Liberation Day Commemoration Sunday

Definition and Meaning

Liberation Day Commemoration Sunday is the Lord's Day falling on or immediately before August 15, National Liberation Day (Gwangbokjeol). On this day the church remembers the end of Japanese colonial rule in 1945 and offers thanksgiving and prayer for the nation and its people. The term gwangbok (光復) means "restoration of light" and refers to the recovery of lost national sovereignty.

It is not part of the church calendar observed by the worldwide church. Like Harvest Thanksgiving, it is an observance that the Korean church adopted in the course of its own history.

Biblical and Historical Background

The Korean church has interpreted the liberation in light of the biblical narratives of deliverance. Passages frequently used in preaching include:

• The account in Exodus of Israel's deliverance from bondage in Egypt
• Psalm 126 in the Psalms, which celebrates the joy of return from captivity
• Jeremiah 29:7, which calls for seeking the peace of the city into which the people had been carried captive
• 1 Timothy 2:1-2, which calls for prayer for the nation and for those in authority

Historically, Protestantism was deeply intertwined with the national independence movement during the Japanese colonial period. In the March First Movement of 1919, sixteen of the thirty-three national representatives were Christians. In the late 1930s, however, Shinto shrine worship was forcibly imposed, and in 1938 the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Korea passed a resolution approving shrine worship. Some who resisted, such as the Rev. Ju Gi-cheol, died in prison. As a result, the liberation brought the Korean church not only the joy of freedom but also the unresolved question of repentance for shrine worship. This question became one of the causes of the division of Korean Presbyterianism after the liberation.

Practice in the Korean Church

Most churches designate the Sunday service in the second week of August, or the Sunday nearest Liberation Day, as a Liberation Day commemoration service. Common features include the following:

• In the representative prayer and the sermon, prayers are offered for the nation and its people, for those in authority, and for the reunification of North and South Korea.
• Congregations sing hymns on the theme of the nation and its people, such as "Samcheolli Bando Geumsugangsan" ("Three Thousand Li Peninsula, Land of Embroidered Rivers and Mountains") and "Eodun Bam Maeume Jamgyeo" ("When Dark Night Settles on the Heart").
• Some churches display the Korean national flag (Taegeukgi) or sing the national anthem. Churches differ, however, on whether such practices are appropriate within worship.

The emphasis varies according to the orientation of the denomination and congregation.

• The National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) and its member denominations often emphasize peace and reunification. Since the so-called "'88 Declaration" of 1988, the NCCK is reported to have observed the Sunday before Liberation Day as a Joint North–South Sunday of Prayer for Peaceful Reunification. On some of these occasions it has issued a joint prayer together with the Korean Christian Federation of North Korea.
• Conservative churches and denominations tend to place greater emphasis on themes such as:
• Thanksgiving for God's protection of the nation
• Religious freedom
• Repentance for shrine worship
• Prayer for the church in North Korea

Interdenominational church bodies also often hold joint services or prayer meetings in observance of Liberation Day.