Ham Se-woong (咸世雄, born 28 June 1942) is a South Korean university professor, writer, social activist, and Roman Catholic priest. His baptismal name is Augustine, and he is regarded as a representative figure of the progressive faction within the Catholic Church, having founded the National Priests' Association for Justice and served as its advisor. He has served as chairman of the Korean Democratization Movement Commemoration Project, chairman of the An Jung-geun Memorial Project Association, chairman of the Institute for the Study of National Issues, president of the Council of Anti-Japanese Independence Movement Organizations, and advisor to the Korean Committee of the Joint Action against Yasukuni.
Life
He was born in Gyeongseong Prefecture and, as a child, attended Yongsan Cathedral in Yongsan District, Seoul, where he entered the Catholic Church. Witnessing the horrors of war during the Korean War in his childhood led him to the path of the clergy.1
In 1960 he entered Catholic University of Korea, and after completing military service, from 1965 to 1973 he studied abroad in Rome. After returning to Korea, he was assigned to Yeonhui-dong Church in Seodaemun District, Seoul.
In 1974, following a series of incidents in which Bishop Ji Hak-soon of the Wonju Diocese and other figures from various fields were arrested en masse while engaged in the democratization movement, he took charge of founding the National Priests' Association for Justice, and afterward threw himself into the democratization movement.2 He participated in both the Democratic Restoration National Declaration of 1974 and the Myeongdong 3.1 Democratic Declaration for National Salvation of 1976, and was imprisoned twice during the Fourth Republic. He was still in detention at the time of the October 26 Incident in 1979. During the June Struggle in 1987 he was serving as public relations director of the Archdiocese of Seoul, and after teaching at the Catholic University of Korea, he served as parish priest of Jangwi-dong Church, Sangdo-dong Church, and Jegi-dong Church.
In 2004 he took part as an advisor to the film Do Ma An Jung-geun, the second directorial work of director Seo Se-won, a former comedian, and because of this, when he received the 9th Manhae Prize in the Practice category, Seo Se-won attended the award ceremony, drawing attention.3
Political statements
In 2008 he criticized media distortion of the protests against the Korea-US beef negotiations, called on President Lee Myung-bak to listen, and expressed support for the candlelight protests.4
In October 2016, at a book concert for Icarus's Prison, a book about the Lee Seok-ki incitement to insurrection case, Ham said: "Theologians say that the Bible is the word of God, but it is written by people who pursue the truth. Even today, more than two thousand years after the Bible was written, it continues to be written in people's lives. Seen in that light, this very book is today's 'Bible,' containing the truth and the voices of the people."5
On 21 September 2018 he appeared on the tbs program Jang Yoon-sun's Issue Fighter and emphasized peaceful coexistence over unification in inter-Korean affairs.6 On 31 October 2018, marking the 50th anniversary of his ordination as a priest, a launch event was held for the testimonial volume Justice on This Land (『이 땅에 정의를』), a collection of conversations recording the history of the era Ham had lived through, prepared by Han In-seop, a professor at Seoul National University, who had first met Ham in 2013. At this event Ham said that he wished to "keep in his heart those who sacrificed their names in achieving great history, those who suffered, and those who lost their lives," and said that he hoped people would "live beautiful lives, holding in their hearts the patriots who died for the nation, the victims, those who suffered, and peaceful coexistence between North and South for the sake of changing the times."7
