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Sangfoon Lee
(Student of Union Theological Seminary)

I was born in a Christian family. My grandfather was a pastor. And my father became an ordained minister when he was over fifty years old. Going to Church on every Sunday has been part of my life since my childhood. I enjoyed my church life by meeting my friends and singing hymns. However, one question had always remained with me. Because of this, I felt distance between Christianity and my self. The question was deeply related to my ethnic background.

I am a third-generation Korean in Japan. Koreans in Japan are products of Japanese imperialism. Because of Japanese colonization from 1910 to 1945, Koreans were forced to come to Japan. From 1910 to 1918, the Japanese government deprived Korean farmers of their lands. As a result of this, many farmers went to Japan in order to survive. From 1939, the Japanese government forcibly brought Koreans to Japan and other places to work in industries and mines. In 1945, when Japan was defeated by the Allied Powers, the were over 2,100,000 Koreans in Japan. Many of them went back to Korea soon and approximately 600,000 stayed in Japan for some reasons.

Since the beginning of their community, Koreans in Japan has been suffering from Japanese discrimination. Today, although Koreans in Japan are getting accepted by Japanese society, they still encounter discrimination and prejudice. For instance, they are frequently refused jobs and apartment leases because of their ethnic background. Faced with this discrimination, many Koreans in Japan feel compelled to use a Japanese name, instead of a Korean name, in order to hide their Korean heritage.

Fortunately, I did not experience harsh discrimination because I lived in a place where there were many Koreans in Japan. But I always felt tension toward the Japanese society because I heard and witnessed my people's sufferings. My mother, a second-generation Korean in Japan, often told me of her bad experiences in her childhood. For instance, she was often bullied by neighbor children with a scornful phrase, "Korean, go back to Korea (Chosenjin, Chosen Kaere)"! Probably, some of you have had experiences similar to my mother's. Suffering stories such as my mother's made me as a question of how Christianity could respond to the sufferings of Koreans. I even thought that if Christianity failed to give Koreans in Japan a vision for their liberation, it was nothing but the religion of oppressors.

Unfortunately, I could not find an answer for the question in my churches. My pastors preached about the gospel nicely. But their message did not touch my heartstrings because they did not connect the gospel with social justice and how Koreans ought to be in order to end social evils. Afterwards, I was given the answer by participating in a national young adult association of my denomination.

When I entered the university, I started participating in the young adult association. In the group, we shared our experiences as Koreans in Japan. We insisted that we had to struggle against social injustices with Christian faith. Yet, what I was most impressed with at the group was their interpretation of Jesus' cross. According to them, the cross of Jesus is a symbol for being what we are. Further, to bear our own cross means to struggle for being a Korean in Japan. For instance, bearing cross is "coming out" as Koreans in Japan for those who hide their Korean background. Thus, in our context, it is impossible to be a Christian without affirming our wounded Korean-ness and without fighting against social injustice. Here, Korean-ness and Christianity are interrelated in my faith. This realization was the gospel for me because this would solve my question of how Christianity can respond to the sufferings of Koreans in Japan. And this was one of the factors that made me pursue the study of Christian theology.

I want to bring up two things, which I learned from theological education. First, great Christian forerunners like Paul and Martin Luther King Jr. understood gospel in their social context. This brings me to a conviction that my experience regarding gospel mentioned above is not unacceptable. Second, I have to listen to other's understandings of gospel. By so doing, I can go beyond my tiny understanding of gospel and enrich it. While not forgetting these things, I want to work for realizing a genuine reconciliation among human beings with my Christian faith.

January 23, 2000

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Friday Letter	Testimonies Sangfoon Lee (Student of Union Theological Seminary) I was born in a Christian family. My grandfather was a pastor. And my father became an ordained minister when he was over fifty years old. Going to Church on every Sunday has been part of my life since my childhood. I enjoyed my church life by meeting my friends and singing hymns. However, one question had always remained with me. Because of this, I felt distance between Christianity and my self. The question was deeply related to my ethnic background. I am a third-generation Korean in Japan. Koreans in Japan are products of Japanese imperialism. Because of Japanese colonization from 1910 to 1945, Koreans were forced to come to Japan. From 1910 to 1918, the Japanese government deprived Korean farmers of their lands. As a result of this, many farmers went to Japan in order to survive. From 1939, the Japanese government forcibly brought Koreans to Japan and other places to work in industries and mines. In 1945, when Japan was defeated by the Allied Powers, the were over 2,100,000 Koreans in Japan. Many of them went back to Korea soon and approximately 600,000 stayed in Japan for some reasons. Since the beginning of their community, Koreans in Japan has been suffering from Japanese discrimination. Today, although Koreans in Japan are getting accepted by Japanese society, they still encounter discrimination and prejudice. For instance, they are frequently refused jobs and apartment leases because of their ethnic background. Faced with this discrimination, many Koreans in Japan feel compelled to use a Japanese name, instead of a Korean name, in order to hide their Korean heritage. Fortunately, I did not experience harsh discrimination because I lived in a place where there were many Koreans in Japan. But I always felt tension toward the Japanese society because I heard and witnessed my people's sufferings. My mother, a second-generation Korean in Japan, often told me of her bad experiences in her childhood. For instance, she was often bullied by neighbor children with a scornful phrase, "Korean, go back to Korea (Chosenjin, Chosen Kaere)"! Probably, some of you have had experiences similar to my mother's. Suffering stories such as my mother's made me as a question of how Christianity could respond to the sufferings of Koreans. I even thought that if Christianity failed to give Koreans in Japan a vision for their liberation, it was nothing but the religion of oppressors. Unfortunately, I could not find an answer for the question in my churches. My pastors preached about the gospel nicely. But their message did not touch my heartstrings because they did not connect the gospel with social justice and how Koreans ought to be in order to end social evils. Afterwards, I was given the answer by participating in a national young adult association of my denomination. When I entered the university, I started participating in the young adult association. In the group, we shared our experiences as Koreans in Japan. We insisted that we had to struggle against social injustices with Christian faith. Yet, what I was most impressed with at the group was their interpretation of Jesus' cross. According to them, the cross of Jesus is a symbol for being what we are. Further, to bear our own cross means to struggle for being a Korean in Japan. For instance, bearing cross is "coming out" as Koreans in Japan for those who hide their Korean background. Thus, in our context, it is impossible to be a Christian without affirming our wounded Korean-ness and without fighting against social injustice. Here, Korean-ness and Christianity are interrelated in my faith. This realization was the gospel for me because this would solve my question of how Christianity can respond to the sufferings of Koreans in Japan. And this was one of the factors that made me pursue the study of Christian theology. I want to bring up two things, which I learned from theological education. First, great Christian forerunners like Paul and Martin Luther King Jr. understood gospel in their social context. This brings me to a conviction that my experience regarding gospel mentioned above is not unacceptable. Second, I have to listen to other's understandings of gospel. By so doing, I can go beyond my tiny understanding of gospel and enrich it. While not forgetting these things, I want to work for realizing a genuine reconciliation among human beings with my Christian faith. January 23, 2000 *Back to top* Back to Testimony home