Some Tasks of Minjung Theology in the Age of Globalization

The process of globalization has brought tremendous changes in our life and social system. Globalization has put into question the political, social, and cultural projects that had been designed and practiced within the boundary of a national state since our modern time, and we are confronted with how to think and act in the current post-national context. But, this is a very difficult situation for Korean people, who have encountered the division of the country without successful elimination of the past colonial legacy, and thus have not accomplished the task to establish a nation-state yet. Minjung theology has emerged from reflections on the practice of the Christians who participated in the democratization, the human rights and the minjung movement in the context of divided Korea. While minjung theology had a keen awareness about how the suffering of Korean minjung was connected with the contradictions of the world, it has not transcended its political boundary of a national state. This may explain why it is not easy to discuss some tasks of minjung theology in the age of globalization. In this connection we have to first ask whether the basic concerns of minjung theology that were articulated within the political boundary of a national state are still significant in the context of the so-called post-national era. If we can answer this question positively, then we have to ask how to elaborate and materialize those concerns in the context of globalization.