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Organizing as Base Communities on the Campus

By Kwon Jin-Kwan

The Changes Surrounding the SCM

First of all, I would like to start with who I am and where I come from. I was a freshman in college in 1971. I was soon involved in student movements, which then stirred up the whole of South Korea. The ruling elite under the control of the Late President Park, who had already been in his third term of presidency, legislated the Yushin Constitution, which guaranteed Mr. Park to rule the country permanently. It caused the eruption of the nationwide student and workers' movement until the death of Mr. Park in 1979. During this dynamic period, I had been imprisoned twice and interrogated many times at police stations, the CLA-Korea and the National Security Headquarters. The struggles for democracy continued in the 1980s. The movements struggling against military dictatorship became radicalized and enflamed by the brutal trampling by the military of the people's uprising in 1980.

I was given a lengthy time of leave from the struggle, while I studied theology in the United States during most of the 1980s. Having returned to my country after that, I found myself in a much milder situation in the sense that direct physical threats

widely known, in comparison with that of the last two decades, the present situation of Korea has changed significantly in terms of economics and politics. Politically, Korea now has a civilian government.

Although the government's way of ruling has changed significantly, many devices for controlling the people are still intact — such as the national security law, the police and intelligence surveillance system to check and oppress various movements for democracy and national reunification. The substantial reform of the political system is yet to come. Economically, South Korea has become one of the newly industrialized countries. However, the economic development deepened the' dependence of the Korean economy on the advanced countries, especially Japan.

In addition to these, I would like to show the following changes that directly affect the Student Christian Movement in Korea.

Change in the Everyday Political Life

In the 1970-80s, Christian students in Korea daily experienced confrontations with police forces in almost every activity. For example, in 1979, Korean Christian students and young people held a public hearing on the blood donation system. The police in uniform and plain clothes surrounded and interrupted the meeting and arrested active members. The confrontational situation continued until the civilian government was established in 1992, Students had lived eventful lives on campus and on the streets. I am using the term eventful because students created and were involved in events and both government and civilian sectors, including news media, gave attention to them. The events and activities of the students were directed against the government. That is to say, in such a confrontational situation, small activities and programs of various student groups had a political connotation. Thus, they attracted attention from every

sector in society. Their activities and programs easily turned to become events. Now things have changed significantly in this regard. Students' activities no longer draw the attention of ordinary people. The event-centered movement has disappeared. In the past, students, Christian or non-Christian, allied them and organized in groups through their shared consciousness against their common enemy.

Now it seems that the common enemy and people's consciousness of it have disappeared. The everyday confrontational situation no longer exists. The vision and strategies of the Christian movement must be newly sought; because it seems liberal, democracy has started to take its roots in our soil. Our organizational work must be started on new terms. Long-term and short-term organizational strategies should be established; action strategies also sought. It becomes very important that we create a new bond or basis for solidarity. The new basis and bond for solidarity may be found in more positive values such as love, friendship, participation and justice. It seems to me that the role of religion and the Bible, etc. in providing such a basis has become larger.

The Inertia of the Korean Church

Although Christianity has a large potential for a significant contribution to make in the new phase of the movement for human liberation, the established churches in Korea are far behind in assuming the role of the backbone for liberation. The churches pursue the enlargement of their size and budget. The success of church ministers is judged by external results such as increase of members, budget, facilities and assets. The ultimate concern of the established churches in Korea is for their success in these areas. Some churches, which had once held in them large progressive student groups, no longer have them. This seems to mean that churches are discouraging young people's progressive activities. This explains why established churches do not much

support KSCF activities. Christian students seem to have made many efforts to make the churches their bases, but only to find churches unfavorable for them. Some churches attract many evangelical students through different means. This phenomenon also indicates that the Korean church in general wants to be evangelical and socially indifferent rather than be in alliance with other righteous groups and organizations for justice, peace and the integrity of creation. This leads young Christians to leave the churches and seek alternative churches such as minjung churches and other small churches.

