Why Ham Sok-Hon Now?
by Tom Coyner
August 2000I never met Ham Sok-Hon (1901~1989). As a Peace Corps Volunteer in Korea I heard of him along with dissidents such as Kim Dae-Jung, Kim Chi-Ha and other patriots struggling for genuine democracy in their country. Among my foreign friends there are people who met and even befriended Teacher Ham. Yet it was only when I renewed my participation in the Religious Society of Friends, this time in Tokyo, that I began studying the works of Ham.
I must count myself among those of the second generation – those who have learned much from the man without actually having met him. So the obvious question is why should I – or anyone – pay attention to an elderly Korean who died a decade ago? Especially why devote so much time to someone who left no real legacy such as a vibrant institution or a political party or definitive philosophy?
The short answer is because more than ever it is so difficult to find a source of such incredible intellectual and philosophical honesty. While Ham as a human being had his short comings and failings, his body of works comprise a riveting and unique view of religion, Korea and humanity that stands alone in its integrity. The ideas of compassion and justice are so striking that even foreigners when given the opportunity to review his perspective take pause of what he has to say.
Some cosmopolitan Koreans are a bit embarrassed by his writings that were aimed at young Koreans but later translated posthumously into English. The material can come across as a bit too nationalist for those who hold left of center political perspectives. But that is to be expected. Ham was a fierce Korean patriot – but he was not an apologist or spinner of cynical double-speak such as "Korea-style democracy" ("Hanguk-shik minju-jueui") that I so easily tired of hearing under the fascist regime of Park Chung-Hee.
What I and many other foreigners find fascinating about the man was that he said it exactly as it was (or sometimes still is) about Korea. At the same time, and quite amazingly, while such accurate pronouncements could cause the honest Korean listener to hang his head in shame, Ham could see a spiritual meaning that not only gave hope but even pride in being Korean. His ability to do so was not the result of simply a clever mind but ultimately of a brave and mystical soul.
An example of this can be found in his book, Queen of Suffering (Ddeusero Bon Hanguk Yeoksa), "Chapter XI. The Meaning of Suffering:"1
"We assented to the establishment of the 38th parallel. The line was drawn by the big powers in their wanton desire to exploit our country for their purposes. We could have refused it but we failed to do so. Reliance on foreign aid is another mistake. The idea that the country cannot be run without foreign assistance is a bad habit that developed after the liberation. Failure to come to terms with Japan immediately after the liberation was a mistake. In the first flush of heightened emotion on our part and the prevailing mood of contrition on their part, negotiations could have set the two countries on their right path. But we failed. What we have done has been hasty, imprudent and ill-thought-out - this shows a lack of confidence.
"The remedy for this tragedy is restoration of moral principles. A country in which students clash with soldiers is a mad country; it testifies to the bankruptcy of national character; it is a national crisis. This crisis has to be overcome at all costs; if we fail, the country and the people will surely perish. Students throwing stones at soldiers, are you aware of this? Resistance oblivious of self will come to ruin. Soldiers trampling on students, are you out of your mind? Whether strength is alive or dead, strength oblivious of self is brute force, not human strength. This has to be corrected, moral principles have to be restored. And for this, reason without passion must prevail; thinking people have to teach others."
But in typical Ham fashion, he does not simply stop there. If he did he would be a second-rate Jeremiah lacking hope and vision. Instead he goes on later in the book to proclaim:
"Have the Koreans been given a global mission? Reforming our way of living we certainly have heard of. Social betterment, yes. Today, we hear a great deal about a variety of national movements. But I have yet to hear anyone calling with confidence for a mission for us in the interest of humankind. You may perhaps feel that being part of the free world and doing our share in the anti-communist cause is global mission enough. It is not enough.
"What I have in mind is something more meaningful, something undertaken on a spiritual level, not participation in something everyone else is doing. Discover for yourself work to do and carry out the work staking your whole being on it--then the work is rightly your mission. So long as a nation holds on to an ideal to which it aspires and feels committed to its mission, it will not perish.
"Awakening to one's mission is the strongest motive force for regeneration. If a falsified world mission can stir the masses for a time to an astounding level of activity, what great things can be wrought with a mission of universal historical significance, based on truth and underwritten by the justice of God? Let Koreans awake to their world mission if they want to clear themselves of the ignominy of a defeated nation."
