KOREAN CHRISTIAN STUDENTS
WHEREAS God's creation is one and whole. and maintaining this earth lies with every person of good faith; and
WHEREAS Fellow human beings are being oppressed and mistreated by the government of South Korea, operating under martial law; and
WHEREAS the Korean Student Christian Federation, the only nationwide group for young Christians left in Korea, is now a special target of that government, and as a result Christians are in Korean prisons in large numbers; and
WHEREAS this oppression in South Korea should be seen in the light of a Christian belief in ultimate freedom of mind and body, as proclaimed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord:
BE IT RESOLVED:
1. That we express our full support for our fellow Christians in the Korean Student Christian Federation; and
2. That this expression be communicated to the KSCF, the World Student Christian Federation, the Lutheran Synods, and the South Korean and American Governments; and
3. That LSM staff people inform themselves and serve as resource people for local groups on this subject.
ACTION TAKEN:
The following articles appeared in issues of the LSM newsletters this year:
20 KOREAN STUDENTS SENTENCED
(article was used by permission of the Chicago SunTimes)
12/3/75
SEOUL: Seven university students were sentenced in an unusual secret court session Tuesday to prison terms of between 4 and 10 years for anti-government activities last May. Thirteen others were sentenced earlier in open court to terms ranging from 12 to 8 years. Two were ordered held for a retrial. The defendants, all of whom were Roman Catholic, were called in one by one, apparently to prevent them from staging collective protests as they did in their three previous trial sessions beginning November 10. After the fifteenth defendant was convicted and
taken to a prisoners' camp inside the courtyard, the panel announced a recess, went out and never came back. The seven were then sentenced in the office of the senior judge. All 22, including a girl, were arrested for violation of President Chung Hee Park's May 13 decree that bans activity against him, his government, and his 1972 constitution. It sets a minimum penalty of one year in prison. The dependents were charged with forming a student committee at the Myongdond Roman Catholic Cathedral in Seoul late in May as part of a plot to organize demonstrations against the government and the constitution.
The STRUGGLE IN KOREA CONTINUES
The March 5, 1976 Chicago Daily News reported that "Plains-clothes agents picked up former presidential candidate, his wife, and lawmaker Chyung Yil Hyung Monday in the continuing roundup of opposition leaders that began a week ago,...
"So far, 28 persons have been taken into custody since an anti-government statement was read at an ecumenical mass in Seoul's Myungdong Cathedral March 1, but two were subsequently released. The statement, signed by twelve prominent citizens including Kim and Chyung, called for the resignation of President Park Chung Hee and a restoration of democracy.
Among those detained are eight Roman Catholic priests, seven Protestant clergymen and four former college professors.
The government statement said Kim and the others are suspected of 'anti-government subversive activities in violation of the constitutional order and of taking advantage of a routine religious service.' It added the government will guarantee 'the freedom of normal religious activities in the future as in the past"
A COPY OF THE DECLARATION GIVEN ON MARCH 1, 1976, (SEE‑
ARITCLE ABOVE) IS AVAILABLE FROM THE NATIONAL LSM OFFICE)
In 1975, the North American Regional Committee of the WSCF,
a committee on which Bill Host sits as the LSM representative, sent to one South Scream, newspaper this notice of support' for the Korean Student Christian Federation, which read as follows:
"The North American Region of the World Student Christian Federation sends greetings and expressions of continued support to KSCF sisters and brothers in their ongoing struggle for freedom and justice."
The ad cost $250. The National Council of LSM voted to send a small contribution to help defray the cost and as a sign of support.
RESOURCES AVAILABLE:
*****The Korean Student Christian Federation Information Packet explains the oppressive situation this country's student Christian group is in. The packet includes: a Theological declaration of Korean students, past LSM resolutions, an article from the New York Times, a report on the WSCF's team visit to S. Korea by Rev. Gus Schultz , and what you can do as an individual and a group. AVAILABLE FROM THE NATIONAL LSM OFFICE.
*****The newsletter, Korea- Link is a bimonthly newsletter. Its purpose is to keep citizens updated on events in S Korea '& encourage local community actions that promote the struggle for human rights and economic justice in
S. Korea; A sample newsletter is available from the national LSM office; To get. on the mailing list, write:
KOREA LINK
944 Market Street
San Francisco, CA, 93102
The collective responsible for its publications operates by financial contributions. They are asking student subscribers to contribute $3, if possible.
The following letter was sent to the Korean Student Christian Federation by the LSM National Council, on July 2O, 1976.
