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THE JOURNAL OF PASTORAL THEOLOGY 239830801983081 SUMMER 2013

KOREAN RESOURCES FOR PASTORAL THEOLOGYDANCE OF HAN JEONG AND SALIM

James Newton Poling and HeeSun KimEugene OR Pickwick Publications 2012 Sof cover 117 pp $1700

Reviewed by K Samuel Lee and Hyoju LeeClaremont School of TeologyClaremont Lincoln University

Te richness o Korean Christian spiritual resources are examined inthe recently published work by James Newton Poling and HeeSun Kim KoreanResources for Pastoral Teology Dance of Han Jeong and Salim Te authorsinvite non-Korean audiences to deepen their understanding o pastoral theologycare and counseling which they define as ldquoa ministry practice and academicdiscipline arising rom reflection on the churchrsquos ministries o care or personsamilies and communitiesrdquo (p 2) By introducing theological reflections on theimportant Korean constructs o han jeong and salim Poling and Kim broadenthe traditional horizon o pastoral ministry

In the first two chapters the authors present what is perhaps a too-briehistory o Korea using these pages to provide descriptions o Korean religions

rom ancient times to the present Sketching out 4500 years o Korean historyand religious historical topography in fify pages would be a challenging taskor any scholar because it allows only strokes so broad they run the risk o beingcaricaturesque All readers would benefit rom reading these chapters howeverwe reviewers remind them that to ldquoknowrdquo Korea at all will require additionallearning As scholars we do not want to latch ourselves with shallow knowledgelest we do participate in the colonial project o stereotyping knowingly orunknowingly All in all however more detailed descriptions o the contemporaryKorean church situations such as the rigid denominationalism mega-church

movements global missionary movements and the status o minjung theologyafer military regimes would have been helpul to US pastoral theologiansrsquounderstanding o the Korean church Perhaps this must be the task or anotherbook

In Chapters 6 and 7 Poling and Kim delve more deeply into Koreanspirituality as it bears on the practice o pastoral theology care and counselingby explaining the cultural constructs o han jeong and salim Han translated asldquosufferingrdquo has multiaceted meanings in Korean Park (1993 p 31) defines han as ldquorustrated hope the collapsed eeling o pain letting go [o hope] resentul

bitterness and the wounded heartrdquo More than the ordinary experience odiscouragement Han reers to lie that because o prolonged abuse and injusticehas lost its spirit According to Poling and Kim this Korean term enables victimsto express indescribably dreadul experiences It can enable pastoral theologiansto understand victims and the complicated healing process necessary to recover

69830851




rom such experiences Jeong is translated as ldquoloverdquo or ldquoaffectionrdquo in English However according

to Wonhee Anne Joh (2006) jeong is more powerul lasting and transormativethan love Jeong describes the longtime attachment or deep bonding withinrelationships even those that involve ambiguity and periods o alienation Jeong helps pastoral theologians explicate the complicated dynamics o humanrelationships an important contribution rom within a collectivistic culturalramework such as in Korea

An important contribution o this book includes theologicalinvestigation o the construct salim[ -sali] ldquoall the work and spirit which makethings aliverdquo commonly relegated to women at home (Kim U 2007) HeeSunKim correlates han jeong and salim to perichoresis ending the book with acase study o an abused woman she intends to be illustrative o a constructiveintercultural pastoral theology Kim explains that salim reers to domesticeconomy but instead o ollowing this theoreticaltheological trajectory she usesit to ocus on the meaning o the gender arrangement in Korean society and thediscussion o perichoresis While it is certainly true that rigid and biased genderarrangement in Korean society is an important issue in Korean society (and inthe US) it is curious that Polingrsquos expertise in economy and pastoral theology(eg Poling 2002) is not included in the discussion o salim (also see eg Meeks1989 Couture 2007)

Poling and Kim present the three Korean constructs o han jeong andsalim not because they offer fixed solutions to the work o pastoral ministrywith Korean clients but as an invitation to a continuing conversation to co-construct a better more embracive pastoral theology For them the practice opastoral theology cannot remain fixed but its guidelines are provisional andmust remain open to revision oward this goal conversations with wisdom romother cultures can contribute to the discipline o pastoral theology an importantreminder to all pastoral theologians and pastoral counselors that we mustcontinue to learn as we live and work in our intercultural world

Reerences

Couture P (2007) Child poverty Love justice and social responsibility St LouisMO Chalice Press

Joh A (2006) Heart of the cross A postcolonial Christology Louisville KYWestminster John Knox Press

Kim U (2007) Woman leadership in the Korean salimist concept In CStuckelberger amp J Mugambi (Eds) Responsible leadership Global and contextualethical perspectives (pp 45-52) Geneva WCC Publications

69830852




Meeks D M (1989) God the economist Te doctrine of God and politicaleconomy Minneapolis MN Fortress Press

Park A S (1993) Te wounded heart of God Te Asian concept of han and theChristian doctrine of sin Nashville N Abingdon Press

Poling J (2002) Render unto God Economic vulnerability family violence and pastoral theology St Louis MO Chalice Press

69830853




rom such experiences Jeong is translated as ldquoloverdquo or ldquoaffectionrdquo in English However according

to Wonhee Anne Joh (2006) jeong is more powerul lasting and transormativethan love Jeong describes the longtime attachment or deep bonding withinrelationships even those that involve ambiguity and periods o alienation Jeong helps pastoral theologians explicate the complicated dynamics o humanrelationships an important contribution rom within a collectivistic culturalramework such as in Korea

An important contribution o this book includes theologicalinvestigation o the construct salim[ -sali] ldquoall the work and spirit which makethings aliverdquo commonly relegated to women at home (Kim U 2007) HeeSunKim correlates han jeong and salim to perichoresis ending the book with acase study o an abused woman she intends to be illustrative o a constructiveintercultural pastoral theology Kim explains that salim reers to domesticeconomy but instead o ollowing this theoreticaltheological trajectory she usesit to ocus on the meaning o the gender arrangement in Korean society and thediscussion o perichoresis While it is certainly true that rigid and biased genderarrangement in Korean society is an important issue in Korean society (and inthe US) it is curious that Polingrsquos expertise in economy and pastoral theology(eg Poling 2002) is not included in the discussion o salim (also see eg Meeks1989 Couture 2007)

Poling and Kim present the three Korean constructs o han jeong andsalim not because they offer fixed solutions to the work o pastoral ministrywith Korean clients but as an invitation to a continuing conversation to co-construct a better more embracive pastoral theology For them the practice opastoral theology cannot remain fixed but its guidelines are provisional andmust remain open to revision oward this goal conversations with wisdom romother cultures can contribute to the discipline o pastoral theology an importantreminder to all pastoral theologians and pastoral counselors that we mustcontinue to learn as we live and work in our intercultural world

Reerences

Couture P (2007) Child poverty Love justice and social responsibility St LouisMO Chalice Press

Joh A (2006) Heart of the cross A postcolonial Christology Louisville KYWestminster John Knox Press

Kim U (2007) Woman leadership in the Korean salimist concept In CStuckelberger amp J Mugambi (Eds) Responsible leadership Global and contextualethical perspectives (pp 45-52) Geneva WCC Publications

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