Military Chaplain (Protestant)

Definition and Meaning

A military chaplain (Korean gunjong moksa, 軍宗牧師) is a pastor attached to the armed forces who provides service members with religious ministry such as worship, counseling, and instruction. Gunjong refers to religious affairs within the military, and the term is commonly shortened to gunmok. In South Korea, it designates a Protestant pastor commissioned as a chaplain officer. Together with Catholic priests (gunjong sinbu), Buddhist monks (gunseung), and Won Buddhist ministers (gunjong gyomu), these pastors make up the military chaplaincy system. Because their ministry takes place in an institution outside the local church, military chaplains are sometimes classified, along with school chaplains and hospital chaplains, as a type of institutional chaplain.

Biblical and Historical Background

The Bible does not mention a distinct office of military chaplain. However, Deuteronomy 20:2–4 depicts a priest addressing the people before they go out to battle. In the New Testament, John the Baptist's answer to the soldiers (Luke 3:14) and the conversion of the centurion Cornelius (Acts 10) are frequently cited as a basis for ministry to soldiers.

The English word "chaplain" is generally said to derive from the clergy who guarded the cloak (cappa) left by St. Martin of Tours. Modern Western armies established chaplaincy systems early on.

The Korean military chaplaincy originated during the Korean War. At the urging of Protestant and Catholic leaders, chaplaincy work was formally established in the Army in 1951. Chaplains reportedly served at first as civilian employees of the military rather than as officers and were later given the status of active-duty officers. Buddhist and Won Buddhist chaplains were subsequently added in turn, resulting in the present multireligious chaplaincy system.

Practice in the Korean Church

To become a military chaplain, a candidate generally must complete studies at a graduate school of theology and be ordained as a pastor. An endorsement from a denomination that the Ministry of National Defense recognizes as eligible to send chaplains is also required. Chaplain officers are commissioned as first lieutenants. The usual path is to be selected as a chaplain officer candidate while still a seminary student, defer enlistment, and be commissioned after completing one's training. Which denominations may send chaplains, and how many, is determined by Ministry of National Defense standards, so not every denomination is able to supply chaplains.

Military chaplains lead Sunday worship at military churches on base and are responsible for counseling service members, character education, and suicide prevention. At the Korea Army Training Center and similar facilities, mass field baptisms have been conducted, in which hundreds or even thousands of trainees receive baptism at once. Some regard this as a fruit of military evangelism, while others point out that baptismal instruction is insufficient. In units without a chaplain, civilian pastors assist with worship as military mission ministers, and enlisted chaplain assistants support the practical work.

Denominations differ in how they handle the membership status of chaplains. Presbyterian denominations generally allow chaplains to retain membership in their presbytery, while Methodist bodies appoint them as pastors belonging to an annual conference. In denominations that permit the ordination of women, there are reported cases of women being commissioned as military chaplains. Some in academia and civil society have questioned whether a system in which the state employs religious personnel as officers is consistent with the principle of separation of church and state. Supporters of the chaplaincy system respond that it serves as a means of guaranteeing service members' freedom of religion.