[People Met Through Books] A Boy Who Admired MacArthur Becomes a Priest of the Justice Implementation Priests

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo Mideum] During the Korean War, a nine-year-old boy fled the relentless bombardment by North Korean forces and took refuge in St. Mary’s Hospital within Yongsan Theological Seminary. The hospital was crowded with people groaning from various injuries. Witnessing the horrors of war, the boy felt the futility of life and became a Catholic believer. After graduating from a Catholic seminary, he went to Rome for further studies, earning a master’s and doctoral degree in theology. His time abroad became a turning point for his worldview. One example of this change in perspective was his view of history. The boy who once idolized General MacArthur returned home with doubts, thinking, “The United States, which gained great benefits from the war where our people shed blood, may not be a country to be simply thankful for.”

After returning, his life underwent drastic changes. In 1974, during the harsh military dictatorship, when Bishop Ji Hak-soon was imprisoned in the so-called ‘Mincheonghakryeon’ incident where anti-government activists were accused of attempting to overthrow the state, he took action. Together with like-minded fellow priests, he formed the ‘National Priests’ Association for Justice in the Catholic Church’ to resist the dictatorship. He later endured hardships after being taken by the Central Intelligence Agency and spent considerable time in prison, making his presence felt in every political incident. Despite concerns that priests were too deeply involved in secular affairs, he walked the path of a priest who fought while wearing the mantle of educator, clergyman, social activist, and writer. On the 10th, we met Father Ham Se-ung, who recently published his book ‘Historical Prayers Written with Ham Se-ung’s Brush (Laineun).’

Father Ham Se-ung

-You hold various titles such as educator, writer, social activist, clergyman, and chairman. Which title best reflects Ham Se-ung?

▲I am a priest. No matter what I do, that fact does not change. Some describe me as a ‘fighter,’ but that is just one of the many titles that come from the results of my life. The essence is that I am a priest who has devoted my life centered on God, following the path of Jesus, for the church community and neighbors. I knelt before the altar, resolved to dedicate myself to the wronged and the socially weak.

-Some say you are a ‘left-leaning priest.’

▲When Charles de Gaulle returned to the political forefront after being exiled to Britain during World War II, a reporter asked him, “General de Gaulle, are you right-wing?” He answered, “No.” Then the reporter asked, “Are you left-wing?” and he replied, “How could I be left-wing?” The reporter then asked, “So are you centrist?” and he said, “I am above all those things.” Some may call this arrogance, but his refusal to be subordinated to any faction and his attempt to embrace the people is commendable. The attitude of a believer is the same. Instead of asking “Are you left or right?” one should ask, “Am I living according to my conscience?” The question should always be directed at oneself first.

-What do you think is the true role of religion (and religious people) in our society?

▲The phrase ‘the role of religious people in our society’ itself sets a limit that ‘religious people should not cross a certain line.’ I firmly reject this limit. Those who create the principle that religious people should not intervene in reality and hide behind it mostly intend to commit injustice comfortably. Religious people have greater meaning when they are with the poor, the weak suffering from injustice, rather than praying in the sanctuary. I believe that is truly the priestly path responding to God’s call and Jesus’ life.

-You participated in the formation of the ‘National Priests’ Association for Justice in the Catholic Church’ and have worked hard for human rights and democratization movements.

▲Until the 1970s, Korean Catholicism lived isolated from the world. It lacked a broad church perspective rooted in the world and remained silent under dictatorship. Then, priests who watched young students bleeding and imprisoned resisting the Yushin dictatorship formed the National Priests’ Association for Justice in the Catholic Church, centered on Bishop Ji Hak-soon. The young students who dedicated themselves led the priests to the forefront of history. The church is never just a building of the sanctuary. The church’s domain must expand. All places of life are the church, and I believe God’s will is in our lives.

-However, there are criticisms that religion is too deeply involved in politics.

▲Religion itself is politics, and politics itself is religion. Religious gatherings, sermons, preaching, and lectures are all political acts and social language. This dichotomous distinction is an error. In medieval Catholicism, papal authority was state authority. The church effectively ruled the state. Later, through humanities and civic movements, the separation of church and state was achieved, but even the word ‘separation’ is misleading. Politics and religion, which were originally one body, cannot be separated.

-Historically, devout believers have sometimes supported or even led evil.

