, Korean pastors should be an “intercultural person” (Augsburger, p.
13). On the one hand, they should have their own experiences and understanding o f
Chong. Gerkin (1991) claims that the pastor is called upon to represent the tradition o f a
community faithfully and authoritatively. He says, “In certain respects, the pastor is the
embodiment o f that tradition” (p. 42). On the other hand, they should be able to perceive
some implicit values included in the psychologies when they use them to interpret the
experiences of Korean Christians. By doing so, they can then somehow integrate these
psychologies from the Christian perspective.
It is necessary to explicate in more detail the processes o f hermeneutical
interpretation for the pastoral care and counseling in the Korean church context. I will
explain the cultural factors to consider for the hermeneutical processes: radical influences
by modem or post-modem culture, the conflicts between Korean traditional culture and
Western cultural values included in modem psychologies, and the Christian views for the
integration of them.
First, Korean churches should consider the radical impacts by the modem or
post-modern culture on the Korean culture as a whole. Gerkin (1991) describes the
current modem cultural situation as “cultural fragmentation.” More specifically, he says,
‘‘Normative questions remain unquestioned, while decisions are made on pragmatic
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grounds o f expediency and /or under the duress o f economic or social survival
considerations” (pp. 14-15). Therefore, people need to be provided with normative
boundaries for living or “a normative vision o f human life and boundary” (p. 13). Only
when this happens to people will constricting boundaries be broken and “creative
transformation” occur.
Korean people have not been able to consolidate convincing values to maintain
their lives in the midst of radical changes o f social status, liberation from oppression and
exploitation, and material enrichment. In addition, all the pre-existing values o f the
Korean society have been devalued by the impact of the post-modem culture. The
Korean churches should take seriously this contemporary situation in the Korean society.
The traditional cultural values in the Korean society are being changed due to the
influences of the modem culture. Worldwide Internet industry has engendered the hot
wind o f Venture Company, which began breaking the connections o f localism,
schoolism, and blood relations. The Chicago edition o f Hankook Daily News, on March
13, 2000, reports about the appearance o f a full-time househusband in Korea who gave up
his job for his wife who wanted to continue to work even after delivering the baby. The
article says that he actively volunteered to organize a meeting for mothers raising babies
in his neighborhood. The teenagers’ views on marriage and sex have also rapidly changed
and their sense o f moral purity is deteriorating.
All o f such phenomena indicate that the traditional family, which is the
birthplace o f the Korean traditional culture, is being changed. Emotional ties are
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loosened; patriarchy is broken down; authority is challenged; moral sense becomes dull.
Such cultural changes keep demanding the alteration o f traditional values on the one
hand.
On the other hand, cultural changes also caused some reactions. For instance, in
a time o f value conflicts, many people are searching to rediscover a sense o f community
and consensus. Holifield (1983) made a comment that “The realization o f the self
requires a tacit reliance on a communal wisdom that transcends the self’ (p. 313). Self-
realization in the context o f the Korean church cannot be actualized without values o f
communalism. At the same time they should ponder what it means to provide Christian
values for the Korean Christians who are struggling with value conflicts and how to do it.
Carroll Wise’s pastoral care method is primarily meaningful in such a context o f
value fragmentation. For him, pastoral care is “the art o f communicating the inner
meaning o f the Gospel to persons at the point o f their need” for healing or growth through
relationship (Wise, 1966, pp. 67-8). He understood this communication to be deeply
personal and profoundly symbolic; in other words, transpersonal, cultural, and
transcultural (Hinkle, Jr. 1988, p. 189). Therefore, providing the specific meaning o f the
Gospel for Korean Christians is the primary goal to reach to do in the pastoral care and
counseling.
Gerkin (1991) says, “Good pastoral work always entails a dialogical relationship
between the issues and problems involved in the particular human situation at hand and
the core metaphorical values and meanings of Christian history” (p. 19). In other words,
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the pastor must thus be “both an interpreter of the sacred texts o f the tradition and an
interpreter o f the signs o f the times” (p. 42). More specifically, a pastoral counselor
should be able to “appropriate the various techniques o f the secular helping professions
that have sprang up during the twentieth century as models for pastoral work with persons
having difficulty with the stresses and strains o f living in the present society” (p. 15).
The Korean church should have a Christian perspective through which they
should understand and analyze both modem values and traditional values. Oates
describes the correlation as: “the interaction of pastoral counseling with changing
emphasis in psychotherapy constantly correlating the wisdom o f the Hebrew-Christian
tradition” (p. 77). This is a “reappropriation of the Christian language” in a time o f
cultural transition (p. 18).
Secondly, the Korean church should recognize that Western values and traditional
values need to somehow be harmonized with each other. Or, they need to be selectively
or flexibly applied to Korean Christians according to the counseling situation. Draguns
(1989) points out that in the cross-cultural context “different combinations of
socialization, heritage, expectations, and implicit theories o f human nature and
philosophies o f life” are brought into the context o f counseling (p. 9). Pastoral
counseling in the Korean context is cross-cultural in the sense that the values o f the
people who receive the pastoral counseling are different from those who provide the
counseling. Therefore, pastors providing the counseling need to recognize the different
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cultural values in the context o f the counseling and then flexibly interpret and apply
them with a Christian perspective.
For instance, as long as Korean pastors provide Korean Christians with pastoral
counseling based on secular psychologies, they implicitly come to apply or encourage the
values o f individuality, autonomy, and independence. However, Korean Christians have
the values o f Chong. Those are the values o f concession, sacrifice, interdependence,
obedience, cooperation, and commitment and at the same time are characteristic o f
dependency, lack of autonomy, and selfishness. The clashes or conflicts o f these
contradictory values inevitably may occur, if not always, during or after the counseling
processes. Therefore, Korean pastors should selectively offer some specific suggestions
for behavior or attitude changes depending on the situation o f the people who come for
pastoral counseling.
If Korean Christians need to be liberated from the negative aspects o f the
traditional culture, they should somehow be encouraged by Western values. In fact,
Korean Christians need to be liberated from hierarchies, prejudice from tradition, the
yoke o f heteronomy, patriarchy, and authoritarianism. One o f the metaphors o f a pastoral
counsel suggested by Thomas Oden is “liberator” (Oden, 1989, p. 48-70).
In some cases, however, it is necessary to embrace traditional values. For
instance, the understanding o f human beings from the Confucian perspective can be
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integrated from the Christian perspective.72 More specifically, Confucianism
emphasizes “the cultivation o f the mind and heart.” This implies the goodness o f human
nature. This view o f human nature is consistent with that o f humanistic psychology,
which is “optimistic concerning human powers and possibilities” (Hunter, 1995, p. 20).
