The sound of han across generations: a theological response to intergenerational trauma in the Korean diaspora
Embargo Date
2027-05-15
OA Version
Citation
Abstract
This dissertation examines the problem of intergenerational trauma within the Korean American context and proposes a Korean feminist trauma theology of han in response. Seeking a transgenerational approach to theology, I draw on the lineage of Korean(-American) theology of han, where the term han has been developed as theological language for expressing the traumatic wounds of minjung. This project focuses particular attention on the aesthetic dimension of han, evident in early works by Suh Nam-dong. Then, using a trauma framework and creative works by second-generation Korean diasporic authors, I can span generations and re-envision hope through recovering the theological language of han. By reimagining both the expressions of death and life within the language of han, this project reexamines the dynamic energy of ungrievability in the expression of death and uncovers expressions of life embedded in the han-ridden lives of those directly impacted by the traumatic event of the Korean War. Chapter one analyzes the historical engagement of Korean(-American) theologians—Suh Nam-dong, Chung Hyun Kyung, Andrew Sung Park, and Wonhee Anne Joh—with han against sin-centered theology. Chapter two turns to the aesthetic witness of the ongoing impact of silence and secrecy regarding the Korean War on subsequent generations, as described in creative writings of second-generation Korean diaspora writers—Chang-rae Lee and Grace M. Cho. Chapter three situates these generational experiences within the historical and political factors shaping Korean American diasporic trauma and its complicated relationship to ongoing violence of derealization, by drawing on works by Judith Butler, Dan P. McAdams, and Bruce Cumings. The final chapter returns to creative expressions of han in Korean minjung and diasporic literature to develop a constructive theology of han. Particular attention is given to the “sound of han,” depicted through the auditory imagery and expressions of clamorous haunting, which reverberates with the whispers of minjung’s resistance against derealization, seeking a witness.
This project proposes a more life-affirming constructive theology of han that has the potential to shape theologies of hope for younger generations of the Korean diaspora and Korean churches. By reclaiming han’s dynamic and creative energies, this dissertation makes an important contribution to growing literature in feminist trauma theologies of the Spirit/witness.
Description
2024
License
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International