LTKC: Our History (Part 2)
LTKC: Our History (Part 2)
In the wake of the Pyongyang Revival, Korea would enter maybe its darkest years ahead. In 1910 the Japan-Korea Annexation was “officially” signed, now giving Korea over as a full protectorate under Japanese occupation. Korea was now under illegitimate rulership.
In this most uncertain of times, this is where the Church of Korea would find its own roots in martyrdom.
The first years of Japanese occupation were a gradual takeover which would quickly catalyze the fight for independence in Korea. In 1919 at the TaeHwaGan restaurant located in Seoul, 33 representatives representing various districts of Korea all met together for a secret meeting to sign what would become known as the Korean Declaration of Independence. 16 out of 33 of those signers were Christians. This would mark the beginning of what would be known as the March 1st Movement of Independence in Korea.
(Much lesser known fact that every Korean should know. Did you know that the events around the March 1st movement would actually have global impact? Did you know that this was actually the first demonstration of “Civil Disobedience” in the 20th century? Did you know that the events of March 1st would actually reach India and the eyes and ears of man named Mahatma Ghandi? Did you also know that this man named Ghandi would be one of the major influences on an African American Baptist preacher named Martin Luther King Jr? The Korean Independence movement, namely March 1st, can actually be attributed as the birth place of national Civil Disobedience in the 20th century).
It was during this time that Japanese persecution of the Korean Church intensified as the National religion of Japan, Shintoism or better known as “sun god worship”, was now forced upon the church of Korea. The Japanese occupants made stronger and stronger restrictions on the Korean Church to not only adhere but to acknowledge the great god of the Sun and Hirohito, the emperor of Japan. It was for this reason that Churches were forced to turn eastward before their times of worship and fully bow 90 degrees to pay honor to the Japanese Emperor and the sun god.
The reality of this time is that not only did many Korean Christians cave in and agree, but many American missionaries conceded to these requests as almost half would eventually leave the country during Korea’s darkest hour.
However, a great portion of the Korean Church remained faithful and refused Sun god worship, and would even be persecuted to the point of death.
One of the most notable figures is Pastor Joo Gi Chul, pastor of the famous North Korean Church known as SanJungHyun Church. As a notable figure in the Korean Presbyterian Church, Pastor Joo was outspoken about his defiance to the Shinto act of Sun God worship. It was for this reason that the Japanese would imprison Pastor Joo on five separate occasions totaling a time period of five years where he was brutally tortured. Pastor Joo would later die in Pyongyang prison in the medical ward in April 1944. His last words were “God of my soul, hold me firm”.
This story is just a spotlight on the actual hundreds to thousands of stories of Korean Christian persecution and martyrdom. As stated before, many did concede to the Japanese authorities, however the countless stories of those who held firm to their faith to the point of death is without question. The resilient spirit of the Korean people could be found in the the Patriotic resistance movement to the unwavering spirit of the early Korean Church.
At the wake of the end of the Second World War, the now nation of Korea would find itself at yet another major crossroads. This time not from a foreign power from without, but actually a divided nation from within.