Moon Ik-hwan (June 1, 1918 – January 18, 1994) was a Korean Presbyterian minister of the Presbyterian Church of Korea who advocated Minjung theology, a unification activist, a social activist, and a poet. Born in Myeongdong Village (明東村) in North Gando during the Japanese colonial period, he was a c
Born~Died Jun 2, 1918 ~ Jan 18, 1994Last edited Oct 15, 2026, 2:51 PM
Details
Born ~ Died
Jun 2, 1918 ~ Jan 18, 1994
Born
June 1, 1918 (1918-06-01), Myeongdong Village (明東村), Longjing City, Jilin Province, Republic of China
Died
January 18, 1994 (1994-01-18) (aged 75), Seoul, South Korea
Moon Ik-hwan (文益煥, June 1, 1918 – January 18, 1994) was a Korean Presbyterian minister of the Presbyterian Church of Korea who advocated Minjung theology, a unification activist, a social activist, and a poet. Born in Myeongdong Village (明東村) in North Gando during the Japanese colonial period, he was a close friend of Jang Jun-ha, Song Mong-gyu, and the poet Yun Dong-ju. His family seat was Nampyeong (南平), and his pen name was Neujbom (늦봄).
Besides social activism, Rev. Moon also worked as a biblical scholar. He participated as the Protestant translator in the translation of the Common Translation Bible together with Methodist minister Lee Hyun-ju. He also wrote Hebrew People's History (Samin-sa), which explains the Old Testament in plain terms from the perspective of the minjung, hidden behind heroes such as David and Samuel. On January 18, 1994, at 8:20 p.m., he died of a heart attack at the age of 77.
Career
Theological studies
In 1918, he was born in Myeongdong Village (村), Longjing City, Jilin Province, Republic of China (present-day Ji-san Town, Longjing City, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, China), as the eldest son of Moon Jae-rin. He attended elementary school in Longjing, where he was a close friend of Yun Dong-ju and Jang Jun-ha.12 Because the Pyongyang Theological Seminary was considered fundamentalist, his father recommended that he study at a Japanese seminary, and in 1938 he enrolled at a Japanese theological school in . Upon entering the Japanese seminary, Moon experienced theological conflict. At the time, was flourishing at the seminary, but for Moon, who believed in , academic biblical criticism that interpreted Scripture critically was difficult to accept. Put simply, Rev. Moon, who was accustomed to literal interpretation of the Bible, was averse to , which critically analyzes and interprets Scripture as an academic discipline. However, after a professor advised him that "one who cannot listen to ideas different from one's own is not qualified to pursue scholarship," Moon came to respect biblical criticism as a field of study. In 1947, he graduated from the theology department of Korea Theological Seminary (now ). In 1954, he received a master's degree in Old Testament theology from in the United States.
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Theological lectures and the Common Translation Bible
He taught Old Testament biblical studies at Korea Theological Seminary and Yonsei University, and he also wrote Hebrew People's History (Samin-sa), which interprets the Old Testament from the standpoint of the minjung. In the 1970s, he took part in the joint translation project of the Common Translation Bible by Protestants and Catholics, representing the Protestant side. The reason Rev. Moon joined the Common Translation Bible project was that the vocabulary and style of the existing Korean Revised Version were too difficult for readers unfamiliar with Chinese characters. For example, reading 2 Chronicles 2:4 in the Korean Revised Version Bible, which records King Solomon's construction of the Temple, shows that the translation is very difficult.
Now I am about to build a temple to the name of the LORD my God and dedicate it to him, to burn fragrant incense before him, to set out the showbread regularly, and to present burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths and at the New Moons and at the appointed feasts of the LORD our God; this is a statute forever for Israel.4
Therefore, Moon participated in the Common Translation Bible in order to create a modern-language Bible that anyone could understand. For example, reading 2 Chronicles 2:4 in the Common Translation Bible shows that it is easier to understand than the Korean Revised Version passage quoted above.
Now I intend to build a house to house the name of Yahweh, my God, and dedicate it to him. There we will offer incense before him, set out the offering bread without fail, and offer burnt offerings morning and evening, on Sabbaths, on the first day of each month, and at the festivals appointed by Yahweh our God. This is something Israel must always do.5
Democratization and unification movements
Late Yushin era
Triggered by the questionable death of his friend and social activist Jang Jun-ha, he joined the democratization movement. During the 1970s and 1980s, he resisted repeatedly, including by criticizing the undemocratic nature of the Yushin Constitution (1978) against the military dictatorship that suppressed the people with military force, and he was imprisoned several times.
