• Journal of Christian Education in Korea
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• v.69
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• pp.163-192
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• 2022

In the early 20th century, Korean Protestant Christians began two forms of prayer, Tongsung Kido and Dawn Prayer. The two prayers have been loved and performed by Korean Protestants for over 100 years. Speaking in tongues was introduced in the 1950s and became one of the most popular prayers along with Tongsung Kido and dawn prayer. Korean Protestant churches started Bible meditation in the 1970s through journals like the Daily Bible of the Scripture Union Korea. Now contemplative prayer appears as an unfamiliar and strange style of prayer, given the history of prayer so far in Korean churches. Protestant scholars and pastors have made this into a controversy; contemplative prayer is the first non-protestant prayer that has become controversial. The controversy is mainly about biblical origin, theological relevance, and historical and traditional conformity. This study asks and answers why this controversy is important for Korean Protestant churches. This study introduces the controversy and explores why one group accepts the prayer and others do not. Then, this study recounts the history of Korean Protestant prayers and shows the meanings of the encounter of Korean Protestant prayers and contemplative prayer. This study argues that Korean Protestant Christians, through the controversy, can learn that Korean Protestant churches have the potential to create a new prayer culture and tradition and need spiritual discipline through silence.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.12-32
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• 2023

Nowadays, the increasing number of religious travelers seeking inner healing has led to the popularity of Buddhist 'temple stays', Protestant and Catholic 'retreats' as alternative vacations. However, unlike Buddhist temples, which are inculturated, Christian retreat centers follow the formula of general recreational facilities and lack an overall framework due to relying on sponsorship. This study attempts to design appropriate outdoor environments for a retreat by reflecting 'theological aesthetics' based on the process of 'Spiritual Exercises', the main method of retreat. First, as the Spiritual Exercises are often described as an 'inner pilgrimage', the images and theological aesthetics experienced in prayer themes were examined. Next, the characteristics of the spaces required for the facility were analyzed, and the composition of religious spaces was proposed. Also the landscape resources of the site were investigated, and the retreatants' behavior to derive spatial preferences was analyzed. Overall, outdoor spaces were planned to induce a shift in consciousness and broaden the spectrum of the retreatants' experience through a physical environment consistent with the mechanism of prayer. This study aimed to implement theological aesthetics by selecting a retreat center with high potential for landscape resources. As a result, it was possible to reveal the 'poetic landscape' to effectively evoke images during 'contemplative prayer', and to support religious experience. The significance of this study lied in deriving various design vocabularies for outdoor spaces of religious facilities.

• Journal of Christian Education in Korea
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• v.73
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• pp.139-157
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• 2023

In Korean Protestantism, interest in Christian spirituality has grown significantly since the 1980s. Spirituality is now studied and used as a crucial term and topic in theology and ministry. As research on spirituality expanded to various areas of study and ministry and various topics related to spirituality were dealt with, research on spiritual direction also began. Oe-Shik Kim and Hae-Yong Yoo, who studied in North America, are the early scholars who began to study spiritual direction in Korean Protestantism in the 1990s. Their research has influenced Korean Protestant scholars and pastors to understand spiritual direction and apply it to seminary education and the Korean Protestant churches. Spiritual direction has been practiced in the Korean church in the form and content of faith education, spiritual training, devotional training, discipleship training, small groups, and pastoral counseling. The spiritual direction practiced by Eastern, Western, and monastic traditions throughout Christian history is not shared by Korean Protestants. Because Korean Protestantism has developed a unique spiritual tradition in the Korean context, its contents and forms of spiritual direction reflect the Korean context. Korean Protestants are more familiar with Tongsung Kido, early morning prayer, Bible study or Bible meditation, and small groups than contemplative traditions and individual spiritual direction. Thirty years have passed since research on spiritual direction began. The Korean Protestant academia needs to critically reflect on its research and practice. Spiritual direction is a term and tradition of different Christian cultures around the world and is part of Christian history and tradition. Korean Protestant scholars and church ministers need to accept the concept and application of spiritual direction considering the context and spiritual tradition of Korean Protestant churches, a flexible understanding, perspective, and attitude toward the concept and application of spiritual direction in Korean Protestant churches are needed.