Ecospirit: Religions and Philosophies for the Earth

The Hope of the Earth: A Process Ecoeschatology for South Korea

 The Hope of the Earth: A Process Ecoeschatology for South Korea S E U N G G A P L E E What I have hoped is to draw such a picture of sounds of wind and water, spring flowers blossoming in sunshine, and salamander laying eggs at the edge of the clean water. —buddhist nun jiyul, in a letter to the government of South Korea On June 2, 2006, the Supreme Court of South Korea gave final clearance for the South Korean government to continue tunneling through Mount Cheonseong for a new high-speed rail line; it did so without asking for or obtaining an Environmental Impact Assessment. Although environmentalists claim that adjacent ancient marshlands and the more than thirty protected species that inhabit Mount Cheonseong will be adversely affected by the construction project, the Court sided with the government ’s decade-old official Environmental Impact Assessment, despite a unanimous February 2005 resolution from a parliamentary committee on construction and transportation advising a new assessment. Following in the wake of the Saemangeum decision earlier in 2006, the case dealing with Mount Cheonseong—or ‘‘Salamander case,’’ as it has come to be known—pits the union of economic progress with land development against preservation of natural habitat.1 As Koreans have been increasingly faced with the effects of deforestation, shrinking wetlands and the decimation of farms, and a decreasing water supply in conjunction with increasing levels of pollution, some of them have engaged in activist campaigns in order to stop the rapid disappearance of s e ung g ap l e e 兩 393 natural habitats. Notable among these activists is Jiyul, a Buddhist nun who has led many civil protests. On account of her belief that nonhuman animals and habitats are viable subjects in lawsuits, Jiyul’s work has helped lead to the popularization of the ‘‘Salamander case.’’ A type of Korean salamander was indeed a plaintiff in the case to prevent tunnel construction through Mount Cheonseong. The prominence of the Salamander case has forced Koreans, Korean Christians included, to reckon with the condition of their environment. In contrast to Buddhists like Jiyul, Korean Christians have not, as a group, been at the forefront of environmental preservation. To the contrary, they have generally supported economic progress without regard for environmental impact. This essay is an outgrowth of my deep concern about the suffering ecology of the Korean peninsula, which is currently facing its most serious crisis in history. Literally all South Korean environments have been abused and exploited, both by the Korean people themselves through national land development and by transnational corporations in conjunction with economic globalization. While rapid economic growth in South Korea has brought political stability and fiscal opportunity, these accomplishments have had significant human and environmental side effects. As seen in the completed project at Saemangeum, changes in the wetland ecosystem are progressing more radically and rapidly than even environmentalists predicted. Such dramatic change raises the specter of an uninhabitable Korean peninsula, an apocalyptic image outlined by each waft of factory pollution, each explosive charge detonating through the Korean earth to make way for a new rail line. And South Korean Christians have been slow to respond. ECOLOGICAL CONSCIOUSNESS A ND PRACTICE IN KOREAN CHRISTIANITY In this essay I intend to articulate why South Korean Christians have not, as a lot, joined Jiyul in her protest—why they supported the Saemangeum project and other economic expansion efforts that had horrific environmental impacts. I argue that, despite various ecological programs and activities, tremendous obstacles remain to attracting the wide and strong participation of church members in environmental issues. Con- flicts are continually arising due to certain distorted views of congregation members, caught up, I believe, in conventional theologies and faith 394 兩 e c os p i ri t styles, especially regarding creation and the future of the world. Accordingly , for an ecological ethic to function effectively in the South Korean churches, an ‘‘ecological spirituality’’ is required, through which it would be possible to agree that the ecological crisis is not just a problem of scientific, technological, political, or strategic consideration, but is, in fact, one of radical theological consideration.2 In this vein, it is imperative that we critically reflect upon at least three problems in the faith and praxis of the South Korean churches, including mainline and conservative, or fundamentalist, churches.3 Above all, Christianity in South Korea is exalted...