Appropriation of Religion: The Re-formation of the Korean Notion of Religion in Global Society ...

354 Pages·2013·1.53 MB·English

Appropriation of Religion:
The Re-formation of the Korean Notion of Religion in Global Society

Kyuhoon Cho

Thesis Submitted to the
Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
In Religious Studies

Department of Classics & Religious Studies
Faculty of Arts
University of Ottawa

© Kyuhoon Cho, Ottawa, Canada, 2013
ABSTRACTS

Appropriation of Religion:
The Re-formation of the Korean Notion of Religion in Global Society

By

Kyuhoon Cho

Doctor of Philosophy in Religious Studies, University of Ottawa, Canada
Dr. Peter F. Beyer, Supervisor
Dr. Lori G. Beaman, Co-supervisor

This dissertation explores the reconfiguration of religion in modern global society
with a focus on Koreans’ use of the category of religion. Using textual and structural
analysis, this study examines how the notion of religion is structurally and semantically
contextualized in the public sphere of modern Korea. I scrutinize the operation of the
differentiated communication systems that produces a variety of discourses and imaginaries
on religion and religions in modern Korea. Rather than narrowly define religion in terms of
the consequence of religious or scientific projects, this dissertation shows the process in
which the evolving societal systems such as politics, law, education, and mass media
determine and re-determine what counts as religion in the emergence of a globalized Korea.
I argue that, ever since the Western notion of religion was introduced to East Asia
in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, religion was, unlike in China and Japan,
constructed as a positive social component in Korea, because it was considered to be
instrumental in maintaining Korean identity and modernizing the Korean nation in the new
global context. In twentieth century Korea, the conception of religion was manifest in the
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representation of the so-called world religions such as Buddhism and Christianity, which
were largely re-imagined as resisting colonialism and communism as well as contributing to
the integration and democratization of the nation-state. The phenomenal clout and growth of
Korea’s mainstream religions can be traced to an established twofold understanding that
religion is distinctive, normal, and versatile, while indigenous traditions and new religious
groups are abnormal, regressive, and even harmful. I have found that, since the late 1980s, a
negative re-formation of religion has been widespread in the public sphere of South Korea,
with a growing concern that religion may harbor a parochial attitude against the nation’s
new strategies of development. Religion has been increasingly signified as antisocial,
conflictual, and sectarian in newly globalized South Korea, because structuralized religious
power, in particular that of Protestantism, gets in the way of autonomous evolvement of the
secular societal institutions. As such, I conclude by suggesting that the definition of religion
was multiply appropriated by the differences in local particularization in contemporary
global society. Insofar as religion is regarded as incompatible with the changed location of
the national society in the new global society, the semantics assigned to what is called
religion continues to be degraded in contemporary South Korea.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………………..…………..... ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ………………………….……..…………………..………......... iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ….…………………….……………….…………….…….. vii
LIST OF TABLES ……………………………………….…………………..……………. ix
KEY TERMINOLOGY ………………………………………………………..…….......... x

INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………………..….... 1

I THEORIZING RELIGION AND RELIGIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBALIZATION

Chapter 1 Theoretical Framework and Research Propositions …..………….....….... 10
1. Previous Research on Religion as Concept, Category, and Social Reality …..……….. 13
(1) The Contested Nature of Religion ……………….……............................................. 13
(2) The Social Scientific Observation of Religion …..……............................................. 18
(3) The ‘Official’ Conception of Religion ….……….……............................................. 21
2. Luhmannian Framework: Religion as Self-Referential System in Modern Society …. 23
(1) Systems Theory as Another Paradigm ….……….……............................................. 24
(2) World Society or Globalization …....…………….……............................................. 27
(3) Religion as Autopoietic Communication System …................................................... 33
(4) The Transformation of the Idea of Religion in Late-modern Society ….................... 37
3. Three Axes of the Religious Change in Late-modern South Korea ……….....………. 41
(1) Democracy …..…………….……............................................................................... 43
(2) Globalization ….……………….……........................................................................ 45
(3) Multiple Modernities ……..………….……............................................................... 48
4. Research Methodology …………………………………………………………….….. 52