In 1978, when Yun Bo-seon tried to establish a Japanese branch of the National Alliance through Jeong Gyeong-mo, who was residing in Japan, Moon opposed it, saying he still could not trust Jeong's ideas. Even when his teacher Rev. Kim Jae-jun strongly recommended Jeong, Moon did not change his stance.6 Because of his strong opposition, the formation of the Japanese branch of the National Alliance fell through.
After Jeong Gyeong-mo went to Japan, he served as editor-in-chief of a newspaper of the Korean Democratic Unification Alliance (Hanmintong), but Moon strongly opposed him because he mistakenly believed Jeong was serving as editor-in-chief of a newspaper of the Chongryon. Later, Moon was able to reconcile with Jeong, whom he had met in Tokyo and called "my beloved younger brother," and to open his heart to him again without doubting his ideas, thanks to Jeong's book Torn Mountains and Rivers.6 After the fall of the Yushin regime in October 1979, Moon stepped back for a while from the hardline struggle line.
In the mid-1980s, on March 29, 1985, he was elected chairman of the Democratic Unification Minjung Movement Alliance, a coalition of opposition democratic forces. On May 20, 1986, while giving a speech at the May Festival of Seoul National University, student Lee Dong-su set himself on fire and jumped from a building, and Moon was arrested in connection with the incident. He was released on July 8, 1987, under a suspension of his sentence.7 On July 9, the following day, at the funeral of the late martyr Lee Han-yeol, he called out the names of all the martyrs of the democratization movement. Last of all, the names of martyr Park Jong-chul and martyr Lee Han-yeol were called.
Immediately after the collapse of the military dictatorship
When the military dictatorship collapsed, Rev. Moon resumed the unification movement.
Unification movement
In 1989, following the view of progressive Christians at the time that there could be no democracy without unification,8 he visited North Korea, held talks with President Kim Il Sung, and returned home. However, because he had traveled to the North independently without prior consultation with the government, and because his statement upon arriving in Pyongyang used the expression "Respected President Kim Il Sung" and he unilaterally denounced the South Korean government, he was imprisoned under the charge of "infiltration into an anti-state organization" under the National Security Act, and was released on October 20, 1990, under a suspension of his sentence. However, he was later re-imprisoned on June 6, 1991, by the government, which had created a public security atmosphere. He was released in early 1993.
Afterward, while actively engaged in unification activism and lecture tours, he died of a heart attack in 1994. At the time, the poet Ko Un published an elegy in the Hankyoreh newspaper, describing how, while washing his face, he suddenly heard of Rev. Moon's death, was startled, and dropped his razor. Tributes from intellectuals who respected Rev. Moon continued. His wife was Elder Park Yong-gil, and his brother was the similarly activist minister Moon Dong-hwan. His sons were playwright Moon Ho-geun and actor Moon Sung-keun.
Awards
On August 15, 1990, he was awarded the National Reunification Prize by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.9 In 2002, in recognition of his achievements in social and unification movements, he received the Order of Moran of the National Order of Merit together with Seo Nam-dong and Ahn Byung-mu. In 2007, a poetry monument (詩碑) designed by painter Im Ok-sang and donated by the Unification Meeting Association (Tongil Majii) was erected at Hanshin University Graduate School of Theology.10
In 1972, he made his literary debut in the Monthly Literature magazine with works such as "Coffee Cup of Memories" and "The Loneliness of Michelangelo," and his works include "Hebrews 11:1" and "The Ten Commandments." Based on the Hebrew spirit of the Old Testament, he blended Korean spirit and sensibility, discovering rhythms and language, and built a transparent and delicate poetic world. His poetry collection includes A Suddenly New Day.12
Efforts to reorganize the Pan-National Alliance and his death
From the early 1990s, conflict escalated between Rev. Moon and the authorities of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea over the management of the Pan-National Alliance. Rev. Moon had pursued a unification movement suited to the reality of the Republic of Korea, but controversy arose that the Pan-National Alliance, designated as a subversive organization by the South Korean government, was being used as a tool for North Korean authorities' operations against the South during preparations for forming its South Korean headquarters. Afterward, Rev. Moon's doubts about the Pan-National Alliance reportedly deepened, and he conceived a plan to progressively dissolve the framework of the Pan-National Alliance to overcome these limitations and North Korean dependence, and to create "National Council" (민족회의), a new independent unification organization that could also cooperate with the South Korean government.1314
