Resisting and Transforming: Pastoral Theology and Care of Korean Military Wives

<p>Korean military wives have been symbolized as "dirty," "nothing," and "evil" by Koreans, Korean Americans, and their American families. They also experience same level of oppression and discrimination within Korean American congregations. In Korea, the women suffered poverty, sexual violence, and Confucian gender discrimination. They have also experienced racial and sexual oppression, intercultural familial conflicts and violence, and identity crisis in America. All of those experiences are caused the sense of not belonging of Korean military wives.</p> <p>The sense of not belonging and desperation can be explained well by Andrew Sung Park's theology of <em>han</em>. The theology of<em> han</em> shows the<em> han</em> of the women can be resolved only as the offender are willing to stand in the solidarity with Korean military wives. Asian feminist theologians point out that Asian women experience God as life-giving power and ultimately seek to the full humanity in the image of God. Meanwhile, liberation psychology focuses on the socio-political aspects of human psychology. It argues that the primary purpose of psychology in Latin America should make Latin Americans critically confront of the oppressive and dominant social and political realities.</p> <p><em>Conscientization</em> plays a critical role in developing my thesis. To practice of resistance and transformation, the process of<em> conscientization</em> is essential both to Korean American congregations and to Korean military wives. To Korean American congregations, they need to critically reflect upon their privilege, power, and unjust socio-cultural and religious structures. Korean military wives need to confront their <em>han</em>ful life realities and proclaim their full humanity in the image of God.</p> <p>Under the communal contextual approach of pastoral theology and care, I propose three pastoral strategies of Korean military wives: (1) Korean American congregations should be authentic resisting and transforming community, which is grounded in God's justice and life-giving power. (2) Korean American congregations need the power of <em>de-powering</em> and <em>de-centering of</em> power systems toward converting power abuse into creative power. Korean military wives also need to rediscover and develop pre-existing but unnoticed power or capacity within themselves. (3) Korean American congregations work together with Korean military wives to resist social injustice through transforming actions.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Year dc:date.available

2008

Author dc:creator

• Chang, Bocheol

Contributors dc:contributor

• Carrie Doehring, Ph.D.
• Larry Graham
• Richard Clemmer-Smith

• Communal contextual paradigm of pastoral theology
• Korean American congregation
• Korean military wives
• Metaphor of living human web and cell
• Pastoral care
• Pastoral theology
• Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion
• Social Psychology

Statement dc:rights

• <p>Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.</p>

Language dc:language

en

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/119

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.du.edu:etd-1118