A Study on Kim Chai Choon’s Understanding of Religion

This paper aims to examine Kim Chai Choon’s understanding of religion. His perspective on religion challenged the dogmatic and imperialistic approach of Western missionaries, who often failed to grasp the unique religio-cultural context of Korea. Kim’s missional approach significantly influenced the formation of minjung theology, a Korean contextual theology shaped by Korean people’s socio-political and religio-cultural realities. Minjung theology contributed to social transformation by advocating for restoring the human rights of the minjung, whose dignity had been sacrificed under the military dictatorship’s policies of economic prioritization. Notably, Kim sought to improve the rights of the minjung even before the emergence of minjung theologians. Kim’s study of religion highlights the social dynamic of religious individuals within the interplay of religion and history, emphasizing concepts such as the “human being as religious and self-transcendent” and “history propelled through the subjective participation of human beings as agents.” His understanding of religious humanity laid the groundwork for key concepts in minjung theology, including “minjung as self-transcendent beings” and “minjung as subjects of history.” Furthermore, I think that Kim’s openness and inclusive understanding of religion can offer valuable insight for missionary work in non-Christian Asian countries, where indigenous religions are deeply rooted. His perspective will also provide a religio-cultural foundation for global coexistence, fostering international peace and transformation in today’s context, where the focus of Christian missions is shifting from Western to non-Western regions.