In response to this movement, North Korea sent a fax in the name of Baek In-jun, chairman of the North Korean headquarters of the Pan-National Alliance, stating that "Rev. Moon, under the direction of the Agency for National Security Planning, is attempting to dissolve the Pan-National Alliance, and we must reject this and protect the Pan-National Alliance." When the contents of this fax leaked to the pro-North unification movement camp in the South, Rev. Moon was labeled a "Agency for National Security Planningplant" and faced fierce criticism. According to testimonies from several figures, including writer Hwang Sok-yong, who had visited North Korea with Rev. Moon and been imprisoned, and Ha Tae-kyung, then a National Assembly member who served as Rev. Moon's de facto secretary, this led Rev. Moon to argue with a certain figure during lunch on January 17, 1994, the day before his death, and food entered his airway, causing him to lose consciousness. In the end, his health rapidly deteriorated from that afternoon, and on January 18 the following day, he suffered a heart attack and died.1516 Regarding this, Moon Sung-keun, Rev. Moon's second son and standing adviser of the Democratic United Party, acknowledged in an interview that "there were certainly differences of opinion about methods for improving inter-Korean relations and the direction of unification," but on the circumstances of his father's death, he said, "It is partly right and partly wrong."17
Education
1947: Graduated from the theology department of the Korea Theological Seminary (Hanshin University)
Son: Moon Sung-keun (May 28, 1953 (solar) – ), a film actor in South Korea
Miscellaneous
Meeting with former President Yun Bo-seon
Shortly before the Myeongdong Declaration for National Salvation in 1974, former President Yun Bo-seon, a leading opposition figure, obtained the draft declaration written by Kim Dae-jung from Lee Tae-young,18 but he evaluated the declaration as "moderate, but weak in its degree of criticism of the dictatorship."19 Former President Yun sent First Lady Gong Deok-gwi to meet Lee Tae-young and refused to sign the document, saying it was too moderate. When former President Yun Bo-seon refused on the grounds that the document was too lukewarm, Rev. Moon Ik-hwan personally drafted a signature document and came to see Yun Bo-seon.
Moon Ik-hwan: Mr. Haewi, I have heard that a few days ago you read the draft declaration and did not sign because you found it too lukewarm.
Yun Bo-seon: That's right. If the content is weak, our will to fight looks too feeble, and it cannot have much effect. The appeal to the people is also weak... (omitted)19
After receiving the envelope containing the signature document from Moon Ik-hwan, Yun Bo-seon read the contents and said he liked it because "it seems strong and leaves little to be desired," and he signed the declaration drafted by Moon Ik-hwan.19
Kim Hyung-soo, Biography of Moon Ik-hwan: Historical Figure Search 15 (Silcheon Munhak-sa, 2004), p. 700. ↩↩2
Lee Yu-na (2009). "A Study on Moon Ik-hwan's Theory of Unification and Unification Movement" (dissertation). Graduate School of Sungkyunkwan University, Department of History. ↩
Moon Ik-hwan (文益煥, June 1, 1918 – January 18, 1994) was a Korean Presbyterian minister of the Presbyterian Church of Korea who advocated Minjung theology, a unification activist, a social activist, and a poet. Born in Myeongdong Village (明東村) in North Gando during the Japanese colonial period, he was a close friend of Jang Jun-ha, Song Mong-gyu, and the poet Yun Dong-ju. His family seat was Nampyeong (南平), and his pen name was Neujbom (늦봄).
Besides social activism, Rev. Moon also worked as a biblical scholar. He participated as the Protestant translator in the translation of the Common Translation Bible together with Methodist minister Lee Hyun-ju. He also wrote Hebrew People's History (Samin-sa), which explains the Old Testament in plain terms from the perspective of the minjung, hidden behind heroes such as David and Samuel. On January 18, 1994, at 8:20 p.m., he died of a heart attack at the age of 77.
Career
Theological studies
In 1918, he was born in Myeongdong Village (村), Longjing City, Jilin Province, Republic of China (present-day Ji-san Town, Longjing City, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, China), as the eldest son of Moon Jae-rin. He attended elementary school in Longjing, where he was a close friend of Yun Dong-ju and Jang Jun-ha.12 Because the was considered , his father recommended that he study at a Japanese seminary, and in 1938 he enrolled at a Japanese theological school in . Upon entering the Japanese seminary, Moon experienced theological conflict. At the time, was flourishing at the seminary, but for Moon, who believed in , academic biblical criticism that interpreted Scripture critically was difficult to accept. Put simply, Rev. Moon, who was accustomed to literal interpretation of the Bible, was averse to , which critically analyzes and interprets Scripture as an academic discipline. However, after a professor advised him that "one who cannot listen to ideas different from one's own is not qualified to pursue scholarship," Moon came to respect biblical criticism as a field of study. In 1947, he graduated from the theology department of Korea Theological Seminary (now ). In 1954, he received a master's degree in Old Testament theology from in the United States.
