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Appendix X

Amidst Revolution – Christian Progress

A statement from the Korean Student Christian Council,

prepared, by the Rev. Dale Robbe, Corresponding Secretary, 1961

In the months after the Rev. Frank Engel's visit to Korea, the mood of anxious uncertainty continued to prevail among students. They were exceeding zealous to guide the nation but frustrated by what they behold in the political arena. The two leading parties struggled continually. Each party splintered into three factions or circles, making every decision after long and often painful negotiation to satisfy enough factions to bolster a majority.

Despite these difficulties, several necessary economic changes were made: (1) the adoption of a uniform and realistic exchange rate, (2) the voting of a rate increase for the state-operated transportation and utilities systems, and (3) the inauguration of a program of public works to relieve unemployment. The immediate effect of the first two changes was to throw the people into deeper financial hardship. The public works program was launched with great fanfare but ran into many snags and was slow in getting under way.

Meanwhile, public unrest was evidenced daily in street demonstrations. Among more than one thousand five hundred "demos" between April 19, 1960, and May 16, 1961, there were several in protests against street demonstration. Officials at the top levels were continually called out to confront shouting crowds in the streets. The press used its unprecedented freedom to deride the government relentlessly. Food shortages from a poor harvest in 1960 brought severe hardship in the late winter and spring months, especially in rural areas.

The response of Christian groups to the famine was an exceedingly successful campaign initiated by the churches and supported by many groups and individuals - Christian and non-Christian,

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From Student World, No. 4, 1961

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nationwide. With a spirit of unity and determination seldom seen before among denomination-conscious groups, the Protestant churches collected more than one thousand bushels of rice, over forty thousand pieces of clothing, and approximately $22,500. The students in KSCC shared in this campaign, raising almost $700 of the above total. The whole nation responded and supported the Protestant call to rise up and give aid to needy rural families.

The nation was further troubled by a very vocal minority of the students who campaigned for early reunification of Korea through cultural exchanges with North Korea, student talks with North Korean students, neutralization of all Korea, and the withdrawal of all foreign troops.

As the first anniversary of the April Student Revolution drew near there were widespread rumors of another revolt. One Christian student played a key role in getting an agreement among leading students from the major universities that there should be no student demonstrations on April 19. The day was observed with restraint, thus easing public anxiety noticeably. The student who had worked diligently to avert violence on the anniversary day explained that he did not do so because he felt that the government was doing well, but that he thought further street demonstrations would only breed chaos.

In student discussions, a common question was "Why did our revolution fail?" One Christian student at a weekly study group said pointedly, "We did not fight in the streets to turn out the Liberal Party in order to let the Democratic Party carry on the same kind of corruption." The inference in his statement may not be very accurate, but his words do reveal the discouragement, which many students were feeling.

At dawn on May 16, Seoul citizens were awakened by gunfire in the streets, discovering by seven o'clock in the morning that military control of the city had been established. Paratroopers in battle dress guarded public buildings, radio stations and key intersections of the city streets.

Reactions were varied, but the populace as a whole seemed to accept the sudden change with a sense of relief. The army had won great popularity in the previous revolution by restoring order without turning their weapons on the students. The new national leader, General Chang Do Young, announced that the students were to go

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back to school and study! Student political discussion and agitation ceased abruptly. Among the thousands of persons arrested in the first week of the new regime, there were several dozen students and professors. Most of these were later released, but the few were on a trial in September for anti – state activity, that is, for the agitation for reunification mentioned earlier in this article. All student and other organizations were required to register. Many were abolished. Meetings were strictly forbidden unless approved by the police in advance. Even in the July shift of power to General Park Chung Hee, there was complete silence among students.

Many other changes followed the Military Revolution: Traffic operations were suddenly transformed from confusion to order. The public works programme was widely and rapidly expanded. A foreign luxury goods ban, promulgated by the pre-Revolution government, went into effect on September 1, 1961, resulting in the sudden disappearance of vast stocks of merchandise smuggled in from Japan or siphoned by various means from United Sates Military Supply channels. The previous flow of the latter had been reported to run as high as $1,000,000 a month.

The three inefficiently operated electric companies were merged under military control. This important move, along with many others taken by the two governments in the first eight months of 1961, involved long-needed reforms, thus laying the foundation for national economic progress. In the fall months of 1961, the flow of goods and industrial production were still depressed. However, the government was working aggressively on short-range and long-range economic programs designed to set off a new period of national economic growth. The general policy appeared to combine wide freedom for private enterprise with public financial aid or with government-sponsored companies to speed the development of key industries, such as coal and steel.

The new Minister of Education announced new laws, which caused sweeping changes in the educational system. Major policies included:

1. All colleges, public and private, were to be re-organized in such a way as to eliminate the existing heavy concentration upon literature, law and the arts, and to emphasize scientific and vocational studies.

2. College enrollment was to be reduced from 145,000 to 50,000.

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(There appeared to be two aims to this programme. The outpouring of many thousands of college graduates from the nation's colleges far exceeds the employment opportunities. In addition, it was hoped that this step would prove to be a partial solution of the drain of rural capital for education in the cities. More than fifty percent of all currency in circulation has been flowing into the schools each year in the form of fees paid by students. Rural families incur increasing indebtedness at interest rates from 50 per cent upwards in order to pay school fees.)

3. All educators in administrative roles who are over sixty years of age were required to resign. It was reported that 19 college and university presidents and 295 principals were released from office in the month of September. A large proportion of all schools, public and private, passed into the hands of newly appointed younger administrators.

4. Foreign influence was to be eliminated. The membership of school boards must include more than two-thirds nationals, and the Chairman must be a national.

In the midst of revolutionary changes, the Korean Student Christian Council has continued to gain in strength and effectiveness. The first united national student Christian conference was held at Inchon, March 24-27, 1961. One hundred and nineteen students and leaders from forty -one colleges shared in a study of the responsibility of a Christian and of the Church in society.

The arrival of a team of four Japanese students and two leaders proved to be a highlight of the Inchon Conference. Prior to the Student Revolution, there had been no opportunity for friendly contact between the two neighboring nations. As soon as the doors opened, KSCC began negotiations with the SCM in Japan for an exchange of Christian students. In February 1961, two Korean professors visited Tokyo for a conference of Christian professors. From March 22 to April 4, the above-mentioned team toured Korea. In August, a team of five Korean students and two leaders visited Japan. Korean participants are enthusiastic in urging the continuance of the exchange programme in coming years. Through such contact, Christians are reconciled to one another, discovering their oneness in spite of the wall of ill will and misunderstanding, which still separates the two nations.

KSCC sponsored a Leader Seminar on June 17, focusing careful

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attention upon the content and methods of Christian campus programs in present day Korea. The publication of a series of study guides has been initiated with a translation of "Church and Society" a study booklet prepared by the East Asia Christian Council. A Bible study guide, "Commitment, Discipline and Service" came off the press in September.

The study of the Life and Mission of the Church will be carried forward in the current semester in special groups of students and adults. Delegations of six leaders are preparing to attend the Bangalore, India, conference, December 15-27. We rejoice in the unity we have found in our work. We are thankful for the encouragement received from other national Movements and we hope that our colleagues will continue to uphold us in prayer as we seek to serve Christ together in this revolutionary era.