남북분단 극복을 위한 기독교의 두 시각: 민족주의적 담론과 탈민족주의적 담론

This paper discusses two perspectives of Korean Protestantism on overcoming the division of the Korean peninsula: nationalist versus post-national discourses. By doing so, this paper analyzes the complex relationship between peace and unification in each discourse. The justification of unification has been driven by the nationalist paradigm, and the nationalist perspective has provided for legitimacy. This view argues that the division of the Korean Peninsula into South and North Korea is an abnormal situation because the two states are originally one nation sharing history and using the same language. Therefore, this distorted reality should be overcome through unification. This study analyzes a historic document representing nationalist discourses, “The Declaration by Korean Christian Church on National Unification and Peace,” which was issued by The National Council of Churches in Korea in 1988. In nationalist discourses, peace is seen as a subcategory of unification and does not have its own place; Unification leads peace. Nationalist discourses faced criticism amid historical changes after the 1990s, including the rise of civil society movements through democratization, the gradual predominance of state identity over national identity, the spread of peace discourses since the 2000s, and emergence of multiculturalism and pluralism engendered by globalization. Responding the social changes, post-national discourses on peace and reunification have emerged. Christian post-national discourses on peace and unification include a pacifist perspective, a position emphasizing the value of reconciliation, a discourse centering on evangelization, or a unification perspective reconfigured by multiculturalism. This paper examines contentious relationship between peace and unification, discussing these post-nationalist discourses.