Donghak and 'Seohak'

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Opinion

Wed, November 29, 2023 | 07:13

Thoughts of the Times

Donghak and 'Seohak'

Posted : 2023-03-15 16:50

Updated : 2023-03-15 16:50

By Choe Chong-dae

Catholicism (Western learning) took root in China through the devotion of Matteo Ricci, an Italian priest. While serving as a missionary in China from 1583 to 1610, he played a significant role in introducing both the Catholic faith and European culture to China. Notably, he authored the book "De Deo Verax Disputatio," or "Cheonjusili," a true disputation about God. It depicts connecting Christian doctrine with Chinese culture and could be a good example of bringing the message of Christianity to the Chinese people. The book was translated into Chinese and brought to Korea for use as an introduction to Catholicism during the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom.

The first two Korean priests, Andrew Kim Dae-geon (1821-46) and Thomas Choe Yang-eop (1821-61) studied Christian theology and imbibed Western civilization together in Macau before returning to Korea as priests. After his return to Korea, Kim was sacrificed as a martyr in 1846 at the age of 25.

Several years after Kim's return, Choe entered Korea and served as a priest for more than a decade before passing away from exhaustion. During his missionary work in Korea, Choe played a significant role in transmitting Catholicism to Korea, including translating important Catholic texts. Choe was also instrumental in bridging East and West in another important way. He devoted himself to the development of the liturgy, catechism and theology of the Korean Church by composing liturgical hymns with popular traditional Korean melodies and translating a catechism and a prayer book from Chinese text.

Notably, both Kim and Choe wrote approximately 20 letters in Latin about the turbulent situation in Korea to the French priests who had educated them. Currently, English translations of both sets of letters have been made by Brother Anthony, emeritus professor at Sogang University. The publication, "Evidence of Sweat," shed light on the life of Choe and his pastoral activities in Korea during the 12 years after his return.

Remarkably, Choe was an acquaintance of Choe Che-woo (1824-64), better known by his pen name Su-un, who established Donghak (Eastern Learning) in 1860. It became modern Korea's most influential indigenous religion and is now known as "Cheondogyo" (Heavenly Way Religion). The basic philosophy of Donghak is that "everybody possesses God in the mind of the people," which proclaims equality against discrimination. It is a humanistic belief in equality, dignity and mutual respect for all people under heaven. The egalitarian and humanistic ideals of Cheondogyo played a formative role in the development of Korean nationalism and the struggle for justice and independence. Currently, Donghak is highly appraised not only by Koreans but also by many abroad irrespective of the fact that their philosophies and religious beliefs may differ.

Su-un incorporated many Western religious and philosophic concepts into his own syncretic philosophical system, although he criticized Catholicism in Cheondogyo Scripture. In fact, although I cannot prove it, I assume that the "Youngdamyusa'' and some of the poetic writings of the Scripture, written in verse by Su-un, were influenced by Catholic books.

When Su-un was practicing asceticism at a hermitage in Ulsan from 1854 to 1860, it is possible that he had an encounter with Fr. Choe. Coincidently, the Christian churches where Fr. Choe conducted pastoral work in Ulsan and its neighboring towns were close to Su-un's hermitage. Both men were of the Gyeongju Choe family lineage and both worked for the salvation of their oppressed countrymen.

To better understand the relationship regarding the respective missions of the two religions to promote universal values, deeper research into the respective similarities of Donghak and "Seohak" or Western Learning is necessary.

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