• Journal of the Korean Association of African Studies
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• v.29
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• pp.27-53
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• 2009

At the start of the new century, South Africa probably had the largest number of HIV-infected people of any country in the world. The only nation that comes close is India with a population of one billion people compared to South Africa's figure of 57 million. The tragedy is that this did not have to happen. South Africa was aware of the dangers posed by AIDS as early as 1985. In 1991, the national survey of women attending antenatal clinics found that only 0.8percent were infected. In 1994, when the new government took power, the figure was still comparatively low at 7.6 %. The 2004 figure which has been published is 26.5%. This article tracks the epidemic globally, in the region and in South Africa. I explain some of the basic concepts around the disease and look at what may happen with respect to numbers. The situation is bad, and the number of people falling ill, dying and leaving families will rise over next few years. This will impact on South Africa in a number of important ways. This article assesses the demographic, economic and social consequences of the epidemic. It disposes of a number of myths and present the real facts. The AIDS in South Africa is not related to individuals only. It warns that AIDS in Africa is becoming a community and systemic problem. The acuteness of the problem does not stem merely from the fact that communities are affected, or could even be wipe out by the end of this decade, but from the fact that AIDS will place incredible burdens and obligations upon medical services, health care and religious communities such as churches. The facts confront churches' mission with the important question: who is going to take care of all the patients and where? The reality is that people dying of AIDS will have to be cared for at home by relatives and friends. A further question that arises is whether our people are prepared for this. AIDS was considered to be a homo-plague and the hunt was on for a scapegoat in the light of the fatal implication of the disease. At present we are in the strategic phase where we all realize that it will be of no avail to scare people with the ominous threat of AIDS AIDS destroys the optimism of our achievement ethics. This exposure of the culture of optimism is also an exposure of the so-called 'human basic fear which accuses Christianity that their concept of sin is a damper on man's search for liberation and basic need to be freed from all Imitation. AIDS is also a test for our ecclesiastical genuineness and the sincerity of our mission sensibility. It poses the question: How unconditional is Christian love? Is there room for the AIDS sufferer in the community of believers, despite the fact he is an acknowledged homosexual? The question to put to the church is whether the community of believers is an exclusive to put to the koinonia which excludes homosexuals. They may be welcome on principle, but in actual fact are not acceptable to the church community. As South Africa enters the new century, it is clear that the epidemic is not having a measurable impact. However, the impact of AIDS is gradual, subtle and incremental. The author's proposal of what is currently most needed in South Africa is that the little things will make a difference. It's about doing lots of little things better at grassroots level, with the emphasis on doing. There are so many community, churches and NGOs initiatives worth building on and intensifying. One must not underestimate the therapeutic value of working together in small groups to overcome a problem

• Journal of Christian Education in Korea
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• v.66
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• pp.413-437
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• 2021

Humans are created as spiritual beings that can relate to God. However, when a human spirit refuses to transform through confronting God, it experiences a crisis. A spiritual crisis results from disconnecting with God, who is the ultimate foundation, but we humans try to overcome such absence through accomplishments and efforts. In this technological age, the ethics issues of AI (Artificial Intelligence), robots, and cloning are related to anthropology. The development of the mind, heart, and logic cannot suggest a basis for destruction and confusion as much as the development of the world. In fact, education focused on the human mind cannot be considered holistic. Mind, together with thought, will, and belief, plays a crucial role in making choices and leading a human life. So it is actively studied in other domains other than Christian education. However, although the human spirit takes care of some territory of humanity, unlike the mind, it can neither be partial nor fragmentary. Instead, it manages the transformation that influences the core of human life. Therefore, Christian education must clearly concentrate on the spirit rather than on other human elements, intentionally concerning spiritual transformation through encounters with God. In other words, Christian education is the passage connecting a human spirit to God's presence at work, which enables us to understand the human being as a whole. For this, we must put our efforts to increase the chances of encountering God through Christian education. While "Encounter" requires both parties' interaction, "Transformation" stresses God as the main agent and His proactive nature. I also want to emphasize "worship" as the opportunity to communicate and experience God in our daily lives. By examining the preparation and the process of the spiritual transformation of humans, this paper would offer a theological foundation for continued transformation of the human spirit in the faith community, rather than personal experience or conviction.

