Donghak's humanistic egalitarianism

By Choe Chong-dae

I recently read “Donggyeong-Daejeon” (The Great Scripture of Eastern Learning) vol. 1, “I am Korean,” and vol. 2, “We are haneu-nim” (meaning “god” for the Donghak, or “Eastern Learning,” philosophy), with great enthusiasm. The two volumes were written by Dr. Do-ol Kim Yong-ok, a popular Korean philosopher.

“Donghak” (Eastern Learning), referred to by some as Korea's first and most influential indigenous, modern religion, was a school of thought and movement that called for equality, justice and social reform to benefit the oppressed, while opposing the corrupt and unjust late Joseon Kingdom.

Donghak, which later became “Cheondo-gyo” (Religion of the Heavenly Way), was established by Choe Je-u (1824-1864) in 1860 in Gyeongju. He was a disenfranchised and disillusioned scholar-aristocrat who was better known by his pen name, Su-un.

Similar to Socrates' teaching that "all human beings are equal in the most fundamental sense,” the basic beliefs of the Donghak philosophy promote humanistic egalitarianism and oppose any form of discrimination. This revolutionary religious and social worldview provided a desperate people at the end of the Joseon era with a new sense of dignity, with a corresponding compassion for their fellow humans and a respect for all creation.

Due to the growing popularity of Donghak teaching, the Joseon Kingdom executed Su-un in 1864, on charges of misleading the people and sowing social discord. Following Su-un's death, Choe Si-hyeong (known as Hae-wol) assumed the leadership of the dispersed Donghak organization.

“The Great Scripture of Eastern Learning” was written by Su-un himself during his four-year ministry (1860-1864). Su-un is uncommon in world religious history. There have been few religious teachings written by religious founders themselves. Jesus and the Buddha did not write anything that we know of. The world's major religious scriptures and teachings were memorized and transmitted orally from generation to generation before they were inscribed.

Su-un was not only the founder of Korea's first indigenous religion. He was also a prominent writer, a poet, an inspirational social leader and a pioneer of democracy. He lived a life consistent with his teaching of the innate dignity and equality of all humans, irrespective of their caste, social status, lineage, gender, age or education.

Significantly, he freed his servants and returned them to their parents. He adopted one young servant girl and arranged for his son to marry another. These actions were truly revolutionary in Joseon-era feudal society. Donghak's tenets are comparable to Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of January 1863.

The followers of Donghak played a pioneering role in leading the Donghak Peasant Revolution in 1894 against the unjust social conditions of the late Joseon Kingdom, as well as in the March 1 Independence Movement against Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945) in 1919.

The “Donggyong-Daejeon” is comprised of four major sections: “Podeok-mun” (Propagating Virtue), “Nonhakmun” (On Truth), “Sudeok-mun” (Cultivating Virtue), “Bulyeon-giyeon” (The Principle of What Is Not and What Is), and many instructive poems. It was originally written in Chinese characters for scholarly readers who favored classical literature. However, aware that the general population did not know Chinese characters, Su-un composed the “Yongdam-yusa” in vernacular Korean, using Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, which was read by more people.

Many foreign scholars have undertaken research on Donghak intensively. They have introduced the Korean native religion abroad in their writings. Some of these texts include: “Korea” by Wacław Sieroszewski in 1903, the “Religions of Old Korea” by Charles A. Clark in 1931, “Reform, Rebellion and the Heavenly Way” by Benjamin B. Weems in 1964, “The Donghak” (Eastern Learning) Movement and Chondo-gyo Scripture by Susan Shin in 1978, and “Su-un and His World of Symbols: The Founder of Korea's First Indigenous Religion” by Paul Beirne in 2009.

The Donghak text was loved and valued by former Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun. Inspired by Donghak's humanistic egalitarianism, in which “all humans are Heaven,” I hope that we elect a righteous leader who will honor and live by Donghak's formative principles in the upcomoing March 9 presidential poll.

Choe Chong-dae (choecd@naver.com) is a guest columnist of The Korea Times. He is the president of Dae-kwang International Co., and the director of the Korean-Swedish Association.