Theological lectures and the Common Translation Bible
He taught Old Testament biblical studies at Korea Theological Seminary and Yonsei University, and he also wrote Hebrew People's History (Samin-sa), which interprets the Old Testament from the standpoint of the minjung. In the 1970s, he took part in the joint translation project of the Common Translation Bible by Protestants and Catholics, representing the Protestant side. The reason Rev. Moon joined the Common Translation Bible project was that the vocabulary and style of the existing Korean Revised Version were too difficult for readers unfamiliar with Chinese characters. For example, reading 2 Chronicles 2:4 in the Korean Revised Version Bible, which records King Solomon's construction of the Temple, shows that the translation is very difficult.
Now I am about to build a temple to the name of the LORD my God and dedicate it to him, to burn fragrant incense before him, to set out the showbread regularly, and to present burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths and at the New Moons and at the appointed feasts of the LORD our God; this is a statute forever for Israel.4
Therefore, Moon participated in the Common Translation Bible in order to create a modern-language Bible that anyone could understand. For example, reading 2 Chronicles 2:4 in the Common Translation Bible shows that it is easier to understand than the Korean Revised Version passage quoted above.
Now I intend to build a house to house the name of Yahweh, my God, and dedicate it to him. There we will offer incense before him, set out the offering bread without fail, and offer burnt offerings morning and evening, on Sabbaths, on the first day of each month, and at the festivals appointed by Yahweh our God. This is something Israel must always do.5
Democratization and unification movements
Late Yushin era
Triggered by the questionable death of his friend and social activist Jang Jun-ha, he joined the democratization movement. During the 1970s and 1980s, he resisted repeatedly, including by criticizing the undemocratic nature of the Yushin Constitution (1978) against the military dictatorship that suppressed the people with military force, and he was imprisoned several times.
In 1978, when Yun Bo-seon tried to establish a Japanese branch of the National Alliance through Jeong Gyeong-mo, who was residing in Japan, Moon opposed it, saying he still could not trust Jeong's ideas. Even when his teacher Rev. Kim Jae-jun strongly recommended Jeong, Moon did not change his stance.6 Because of his strong opposition, the formation of the Japanese branch of the National Alliance fell through.
After Jeong Gyeong-mo went to Japan, he served as editor-in-chief of a newspaper of the Korean Democratic Unification Alliance (Hanmintong), but Moon strongly opposed him because he mistakenly believed Jeong was serving as editor-in-chief of a newspaper of the Chongryon. Later, Moon was able to reconcile with Jeong, whom he had met in Tokyo and called "my beloved younger brother," and to open his heart to him again without doubting his ideas, thanks to Jeong's book Torn Mountains and Rivers.6 After the fall of the Yushin regime in October 1979, Moon stepped back for a while from the hardline struggle line.
In the mid-1980s, on March 29, 1985, he was elected chairman of the Democratic Unification Minjung Movement Alliance, a coalition of opposition democratic forces. On May 20, 1986, while giving a speech at the May Festival of Seoul National University, student Lee Dong-su set himself on fire and jumped from a building, and Moon was arrested in connection with the incident. He was released on July 8, 1987, under a suspension of his sentence.7 On July 9, the following day, at the funeral of the late martyr Lee Han-yeol, he called out the names of all the martyrs of the democratization movement. Last of all, the names of martyr Park Jong-chul and martyr Lee Han-yeol were called.
Immediately after the collapse of the military dictatorship
When the military dictatorship collapsed, Rev. Moon resumed the unification movement.
Unification movement
In 1989, following the view of progressive Christians at the time that there could be no democracy without unification,8 he visited North Korea, held talks with President Kim Il Sung, and returned home. However, because he had traveled to the North independently without prior consultation with the government, and because his statement upon arriving in Pyongyang used the expression "Respected President Kim Il Sung" and he unilaterally denounced the South Korean government, he was imprisoned under the charge of "infiltration into an anti-state organization" under the National Security Act, and was released on October 20, 1990, under a suspension of his sentence. However, he was later re-imprisoned on June 6, 1991, by the government, which had created a public security atmosphere. He was released in early 1993.
Afterward, while actively engaged in unification activism and lecture tours, he died of a heart attack in 1994. At the time, the poet Ko Un published an elegy in the Hankyoreh newspaper, describing how, while washing his face, he suddenly heard of Rev. Moon's death, was startled, and dropped his razor. Tributes from intellectuals who respected Rev. Moon continued. His wife was Elder Park Yong-gil, and his brother was the similarly activist minister Moon Dong-hwan. His sons were playwright Moon Ho-geun and actor Moon Sung-keun.
