User:Dckewon5131/채필근

Chae Pil-geun (1885–1973) was a Korean Presbyterian pastor and theologian. The pen name was Pyeonun.

Life
He was born in the Chinese army in Pyeongannam-do and entered Christianity when he was young. After graduating from Soongsil School in Pyongyang, he entered the Joseon Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Pyongyang in 1913 and walked the path of a pastor.

After graduating from the Presbyterian Church of Korea in Joseon, he worked as a preacher and pastor in North Hamgyong Province and studied in Japan on a scholarship to the Canadian Missionary Society. After graduating from the Meiji Academy's high school, he graduated from the Department of Philosophy at Tokyo Imperial University in 1925, and returned to Korea to serve as a professor at his alma mater, Soongsil College and Chosun Seminary. Chae Pil-geun's theology is classified as a liberal theology close to Kim Jae-joon, who founded the Joseon Seminary together.

At the end of the Japanese colonial period, in a dispute over the issue of forcing people to visit shrines, they sympathized with Japan with the attitude that shrine worship was a ritual as a Japanese citizen. After the Joseon Jesus Presbyterian Theological Seminary was forcibly closed, it was approved by the Governor-General of Korea in 1940 and appointed as the principal of the newly opened Theological Seminary.

The official name of the school is not recognized as following the orthodoxy of the Joseon Presbyterian Church, which was called the Pyongyang Seminary, because it was a highly pro-Japanese school, such as re-education of Hwang Min-hwa to pastors. It is often called Hupyongyang Seminary or Cha Pil-geun Seminary.

In 1943, the Presbyterian Church was absorbed into the Japanese Christian Presbyterian Church and became the first governor when the inaugural general meeting was held. The organization, which was launched under oppression, was actively cooperating with the Japanese by holding lectures with Kimi songs when compiling hymns and holding thank-you services when the conscription system was implemented. In the name of the Patriotic Flag Dedication Movement, he also held a fundraising campaign to support the Pacific War.

Chae Pil-geun joined the Joseon Imjeonbo National Assembly as a promoter, and also participated as a representative of Presbyterian Church in the Joseon Exhibition and Religious Organizations Exhibition. Due to these revealed pro-Japanese activities, he was imprisoned after the defeat of Japanese colonial rule. He defected to South Korea during the Korean War. He worked as a pastor, establishing Sandol Church, a refugee-oriented church, and lectured at the seminary. He left writings such as "Comparative Religion" and "New and Old Testament."

After death
Chae Pil-geun was an elite pastor from the Tokyo University, which is rare, and some say he is "the most profound intellectual in 120 years of Korean Protestant history."

Among the list of prospective pro-Japanese biographical dictionaries announced in 2008, it was included in the Protestant section and the list of 705 pro-Japanese anti-national activities released by the 2009 Pro-Japanese Anti-National Action Committee.

See more

 * Pyongyang Seminary
 * Pyongyang Theological Seminary
 * the Joseon Imjeonbo Corps

Reference

 * Chae Pil-geun - Central Research Institute of Korean Studies