• Journal of Christian Education in Korea
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• v.64
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• pp.51-79
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• 2020

This study was conducted to pursue Christian education with the socially underprivileged in the era of the Corona-19 pandemic. Corona-19 is a disaster which is caused, destroyed and exploited by human being. At the time of the indiscriminately spreading global pendemic, we must work together to overcome our selfish self-centeredness and make an attempt for everyone in need. It is a study on how humans can help each other survive in the era of Corona-19 and its post-corona. The problem is that there is too much discrimination between the state, race, and economic capacity, and in the end, the extreme discrimination of capitalism is appeared in society and across the country. There is no significant difference in the confirmation rate when Corona-19 infiltrates, but there is a big difference between those with and less in mortality. As a result, today's reality is that people who have a hard time living because they have less usually are far more vulnerable to blocking and defeating virus attacks. Unfortunately, this is the current situation. From the standpoint of a large discourse, attention is paid to climate change and ecological environment, and as a micro discourse, a number of societies who live with tremendous discrimination according to the gap between the rich and the poor (it is gender, race, disabled, nationality) that exist in almost all countries on the planet. We need attention to the weak. To this end, discourses on vaccine inequality, discourses on the needs of the disabled, discourses on different racial damages, discourses on polarization and dystopia, and discourses on educational inequality were treated as the reality faced by the socially underprivileged in the Corona 19 pandemic. To explore Christian education with the socially underprivileged, to explore ways of sharing, giving, and solidarity for win-win, discourse on inter-dependence and mutual responsibility of mankind, direct counter-measures for the socially underprivileged, and critical literacy education. He proposed a discourse on Korea, a discourse on Homo sapiens, which must return to being a part of creation, and finally a theology of friendship with the weak. Christian education based on Bible words must go forward in the era of the Corona 19 pandemic, hungry, naked, nowhere to go, sick, but dying because of being unable to get a remedy. He emphasized the need to establish a caring theology of friendship and pursue a life in which thought and practice harmonize. Thus, the paper proposed the spirit of Christian education not only doing something for the socially weak, but with the socially weak in the daily life.

• Journal of Christian Education in Korea
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• v.68
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• pp.345-374
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• 2021

This study is a paper which studies the fact that autobiographical writing in Christian educational books is an important channel for studying the identity of Christian educators. The identity of Christian educators is the background and foundation of the study of Christian education theory. It was found through research that the scholar's identity is more evident in autobiographical writing from a first-person perspective experienced by the author than in argumentative writing with objective and cognitive limitations. This study examined the concept and characteristics of autobiographical writing research, the relationship of autobiographical writing research and self-identity, the relationship between autobiographical writing and Christian education, and discovered autobiographical writing in Christian educational scholars' books. Through the autobiographical writing of Maria Harris' Teaching and Religious Imagination, Parker Palmer's The Courage to Teach, and Elizabeth Moore's Teaching as a Sacrament Act, we studied that the identity of Christian educators can meet, transform, and expand learners' identity as well. Through research, it has been confirmed that autobiographical writing takes the form of a story, but as a story distinct from the story, it becomes a place where the authors' identity and readers' identity can meet, wrestle and expand. Autobiographical writing has a relationship with story and self-identity. These characteristics are also linked to Christian educational goals that focus on the formation and transformation of self-identity. The autobiographical writing in Harris, Palmer, and Moore's writings shows the identity of a teacher, including scholars' theological perspectives and views on education. As the writing of Christian education books so far has become argumentative and objective writing, readers has felt a sense of disparity and disconnection. If autobiographical writing becomes educational books' style, it can invite readers to empathize with who the author is. Christian education will experience more fundamental changes with autobiographical writing.