Awards
On August 15, 1990, he was awarded the National Reunification Prize by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.9 In 2002, in recognition of his achievements in social and unification movements, he received the Order of Moran of the National Order of Merit together with Seo Nam-dong and Ahn Byung-mu. In 2007, a poetry monument (詩碑) designed by painter Im Ok-sang and donated by the Unification Meeting Association (Tongil Majii) was erected at Hanshin University Graduate School of Theology.10
In 1972, he made his literary debut in the Monthly Literature magazine with works such as "Coffee Cup of Memories" and "The Loneliness of Michelangelo," and his works include "Hebrews 11:1" and "The Ten Commandments." Based on the Hebrew spirit of the Old Testament, he blended Korean spirit and sensibility, discovering rhythms and language, and built a transparent and delicate poetic world. His poetry collection includes A Suddenly New Day.12
Efforts to reorganize the Pan-National Alliance and his death
From the early 1990s, conflict escalated between Rev. Moon and the authorities of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea over the management of the Pan-National Alliance. Rev. Moon had pursued a unification movement suited to the reality of the Republic of Korea, but controversy arose that the Pan-National Alliance, designated as a subversive organization by the South Korean government, was being used as a tool for North Korean authorities' operations against the South during preparations for forming its South Korean headquarters. Afterward, Rev. Moon's doubts about the Pan-National Alliance reportedly deepened, and he conceived a plan to progressively dissolve the framework of the Pan-National Alliance to overcome these limitations and North Korean dependence, and to create "National Council" (민족회의), a new independent unification organization that could also cooperate with the South Korean government.1314
In response to this movement, North Korea sent a fax in the name of Baek In-jun, chairman of the North Korean headquarters of the Pan-National Alliance, stating that "Rev. Moon, under the direction of the Agency for National Security Planning, is attempting to dissolve the Pan-National Alliance, and we must reject this and protect the Pan-National Alliance." When the contents of this fax leaked to the pro-North unification movement camp in the South, Rev. Moon was labeled a "Agency for National Security Planningplant" and faced fierce criticism. According to testimonies from several figures, including writer Hwang Sok-yong, who had visited North Korea with Rev. Moon and been imprisoned, and Ha Tae-kyung, then a National Assembly member who served as Rev. Moon's de facto secretary, this led Rev. Moon to argue with a certain figure during lunch on January 17, 1994, the day before his death, and food entered his airway, causing him to lose consciousness. In the end, his health rapidly deteriorated from that afternoon, and on January 18 the following day, he suffered a heart attack and died.1516 Regarding this, Moon Sung-keun, Rev. Moon's second son and standing adviser of the Democratic United Party, acknowledged in an interview that "there were certainly differences of opinion about methods for improving inter-Korean relations and the direction of unification," but on the circumstances of his father's death, he said, "It is partly right and partly wrong."17
Education
1947: Graduated from the theology department of the Korea Theological Seminary (Hanshin University)
Son: Moon Sung-keun (May 28, 1953 (solar) – ), a film actor in South Korea
Miscellaneous
Meeting with former President Yun Bo-seon
Shortly before the Myeongdong Declaration for National Salvation in 1974, former President Yun Bo-seon, a leading opposition figure, obtained the draft declaration written by Kim Dae-jung from Lee Tae-young,18 but he evaluated the declaration as "moderate, but weak in its degree of criticism of the dictatorship."19 Former President Yun sent First Lady Gong Deok-gwi to meet Lee Tae-young and refused to sign the document, saying it was too moderate. When former President Yun Bo-seon refused on the grounds that the document was too lukewarm, Rev. Moon Ik-hwan personally drafted a signature document and came to see Yun Bo-seon.
Moon Ik-hwan: Mr. Haewi, I have heard that a few days ago you read the draft declaration and did not sign because you found it too lukewarm.
Yun Bo-seon: That's right. If the content is weak, our will to fight looks too feeble, and it cannot have much effect. The appeal to the people is also weak... (omitted)19
After receiving the envelope containing the signature document from Moon Ik-hwan, Yun Bo-seon read the contents and said he liked it because "it seems strong and leaves little to be desired," and he signed the declaration drafted by Moon Ik-hwan.19
Kim Hyung-soo, Biography of Moon Ik-hwan: Historical Figure Search 15 (Silcheon Munhak-sa, 2004), p. 700. ↩↩2
Lee Yu-na (2009). "A Study on Moon Ik-hwan's Theory of Unification and Unification Movement" (dissertation). Graduate School of Sungkyunkwan University, Department of History. ↩