May 23, 2007
by Evan Silverstein

SEOUL, South Korea – At least 365 ministers, elders and missionaries of the Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK) have shaved off their hair to protest a controversial revision to South Korea's law regulating private schools.

The Rev. Joan S. Gray, moderator of the 217th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), learned of the ongoing outcry surrounding the reform bill during a recent visit here. The PCK and other private school owners have staged campaigns to stop the measure while threatening to close down schools.

The revised law requires private schools from elementary to university level to fill 25 percent of their boards of directors with outsiders who are unrelated to the institutions.

The aim, supporters say, is to produce more transparency in management and reduce corruption among those who control the schools.

But many religious groups, including the PCK, claim the provision is an attempt to destroy the autonomy of private schools and weaken the nature of Christian educational institutions by restricting such staples as Bible lessons and worship.

Last December, in a symbolic show of protest against the amendment, some 35 members of the PCK, the PC(USA)'s primary partner denomination in South Korea, shaved their heads. Afterward participants embarked on a fasting and prayer regimen.

The number of PCK members buzzing their heads had risen to 350 men and 15 women by time Gray visited the South Korean capital, April 3-5.

"They won't have chapel and Christian education if the open members are partying (serving on) the board. Chapel and religious classes will be diminished," said Hee Won Kim, a PCK elder and director of administration for the National Organization of the Korean Presbyterian Women. She shaved her head, with only a thin layer re-grown as of Gray's visit.

The moderator discussed the private school reform law and subsequent public opposition during a meeting with the Presbyterian women's group, which has members who joined Kim in cutting off their hair in protest.

"Shaving off their hair to express opposition to the law is truly a great personal sacrifice which our Presbyterian brothers and sisters are undertaking here," said Gray, an Atlanta pastor.

The Rev. Eun Jin Moon believed she was better off bald when it came to "fighting for her religious freedom," and received encouragement from her family in going with the clean shaven look.

"Historically, Christian schools are a very big part of the development of Korea. They nurture leaders," said Moon, who is director of the mission department for the Korean Presbyterian Women.

The ruling government Uri Party railroaded the revised public school law through the National Assembly during the final days of legislative sessions in December 2005.

The move sparked a brawl on the Assembly floor as the main opposition Grand National Party attempted to block the passage of the bill, which since has been stalled in the legislature as lawmakers work to hammer out a compromise.

In addition to churches holding special prayer services and fasting, a group of private school owners, parents and students have appealed the revision to the Constitutional Court and private school reform opponents participated in a massive rally in front of Seoul City Hall last September.

The Rev. Mi Kyoung Kang, general secretary of the National Organization of the Korean Presbyterian Women, who shaved her head, pledged continued pressure on the government over the issue.

"The Uri Party, they ignore the Christians," said Kang, whose hair had started to grow back. "They don't agree with the Christian faith. We will visit congress and we will show how strong our will is."

The private school matter was a topic of conversation when Gray met with high-ranking PCK General Assembly officials at the denomination's national offices in Seoul.

There are 11 colleges and universities, 44 middle and high schools, and four elementary schools related to the PCK, according to the denomination. Most of these have grown to a good size since being founded by missionaries. Many of the schools are led and governed by Protestant elders and pastors.

There are 360 Protestant, 60 Roman Catholic, and about 60 Buddhist private schools listed by the Ministry of Education as being owned by religious bodies, which account for 24 percent of the 1,974 private schools in the nation.

The Rev. Kwang Sun Rhee, moderator of the PCK's General Assembly, who shaved his head, vowed to Gray that the denomination would continue its campaign to stop or change the new law through all possible means.

A nationwide campaign against the measure was started by the Grand National Party and the Christian Council of Korea in which a majority of Protestant churches are related, including the PCK.

The smaller Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK) and the National Council of Christian Churches in Korea (NCCK) have come out in favor of the law, saying that it will bring transparency and democracy in school management. The PCK, PROK and NCCK are all mission partners of the PC(USA).

Rhee, who had started sporting some stubble on his recently shaved head, called the private school revision unconstitutional and said it undermines the fundamentals of a free democratic society and infringes on schools' basic rights.

"We want to make it very clear to the Korean government that we are a country of freedom," Rhee told Gray. "Freedom to teach Bible, freedom to worship, that you cannot restrict that."

PCK leaders said lawmakers have been fighting over private school law reform for three years. But during that time hardly any discussions have taken place over core issues, such as how to improve education, how to lower the burden of private education costs, how to deal with the exodus of Korean students overseas and how to improve universities.

In addition to meeting with PCK leaders, Gray's visit to Seoul included bringing greetings to nearly 4,000 worshippers at Myung Sung Presbyterian Church, and to hundreds of students attending a prayer service at Presbyterian College and Theological Seminary.

The stop in Korea kicked off a three-nation tour of Asian church partners, which included visits to the Philippines and Japan.

Presbyterian News Service