• Journal of the Korean Society for information Management
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.331-350
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• 2022

This study aims to understand topics of incivility related to COVID-19 from analyzing Twitter posts including COVID-19-related hate speech. To achieve the goal, a total of 63,802 tweets that were created between December 1st, 2019, and August 31st, 2021, covering three targets of hate speech including region and public facilities, groups of people, and religion were analyzed. Frequency analysis, dynamic topic modeling, and keyword co-occurrence network analysis were used to explore topics and keywords. 1) Results of frequency analysis revealed that hate against regions and public facilities showed a relatively increasing trend while hate against specific groups of people and religion showed a relatively decreasing trend. 2) Results of dynamic topic modeling analysis showed keywords of each of the three targets of hate speech. Keywords of the region and public facilities included "Daegu, Gyeongbuk local hate", "interregional hate", and "public facility hate"; groups of people included "China hate", "virus spreaders", and "outdoor activity sanctions"; and religion included "Shincheonji", "Christianity", "religious infection", "refusal of quarantine", and "places visited by confirmed cases". 3) Similarly, results of keyword co-occurrence network analysis revealed keywords of three targets: region and public facilities (Corona, Daegu, confirmed cases, Shincheonji, Gyeongbuk, region); specific groups of people (Coronavirus, Wuhan pneumonia, Wuhan, China, Chinese, People, Entry, Banned); and religion (Corona, Church, Daegu, confirmed cases, infection). This study attempted to grasp the public's anti-citizenship public opinion related to COVID-19 by identifying domestic COVID-19 hate targets and keywords using social media. In particular, it is meaningful to grasp public opinion on incivility topics and hate emotions expressed on social media using data mining techniques for hate-related to COVID-19, which has not been attempted in previous studies. In addition, the results of this study suggest practical implications in that they can be based on basic data for contributing to the establishment of systems and policies for cultural communication measures in preparation for the post-COVID-19 era.

• Journal of Christian Education in Korea
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• v.74
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• pp.107-134
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• 2023

The purpose of this study is to provide a foundation for establishing the correct direction of education that utilizes artificial intelligence, a key technology of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, in the context of Christian education. To achieve this, theoretical and literature research was conducted. First, the research analyzed the historical development of artificial intelligence to understand its characteristics. Second, the research analyzed the use of artificial intelligence in convergence education from an educational perspective and examined the current policy direction in South Korea. Through this analysis, the research examined the direction of Christian education in the era of artificial intelligence. In particular, the research critically examined the perspectives of continuity and change in the context of Christian education in the era of artificial intelligence. The research reflected upon the fundamental educational purposes of Christian education that should remain unchanged despite the changing times. Furthermore, the research deliberated on the educational curriculum and teaching methods that should adapt to the changing dynamics of the era. In conclusion, this research emphasizes that even in the era of artificial intelligence, the fundamental objectives of Christian education should not be compromised. The utilization of artificial intelligence in education should serve as a tool that fulfills the mission permitted by God. Therefore, Christian education should remain centered around God, rooted in the principles of the Bible. Moreover, Christian education should aim to foster creative and convergent Christian nurturing. To achieve this, it is crucial to provide learners with an educational environment that actively utilizes AI-based hybrid learning environments and metaverse educational platforms, combining online and offline learning spaces. Moreover, to enhance learners' engagement and effectiveness in education, it is essential to actively utilize AI-based edutech that reflects the aforementioned educational environments. Lastly, in order to cultivate Christian learners with dynamic knowledge, it is crucial to employ a variety of teaching and learning methods grounded in constructivist theories, which emphasize active learner participation, collaboration, inquiry, and reflection. These approaches seek to align knowledge with life experiences, promoting a holistic convergence of faith and learning.