Therefore, consideration o f the two different values enables the Korean churches to better
understand Korean Christians and then to enhance the efficiency o f pastoral counseling.
Process theology, which is a strong theoretical basis o f pastoral care and
counseling, also has similarities with Confucianism. It provides the ground for pastoral
counseling in terms o f God’s immanent relation to the world: God exists within our
relationships and God is with us. Confucianism then claims that human nature is
imparted from Heaven; the human mind is the principle o f Heaven. Therefore, Heaven
and human beings are not separate from each other but are rather one in nature. In
conclusion, process theology and Confucianism share a commonality about God’s
relation to the world and to human beings in particular. Therefore, the reinterpretation o f
traditional values can smooth the processes o f pastoral counseling, which naturally leads
into the efficient processes o f healing, guiding, sustaining, and reconciling.
In conclusion, integrating the two different value systems is in fact a matter o f
adjusting to the world in which people live. Draguns (1989) summarizes the matter in the
following way: “In coping with the world, all humans respond either autoplastically, by
modifying their behavior to accommodate external circumstances, or alloplastically, by
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imposing changes upon the world at large” (p. 14). The Korean churches should guide
Korean Christians to the path o f adjusting themselves between two different cultural
values.
Lastly, Koreans should realize the self-contradictory aspect o f themselves
psychologically. In the process o f accepting the Gospel, they came to possess the “self-
hating fanaticism” o f denying their traditional values and admitted without critical
reflection the Western cultural values that came with Christianity. Theologically
speaking, the Korean church is against “indigenous theology” that intends to embrace
traditional values and then integrate them into the Christian value system. Self-hating
fanaticism is understandable when considering the essential dynamics o f “conversion”
that one has to negate all the values that one already possesses. However, Korean
Christians do not actually deny the traditional values completely in their mentality,
attitude, and behavior. The combination o f the philosophies through conversion has
resulted in distorted views on the Korean Christians themselves. Therefore, Korean
pastors should be careful about integrating traditional values from the Christian
perspective.
Implications for Pastoral Counseling for the Chdngful Self
The implications for pastoral care and counseling have been discussed broadly
from the cultural point o f view. From now on the theoretical ground and direction for
72 In chapter four, the Confiician understanding of human beings was dealt with.
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pastoral care and counseling will be elaborated on more specifically in consideration of
the findings o f Chong through the interviews.
The Chongful self is characteristic o f mutuality and it lacks independence,
autonomy, and individuality. It has already been mentioned that the Chongful self was
shaped under the Confucian family in which the father’s absolute authority rules. The
methods o f pastoral care and counseling for such a Chongful self should then be not only
the maintaining o f mutuality but also the nurturing of independence and autonomy.73 In
short, the goal or direction of pastoral care and counseling in the context o f the Korean
church will have to be grounded on the sentiment o f Chong and will at the same time,
have to transform it.
Feminist psychology may be a proper theoretical ground for the direction o f
pastoral care and counseling. Feminist psychology has shed some significant insights on
the culture o f Chong. It provides a balanced perspective for the delicate relationship
between interdependence and independence or autonomy, which do not appear to be
compatible. Feminist psychology contends that an individual can maintain independence
and autonomy without losing interdependence or relatedness. This theoretical nature of
feminist psychology seems to be able to not only keep the essential nature o f Chong but
also supplement its negative aspect.
73 Mutuality in the relationships o f Chong may be different from that in the Western society.
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One intriguing feminist perspective is Carol Gilligan’s suggestion. She argues
that moral development is understood from the perspective o f not only “justice” but also
“ care.” By criticizing the psychological theories based on male development, she argues
that we need a new frame o f understanding o f women’s moral development. At the same
time, she suggests that we can have a broader understanding o f human beings by
complementing both views with each other. Likewise, the morality of Chong should be
viewed from both justice and care perspectives. This entails that not only is the strength
o f the morality of Chong (care perspective) emphasized but also its weaknesses (justice
perspective) are elaborated and complemented.
Gilligan (1982), in her book In a Different Voice, presents the outcome o f her
research about women’s moral development and self-understanding. She argues that
most psychological theories are based on male development and thus cannot represent the
development of the human being. She says, “ In this version of moral development,
however, the conception o f maturity is derived from the study o f men’s lives and reflects
the importance o f individuation in their development” (p. 25). She continues that if
women’s development is understood from the perspective o f present psychological
theories, it may result in the conclusion that women are inferior to men. Criticizing
Kohlberg’s moral development theory, Gilligan points out its negative impact on the
understanding of women’s development, “ Yet herein lies a paradox, for the very traits
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that traditionally have defined the “ goodness” o f women, their care for and sensitivity
to the needs o f others, are those that mark them as deficient in moral development” (p.
19).
In addition, Gilligan criticizes theories o f Freud and Piaget as being male-based
theories as they presuppose “ separation” essential for development and maturity. The
male-based theories presuppose that a boy whose sex is different from his mother tends to
separate from his mother. The problem arises when the male-based theory is applied not
only to men but also to women because women’s moral development, according to
Gilligan, is characterized by connection or relatedness.
In sum, Gilligan suggests the “ perspective o f care” in moral development o f
woman. Women are innately much more inclined to relate to, connect with, and provide
care for others. She argues that, therefore, an understanding of women’s moral
development from the perspective o f justice is not appropriate. In the same way, in
regard to the morality o f Chong, it is necessary to understand it from the perspective o f
care, not from that of justice. The characteristics o f Chong described above can tell us
why. If Chong is assessed from the perspective o f justice, Koreans may be regarded as
being dependent and/or inferior in moral development.
According to Jessica Benjamin (1988), a noted feminist and psychoanalyst,
though traditional psychoanalysis has regarded an infant as a passive being, much o f the
recent research about infants’ behavior have shown that an infant is an active being that
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induces his/her mother’s response (p. 16). This understanding that an infant is an active
being, Benjamin argues, requires the change o f the mother’s understanding. The mother
is an “independent being” of the baby, not “the baby’s vehicle for growth, an object o f the
baby’s needs,” as is understood in traditional psychoanalysis (p. 23).
The significance o f “mutual recognition,” which Benjamin suggests, lies in this.
Mutual recognition means “the necessity o f recognizing as well as being recognized” (p.
23). Babies need recognition from mothers and vice versa. Both babies and mothers
need to recognize each other mutually. Therefore, Benjamin posits that mutuality
accompanied by independence and individuality can begin with babies’ recognition o f
