Date of Award

5-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in History

Department

History

First Reader/Committee Chair

Murray, Jeremy

Abstract

In July of 1987, after almost a decade of military rule, President Chun Doo-hwan of South Korea agreed to resign as acting president, thus allowing the first democratic elections to take place in the country for the first time in 27 years. The citizens of South Korea rejoiced at hearing the news that democracy has finally come to the country and they no longer would have to live in fear from an authoritarian government. People were now free to express their frustrations, concerns, and not having to worry about being detained by the Korean Central Intelligence Agency or the anti-communist police. While many of the ordinary people did take measures to achieve this goal, there were certain groups in the background helping get things done. One of those organizations was none other than the Catholic Church. Two key religious figures will come to play in the movement, the late Cardinal Kim Sou-hwan and Father Ham Se-woong. This thesis is an examination of how these two men of faith got involved in the politics of two of the most devastating dictatorships in South Korea during a period when the threat of the spread of communism was at large in the era of cold war. The thesis also looks at and answers the questions about whether or not the church needed to get involved in politics and if it is required to have the government respect and honor the rights that each human being deserves to have. This thesis first examines the history behind the founding of the Catholic Church in Korea and amidst some of the worst persecutions in the early nineteenth century, the Church was able to prevail and have a place as one of the many religions that are practiced in Korea today. It will next examine how the Church became involved in politics and social activity from the Japanese Colonial Period, the separation of the peninsula into north and south and how politics became even more involved between the two countries. It will then finish with the cases of the Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan regimes and how the leaders of the Church, Cardinal Kim and Father Ham, along with other individuals, were active in supporting the movements that took place and would eventually lead to the full democratization of the country in 1987.

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