II THE KOREAN NOTION OF RELIGION IN CONTEMPORARY GLOBAL SOCIETY

Chapter 2 The Re-formation of the Korean Notion of Religion in the Political
System …………………………………………………………………………………… 61
1. The Modern Political System, the Nation-State, and Religion ……………………….. 63
2. The Emergence of Religion and Religions in the Modern World ……………………. 68
3. The Appropriation of Religion in Modern China and Japan ………………………...... 74
(1) China: “The Chinese Nation Cannot Be Represented by Religion” ……...………... 79
a. Refusal and Appropriation of Zongjiao in Modern China ………………………. 80
b. Attempt and Failure of Manufacturing Confucian Religion …...……………….. 81
c. Modernism, Chinese Socialism, and the Difficulty of Religions …...………… 83
(2) Japan: “The National Polity Must Go beyond Religion” ……………………….….. 86
a. How the Notion of Religion Was Introduced into Japan …...………………….. 87
b. Shinto, Christianity, and the Religious Landscape ...………………………….. 89
c. “Non-Religion” as Japanese Essence …………………………….…...…………. 91
4. The Case of Korea: From “Civilized Religion” to “Suspicion to Religion” …….……. 93
(1) How the Concept of Religion Was Constructed in Modern Korea ……..………..... 94
(2) The Religious Landscape and Protestantism as ‘Model Religion’
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in Korea’s Political Change ………......………………………………..……………. 99
(3) The Re-construction of Religion in a Globalized Korea ………....……………….. 109
5. Concluding Remarks: The Convergence of the Religious Ideas in East Asia ……… 120

Chapter 3 The Re-formation of the Korean Notion of Religion in the Legal System 124
1. The Modern Legal System on Religion and Religions ……………………………… 125
2. The Legal Construction of Religion in Modern Korea …………..…………………. 131
(1) The Opening Era: The Introduction of the Category of Religion
into a Confucian Kingdom …..……...……………………………………………… 132
a. The Negative Structure of Religion:
“The Western Religion Must Not Interfere with the Korean Nation” ………… 133
b. The Positive Semantics of Religion:
“Religion Is the Root of the Nation” ………………………………….……….... 137
(2) Japanese Colonial Era: The Making of the Shinto State in Korea …………..….. 139
a. The Negative Structure of Religion:
“Religion and Politics Must Be Strictlly Separated” …...……………………….. 141
b. The Negative Semantics of Religion:
“Sects Should Not Outstrip the National Morality” ………………………….….. 146
(3) The Cold War Era: The Protestantization of Law-Religion Relation ………..…… 150
a. The Positive Structure of Religion:
“Law Protects Religion, But Not Fake Ones” …...………………………….….. 151
b. The Positive Semantics of Religion:
“Religion Helps the National Modernization” ……………………....……….….. 160
3. The Transformation of the Legal Notion of Religion in Post-Cold War South Korea 167
(1) The Positive Structure of Religion:
“Law Does Not Recognize ‘Good Religion’ or ‘Bad Religion’” …….…………..…. 169
a. Democracy and New Religions ….....……………………………………..….. 172
b. Korean Multiple Modernities and Shamanism …....………………………..…. 176
c. Globalization and the Increased Visibility of Religion …...………………….. 180
(2) The Negative Semantics of Religion:
“Religion Troubles the Nation in the New Global Era” …………………………….. 185
a. The Antisociality of Protestantism: “The Religious People Do Not Respect
Others Not Belonging to Their Own Religion” ………………………….…….. 190
b. “The Cultic Anarchist”:
Religious Objection to the National Obligation ……...……………………….. 196
4. Concluding Remarks …………………………………………….…..……………. 202