mothers as independent beings. She says, “The child has a need to see the mother, too, as
an independent subject” (p. 23). She calls this “intersubjectivity.”74
There may be a practical question o f in what ways babies are able to recognize
mothers as independent beings. Benjamin argues that women should recognize
themselves as independent beings and develop the relationships with their children as
such. Women should develop and maintain the relationships in which their children
regard them as independent beings.
More recently Daniel Stem (1983), a pioneer in infant research, has outlined the
psychological development of intersubjectivity in infancy. He argues that the infant is
74 See, Benjamin, pp. 19-20. “The concept o f intersubjectivity has its origin in the social theory o f Jurgen
Habermas (1970), who used the expression “the intersubjecdvity o f mutual understanding" to designate an
individual capacity and a social domain. The concept is taken as a theoretical standpoint from which the
exclusively intrapsychic conception of the individual in psychoanalysis can be criticized.”
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able to share subjective, especially emotional, experience. For the baby, the ability to
recognize what he has seen before is “self-affirming as well as world-affirming” (Stem,
1985, pp. 92-93). Not only can the baby recognize what he does but also he finds himself
in what he does. It is a mutual recognition between the baby and the world.
Mary Daly (1989) also emphasizes the importance o f mutuality with
intersubjectivity in women’s relationships. She says, “Moreover, a genuine friendship
between any two women develops over a long period o f time, and it requires basic
creative harmony between the friends and a firmness o f commitment to each other” (p.
200). It seems to me that “basic creative harmony” implies the negation o f any factors
that may cause any unequal relationship such as domination, submission, separation,
discrimination, etc.
Catherine Keller (1989) advocates “the ethic o f inseparability.” She claims that
“Interdependence of all things summarizes the content, form, and force o f the vision” (p.
257). Based on Whitehead’s process-relational metaphysic, she argues that “the
interrelatedness of every being o f every other” ought to be recognized and sustained in
conjunction with a doctrine o f “mutual transcendence” (p. 262). “Mutual transcendence”
also seems to imply that the relationship should go beyond any elements that separate the
relationship. This mutuality is what Gilligan (1989) calls the “female structure o f self.”
The relationships between mothers and babies cannot help falling into the pattern
of domination-submission unless the intersubjectivity is formed between them.
Winnicott (1964) points out that “If there is no true recognition o f the mother’s part, then
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there must remain a vague fear o f dependence” (P. 10). Therefore, the absence o f
intersubjectivity inevitably results in the relationships of domination and submission. In
addition, mothers’ love for their children within such relationships is not true love.
Benjamin points out that domination is thus “a twisting o f the bonds o f love” (p. 219).
In this sense, Benjamin also criticizes Hegel’s notion o f reciprocity. According to
her, dialectical relationships in Hegel’s concepts presuppose that “a self has no intrinsic
need for the other, but uses the other only as a vehicle for self-certainty” (p. 33). The self
is “a monadic, self-interested ego” that is essentially posited in classical psychoanalytic
theory. This means that power in the relationship is not balanced; autonomy is neither
nurtured nor encouraged.
The relationships between mother and child in Confiician families are typical o f
the relationships o f domination and submission. Mothers are not recognized as
independent beings because a typical understanding of mothers’ roles is shaped upon the
patriarchal understanding. Women as wives are usually understood as submissive and
cooperative, and helpful and sacrificial as mothers. Such virtues are characteristic o f
supplemental roles or positions at home rather than independent or subjective ones. In
general, when women introduce themselves in Korean society, they do not say their own
names but refer to themselves as “someone’s mother” or “someone’s wife.” As pointed
out earlier, the loss o f individuality or subjectivity is the result of the domination and
submission relationship mainly based upon the fathers’ authority at home.
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Considering what has been said above, pastoral care and counseling in the
Korean churches should begin with and focus on the family ministry. The transformation
o f the negative aspects o f Chong necessarily requires a change in the family that can
nurture independence and individuality. Don Browning (1995) argues that the social
ethics o f interpersonal relationships are essentially shaped in the family. He speaks from
Aristotle’s point o f view—that the family is the birthplace for the formation o f social
ethics. According to Browning, Aristotle believed that “sympathy spreads outward from
particular, embodied, and special family relations” (p. 74). Browning continues to say,
“Empathy and a sense o f social solidarity, for Aristotle, are generalized outward from
particular investments in our own progeny to identification with the wider community”
(p. 74).
Browning finally presents the idea o f the “love ethic o f equal regard” in order to
shape proper ethics. This idea has some significant implications for the dynamics o f the
Korean family. It seems to me that the idea o f the “love ethic o f equal regard” is the
similar and yet more specific expression “intersubjectivity.” The idea entails that people
love each other in equal relationships. Browning then points out that in the meantime,
there should be the process o f sacrificing one’s interest or desires in order to reach the
state o f the “love ethic o f equal regard.”
Interestingly, my findings o f the moral dimensions o f Chong from the interview
research show that sacrifice follows or supercedes mutuality. Mutuality is formed in the
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developing stage of Chong and the relationships o f sacrifice and commitment follow in
its mature stage. In short, the developing pattern o f the Chongful relationships is opposite
to Browning’s understanding o f the “love ethic o f equal regard.” There are some
implications in this.
First, it is to be noted that mutuality in Chongful relationships cannot be identified
with Browning’s understanding o f “equal regard” in relationships. In fact, mutuality in
Chongful relationships is hierarchical in most occasions. Second, the preference o f
commitment and sacrifice to mutuality in Chongful relationships indicates that, whether
the relationships are equal or hierarchical, the Korean culture highly regards and
encourages commitment and sacrifice and demands such virtues. This in turn somehow
seems to stimulate the hierarchical pattern o f the Chongful relationships.
Browning (1983) explains the idea o f the “love ethic o f equal regard” as caritas,
which is the middle concept between agape and eros. He argues that the concept o f
caritas is similar to that o f altruism which sociobiology defines as “ behavior that appears
to sacrifice one’s immediate reproductive advantage but which, in the long run, in fact
contributes reproductive advantage” (Browning, 1992, p. 422). In sociobiology, scholars
argue that altruism is biologically based and then evolves. Based on the idea o f “group
selection” in evolutionism, Sober and Wilson (1998) argue that the human being’s
altruistic behavior, both evolutionarily and psychologically, has evolved. If we follow
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their argument, altruistic behavior should also be nurtured in the family during early
infanthood, as is the case o f the idea of “attachment” by John Bowlby.
Hellwig (1976) presents the idea o f “authentically creative love,” which may be
similar to that o f Browning’s idea of the “love ethic o f equal regard.” Her idea also
supports the idea o f intersubjectivity in that mothers can love their children by nurturing
their individuality, autonomy, and independence without dominating them. She says,
An authentically creative love gives the person a foundation of personal growth

