Abstract

This dissertation discusses the following three thematic areas in a fashion that is pertinent to Christian political ethics: the development process of the social consciousness of the lower class people, who are called minjung in Korea; the attitude of the Korean Church toward the consciousness and action of minjung in different phases of Korean history; and the Biblical hermeneutics from the perspective of minjung of contemporary Korea. ;The author argues that there have been three typical modalities of the social consciousness of minjung, and that these modalities can be represented by the following three terms which designate, in common, the lower class people, but carry different connotations: "daejung," "inmin," and "minjung." He further argues that the minjung social consciousness, which has varied and has been enriched in the process of Korean history over the last century, has significantly conditioned the social attitudes of the Korean Church, and vice versa. He additionally outlines a Christian political ethic in the context of minjung theology by examining the three ethical problem areas: minjung as actors, the action of minjung, and the context of the action of minjung