Minjung in Global Context

Abstract

Scholars in Korea have compared Job’s suffering to that of minjung, but they are less concerned with the drastic change of Job’s character in his final speech (Job 29–31). Although Job, as a righteous sufferer, most likely causes readers to acknowledge him as a representative of minjung who knows trauma, a careful reading of Job’s heartless speech toward the social underclass in Job 30:1–8 identifies him as an oppressor advocating bias and injustice. Acknowledging Job’s character variation, this chapter underscores the difficulty of designating simple categories of minjung in Korean history and twenty-first-century society. Furthermore, responses to minjung concerns raise self-critical examination. For instance, what support do democratic forces and Protestant churches render the marginalized in Korean society? The fresh discernment of minjung suggested by Ahn Byung-Mu mirrors the complex character of Job in the poetic dialogue (Job 3–31). Is Job a new model of minjung? Finally, an example of newly emergent minjung comparable to those treated as abandoned animals (Job 30:1), this chapter lifts up migrant workers as people oppressed by the liberal ruling party and the Moon Jae-In’s administration, though they supposedly count upon the absolute support of the minjung of Korea.