and meaning which is not dependent on possessions (which may be lost), nor
dependent on skills and qualifications (which may be more needed at one time
than another), nor dependent on status that comes from family and other
connections (which indicates that it is not the person as such that is valued, (p. 21)
Hellwig presents the specific conditions to nurture the individuality o f the other.
Personal growth and meaning not depending upon possessions, qualifications, or
connections means recognizing, admitting, and encouraging the independent subject as it
is.
The ministry for family transformation in the Korean context is not probable
without the cultural transformation as a whole in the Korean society. One to one
relationship counseling does not change family dynamics. The family approach may be
more efficient than an individual approach. However, ministry aimed toward family
change should be accompanied by cultural change as a whole. Korean churches should
create a social awareness that women’s position and authority should be recognized as
independent and subjective. A new understanding o f the father’s authority needs to be
suggested. At the social level, the hierarchical interpersonal relationships determined by
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social status and age should be altered. In other words, genuine authority in
interpersonal relationships should be based on the need o f the other and an ability to
satisfy the need.
In order to discuss cultural transformation as a whole, the social implications o f
the relationships between Han and Chong need to be elaborated on. Han is the feeling o f
being oppressed so that its “heart” is broken off o f the outside the world. Chong is,
however, the feeling of being united or uniting with others. Psychologically, they are
contradictory to each other. There are conflicts and tensions between them. It is,
however, not always bad that there are inner conflicts or tensions in the Korean people’s
mind. The Early New Yorkers in the clinical training movement contended that “self-
realization required a struggle with inner chaos” (Holifield, p. 315). Therefore, the inner
conflicts may be able to contribute to the spiritual growth o f the Korean people. This
entails that, in some respects, the purpose of pastoral care may not be the resolution o f the
conflicts between the two but the sustaining of their tensions.
Moreover, Han and Chong's contradictory nature to each other does not
necessarily mean that they are separated or alienated from each other. Rather, they are
interdependent and thus can interact with each other in some ways. Donald Capps’
pastoral method o f “reframing” is useful for understanding the relationships of the two.
His reframing method in terms o f the “wise fool” is necessary: the wise fool “reveres our
customary ways o f perceiving the world and ourselves” (Capps, 1990, p. 170). Capps
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argues that the wise fool “favors” this w ay o f approaching a problem because “he
challenges our propensity for darkness and deception, and dares us to view our situation
from the perspective of truth” (p. 170). This perspective o f reframing enables Korean
pastors to see Han not simply as “the feeling o f being oppressed.” It sees Han and
Chong not as contradictory but as interdependent.
The two psychological sentiments are important not only in their psychological
implications for healing but also for social transformation. The social implications of
Han and Chong can be articulated in terms o f the four virtues in Confucianism:
benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom. It can be speculated that Han and
Chong are eschewed in their moral aspects due to unjust social and cultural circumstances
for so long.
Chong can be said to develop the virtues of benevolence and propriety in that it is
characteristic of relatedness. It has the virtue o f benevolence in that it tends to
sympathize with others, and the virtue o f propriety in that it attempts to maintain the good
relationships with others. However, Chong tends to adjust to and/or compromise with
reality rather than attempting to change any o f negative characteristics. In this sense,
Chong has not been able to develop the virtues o f righteousness and wisdom. It lacks
moral integrity in its relationships and the sense of justice to distinguish right from
wrong. Therefore, Chong lacks the concern and power for social change.
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Han, however, is resentment against injustice and passion for changing the
wrong reality. This aspect o f Han contrasts Chong. Therefore, Han develops the virtue
o f righteousness in that it seeks moral integrity and the virtue o f wisdom and advocates
social justice. Han, however, tends to ignore the heart o f sympathy and regard propriety
as unimportant. It should be noted that the virtues o f righteousness and wisdom do not
simply mean personal characteristics, but behavior accompanied by actual social
participation.
Larry Graham (1995) brings important insight for pastoral care and counseling in
terms o f such social aspects. Graham talks about “relational justice,” which “affirms the
individuality o f the care seeker and brings the caregiver to advocate for the care seeker in
society and culture” (p. 230). This statement includes two important aspects. The first
aspect is to recognize the individuality in counseling. It may be understood as the same
as “intersubjectivity” or the “love ethic o f equal regard.” The second aspect is to improve
the social environment, whether it is family, church, or any other social system, which
inevitably affects the affirmation o f individuality in the context o f the relationships in
pastoral care. In other words, correcting the power imbalance in every aspect o f society
is indispensable. Or, reciprocity regardless o f age and social status is to be secured in
every aspect o f the society. Many changes are occurring in the current Korean society.
For instance, promotion in the company is no longer executed according to age or present
position but according to competency to carry out the job. It is apparent that such
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changes in company policies will contribute to balancing the unjust power imbalance in
other aspects o f the Korean society.
In general, the problem o f the hierarchical care model is that it “reinforces the
exclusion o f those who are caregivers from the act o f caregiving itself’ (Graham, 1992, p.
232). In order to overcome the imbalance o f power in relationships, Carl Schneider
suggests the concept of “synchronicity and beauty.” This model intends to engender “the
harmonious coming together of contending values to create new patterns o f positive
experience” for all parties (p. 263).
According to the results o f the analysis o f the interview data, because power is not
balanced in the relationships o f Chong, it is hierarchical. Hierarchical relationships are
usually the relationships of domination and submission, which bring about dependency,
heteronomy, and a servile spirit. However, hierarchical relationships contributed to the
culture in which the person in the upper position always provides care and sacrifices, with
patience and the person in the lower position always obeys, respects, and follows the
person in the upper position.
The hierarchical relationships in the Korean culture remind us of the original
meaning o f “ministry” in the Old Testament. The word “ministry” originally comes from
“minus,” which can thus be referred to as, “minus-try.” Therefore, ministry describes that
a “lesser” person undertakes an action in the interest of a person or persons understood to
somehow be “greater” (Wharton, 1981, p. 20). In contrast, a “mastery” or “magistry”
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relationship refers to the relationship in which the will o f a “greater” is imposed upon a
