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

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

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 (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, and

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

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 ) , image_skyline = Changbaishan Tianchi from western rim.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = View of Heaven Lake , image_map = Jilin in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_al ...

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 series of diplomatic and militant efforts to liberate Korea from Japanese rule. The movement began around the late 19th or early 20th century, and ended with the surrender of Japan in 1945. As independence a ...

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 city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...

, and then Yongjeong Gwangmyeong School in Bukgando. Although Moon Ik-hwan entered Tokyo Union Theological Seminary 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 a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...

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 university, private seminary, school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Establish ...

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

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

Yonsei University Yonsei University () is a Private university, private Christian university, Christian research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Yonsei is one of the three most prestigious universities in the country, part of a group referred to as SK ...

and

Hanshin University Hanshin University () is a private university in Osan, in the Seoul National Capital Area of South Korea. Established in 1939, it is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea. Hanshin University was formerly a theological s ...

. Later, he worked on translating the Old Testament until he devoted himself on unification of the 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 "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'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'':

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