The Korean War and Forming Transnational Networks of Christian Humanitarian Aid

Abstract

Scholars of Korean Christianity have noted the importance of this religion in a number of historically significant events on the Korean peninsula—such as the March First Movement (1919), the human and labor rights movement of the 1970s, and the call for peaceful reunification with North Korea during the 1980s. Often mentioned but generally glossed over has been the nature of the participation of the international Christian community and organizations such as the World Council of Churches. This practice both underestimates the roles played by these organizations and, at the same time, assumes the interest of Christians around the world in the plight of Korea. But, why was the international Christian community be interested in Korea? Why was it concerned, in particular, with human and labor rights? Focusing on how the Korean War shaped the manner in which the international Christian community engaged South Korea during the 1950s, this presentation seeks to address these types of questions and calls scholars to more thoroughly account for the transnational ties connecting Korean Christian communities to the world abroad.