“lesser” person as determined by relative rank or power. If so, ministry seems to mean
that the Israelite people (lesser) serve their God (greater). In other words, God’s mode o f
relationship to Israel is “mastery” and not “ministry” because God is sovereign and
worthy o f unqualified praise and adoration in the entire universe.
Wharton, however, contends for the “ministry” o f God toward Israel. The kind o f
service toward Israel exercised by God is not “mastery” but “ministry” in the sense that
“The power by which God creates and sustains all things is inversely attested in the self-
imposed patience and forbearance o f God in the face o f rejection [by the Israelite
people]” (p. 21). Israel rebelled against God, who appears to be weak in the face o f
rebellion. However, “God’s care for Israel derives from self-contained strength, not
weakness” (p. 22). This relationship o f God to Israel somewhat describes the positive
aspect o f the hierarchical relationships of Chong.
As discovered by the interview research, Chong has some positive attributes of
mutuality, sacrifice, commitment, and respecting others. Such good aspects o f Chong
have been the factors contributing to the growth o f the Korean church. They are the
strength o f the Korean church as well. Therefore, pastoral ministry in the Korean church
should maximize these good aspects o f Chong. The growth and power o f church lie in
people’s gathering, sharing, and helping one another.
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Modem culture has in fact been eroding the good traditional values o f Chong.
These days, human relationships in the Korean society seem to be impersonal and
instrumental rather than humane. Reasonable behavior is preferred over the virtues of
sacrifice and commitment. In these modem days, it is necessary to have clear interactions
in interpersonal relationships. However, it is regrettable that such good virtues are
disappearing.
Carl F. George (1992), a specialist in church growth, predicts that the church in
the twenty first century will emphasize the importance of human relationships. This
indicates that there are and will be some reactions to the instrumental aspect o f
interpersonal relationships in the Western society. The Korean church has good spiritual
recourses in this respect. Therefore, they should maintain and develop some methods o f
pastoral ministry to maintain and further stimulate such good aspects o f Chong. Not only
do they have to accept the impacts o f the modem culture in order to challenge and alter
the negative aspect o f Chong, but they also have to protect the good aspects o f Chong
from being damaged by modem culture. The Korean church should be alert lest another
“self-hating fanaticism” should occur. Such direction o f pastoral ministry will enable the
Korean church not only to maintain its continual growth but also demonstrate its genuine
identity.
Chapter Eight
Conclusion
The author’s motivation for the Korean church to have a model for pastoral
counseling considering traditional Korean cultural values, has made the author choose
Chong as a theme to study in this dissertation. The desire to relate Chong and the growth
o f the Korean church has resulted in this study o f the Chongful relationships within the
lives o f Korean Christians’ in the church through interview methodology. According to
the results o f the interviews, it is fair to say that from the cultural point o f view, Chong is
an important sentiment that contributes to the growth of Korean churches. However, the
more important discovery from the interview research is that church lives as a whole in
contexts such as interpersonal relationships, meetings and activities, interpersonal
interactions, and their understandings of their Christian lives are embedded with and
influenced by Chong. The results o f the interview research demonstrate that the Korean
Christians’ spiritual lives are shaped in the culture o f Chong.
Therefore, this study has confirmed the author’s initial conviction that the model
o f pastoral care and counseling for Korean Christians should take into account Korean
cultural values. Also, based on the findings from the interviews, the implications for
pastoral care and counseling in the context o f the Korean church weres roughly
elaborated on. However, what the model should be is not suggested in this dissertation.
280
281
It is, however, suggested that deeper research about Chong and the relevant theories be
prepared to do so.
Value of the Study
The significance o f this dissertation must be laid out in several points. First, it is
important that the idea o f Chong is first introduced to the theological circle. There are
very few academic studies about Chong and no study o f it is done in English. As far as I
know, this dissertation may be the first study o f Chong done in the area of theology. It is
especially meaningful to introduce the idea o f Chong in situations where only Han is
generally known. Han has been introduced to many people in the theological circle
because o f Minjung theology. Therefore, this study o f Chong will be able to provide a
more objective and clearer understanding o f Korean people, Korean churches and Korean
church growth in particular.
Secondly, it is valuable that this dissertation was able to describe Chong grounded
upon raw materials from the culture of Chong rather than from academic studies o f
Chong. I could not help but completely rely upon the material written in Korean because
there is no material in English. Moreover, because there were few academic studies
about Chong, I had to use “nontechnical literature” such as novels, poems, soap operas,
and Korean popular music. Using such “nontechnical materials” enables me to depict the
282
original and genuine aspects o f Chong as it is instead o f using the “technical literature”
about the analysis or interpretation o f Chong which are secondary.
Thirdly, this dissertation employs the qualitative research method. A few studies
about Chong so far were all done by the quantitative method. The other studies include
essays about Chong or articles reviewing some literature about Chong. These studies
thus could not but deal with Chong partially. In this sense, Korean scholars may not have
felt that it was necessary to study the holistic picture of Chong because they constantly
feel and experience it in their daily lives. Or it may be due to the fact that the qualitative
research method has not become popular in the Korean academic circle. Therefore, it is
meaningful that Chong is studied in this dissertation through the in-depth interview
method which is basically qualitative research.
Fourthly, through the analysis o f the interview data, it has been discovered that
Chong and attachment according to John Bowlby are of same nature at least in terms o f
adult interpersonal relationships. It is valuable that Chong as a particular aspect o f the
Korean culture is found to be essentially grounded upon the universal psychological
quality o f human beings: attachment. Yet Chong still becomes a distinctive Korean
cultural element distinguished from other cultures due to the social and cultural
influences. I pointed out that these influences are the Confiician family culturally;
socially they are sociopolitical sufferings over a long period o f time.
283
Fifthly, it was not only a defect but also a merit that the object o f the interview
research was the Chongful relationships within the church. As was discovered in the
research, Chong essentially has a personal dimension. Therefore, the study o f the
Chongful relationships in the church naturally excludes other personal relationships
outside the church. This limits exploring the deep aspects of the personal dimension o f
Chongful relationships. However, studying the relationships o f Chong in the church was
able to illumine the social dimension o f Chong beyond its personal dimension. The
meaning o f Chong in the context o f the community, whether positive or negative, was
