Ham Seok-heon

In thisKorean name,the family name isHam.

Ham Seok-heon
Korean name
Hangul	함석헌
Hanja	Hàm tích hiến
Revised Romanization	Ham Seok-heon
McCune–Reischauer	Ham Sokhon

Ham Seok-heon(13 March 1901 – 4 February 1989) was a notable figure in theReligious Society of Friends(Quaker) movement inKorea,and was nicknamed the "Gandhiof Korea. "Ham was an importantAsianvoice forhuman rightsand non-violence during the 20th century, despite numerous imprisonments for his convictions. He was aQuakerwho concluded that all religions are on common ground in terms of human beings, a view shared by many Quakers.

He encouraged peace and democracy and promoted non-violence movement known as “seed idea” (ssi-al sasang), consistently present in his booksKorean History Seen through a Willpublished in 1948,Human Revolutionin 1961,History and Peoplein 1964, andQueen of Suffering: a spiritual history of Koreaedited in 1985. He was also a poet and wrote about 120 poems such as “Song of the West Wind” written in 1983. In 2000, Ham was selected by the Republic of Korea as a national cultural figure.

Early life

Ham was born in Pyongan Province, currently North Korea and grew up as a Presbyterian. In 1919, he joined the March 1st Movement, the beginning of Korean resistance to the Japanese occupation. He lost his place in Pyongyang Public High School. In 1923 he graduated from Osan High School and went to Japan to study to become a teacher. There he first encountered the Non-Church movement, an indigenous Japanese Christian movement that had no liturgy, sacraments or ordained clergy. He spoke out against social injustices and advocated pacifism.

Biography

• March 13, 1901: Born inNorth Pyongan Province(Yong-Cheon)
• 1906: Entered a missionary school of Deokil Elementary School
• 1914: Graduated from Deokil Elementary School
• 1916: Graduated from Yangshi Public Elementary School and entered Pyongyang public high school
• 1919: After protesting against Japanese colonial regime in Korea, quit Pyongyang public high school
• 1923: Graduated from Osan high school and went to Japan to study education in Tokyo
• 1924–1928: Studied the bible underUchimura Kanzowith Kim Gyoshin and Song Duyong
• 1928: Graduated from Tokyo School of Education
• 1928–1938: Taught history and ethics at Osan high school
• 1934: Published “Korean History Seen through a Will” inSeongseo Joseonmagazine
• 1938: After protesting against Japanese colonial regime in Korea, quit working as a teacher at Osan highschool
• 1940–1941: After working at Songsan agricultural&educational school, imprisoned as a protester against the Japanese colonial regime (schemed by the Japanese colonial regime)
• 1942–1943: After writing several articles against Japanese colonial regime in Korea for a monthly magazineSeongseo Joseon(Bible and Korea)', imprisoned at the Seodaemun prison
• 1945: Appointed as a minister of education for Northern Pyongan province
• 1947: Imprisoned as an organizer of a student protests against the Soviet (framed by the Soviet)
• 1956: He criticized social and political problems in an editorial paper, Sasang-gye.
• 1958: Imprisoned for writing an article “Must be a Thinking People to Live” which criticizes the autocratic regime and began his religious career as the Korean representative of Quaker.
• 1961–1963: Studied at the Quaker schoolsPendle Hillin the US andWoodbrookein Britain.
• 1963: Protested against GeneralPark Chung Heebecoming to run for the presidency
• 1965: Protested against Japanese regime and presidentPark Chung Heefor their attempt for an alliance
• 1974: After protesting against PresidentPark Chung Heefor his attempt to change the constitution to be elected again, convicted
• 1979: Nominated forNobel peace prizebyAmerican Friends Service Committee
• 1985: Nominated again for the Nobel peace prize by American Friends Service Committee
• 1987: Received firstInchon Award,given to a person who contributed in the development of press and media.
• February 4, 1989: Died in Seoul National University Hospital
• 2002: After his death, he received the “Accolade for Founding a Nation”, as a sign of recognition from the nation.

Bibliography

• Kim Sung-soo,Biography of a Korean Quaker, Ham Seok-heon,Seoul: Samin Books, 2001, 360 pp.ISBN978-89-87519-49-4

See also

• Christianity in Korea

External links

• Ham Sok Hon Resource Pageat theLibrary of CongressWeb Archives (archived 2002-09-10)
• Queen of Suffering - A Spiritual History of Koreaatarchive.today(archived 2013-01-24)
• Interviews with Teacher Ham
• Korean Ham, Sok Hon website