Korea's religious fundamentalism

By Jason Lim

When you think of the Korean Independence Movement of early 20th Century, you usually think of the March 1st Movement in which tens of thousands of everyday Koreans rose up simultaneously across the country waving the newly created Korean flag in defiance of their Japanese masters. Or you think of the independence fighters in Manchuria winning key battles against units of the Imperial Japanese army against incredible odds. Of course, you can’t leave out An Jung-geun shooting dead Ito Hirobumi, the first Japanese Resident-General of Korea in Harbin. An is still celebrated as a quintessential Korean hero even to this day, while the Japanese, understandably, mostly view him as a terrorist.

What you don’t think of is a religious movement. No, I am not speaking of the religious leaders who originally signed the declaration of independence as a prelude to the March 1st Movement. I am speaking of Daejonggyo, the indigenous religion that was “rediscovered” by Nacheol. Originally called the “Dangun Religion” after the mythical god-king of the proto-Korean kingdom of Ancient Joseon, Daejonggyo sought to recall the Korean people to a “Golden Past” characterized by “Hongik Ingan” and “Jaesae Ewha,” which can be generally translated as “One who benefits all” and “What happens in heaven shall occur on earth.” These two phrases are still touted as core values of the Korean people and taught in all history and civics classes. Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven, anyone?

What’s interesting about Daejonggyo was that it was created to support a militant, independence movement. If we take the aphorism that one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter at face value, Daejonggyo was the faith-based platform upon which Korean religious fundamentalists based their terrorist activities (from the ruling Japanese perspective). This is not entirely dissimilar to the Middle Eastern fundamentalist Muslim terrorist groups that we are familiar with today.

What’s different in Korea’s case, however, was that the religion didn’t exist before the militant resistance movement. It was created afterwards as a tool to shape a cohesive social identity that would be strong enough to tie together and motivate the Korean independence fighters against Japanese rule. And it was wildly successful, with a vast majority of the independence fighters in Manchuria identifying themselves as followers of Daejonggyo.

True, the spiritual myth of Dangun and the golden age of his wise rule based on ethical precepts were generally known at the time. However, Nacheol built a religious construct around a creation myth that he used to shape an ethnocentric social identity that would give birth to a national social consciousness that undergirds the Korean nation to this day.

You will see this on October 3rd when the whole country celebrates the Nation Founding Day, also known as the Heaven’s Opening Day. It’s known as such because it’s supposed to commemorate the day that Dangun’s father, Hwanwoong, came down to earth from heaven and began his sacred rule. Hwanwoong is the one who bade the tiger and bear to stay in a cave for 40 days subsisting only on mugwort and garlic. The tiger failed but the bear succeeded and turned into a woman that Hwanwoong married and Dangun was born, the founder of the first Korean nation.

But building a national social identity on what amounts to a religious fundamentalist movement – albeit a purposefully constructed one – has lingering consequences in shaping the Korean people’s tendencies in how they view the world. More accurately, how they view themselves in the world.

Korean’s view themselves as homogenous and pure people constantly besieged by outsiders seeking to corrupt their purity. This is a typical fundamentalist characteristic and leads to the belief that they are constantly under threat. Life becomes a struggle between good and evil, a simple binary that has been reinforced by South Korea’s existential struggle against the North. When every struggle is viewed as Manichaean, then a society will have problems coming to terms on even small issues because it’s not about the substance of the issue; it’s about ensuring that good conquers evil. It literally becomes a religious struggle. Modern Korean politics, anyone?

Further, a fundamentalist outlook necessarily demands an authoritative interpreter of God’s words to act as a leader. This prophet is almost always charismatic and authoritarian, demanding obedience. Despite being democratic, Korea’s political history is dominated by strong personalities that bend the political system to their will, rather than being constrained by it. This is also the case in Korea’s corporate history where the founders and chairmen are treated more like spiritual leaders with special powers rather than businessmen.

Religious fundamentalism also goes hand in hand with nationalism since living according to God’s will can only be done in a nation with like-minded people. This naturally leads to a tendency to be ethnocentric nationalists with a strong isolationist streak who view foreigners with strong suspicion. Although America’s strong influence over South Korea for the last 70 years has toned down these tendencies, you can see them in full bloom just north of the border.

Jason Lim is a Washington, D.C.-based expert on innovation, leadership and organizational culture. He has been writing for The Korea Times since 2006. Reach him at jasonlim@msn.com, facebook. com/jasonlimkoreatimes or @jasonlim2012.