Renewal Movement in Korea History and Nature

History and Nature of Renewal Movement in Korea

Remarking of Christianity has undergone revolution into a world religion during the last century. In the book “Global Awakening: How twentieth Century Revivals Triggered a Christian Revolution” by Mike Shaw. The author points out an essential factor that has been underestimated in telling the stories about the Christianity Revivals. He uses case studies that show revivals globally; these studies show that global revivals are the heart of the resurgence of Christianity in the world. Revivals spur some other vital factors of growth lie elements of international and national influences and leadership. The case studies reveal interpretive frameworks which are inclusive other than the growth theories of the church. The author achieved this by linking the localized versions to global versions using the theme of revival. He points out that all the Christian versions arising from various parts of the world show that God has been at work fulfilling His redemptive purposes all along.

One of the places in the world, outside the United States (U.S.), that had significant charismatic renewal, which has been reviewed is Korea. About a hundred and ten years ago, there was an outbreak of massive revival in Pyongyang city, the capital of present North Korea. In 1907, Pyongyang was referred to as the city of women, wine, and songs; therefore, with its sin abounding nature, it was a dark city with its training school, Korean geisha. Pyongyang Great Revival was the second Korean revival and the high point of strength in evangelism in northern Korea. [footnoteRef:1]2Kil Sun-Ju, among the first Korean Protestants to be ordained as a minister of Presbyterian and Hardie, a Methodist Missionary, was the great inspiration for the Great Revival of Pyongyang. There were several other revivals before 1907 in Korea, for example, 1903 due to famine in the country’s center and the Welsh Revival of 1904-1905. In 1907, the Presbyterian Church in Korea wanted to become independent from America’s Board of Foreign Mission. This mission had been self-supporting but for quite some time, but things did not go well. [1: 2 Jang, Jung Eun. Religious experience and self-psychology: Korean Christianity and the 1907 revival movement. Springer, 2016.]

On sixth January, William Blair, a Presbyterian missionary, preached to thousands of Korea for about two weeks. The main focus was to urge them to turn away from the hatred of the Japanese people. [footnoteRef:2]3The kind of hatred they had was traditional since Korea’s history in terms of conflict with the Japanese was long. Korean Christians and the missionaries were praying for the Holy Spirit’s outpouring for repentance and revival. It came on Saturday in January 1907 at night. Those present in the meeting prayed loudly, and the signs of awakening began appearing. One of the missionaries described it as a harmony of spirit and sound with no confusion, but rather it enhanced the mingling of souls through the power of the prayers. [2: 3 Jones, Arun. \\\\\\\"The Great Revival of 1907 as a Phenomenon in Korean Religions.\\\\\\\" Journal of World Christianity 2, no. 1 (2009): 82-110.]

Those present would rise and confess their sins one after the other; this made them weep uncontrollably after every confession until two in the morning. These acts of praying out loud and remorse over sin were among those distinguishing signs concerning this revival. The results of this were the addition of church members and lots of new conversions. [footnoteRef:3]4The Japanese soldiers also came under conviction, and Pyongyang was called “Jerusalem of the East.” The personal confessions and dynamic preaching of Kil Sun-Ju subsided eventually in the spring of 1907 due to the exhaustion of Kil from the meetings. However, some of the observers later criticized the revival in North Korea because of what they referred to as Pentecostal characteristics. Some also argued that this particular revival had syncretistic overtones that were strong which had been drawn from the Korean shamanist religion. Although some excesses and revivals do not normally run to some extremes, the fact that there was the great confession of ethnic hatred suggests that it was indeed a revival in which the spirit was in action. Some other benefits that came from this revival were the introduction of critical aspects of Christian spirituality in Korea, for example, morning prayers and all-night prayers. [3: 4 Kim, Sin Ho. History of Korean Pentecostalism. 2020.]

The ongoing revival saw Pyongyang Theological School founded in 1907, with seven graduates of Korea who became the Presbytery’s first Koreans. The number of Bible study groups increased, which led to the acceleration in the building of missionary growth. Illiterate, especially women learned the Korean alphabet (Hangeul script); this caused a more excellent status for the women. It emphasized the understanding that all men are equal in God’s eyes. This revival surpassed other regions like Manju and Yeonbyeon in China. In 1910, the revival was still taking its course because its afterglow continued in various towns. [footnoteRef:4]7This is true, as revealed by Gorforth, who wrote that in October 1910, about four thousand people were baptized in a week, and thousands of others showed interest in becoming Christians by Sending their names. The same year, William Newton Blair wrote that Korea had more than 250,000 Christians who worshiped God in fewer than two thousand places. Finally, the Old Testament was translated into Korean, and the British Bible Society sold 666,000 books through Bible Colporteurs. [4: 7 Jones, Arun. \\\\\\\"The Great Revival of 1907 as a Phenomenon in Korean Religions.\\\\\\\" Journal of World Christianity 2, no. 1 (2009): 82-110.]

The U.S. can learn a lot from this particular international renewal from Korea. The needs from the current global awakening help shake cultural obsessions and isolations, especially to the people of North America. The lessons can be that the actual emergence of the church is culturally pluralistic and is global. This means that it aims to fulfill the mission as written in the first Corinthians chapter twelve. The vision about the body of Christ has many parts, each of them recognizing its global interdependence. The message derived from the Pyongyang Revival is that the Americans stand when the geographical, cultural, and political barriers are breaking down due to the gospel light. [footnoteRef:5]6This revival offers a crucial survey about the growth of Christianity worldwide; also, it acts as a way of enforcing that the best term for such a global development is “revival.” This revival helps the Americans acknowledge that they should see beyond themselves and look for God’s hand in other places around the world is one of the greatest lessons. This is because God has used both human movements and natural factors as the catalysts in the church’s growth. [5: 6 Jones, Arun. \\\\\\\"The Great Revival of 1907 as a Phenomenon in Korean Religions.\\\\\\\" Journal of World Christianity 2, no. 1 (2009): 82-110.]

The notion America has that it is a world unto itself is nullified by the Charismatic Renewal in Korea. In many ways, Americans are always content about fretting their internal concerns and problems; this happens until a tragedy strikes beyond its borders. With the help of globalization, this is changing their ways. In almost every American arena, the trend of America as a world in itself is revealed, and the church is no exception. This has seen Christianity in America as the beacon of every mission worldwide. [footnoteRef:6]5Through revivals like the Great Revival in Korea, it reveals how such kinds of perspectives are ignorant. The revival in the twentieth century shows a surge of Evangelical Church worldwide. InIn his book regarding this revival, Mark Shaw states that the most crucial change in the world concerning the last several generations is religion’s revival. According to the author, missing the significance and rise of the new world Christianity means losing a lot. Something which affects the church’s renewal globally as manifested in the revival. This is an indication from the thesis that the revivals, in this case, that of Korea in 1907, have played a crucial role in developing forms of Christianity with the indigenous aspect worldwide, including in the United States. [6: 5 Lee, Timothy S. \\\\\\\"Review of Religious Experience and Self-Psychology: Korean Christianity and the 1907 Revival Movement (New York, NY: Palgrave, 2016) by Jung Eun Jang.\\\\\\\" Pastoral Psychology 67, no. 5 (2018): 563-567.]