Decades later his message rings true today as when he wrote the first draft of the above words. While these words were directed at his fellow citizens, non-Koreans can relate to the core message of hope being built on the required foundation of intellectual honesty. Many nations and peoples have suffered fates similar to the Koreans. And even those of us fortunate to be born in the Western democracies still have our own personal calamities of our own making – even if we refuse to acknowledge the causes.
Out-of-the-way Korea is once again in the world spotlight. After the famines in the north and the dramatic economic implosion and even more remarkable recovery from the so-called “IMF Crisis” in the south, those on both sides of the 38th Parallel are taking honest accounts of the past and present and offering at times inspirational visions for the future. It is no accident that the architect, President Kim Dae Jung, of this current rapprochement or “Sunshine Policy” was a close friend of Ham Sok-Hon.
Ham Sok-Hon can often startle the reader with conclusions that contradict cherish beliefs yet offer insight greater than those same notions. One such example is his view of Judas as described in his essay, "Meditation at Pendle Hill - Dialogue."2 There he maintains even after the betrayal Judas remains a friend of Jesus – and that it is Jesus who to this day is trying to open a dialogue with his betrayer. As he put it,
"The salvation of this world will come when the mind of Judas is open and he and Jesus can talk about the Kingdom of God and of hell. As long as Judas fails to be open to dialogue because of his crying and his gnashing of teeth in hell, the Kingdom of God is not secure. The Kingdom of God will be shaken by the sound of Judas's gnashing teeth. When the last son of the Devil is saved, the Kingdom of God will be secure."
Ham maintains the ultimate significance of this observation is:
"It is the belief of our day that the leadership of the world can be assured by rewarding the good and punishing the bad. This is true both in religion and politics but it has failed. It is time that we truly try to put into practice the teachings of Jesus.
"'If you wish to take the speck from your brother's eye, first take log from your own eye.'
"As goodness is a part of human personality, so evil is a part of the human personality. If goodness and evil are a part of a person, the problem is simple. When a man steals a match, all human beings are accomplices to the theft. As long as we fail to work together, we cannot expect to defeat evil. We need to dialogue with each other. The dialogue should be even more intensive when we have a failure. When will Jesus return from hell holding the hand of Judas? Jesus said, 'I will go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again.' Jesus will return when people have through his teaching eliminated evil."
More than a few times the Quakers have footnoted Christian history in their willingness to assist and open channels with people whom their compatriots have labeled as "enemies." While Christ shook world thought with His imploring, "Love thy enemy," most Christians have failed to answer that call. Even Quakers have probably not considered Christ waiting patiently for thousands of years to dialogue with Judas.
And this is not, of course, simply an exercise in theology. It is a call to action – in a very typical Ham-like fashion. It is simple, straightforward, honest and even shocking. If we can adore Jesus for dying on the cross for the sins of others, can we do less than trying to dialogue with our enemies, as He must be doing with Judas?
This is true in everyday life as well as extending aid and comfort to our nationally designated "enemies." At the beginning of this millennium, the situation is even more poignant in the case of Korea. The two halves are aching and actually succeeding to reach out to each other for the first time in half a century. At the same time, there are so many misconceptions and negative stereotypes of each other that not only developed during the Cold War but even go back more than a thousand years of bitter Korean history. Teacher Ham’s teachings offer lessons that can serve as templates for Korean regional and many other kinds of reconciliation.
Though Teacher Ham has been gone for more than a decade, his words today perhaps carry greater meaning today than when he penned them. While the relevance of his ideas given the current political and diplomatic events may be excellent, in the long run it is even more important that people beyond the Korean peninsula learn of and learn from the wisdom of this twentieth century Quaker.
edited and abridged by John A. Sullivan, Friends World Committee for Consultation, 1985Notes
1Ham Sok-Hon, Queen of Suffering, A Spiritual History of Korea, translated by E. SangYu,
2Ham Sok-Hon, Meditation at Pendle Hill, Dialogue, Translated by Kwahk Young-Do and assisted by C. Lloyd Bailey, Publication of the Seoul Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, February 27, 1984
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