As a comrade and friend of Assemblyman Kim Geun-tae, Ham, at a lecture on 17 November 2018 titled "Kim Geun-tae: Life and Thought," the first lecture of the Kim Geun-tae Democracy School hosted by the Gwangju Korean Peninsula Forum in the budget committee conference room of the Gwangju Metropolitan City Council, said: "The spirit of Gwangju in 1980 lost its purity the moment it was compensated with money. The pain of the victims and their families must be healed truly." He added that "I promised Chairman Kim Geun-tae to establish a healing center while he was alive, and we carried it out," and said: "Past incidents of state violence under dictatorial rule must never happen again on this land, and we must build a better, new democracy."89
Career
- July 1973 – December 1973: Assistant priest, Catholic Yeonhui-dong Church
- 1974 – 1992: Professor, Department of Theology, Catholic University of Korea
- 1974: Founded the National Priests' Association for Justice of the Catholic Church
- 1975: Chairman of the Human Rights Committee, Catholic Justice and Peace Committee
- 1978: Parish priest, Hangang Church (Catholic)
- March 1989: President, Peace Broadcasting
- 1991: Steering committee member, Institute for the Study of National Issues
- July 1993: Co-representative, Council of Religious People for National Reconciliation and Unification
- July 1993: Chairman of the support association, Institute for the Study of National Issues
- December 1998: Standing representative, Democratic Reform National Alliance
- March 1999: Standing representative, Korea Political Research Association
- October 2004: Chairman, Korean Democratization Movement Commemoration Project
- 2008: Parish priest, Cheonggu Church (Catholic)
- 2008: Advisor, National Priests' Association for Justice of the Catholic Church
- 2008: Chairman, An Jung-geun Memorial Project Association
- 2008: Director, Joy and Hope Pastoral Research Institute
- February 2013: 4th chairman, Institute for the Study of National Issues
- April 2017: President, Council of Anti-Japanese Independence Movement Organizations
Education
- 1960 – 1965: Bachelor's degree, Catholic University of Korea
- 1965 – 1968: Master's degree in theology, Pontifical Urban University
- 1968 – 1973: Doctorate in theology, Pontifical Gregorian University
Publications
- Correct Understanding of Liberation Theology (해방신학의 올바른 이해), Ham Se-woong et al., Bundo Publishing10 link
- Life (삶) (1 October 1984, Jesamgiheok)11
- Friend of the Weak, God of the Weak (약자의 벗 약자의 하느님) (1 December 1988, St. Paul Publishing)
- The Word Becomes a Club (말씀이 몽치가 되어) (1 December 1989, Pauline Daughters)
- Jesus Who Came to Bring Fire (불을 지르러 오신 예수) (1 November 1990, Pauline Daughters)
- Jesus Who Came to Bring a Sword (칼을 주러 오신 예수) (1 August 1993, St. Paul Publishing)
- Yoke and Cross – The Socially Critical Function of the Church (멍에와 십자가 - 교회의 사회비판적 기능) (1 October 1993, Bitdure)
- Why Priests? (왜 사제인가) (15 July 1999, Life Scripture Publishing)
- People Who Remain in the Heart (심장에 남는 사람들) (13 June 2011, Bitdure)
- Abandoning Kwak No-hyun: Attacks from the Conservatives, Betrayal from One's Own Camp, a Lonely Struggle (곽노현 버리기 보수의 공격, 진영의 배반, 외로운 투쟁) (2 July 2012, Chaekboseh, co-authored)
- Shell, Begone – Conversations with Priest Ham Se-woong of the National Priests' Association for Justice (껍데기는 가라 - 정의구현사제단 함세웅 신부와의 대화) (co-authored with Son Seok-chun, Alma, 2012, ISBN 978-89-94963-43-3)
- Spirituality Embracing the World – Commentary on the Pastoral Constitution of the Second Vatican Council (세상을 품은 영성 - 제2차 바티칸공의회 사목헌장 해설서) (ISBN 9788991384064)
- Devil Reporter, Justice Priest – Ham Se-woong and Ju Jin-woo's "Refreshing Modern History" (악마 기자 정의 사제 - 함세웅 주진우의 '속 시원한 현대사') (6 October 2016, Sisain Book, co-authored with Ju Jin-woo) (ISBN 9788994973234)
- Justice on This Land – Testimony of an Era by Priest Ham Se-woong (이 땅에 정의를 - 함세웅 신부의 시대 증언) (30 August 2018, , poetry collection)
Performances
- 29 October 2016: Devil Reporter, Justice Priest – top singer
- 12 February 2017: Talk concert by Ham Se-woong and Ju Jin-woo
Footnotes