It was composed by Ralph Strawn, Councilperson from New-England.
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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
The love and peace of conscience that comes in and through Christ, be with you.
God as our Father, Christ as our Brother, and the shared indwelling of the Holy Spirit truly makes us one family. This solidarity in and through Jesus Christ no man can remove from our hearts and souls. In this oneness, we of the Lutheran Student Movement in the United States of America desire to express our continual solidarity, through Christ, in your struggle to live the love and commitment which Jesus showed to the poor and oppressed. We admire your fortitude and faithfulness to his teachings. We have heard of the spiritual and physical chains which some have attempted to place upon you, who walk with Christ today, just as chains were placed upon those who first walked with Christ. But Christ's love knows no chains.
Our faith is renewed and our own spirit strengthened by the unselfishness with which your place your minds and bodies in jeopardy for your downtrodden Korean brothers and sisters.
We share your burdens in thought and prayer and look with you to a day of freedom for yourselves and all oppressed peoples.
The freedom in action which your love for Christ manifests awakens in us the responsibility which the freedom of Christ places upon all who profess his name. The Kingdom of God is manifested in and through your struggles with those who seek to destroy
you
.
We pledge our continuing support in your struggle. We have written to our churches, to our government,. and to President Park expressing our concern. We rejoice continually with you in the Lord, whose mighty acts are so apparent through the work of the Korean Student Christian Federation. "Our hope for you is unshaken; for we know that as you share in suffering, you will also share in comfort." (2 Cor.
1 :7 )
We hold faithful to your assurances as to the falsity of government propaganda that yours is a communist movement. We know it to be a movement of Christ's mighty spirit. "For you are a ...royal priesthood, a Holy Nation, God's own people,... called. out of darkness into his marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9) As you struggle to keep his light from beneath the bushel of oppression, we pray that Christ will protect and preserve you into life everlasting as together we look to the day of freedom for all.
Sincerely,
The National Council of Lutheran Student Movement-USA
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(Korea continued)
The following letter was sent to President Ford, with copies sent to various leaders in the U.S. and Korean governments and the Lutheran Churches.
*3E 3E 'E SHE 3E* **** 3F*** *** c #*** * :: * :c 9E* #dF
Dear President Ford:
During our Bicentennial celebration we have looked back with thanksgiving over 2O0 years of liberty and independence. Our legacy of freedom and democracy is a precious gift which we can not take for granted. However, we find that the Republic of Korea (ROK), a democracy in name only, depends on US economic, military and political support for its very survival. The "Emergency" decrees of President Park violate the "inalienable" rights of the people of Korea. When we pledge our allegiance to the flag, we proclaim "liberty and justice for all." What hypocricy allows us to support another "democratic" nation that flagrantly violates this principle? It cannot be in the best interests of the American people to sacrifice the principles that built America for any reason in any situation. Yet recent increases in American aid and support to the ROK has legitimized and intensified the oppressive "power play" tactics of the Park government.
As members of the Lutheran Student Movement in the United States of America, we are compelled to speak out against the oppression in the ROK out of Christian compassion and from our understanding of the social justice that Christ demands us to seek for all people. Through the universal community of the Christian faith we are one with the South Korean Christian community, and can not ourselves be free while they are oppressed. We are appalled by the fact that our own government is in de facto support of the oppression of our brothers and sisters in the ROK.
Therefore we condemn the uncritical US support of the Park government or any other government which denies human rights. ' American foreign policy, as well as domestic policy, must have as its basic guideline, "liberty and justice for all". Christ tells us to follow him in his mission "to preach the Good News to the poor...to proclaim liberty to the captives, and... to set free the oppressed." (Luke 4:18)
We support and affirm the activities of the Korean Student Christian Federation (KSCF) although KCIA pressure has recently wrought its dissolution. de also stand behind the ministry of such groups as the National Council of Churches in Korea, and the Urban Rural Mission, much of whose work is done among slum dwellers. We see their actions as a valid Christian response to the political situation in South Korea. We admire their unselfish commitment, which places their futures and even their lives iii: jeopardy for the sake of the Korean people. We deplore the ROK's attempt to label them communist in order to fabricate grounds for their arrest and silencing.
We urge the use of diplomatic and economic pressure by the US to influence the ROK to return to true democratic government, responsive to the needs and wishes of the people. We also urge the release of political prisoners whose only crime was seeking an end to the use of terror, torture and brutality by the South .Korean government. Sincerely,
Ralph Strawn Councilperson for International Concerns, LSM—USA