Chapter 4 The Re-formation of the Korean Notion of Religion in the Education
System ………………………………………………………………………………….. 206
1. The Modern Educational System on Religion and Religions ….………………...... 209
2. The Structure of Religion in the Modern Korean Education:
“Religion as an Official Subject” ……………………………………….………….. 213
(1) The Significance of Religion in the Modern Education ……………....……….….. 215
(2) The Re-formation of Religion in the Post 80s’ Educational System:
From Proselytism to an Official Subject of Public Education ….…...…..……….. 221
3. The Semantics of Religion in the Educational System:
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“Religion as an Anti-educational Entity” ……………………….…………………. 233
(1) The Real Function of Religious Education: Does Religion Foster Good and
Competent Citizens in a Globalized Korea? ….…………….…………………….... 235
(2) The Change in the Semantic Construction of Religion: From the Advocate of Modern
Education to the Obstructer of Educational Development ………………….……... 239
a. “Religious Education that Ostracizes Korea’s Religious Uniqueness” …...…… 241
b. “Religious Textbooks that are Insensitive to the Global Religious Conflict” …. 244
c. “Religion Conflicting with Educational Reform” …...………………………… 248
4. Concluding Remarks ……………………………………………………………… 254

Chapter 5 The Re-formation of the Korean Notion of Religion in the Mass Media
System …………………………………………………………………………………... 256
1. The Function, Code, and Programs of the Mass Media System …………………... 258
2. The Location of Religion in the Korean Mass Media ………………………… 261
(1) The Transformation of the Media Structure in South Korea ….................……..…. 263
(2) The Rise of Religious Media in Democratized South Korea …...…..…………..… 267
3. The Semantics of Religion and Religions in the Korean Mainline Media .………… 277
(1) Conditions of the Media’s Construction of Religious Content …...…………….... 278
(2) The Constellation of Religious Content in Mass Media …...…..………….…….. 283
a. Newspaper Articles ……...………..………………………………………….. 283
b. Television Review Programs ..……...……………………………………….…. 290
4. Concluding Remarks ……………………………..…………………………………. 296

CONCLUSION …………………………….…………………………………………. 298
BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………………………………………. 307
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Many people helped me in researching, writing, and editing this dissertation; without
their supports, I would not have been able to complete it. Here I want to thank some of those
whose roles were more direct.
First and foremost, I would like to give special thanks to Peter Beyer. I thank him for
all his wisdom, advice, and patience during my graduate studies. Peter has truly been an
inspiration and role model for me. His guidance and encouragement gave me the motivation
and drive that kept me going all of these years. I want to thank Lori Beaman for always
being a pillar of support whenever I needed her help. I also want to thank Donald Baker for
his valuable insight and support during the dissertation process.
My thanks go to Kang In-cheol who has offered me much advice and support since
my undergraduate days, particularly during my fieldwork in Korea in 2008. I thank Ryu
Sung-min, Kim Hangsup, Kim Yunseong, Sin Kwangchul, Lee Junhyup, Jang Sukman,
Marcie Middlebrooks, Ryu Sangt‘ae, Kim Jaemyung, Jin Sangbum, Hur Namjin, To T‘aesu,
Kim Jinkyŏng, activists of Korea Institute for Religious Freedom, and anonymous religion
teachers, all of whom helped my field research. I wish to thank the Korea Foundation for its
Field Research Fellowship program (1020200-001692) that made my research travel to
Korea possible.
Wendy Martin, Glen Choi, Frank Rausch, Andrew Han, Guy Shababo, and Douglas
Ober were a tremendous help to me when I was revising this dissertation. I thank them for
their time and efforts. My thanks also go to Tsering Shakya and Jessica Main who supported
me when I was housed as a visiting scholar at the Institute of Asian Research of the
University of British Columbia in 2011 and 2012.
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I would like to thank Lee Sangrin, Oh Kangnam, Choi Chong-seong, Kim Dong-
chun, Song Ki-choon, André Laliberté, Anne Vallely, Marie-Françoise Guédon, Michel
Gardaz, Pieruligi Piovanelli, Kim Seong Soon, Jeong Sunyoung, Yi Kanghun, Pak Chusŏng,
Park Kyung-Ae, Paul Evans, Park Jungwee, Lee Inwon, Woo Jongchul, Kang Suk Jae, Min
Jiwon, Song Jee-yeon, and Seven Tomlins, for their concern, encouragement, and support.
I thank Department of Asian Studies and Institute of Asian Research at the
University of British Columbia and also Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies and
Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University, for their various
institutional supports while I stayed there as a visiting student, visiting scholar or
independent researcher.
Last but not least, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Woojeong,
Sung-hyun, and Jehyun. Because of you, I could get reason and energy to finish this lifetime
work. In fact, this is our work.

