Dr. Kang Won Yong (October 30, 1917 – August 17, 2006) was a Christian leader, pioneer of the ecumenical movement in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

, and an advocate for peace and reconciliation in the Korean peninsula. In 1945, Kang established the Kyoung Dong Presbyterian Church in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

. This church would become the starting point for the spread of the Presbyterian Church within South Korea. After this, he served as General Secretary of the Korean Student Christian Federation in 1948. In 1964 and again in 1980, he was President of the National Council of Churches in Korea. In 1962, Kang founded the Korean Christian Academy to facilitate dialog between South Korea's many religions. He served as its director and president. Through the Academy's committee for interfaith dialogue, Yong sponsored over one hundred meetings among leaders of South Korea's six leading religions. He was arrested in 1979 by the National Intelligence Service of Korea for alleged subversive activity. Kang served two terms as President of the

Christian Conference of Asia The Christian Conference of Asia is a regional ecumenical organisation representing 15 National Councils and over 100 denominations (churches) in New Zealand, Australia, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, East Timor, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, ...

from 1968 to 1983. From 1975 to 1983, he was a member of the Central Committee and of the Executive Committee of the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most ju ...

. In the early 1970s, he initiated and contributed towards the founding of the ecumenical academy Association of Christian Institutes and Study Centres in Asia (ACISCA). Also in the 1970s, Kong lead movements for human rights and democracy in Korea, holding hundreds of dialogs with military leaders to encourage reconciliation and a return to democratic process. Kang promoted interfaith dialog towards reconciliation in a divided Korea, serving as president of the Asian Conference on Religion and Peace and a chairman of the Korean Foundation for Working Together. Yong was an advocate of ecumenism and co-operation between religions. He worked to provide ways for the church to reach the disenfranchised in Asia so that it could provide a voice for them. Kong was awarded the

Niwano Peace Prize The Niwano Peace Prize is given to honor and encourage those devoting themselves to interreligious co-operation in the cause of peace and to make their achievements known. Its foundation hopes that the prize will further promote interreligious co-o ...

in 2000. In 1998, he was selected as one of the 24 people who helped shape Korean history in a public poll conducted by Manifestation d'Art Nouveau International et Forum. He was awarded the Mugunghwa Medal of the Order of Civil Merit by the

Government of South Korea The Government of South Korea is the union government of the Republic of Korea, created by the Constitution of South Korea as the executive, legislative and judicial authority of the republic. The president acts as the head of state and is th ...

posthumously. He died in 2006, survived by his wife and three children.

Books published

* ''I Believe in Christ'' * ''The New Era of the Builder'' (1949) * ''Ruins of the Appeal'' * ''Free the truth'' * ''Life and Religion'' * ''From Seeds'' (1993) * ''I Believe I Have Faith'' (1998) * ''History in the Hills'' (2003) * ''The Dialog for Gangwon Province'' * ''Gangwonyong Collections''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kang, Won Yong 1917 births 2006 deaths Korean clergy Korean Presbyterian ministers Nonviolence advocates Mugunghwa Medals of the Order of Civil Merit (Korea)