An Ideological Vacuum?

With the downfall of socialism, the ideological alternative to capitalism dwindled. People no longer devote themselves to and sacrifice themselves for such values as social justice, equality, and responsibility. As the socialist experiments in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe failed, the hope for an alternative social system — socialism — that would be able to replace the capitalist one has dwindled. Suddenly many young people are concentrating on their success and material prosperity. The spiritual scene on campuses has changed significantly. Libraries are full of students studying foreign languages (e.g. for the TOEFL) and job-related subjects. Books on liberal arts are not read. It seems that a certain ideology -capitalistic success-oriented ideology — prevails in universities and the whole society. Young people are competing with each other for success, trying to survive even by stepping on others' shoulders. It seems that by coining and spreading the idea of Segye-hwa, meaning globalization or internationalization, the present government stirs up among the whole nation the atmosphere of all-out competition. In addition, we have to be careful in detecting the effects of such an atmosphere on the quality of life of the ordinary people. The recent suicidal protest by a disabled man who kept a stall on the street in Seoul symbolizes the situation of the marginalized people. This man set himself on fire

and died as a token of his protest against the government’s suppression of the street stalls.

I stated above some changes that have taken place in recent years. In spite of the changes that might be unfavorable for the SCM, the SCM must continue to be a witness to the Kingdom of God in our society. The vision of the SCM is political koinonia. Political koinonia or social koinonia is another term for civil society. It seems to me that the SCM's social goal is to construct a political and social koinonia where all members of the society are supported and insured to be its subjects and protagonists.

Characteristics of Students Favorable to Movement Building

Students have some important characteristics, which would help enhance the possibilities of the Student Christian Movement. These are the following:

1. Students are relatively free from the responsibility for family life. A student is not normally expected to earn a living for his or her family. The four or so years in college are a special period of his or her life. He / She is relatively free from social and familial responsibility; he / she is able to pour his/her energy into Christian mission. Therefore, the student movement including the SCM could be the most idealistic movement.

2. The college period is intellectually the most active time in one's whole life. College years are the time to think, analyze, and judge in the most thorough way. Therefore, it is the most suitable time in one's whole life for envisioning a new alternative world. It is also the time to study and learn most intensively.

3. being free from occupations, students can maintain relative objectivity in looking at history and society. College students may be the most just among all generations. They are most concerned with historical and social problems. Therefore, we Koreans often call college students the conscience of the nation, although many present college students tend to be concerned with their own worldly success and prosperity. Anyway, they behave and act, at least sometimes, up to that title.

4. Students are ecumenical. They may be involved in denominations, but it is not out of their intention, but only out of chance. Because they do not have much denomination – consciousness, they may become core elements of the ecumenical movement.

5. The student movement is a lay movement. The SCM may be a testing ground where the idea of universal priesthood can be tested and practiced. The SCM is also like a training center where lay leadership is raised. Korean churches have not been successful in fostering lay leadership; rather, they have suppressed lay leadership in the church. The result was the creation of minister – centered, hierarchical, and institutional churches where only a few people decide the whole church’s life, and participation of the laity is systematically discouraged. The SCM may take part in the countervailing forces, which resist the institutionalization trend of the Korean church. Thus, the SCM, I believe, is a church – reformation force.

6. The SCM as a Christian movement draws up the resources for the movement from the spiritual well of Christianity. Most historical movements such as the Donghak Peasant Movement and the March 1 Independence Movement depended on religions in terms of organization and vision. We have many sources available in our religious tradition

for the student movement. The SCM must be keen in discerning the religious elements in every significant social transformation movement in history. Even such secular movements as Marxist ones had “religious” elements. The latter had their “scripture” and tenets or doctrines, etc., from which they gained symbolic and real energy. The Student Christian Movement must be good at drawing energy for the movement. We, SCM people also have the long tradition of the minjung movement and minjung (the socially weak) organizations such as minjung churches and programs for minjung; we have narratives and symbols, which are in the scriptures; finally, we have material resources in the churches.

