[Essay Today] Ssi-al Ham Seok-heon

In the early morning of May 16, 1961, about 250 officers led by Major Park Chung-hee and approximately 3,500 soldiers staged a military coup. Martial law was declared nationwide. A silent winter had come. A winter republic that "harshly threatens with guns and swords / tramples down our will growing in the fields and paddies / stomps on it with military boots / and mocks our ancestors while trampling" (Yang Seong-woo). At this time, a column published in the July issue of the magazine Sasanggae ignited the conscience of the era. The title was "How Should We View May 16?" and the author was Ham Seok-heon.

"Back then (April 19), they rose up with bare fists. This time, they drew swords. Back then, what was trusted was the law of justice and the path of conscience, but this time what was trusted were bullets and gunpowder. Back then, the people were moved with joy, but this time there is no joy. Back then, they marched openly in broad daylight, but this time it was done secretly at night. ... Only the people can carry out a revolution. Soldiers cannot make a revolution. No revolution is a true revolution without the complete approval and full participation of the people. Therefore, dictatorship cannot exist."

Ham Seok-heon was born today in 1901 in Yongcheon-gun, Pyeonganbuk-do. Dictionaries define him as an "independence activist, religious figure, journalist, social activist," among others. Ham Seok-heon does not fit neatly into any of these categories. Some see him as a pastor, but it is uncertain whether he would have liked that. He compiled writings serialized in Seongseo Joseon in 1934-35 into a book titled Korean History from a Biblical Perspective in 1950. Revising this manuscript and adding evaluations of the April 19 and May 16 events, he completed Korean History Seen Through Will in 1965. In the preface, he wrote:

"I can no longer think only of Christians. I must think equally of those called unbelievers. I am no longer interested in religions that delight in watching only the chosen believers be justified and go to heaven or the blissful world, while others suffer eternal torment in a dark hell. At least, I believe the religions of Jesus or Buddha are not like that. It is better to suffer together than to be comfortable alone."

The comprehensive term that reveals Ham Seok-heon's philosophy is "Ssial Thought." "What is a human being? What is life? What is truth? ... Ssial Thought is the fruit born from his soul that pondered and agonized over these three fundamental questions. Ssial Thought is the flower and tree that sprouted and grew in the soil of his philosophy of life." (Kim Kyung-jae, Professor Emeritus at Hanshin University, from the thesis Ham Seok-heon's Ssial Thought as Life Philosophy)

Park No-ja described Ham Seok-heon in his essay "State Murder" as "almost the only Christian pacifist thinker in 20th-century Korea." Ham Seok-heon never compromised with violence justified by anti-communism. From 1970, over ten years, he wrote prefaces for The Voice of Ssial, titled "Letters to Ssial." As publisher Kim Un-ho admired, each piece is a masterpiece reflecting on the era, history, and humanity. Every time one reads them, it becomes clear that the writings are thoughts of the heart and labor of conscience. One such passage reads:

"What is the soil that forms the basis of Ssial? It is broken rock. Who broke the rock? Rain and wind. Rain and wind did not break the rock with violence. They did it by gently sweeping and brushing, by blowing warm breath. Soil is truly a product of peace. Because it is a product of peace, peace also comes from it."

Heo Jin-seok, poet and professor at Korea National Sport University

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.