I dedicate this dissertation to my parents and parents-in-law. I am deeply grateful to
you for your sacrifices during my studies.

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Religious Population in South Korea from 1985 to 2005 ………………….... 116

Table 2: Religion-affiliated Schools in Contemporary South Korea …………………. 230

Table 3: The Form, Identity, and Role, of the Media in Modern Korea ……………… 266

Table 4: Religious Media in South Korea …………………………………………….. 270

Table 5: Editorial Tendency of Nine Religious Newspapers in 2004 ………………… 276

Table 6: Frequency of the Religious Articles …………………………………………. 284

Table 7: Distribution of Positive, Neutral, and Negative Articles ……………………. 285

Table 8: Viewpoints of the Religious Articles ………………………………………... 286

Table 9: Frequency of the Religious Articles …………………………………………. 288

Table 10: Viewpoints of the Religious Articles ………………………………………. 289

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KEY TERMINOLOGY

Asiajŏk kach‘i 아시아적 가치 Asian values
Chiguhwa 지구화 Globalization
Chonggyo 종교 Religion
Chonggyo ch‘egye 종교체계 Religious System
Chonggyo chŏngch‘aek 종교정책 Religious policy
Chonggyo kanŭi kaltŭng 종교간의 갈등 Inter-religious conflict
Chonggyo kyoyuk 종교교육 Religious education
Chonggyo maech‘e 종교매체 Religious Media
Chonggyo pŏp 종교법 Religion-related laws
Chonggyo tawŏnjuŭi 종교 다원주의 Religious pluralism
Chonggyo ŭi chayu 종교의 자유 Freedom of religion
Chonggyo ŭi kaenyŏm 종교의 개념 Conception of religion
Chonggyo ŭi yŏkhal 종교의 역할 Role of religion
Chongnip hakgyo 종립학교 Religion-affiliated school
Chŏngch‘i ch‘egye 정치체계 Political System
Chŏnggyo pulli 정교분리 Separation of religion and politics
Hallyu 한류 Korean wave
Kaehyŏk 개혁 Reformation
Konggong ŭi yŏngyŏk 공공의 영역 Public sphere
Kong’ingyo 공인교 Officially recognized religions
Kŭndaesŏng 근대성 Modernities
Kyoyuk ch‘egye 교육체계 Educational system
Minjok kukka 민족국가 Nation-state
Minjuhwa 민주화 Democratization
Misin 미신 Superstition
Mujonggyo 무종교 Irreligion
Panjonggyo 반종교 Anti-religion
Pijonggyo 비종교 Non-religion
Pŏmnyul ch‘egye 법률체계 Legal system
Sagyo 사교 Evil religion
Saibi chonggyo 사이비 종교 Pseudo religion, or cult
Sesokchuŭi 세속주의 Secularism
Sinjonggyo 신종교 New religion
Taejung maech‘e ch‘egye 대중매체체계 Mass media system
Tayangsŏng 다양성 Diversity
Yangsimjŏk pyŏngyŏk kŏbu 양심적 병역거부 Conscientious objection to military
service
Yusa chonggyo 유사종교 Quasi religion
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