▲I have been to prison several times, and among those who interrogated me harshly, there must have been believers. One day, an investigator who was harshly shouting took a call from his wife and transformed into an angel, gently asking, “Are the children playing well? How is your mother?” It was a moment of realization that good and evil coexist within us. Humans should nurture goodness, suppress evil, and live a virtuous and faithful life.

-Historically, progress has been made through many sacrifices, but it seems there is still a long way to go.

▲I want to say that making the right choice is always important, and we must strive to prevent our community from choosing wrongly. Priests vow before God to risk their lives to serve their neighbors. We must pledge to faithfully fulfill that promise and constantly spur ourselves so that the promise does not weaken. I have already become part of the older generation. Though I have regrets about the younger generation, the moment I voice them, I will surely become a ‘kkondae’ (old-fashioned authoritarian). It is not appropriate for me to evaluate the priesthood or define its future role. Our generation did our best, and the future generation’s role belongs to them.

-Martyrs who took their own lives are sometimes criticized from a religious perspective that ‘suicide is a sin.’

▲The Ten Commandments prohibit murder. The subject of murder includes not only others but also one’s own life. For that reason, the Catholic Church in the past did not conduct funerals for those who took their own lives. However, at the Second Vatican Council in 1960, it was decided that death is an eternal moment of meeting God, and humans should not judge but entrust it to God. Since then, masses can be held for them. Of course, choosing death as a simple form of resistance is not desirable. But that judgment must be left to God. We must not forget that we have a duty to prevent such things from happening to us.

-You said Kim Jae-gyu’s honor should be restored.

▲I evaluate Kim Jae-gyu as a righteous soldier. He was almost the only person who spoke frankly during Park Chung-hee’s Yushin dictatorship. He experienced the revolutionary spirit amid the crowds of the Bu-Ma uprising. He sensed it was a citizen uprising. According to lawyer Kang Shin-ok, Kim Jae-gyu, the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, made up his mind after overhearing a conversation between Cha Ji-chul and Park Chung-hee. Cha Ji-chul said, “We can just crush three or four million people with tanks like in Cambodia,” and Park replied, “During the April 19 Revolution, Interior Minister Choi In-gyu and Police Chief Kwak Young-joo, who gave the order to fire, were executed, but now I will give the order to fire, so who can stop me?” I have long worked to clear Kim Jae-gyu’s name, but our society seems not mature enough to accept it yet. I believe true democratization of the Republic of Korea will be achieved when his honor is restored.

-You said the current labor movement is focused on wage increases.

▲Until the 1970s, the labor movement in Korea devoted itself not only to workers’ rights but also to human rights, democracy, and peaceful coexistence between North and South Korea. However, since the establishment of a democratic government following the June 29 Declaration in the 1980s, I personally think the labor movement has become somewhat focused on wage increases. Some may call me an idealist, but I hope that workers in large corporations and union leaders will take even a small portion of their wages to realize the value of sharing for irregular workers, outsourced workers, female workers, and those who cannot join unions. If they inspire entrepreneurs and politicians in this way, I believe a happy world with marginalized workers will come. That is the value of love, mercy, and sharing taught by the Bible and that our society should aspire to.

-How do you view our society today? What concerns you the most?

▲We must live ‘together.’ Peaceful coexistence is the greatest value. Any reason that breaks or opposes peaceful coexistence is inhumane and a challenge to history. Recently, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration emphasizes ‘freedom,’ but it seems to use freedom as synonymous with ‘anti-communism.’ For us, the path beyond the history of division toward peaceful coexistence between North and South Korea is true freedom. It has been 70 years since the July 27 Armistice Agreement. In the Bible, 70 years is a year of grace, a blessed year. I believe it is time to quickly change the armistice agreement into a peace agreement and move toward new peaceful coexistence.

-Father Ham Se-ung is

▲a Catholic priest, educator, writer, and social activist. He formed the ‘National Priests’ Association for Justice in the Catholic Church’ following the imprisonment of Bishop Ji Hak-soon and actively worked for human rights restoration and democratization. Despite the dictatorship, he did not hesitate to speak out and was taken by the Central Intelligence Agency, enduring two prison terms. Breaking the stereotype that priests should not intervene in secular affairs, he made his presence felt in major political incidents. After retiring in 2012, he currently serves as chairman of the Ahn Jung-geun Memorial Project, the Institute for Korean Historical Issues, and the Institute for Human Rights Medicine.

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