• Journal of Christian Education in Korea
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• v.76
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• pp.27-49
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• 2023

Purpose of study: The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the alternative possibility of Christian children's education overcoming the current church school paradigm namely schooling system by examining the characteristics and the direction of children's spiritual education. Research content and method: This paper is a review of the characteristics of children's spiritual education and ways to embody those characteristics. Therefore, it consists of two parts: the characteristics of children's spiritual education and the search for ways to embody those characteristics. First, children's spiritual education is a "formative" model that aims to form children's spirituality based on children's spirituality research that views children as 'spiritual beings.' This model specifically has three core orientations: 'experience', 'meeting God', and 'immersion'. In other words, children's spiritual education pursues 'experience rather than knowledge', pursues the experience of meeting God in the second person rather than teaching third-person knowledge about God, and values the spiritual moment of immersion more than anything else. Second, it searches for specific ways and methods through which those three core goals could be implemented, and found that they were 'sense,' 'liturgy,' and 'story.' The sense becomes a path that evokes experience, the liturgy becomes a place for 'meeting God,' and 'story' becomes a key path to 'immersion.' And when the three are organically combined with each other, the goals pursued by children's spiritual education can be holistically converged. Conclusions and Suggestions: Through these considerations, it found that the core values and direction of education are consistently maintained in children's spiritual education, from children's understanding to education methods. It also figured out that the direction should be shared not only by children's spiritual education but also by all who pursue holistic faith education: 'what to experience' rather than 'what to teach', 'liturgy' rather than 'teaching', 'story' rather than 'explanation', and 'sensory' experiences rather than 'abstract' knowledge.

• Sim-seong Yeon-gu
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.36-66
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• 2011

The goal of this article is to examine the connection between creativity of unconscious and religion. Jung criticized how Freud's approach in studying the unconscious as a scientific inquiry focuses on the unconscious as reflecting only those which is repressed by the ego. Jung conceived of the unconscious as encompassing not only the repressed but also the variety of other psychic materials that have not reached the threshold of the consciousness in its range. Moreover, since human psyche is as individualistic as is a collective phenomenon, the collective psyche is thought to be pervasive at the bottom of the psychic functioning and the conscious and the personal unconscious comprising the upper level of the psychic functioning. Through clinical and personal experience, Jung had come to a realization that the unconscious has the self-regulatory function. The unconscious can make "demands" and also can retract its demands. Jung saw this as the autonomous function of the unconscious. And this autonomous unconscious creates, through dreams and fantasies, images that include an abundance of ideas and feelings. These creative images the unconscious produces assist and lead the "individuation process" which leads to the discovery of the Self. Because this unconscious process compensates the conscious ego, it has the necessary ingredients for self-regulation and can function in a creative and autonomous fashion. Jung saw religion as a special attitude of human psyche, which can be explained by careful and diligent observation about a dynamic being or action, which Rudolph Otto called the Numinosum. This kind of being or action does not get elicited by artificial or willful action. On the contrary, it takes a hold and dominates the human subject. Jung distinguished between religion and religious sector or denomination. He explained religious sector as reflecting the contents of sanctified and indoctrinated religious experiences. It is fixated in the complex organization of ritualized thoughts. And this ritualization gives rise to a system that is fixated. There is a clear goal in the religious sector to replace intellectual experiences with firmly established dogma and rituals. Religion as Jung experienced is the attitude of contemplation about Numinosum, which is formed by the images of the collective unconscious that is propelled by the creativity and autonomy of the unconscious. Religious sector is a religious community that is formed by these images that are ritualized. Jung saw religion as the relationship with the best or the uttermost value. And this relationship has a duality of being involuntary and reflecting free will. Therefore people can be influenced by one value, overcome with the unconscious being charged with psychic energy, or could accept it on a conscious level. Jung saw God as the dominating psychic element among humans or that psychic reality itself. Although Jung grew up in the atmosphere of the traditional Swiss reformed church, it does not seem that he considered himself to be a devoted Christian. To Jung, Christianity is a habitual, ritualized institution, which lacked vitality because it did not have the intellectual honesty or spiritual energy. However, Jung's encounter with the dramatic religious experience at age 12 through hallucination led him to perceive the existence of living god in his unconscious. This is why the theological questions and religious problems in everyday life became Jung's life-long interest. To this author, the reason why Jung delved into problems with religion has to do with his personal interest and love for the revival of the Christian church which had lost its spiritual vitality and depth and had become heavily ritualized.