Some Strategies for SCM

Now what we are going to do in the wake of drastic changes going on both inside and outside Korea? This leads us to consider some strategies for the Student Christian Movement.

Catalyzing broadly based Christian movement for Political Koinonia. I believe that the SCM should assume the role of the catalyst for a broad ecumenical movement. It is to play the role of facilitating and broadly connecting various Christian movements, which aim at witnessing and actualizing the Kingdom of God in our society, that is, political koinonia. The Korean ecumenical movement seems to have lost its impetus in these years, while there is an upsurge of other movements outside Christianity, The characteristic of the latter seems to be that they have succeeded in broadly connecting, integrating and 'mobilizing various elements, resources, human power, and groups toward a common goal or value, for example, the elimination of pollution, economic justice and participation, to state only few.

The ecumenical movement has suffered splits along political and denominational lines. This is one of the reasons why the ecumenical movement in Korea was not able to hold and carry out missions that history required. It seems to me that it is time for us to start anew an ecumenical movement for political koinonia. SCM students must bear the burdens that their seniors have borne. In the past SCM, students were catalysts and mediators among ecumenical elements. Now I am suggesting that the SCM should again assume the role of catalyst. However, a catalyst for what?

Building ecumenical solidarity among churches for Political Koinonia in the wider society. The ecumenical movement of the Korean churches has been working on such issues as the reunification of the nation, peace, justice, human rights, pollution, jongshindae (young women forced to serve the Japanese troops as sexual slaves during World War II), etc. Since the ecumenical movement does not receive much support from local churches, it does not take its roots in local churches. Its activities are carried in a sporadic and transient manner without long-term planning; they just happen like regular programs. The activities are not accumulated and assessed to rise to advanced follow-up activities.

The Korean ecumenical movement must remobilize local churches and Christian groups and individuals widely into a strong solidarity, by which consistent, ongoing activities for the creation of political koinonia may become possible. Korean churches are lacking in ecumenical solidarity. If there is any cooperation, that cooperation takes place in the area of church program exchanges rather than that of social issues. The Korean ecumenical movement must follow its shining tradition; it must send its roots deep into churches and receive continuous support from them, which will stabilize and foster its activities.

In this ecumenical movement, SCM students will have to play the role of facilitator. This broadly based ecumenical movement, which is hoped to exist in Korea, considers the building of the political koinonia as an important agenda. I would like to suggest that the Korean ecumenical movement should construct a movement organization, which deals rather comprehensively with the socio-politico-economic problems our nation is facing, an organization which will be broadly based on churches and recruit personnel, experts, students, women and volunteers.

In the meantime, I would like to suggest that Christian students organize themselves on each campus in the form of base communities. I mean by base community an organic association or community whose spirituality and energy originates from its base. Members are expected to be in the bond of friendship; participation of all members are encouraged. At the center of these base communities is the Bible. Members are expected to think, talk about, and interpret what the Bible says to them in their own situation. The base community is thus a community of hermeneutics. Members exchange their ideas; dialogue is a way of reaching higher understanding.

I was very impressed with a booklet published early this year by KSCF in their campaign for recruiting incoming students. SCM members wrote this booklet. Let me introduce just a part of this booklet:

Those who love and study the Bible are the people who live together. The Bible from its beginning integrates in itself the sufferings and hope of communities. The communities in turn witness to the Bible as the Scripture. Thus, we believe that the purpose of Bible study is to contribute to the building of communities and their maturity... In the Koinonia of the community, members share their experiences and expand common awareness. However, the most important thing is to construct

communities where members share their sufferings and destiny... We must construct the body of Christ by establishing the community of sharing where we may experience joy and liberation.

Conclusion

I would like to conclude by saying that these base communities must be organized in churches, industrial areas, and residential areas as well as on campuses. It is especially important to establish student groups in churches. Church students may also be SCM members. And I expect these base communities to be in broader network, which may result in constructing a strong ecumenical movement in Korea.