illumined. As a result, this study could demonstrate that Chong is not simply a
psychological element but also a factor influencing the Korean Christians’ behavior and
community.
Lastly, it was a meaningful endeavor to attempt to compare and integrate Chong
and Han. Seemingly, they are contradictory. However, they are interdependent and
supplementary with each other psychologically and theologically as well. They are
interdependent simply by existing separately; they can supplement their defects through
each other. I believe that this paradoxical relationship will be able to contribute to the
spiritual maturity o f the Korean church in the future psychologically and theologically.
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Limitations of the Study
This dissertation, however, has some limitations as well. First, Chong in Korea
generally refers to that o f couples, between parents and children, and friends. This
implies that the study o f Chong should be done separately according to each type o f
relationship o f Chong. Such a study would be able to describe Chong more broadly and
specifically. Also, the study would make it possible to compare the particularities o f each
type o f relationship o f Chong. In fact, in this dissertation, the study o f Chong only
involves the Chongful relationships in the church. The boundary o f the interviews is
limited to the Chongful relationships within the church.
Secondly, interview questions have also been properly arranged in that some
attributes o f Chong and Christian faith are not clearly distinguished. If the questions had
been able to distinguish Christian faith from the good virtues o f Chong, a more genuine
picture o f Chong could have been available. Of course, it may not be necessary or
possible to distinguish them from each other. That is why it is said earlier that the study
of Chong in the non-Christian context should have been done first.
Further Studies of Chdng in the Future
This dissertation leaves several tasks to be pursued in the future. First, the study
o f Chong should be done purely from the perspective o f culture. Especially classifying
the relationship o f Chong according to a particular type of relationship can engender a
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deeper and broader understanding o f Chong. For instance, Chong between couples,
between parents and children, between close friends, and between colleagues in a
company or institution are candidates as the objects o f the study. In addition, each
relationship can be classified according to the combination of gender or hierarchical
positions, personal backgrounds, etc.
Secondly, many quantitative methodologies to study Chong need to be developed
in order to study Chong. It has been discovered that Chong includes the element of
attachment at least in adult relationships. As many quantitative methods for attachment
relationships have been developed, it is probable and valuable to develop some
quantitative methods to study many respects o f Chong. Not only is it valuable for
developing the methods itself but it can also be a theoretical ground to develop a model
o f pastoral care and counseling for Korean Christians. If such methods are developed,
they can be used for cross-cultural studies. For instance, the difference between the two
different cultures can be compared in terms o f intimate interpersonal relationships.
Thirdly, the relevance between the early family environment and the pattern o f the
Chongful relationship in adults can be studied. In this dissertation, each interviewee’s
early relationship with his/her parents was briefly described. The dissertation does not
intend to discover any relevance between the Chongful relationship and the early
relationship with the parents. There was only one interviewee who clearly demonstrates
this relevance. However, it may be meaningful to focus on this relevance in the study o f
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Chong. This study would be able to tell whether the interaction with the parents or the
entire dynamics in the Confucian family may decisively affect the patterns o f the
interpersonal relationship.
Fourthly, it may be very valuable to study the relationship between Confucianism
and psychology. This dissertation demonstrates that Confucianism can provide many
insights for modem psychological theories. Many aspects o f the understandings o f
human beings in Confucianism are important subjects in modem psychological theories.
Hopefully, a more thorough study of Confucianism from the perspective o f psychology
may be able to establish the ground of “Oriental Psychology,” if there can be such a
thing. “Oriental Psychology” may become the theoretical ground for the model o f the
pastoral care and counseling for Korean Christians.
The Bible in itself includes Hebrew and Hellenistic cultures. There have been
controversies about the issues o f culture for the two thousands years o f Church history.
“The Gospel and church find themselves interacting within culture” (Schreirter, p. 23). In
other words, the essence o f the Gospel neither refuses culture nor accepts it without a
critical attitude but admits it with its transforming power.
Theological discussions regarding culture, however, have not been freely allowed
in the Korean church. They are still passive about this matter because they still hold on
to conservative evangelical theology. Self-hating fanaticism has prevented them from
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integrating their own cultural values theologically. They are therefore not ready to
actively accept any transformative ideas regarding their traditional culture.
In conclusion, this dissertation was an endeavor to discover the genuine identity o f
Korean Christians. This dissertation has attempted to define what values they have come
to possess culturally throughout their church history of little over one hundred years. At
this moment, as this dissertation is concluded, it is carefully suggested that it may be fair
to call Korean Christians “Confucian Christians” to some extent. It is the author’s
conviction that a clear understanding o f their identity from the perspective o f culture is
important. Only when they have such a clear understanding of their own Christian
identity, can they establish appropriate and powerful values that can transform the world
in this modem context of cultural fragmentation. In addition, Korean Christians’ genuine
identity will become the ground upon which they can proceed toward the twenty-first
century which has just begun.
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Appendix A
I. Questions for Interview
1. With whom have you experienced Chong most during your ministry (or
during your church lives)? And tell me about your experience o f Chong with
him or her.
2. Can you tell me about any particular incident that can point out your
relationship o f Chong with him or her?
3. Can you tell me about your experience wherein you cannot avoid doing
something because o f Chong, willingly and/or reluctantly?
4. When have you felt embarrassed in a relationship because o f Chong?
5. Do you think that Chong is important or good for relationships in the church?
If so, in what ways? If it is the opposite, why?
6. How much do you think Chong is important in your ministry or in your
church lives?
7. What do you think Chong is?
299
Appendix B
Letter to the participant
Greetings in the name o f our Lord, Jesus.
You have been given this letter because your participation in my dissertation
research will contribute to further growth and maturity o f the Korean Christians. I am
trying to interview people who identify themselves as Koreans who know and experience
the sentiment of Chong and are willing to share their experience o f Chong with me. The
interview will continue for one or two hours and the conversation will be private and the
protection of your identity and confidentiality assured.
The focus o f my investigation is on how Korean Christians feel, understand,

