poems by Jung Ho-seung

Literary Christology in South Korea

Course Description
This course deals with a cultural moment during which literature, politics, and religion intersected in
reaction to the oppressive rule of the South Korean state in the 1970s and 80s. Many literary works in
1970s and 80s South Korea implicitly and explicitly invoked the image of Jesus. Often, they offered
thinly veiled social commentary on political and economic inequality and injustice resulting from rapid
industrialization and urbanization under authoritarian rule. By paying especial attention to the recurring
image of Jesus as rather an impotent and weak figure than the incarnation of omnipotent and omnipresent
divinity in 1970s and 80s South Korean literary texts, the course explores what aspects of Christianity
resonate with the concerns of writers and poets, and society in general under oppressive rule.
Course Requirements
Announcements concerning writing assignments, a final paper, and other course requirements will
be made in class. It is your responsibility to keep informed of such instructions. There will be no
excuse accepted if you fail to satisfactorily fulfill any of the course requirements due to your
negligence.
Attendance and Participation: 20%
Writing assignments: 30% (1-2 pages, double-spaced, Time New Roman 12)
Mid-term exam: 20%
Final Take-home Exam due on Mar. 21 (8–10 Pages, double-spaced, Time New Roman 12): 30%
(1) Class discussion is an integral part of the course.
You are required to complete assigned reading before coming to class and actively participate in
class discussion.
(2) Writing assignments:
Starting from January 17, you are required to submit a hard copy of your writing assignment at
the beginning of each class session on Tuesday and Thursday except for Jan. 24, Jan. 29, and
Jan. 31. It is important for you to submit your writing assignments punctually. In the writing
assignment, you present two questions about assigned reading materials. When only one reading
material is assigned, you are required to come up with two questions about it. When more than
two reading materials are assigned, you should choose two texts among them and come up with
one question about each text. The two questions should be formulated in the ways in which they
address the main points of the assigned texts in relation to the theme of the course. For each
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question, you are also required to provide a brief explanation for the reason why you think it is
important.
(3) In addition, you are required to take a mid-term exam and submit a final term paper.
Further instructions will be given in class.
Readings
The following book is available for purchase at the bookstore.
Yi, Mun-yol. Son of Man (Champaign: Dalkey Archive Press, 2015)
A library copy of the book has been put on reserve at Langson Library.
The reading materials listed below are available for download in a folder named “reading materials” at
https://canvas.eee.uci.edu/courses/14297/files .
An, Byung-mu. “Minjok, Minjung, Church.” In Reading Minjung Theology in the Twenty-First
Century: Selected Writings by Ahn Byung-Mu and Modern Critical Response, eds. Yung Suk
Kim and Jin-Ho Kim (Pickwick Publications, 2013): 91-97.
Bauckham, Richard. “‘Only the Suffering God Can help’: Divine Passibility in Modern
Theology,” Themelios 9:3(1984): 6-12.
Caputo, John D. “God without Sovereignty” in John D. Caputo, The Weakness of God
(Indiana University Press, 2006): 24-41.
Caputo, John D. “St. Paul on the Logos of the Cross” in John D. Caputo, The Weakness
of God (Indiana University Press, 2006): 42-54.
Cumings, Bruce. Korea’s Place in the Sun (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997): 299-393.
Cumings, Bruce. “Introduction” in Kee Jai-eui, Kwangju Diary: Beyond Death, Beyond the
Darkness of the Age (UCLA Asia Institute, 1999): 8-35.
Jeong Ho-seung. “Seoul’s Jesus.” In A Letter Not Sent, trans. Brother Anthony of Taizé (Seoul
Selection, 2016): 50-55.
Jeong Ho-seung. “Crosses by Night.” In A Letter Not Sent, trans. Brother Anthony of Taizé
(Seoul Selection, 2016): 208-211
Jeong Ho-seung. “The Last Supper.” In A Letter Not Sent, trans. Brother Anthony of Taizé (Seoul
Selection, 2016):272-273.
Kim, Chiha. The Gold-Crowned Jesus and Other Writings, eds. Chong Sun Kim and Shelly
Killen (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1978): 85-131
Kim, Chiha. “A Declaration of Conscience” in The Gold-Crowned Jesus and Other Writings, eds.
Chong Sun Kim and Shelly Killen (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1978): 13-39
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Kim, Chiha. “The Story of a Sound” in The Columbia Anthology of Modern Korean Poetry, ed.
David R. McCann (Columbia University Press, 2004): 212-223.
Kim Chŏnghwan. Selected Poems.
Kim, Jun-tae. “Oh, Kwangju! The Cross of Our Nation!”
https://jaypsong.wordpress.com/2012/05/06/oh-gwangju-the-cross-of-our-nation-by-kim-jun-tae/
Moltmann, Jürgen. “The Crucified God,” Theology Today 31:6(1974): 6-18.
Park, Myung-Lim. “The Cheya.” In The Park Chung Hee Era, eds. Byung-Kook Kim & Ezra F.
Vogel (Harvard University Press, 2011): 373-400.
Suh, Namdong. “Toward the Theology of Han,” in Minjung Theology: People of the Subject of
History, ed. The Comission on Theological Concerns of the Christian Conference of Asia (Orbis
Books, 1981): 55-69.
Sunoo, Harold Hakwon. “The Story of Kim Chi Ha”
https://worldview.carnegiecouncil.org/archive/worldview/1976/06/2697.html/_res/id=File1/
Underwood, Jean W. “An American Missionary’s View.” In Contentious Kwangju: The May 18
Uprising in Korea’s Past and Present, eds. Gi-Wook Shin and Kyung Moon Hwang (Rowman &
Littlefield, 2003)
Yi, Cheong-jun, “The Abject” in Yi Cheong-jun, Two Stories from Korea, trans. Jennifer M. Lee
and Grace Jung (Merwin Asia, 2016): 43-85.
Class Schedule
Week 1
Jan. 8 Orientation
Jan. 10 Cumings_Korea’s Place in the Sun (p. 299-p. 336)
Week 2
Jan. 15 Cumings_Korea’s Place in the Sun (p. 337-p. 393)
Jan. 17 Park_The Cheya
Week 3
Jan. 22 Sunoo_The Story of Kim Chiha/Kim_A Declaration of Conscience
Jan. 24 Jae Ho Kang’s talk (HG1010)
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Week 4
Jan. 29 Mid-term exam review
Jan. 31 Mid-term exam
Week 5
Feb. 5 Kim_Gold-Crowned Jesus
Feb. 7 Moltmann_The Crucified God/Bauckham_Only Suffering God Can Help
Week 6
Feb. 12 Ahn_ Minjok, Minjung, and Church/ Suh_Toward the Theology of Han/Kim_The Story
of a Sound
Feb. 14 Yi_Son of Man (v-79)
Week 7
Feb. 19 Yi_Son of Man (79-172)
Feb. 21 Yi_Son of Man (172-242)
Week 8
Feb. 26 Cumings_Kwangju Diary_Intro
Feb. 28 Underwood_An American Missionary’s View/ Kim_Oh, Kwangju! The Cross of Our
Nation!
Week 9
Mar. 5 Yi_The Abject /Kim_Selected Poems/ /Jeong_Selected Poems
Mar. 7 Caputo_God without Sovereignty
Week 10
Mar. 12 Caputo_St. Paul on the Logos of the Cross
Mar. 14 Review for the Term Paper