Fall 2005/Pasadena
EV565
Kim

EV565: EVANGELISM IN A KOREAN CONTEXT (Taught in Korean). Sunil Kim.


DESCRIPTION: This course is intended to provide Korean students with opportunities to think about ways to link the gospel to the cultural context of Korea by exploring theological approaches to and evangelistic dimensions of culture. Thus, it will examine a Christian perspective on culture, models of culturally relevant evangelism such as Celtic mission, the approaches of C. S. Lewis and Francis Schaeffer, and the like, and recent trends in Korean culture so as to form a foundation to make the gospel alive for a new Korean generation. A special emphasis in this course will be on addressing contemporary Korean culture and discovering points of contact for the presentation of the gospel.

COURSE OBJECTIVES/LEARNING OUTCOMES: It is hoped that this course will help students reach their learning objectives in three ways: (1) to gain an accurate understanding of how culture interacts with evangelism, (2) to sense the spiritual aspirations of unchurched people as shown in a variety of cultural manifestations, and (3) to develop practical strategies to reach specific audiences with cultural sensitivity via church or para-church ministries.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: Culture refers to a matrix in which we live, think, and interact with others. Culture is context-specific, and cultural understanding, whether consciously or not, is embedded in the manner we present the gospel. Many of the Western evangelism models have been developed out of specific cultural settings. Thus, it is necessary to understand the Korean culture on its own terms so as to explore the relevant ways to reach Korean and Korean-American communities.

COURSE FORMAT: The class will meet weekly for three-and-a-half-hour sessions for ten weeks. Class sessions will consist of lecture, interactive class discussion, media, analysis of materials and case studies, and small group participation.

REQUIRED READING (all available in Korean):

Hunter, George. Church for the Unchurched [Abingdon, 1996]. Translated by Yong Pyo Hong. Seoro-Sarang, 1999. 410 pp.

Sider, Ronald. Cup of Water, Bread of Life [Zondervan, 1994]. Translated by Young Gil Lee. Korean InterVarsity Press, 1999. 247 pp.

Sweet, Leonard. Postmodern Pilgrims [Broadman & Holman, 2000]. Translated by Young Rae Kim. Good Seed, 2000. 255 pp.

Coursepack.
Read 300 pages from the following books about recent Korean culture:

Hwang, Sangmin. Korean Title (A New Cyber Humanity in Korea). 21st Century Books, 2004. 303 pp.

Song, Hogeun. Korean Title (What Has Happened to Korea: Generation, The Aesthetics of Struggle and Harmony). Seoul: Samsung Economic Institute, 2003. 271 pp.

Choi, Joonsik. Korean Title (Is There Any Culture to Koreans?). Seoul: Four Seasons, 1997. 312 pp.

Lee, Sungook. Korean Title (Cultural Images of the 20th Century). Munhwa Gwahak, 2004. 350 pp.

Tak, Suksan. Korean Title (The Korean Identity). Seoul: Book World, 2000. 144 pp.

ASSIGNMENTS: (1) Class attendance and participation in class small group discussions, reading of required texts and articles to be reported in a reading log (20%). (2) Two book reviews (3-5 pp.; 20%). (3) An assessment paper about a Korean subculture in terms of a theology of culture (5-7 pp.; 20%). (4) A final project involving the design of an cultural outreach program developed from the assessment paper (either 10-15 pages paper or media presentation; 40%).

PREREQUISITES: Korean (no English proficiency required).

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets MDiv core requirement in Evangelism (MIN 3).

FINAL EXAMINATION: No.