Minjung and Han

This chapter applies the concept of han in and through exilic prophetic literature and contemporary Korean challenges. Traditionally, han has been treated as inseparable from the suffering of Korean minjung. Now, however, han bears universal meaning. It expresses the internalized pain in individual hearts as well as the collective struggle of people, spanning the time of ancient Israel to modern Korea. The Bible is replete with stories of minjung having han, the deep anger and sadness stoked by oppression and exploitation. The most severe suffering stories are attested to in exilic prophetic literature of the golah community that endured forced migration and spiritual and psychological pain. With transformative energy from internalized han, the golah community overcame imperial oppression by confessing monotheism and realizing their identity as a light to the nations. Returning to Judah, the exilic situation continued under the Persian Empire. An exilic spirit arose from han and created ethnonationalism, transformative power, and a diaspora identity. Similarly, in Korean history, the minjung’s han originated from internal exploitation and oppression by the upper class and sparked transformative resistance against Japanese colonization. In today’s divided Korean peninsula, the minjung still bear han that needs healing.