experience Chdng, and behave according to Chong in the church. I believe that the
experience o f Chong is very complicated; it has not only positive but also negative
aspects as well.
My interest in the dimension o f Chong in Korean Christians emerges from my

own experience as a Korean Christian and from the studies I am currently pursuing in
Pastoral Psychology in the Joint Ph.D. Program in Religious Studies at Garrett-
Evangelical Theological Seminary and Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
The focus o f my interest is on the role o f Chong in the church; I believe that the
sentiment of Chong is often a basis for religious devoutness, sharing, caring, obedience to
the pastor, dedication to God, commitment to church activities, sacrifice for church, etc.
Chong, however, has also brought about negative phenomena such as ethical
insensibility, grouping, and church splits. I am certain that the study o f Chong will
enable us to discover the genuine identity o f ourselves as Korean Christians and to grow
mature spiritually by encouraging the positive aspects and correcting the negative ones.
Thank you for your consideration o f participating in this study. May you know
God’s blessings o f grace and peace in your family and church lives.
Sincerely,
Kyoo Hoon Oh
300
Appendix C
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301
Appendix D
Consent Form for Participation In Research
The results o f this research project on dimensions of Chong in Korean Christians

will be reported in a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment for Ph.D. requirements at
Northwestern University Joint Ph.D. program in Religious Studies with Garrett-
Evangelical Theological Seminary. As such, it becomes a document available to the
public. However, participation will be confidential.
As is explained in the letter sent to you before interview, you will be asked to
participate in one extended conversation of one or two hours, for the purpose o f exploring
the ways you feel, understand, and experience Chong, and the behavior according to it.
The research project is a largely descriptive study and requires an accurate record
o f responses. Therefore, the interviews will be tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim.
These transcriptions will be confidentially analyzed by the researcher. At the conclusion
o f the study all tapes will be erased. Unused portions o f the transcripts will be kept in my
personal locked files. The dissertation report will include brief biographical sections,
descriptions o f experiencing Chong, and significant portions o f the transcripts. To further
protect your confidentiality, anonymous names will be used and you will be identified
only by general category such as your age, sex, profession, denomination, and status in
the church. Every effort will be made to protect confidentiality as outlined in this form.
There is no substantial risk associated with our participation in the interview;
however, some o f the questions may be disturbing or embarrassing. The
researcher/interviewer is sensitive to the potentially disturbing feelings that may arise in
response to exploring the outlined questions. Participants may end the conversation or
withdraw from the study at any time without penalty. Benefits o f the study to the
participant include the opportunity to explore his/her own experiences o f relationship of
Chong.
Your signature on this form indicates willingness to participate in this
investigation o f the understanding, experience, and behavior o f Chong and permission to
use your responses in the dissertation report, as well as in any possible publication o f
these results. Signed Consent Forms will be retained in the personal records o f the
research.
I agree to participate in the study outlined above.
Participant’s Signature Researcher’s

