The Exploration of the Inner Wounds--Han

The untranslatable Korean word han refers to a nexus of feelings including, but not restricted to: resentment, regret, resignation, aggression, anxiety, loneliness, longing, sorrow, and emptiness. It even encompasses contradictory feelings such as hate and love. Jae Hoon Lee offers an exploration of han and its meaning in the indigenous Korean Minjung Christian Theology. Lee draws on recent studies by Korean scholars of folklore, Shamanism, literature, and psychology, the depth psychologies of Melanie Klein and Carl Jung, the personal han of three individuals (an ancient king, a contemporary poet, and a modern writer-activist), and the work of five Minjung theologians. Although han is a Korean concept and symbol woven in and out of Korean history, says Lee, it is a broad and deep image that can speak to all human beings about the mysterious source of both suffering and creativity.