Moon Ik-hwan (June 2, 1918 – January 18, 1994) was a South Korean

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

, and activist engaged in various social movements. He was also the father of

Moon Sung-keun Moon Sung-keun (born May 28, 1953) is a South Korean actor and politician. He has won three Blue Dragon Film Awards, two Baeksang Arts Awards, and two Chunsa Film Art Awards for Best Actor. Career Moon was born in Tokyo, Japan. His father was ...

, a noted actor in South Korea.

Early life and education

He was born in

Longjing, Jilin Longjing (; Chosŏn'gŭl: 룡정; Hangul: 룽징) is a county-level city in Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, southeastern Jilin province, China. It lies on the Tumen River opposite the North Korean city Hoeryong. Its population is approxima ...

as the first son of the Reverend, Moon Jae-rin and mother, Shin Sin-muk. He had two brothers and two sisters. He and his brother became pastors. He was raised in Bukgando where

Korean independence movement The Korean independence movement was a military and diplomatic campaign to achieve the independence of Korea from Empire of Japan, Japan. After the Japanese Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910, annexation of Korea in 1910, Korea's domestic resistance pe ...

was centered. After finishing up education at Myeongdong Elementary school and Eunjin Middle school that ethnic Koreans established, Moon went to Sungsil Middle School in

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populat ...

, and then Yongjeong Gwangmyeong School in Bukgando. Although Moon Ik-hwan entered

Tokyo Union Theological Seminary is a private university in Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1930, and it was chartered as a university in 1949. Tokyo Union Theological Seminary is a Seminary of the United Church of Christ in Japan The Unite ...

in Japan, he was dismissed from the school because of his refusal to enlist himself to Japanese army. He then transferred to Bongcheon Seminary (봉천신학교) in

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer M ...

and served as a preacher at a Korean church. In 1947, he graduated Hansin University and received the imposition of hands. After he earned his master's degree from

Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of t ...

in the United States, he returned to South Korea and began to lecture the Old Testament at

Yonsei University Yonsei University (; ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea. As a member of the " SKY" universities, Yonsei University is deemed one of the three most prestigious institutions in the country. It is particularly respected in th ...

and Hanshin University. Later, he worked on translating the Old Testament until he devoted himself on unification of two Koreas and democracy of South Korea.

Career

Moon worked as the main chief for the translation on the Old Testament by a joint collaboration of the Protestant and Catholic church in South Korea for 8 years. Moon was imprisoned in 1976 for dissident activities and again in 1986 for his alleged encouragement of student activists at Seoul National University and his leadership in the protest at Inch'on in May of that year.

Donald Stone Macdonald Donald Stone Macdonald (1919 – August 29, 1993) was an American academic who specialized in Korean affairs, in particular the bilateral relations between South Korea and the United States. Macdonald had two careers, both concerning Korea. He w ...

"The Koreans: Contemporary Politics and Society"; 3rd ed. "Society and Culture". 1996 p. 102. (3·1민주구국선언). According to the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'':

Moon was jailed five times, for a total of 10 years, for dissident activities. In the spring of 1993 he was released early from a five-year sentence for making an unapproved visit to North Korea, where he spoke with leaders about the possibility of unification, in 1989. South Korean law bars contacts with Communists without prior approval."Moon Ik Hwan Dies; Dictators' Foe Was 76". ''The New York Times'. 20 Jan. 1994 P. B8.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moon, Ik-hwan 1918 births 1994 deaths Korean nationalists South Korean democracy activists