Signature
Date
302
Appendix E
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Dimensions o f Chong in Korean Christians

Korean churches are characterized paradoxically by remarkable growth and

between people through a long period o f time.”

The Korean Christians’ interpersonal relationships within their church lives

been studied as a theoretical foundation. Qualitative in-depth interviewing methods were

theory identified by West and Sheldon-Keller.

in developing the pastoral care model for the Korean churches.

Advisor Dr. Kenneth Vaux Signature

generous consideration, timely advice, and indispensable comments. I am also grateful

appreciate that he always approached me in a pastoral way, which was encouraging

I cannot help but express my words o f thanks to Lakeview Korean Presbyterian

II. Theological Framework 15

III. Korean Church 25

V. Research Methodology 106

VI. Research Findings 120

VII. Implication for Pastoral Care, Ministry, and Counseling 226

VIII. Conclusion 280

within the hundred years since the inception o f Christianity.'

Korea.2 Howard (1988) makes an interesting comment on this matter:

also on a smaller scale—among individual churches. According to the author’s survey

Korean people as follows:

out-groups that then causes conflicts against each other.

who are not emotionally tied by saying, “They have no Chong."

commitment to and sacrifice for the church.

Economic growth is usually accompanied by the loss o f traditional values due to

industrialization and urbanization. It is no wonder that Korean people have unwittingly

Confucianism. A consequence is that formerly non-familial close interpersonal

between non-familial members.

remarkable growth o f Korean churches in the twentieth century. Instead o f developing

an indigenous theology, Koreans have clung to a westernized basis for theological

reflection. Without an indigenous theological perspective the growth o f the Korean

conflicted marriages, working with problems in child rearing and adolescence,

engagement with ministries directed towards the needs o f its members.

articulated, it will be difficult for the Korean church to be intentional in contributing to

In conclusion, this study reflects an attempt to investigate the dynamic of church

aspects o f church growth and the development of Korean Christians.

o f Korean church growth and divisiveness. By providing Chdng as an object of

in the twenty-first century. As an analogy, Minjung theology, which is based on the

A second objective is to emphasize Chong as a particular spiritual strength that is

Carl F. George (1992, p. 64-65), a well-known writer about church growth,

A third objective is to provide theological reflection on the effectiveness o f

traditional cultural factors.

The Korean church therefore needs to do theology in a manner which can

or endogenization (Dunn, 1988). And finally, Koreans need an indigenous theology: to

meanings to them. Specificity among these cultural sentiments is Chong.

enable it to prepare a path to a transformation o f culture through Christ, and to make a

Significance of the Study

Although Chong is a prevailing common idea or sentiment in the Korean culture,

empirical research methods or employ “quantitative” research methods. Though these

employs a qualitative research method.

The core o f the dissertation is to introduce Chong and to study it theologically.