School Chaplain

Definition and Meaning

The Korean term gyomok (校牧) means "school pastor" and refers to a pastor attached to a school founded on Christian principles. The school chaplain is responsible for worship, religious education, and counseling for students, faculty, and staff. The term corresponds to the English "school chaplain."

The chaplain's duties vary by level of school.

• Universities: The chaplain leads school worship services, commonly called "chapel," and teaches general education courses related to Christianity.
• Middle and high schools: The chaplain is responsible for religion (Bible) classes, school worship, retreats, and similar activities.

At many schools, the chaplains work in a department called the chaplain's office, which is led by a head chaplain.

Biblical and Historical Background

Scripture does not mention a distinct office of school chaplain. However, discussions of the chaplain's role frequently cite the command "teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you" in Matthew 28:19–20, as well as the example of Timothy, who had known the Scriptures from childhood (2 Timothy 3:15).

In Korea, the school chaplaincy began in schools founded by missionaries in the late nineteenth century. The following schools placed Bible instruction and worship at the center of school life:

• Paichai Hakdang, founded by Henry Appenzeller (1885)
• Ewha Hakdang, founded by Mary Scranton (1886)
• Kyungshin School, which grew out of an orphanage school founded by Horace Underwood
• Soongsil Hakdang, founded by William Baird (1897)

During the Japanese colonial period, the Government-General of Korea restricted religious education in the curricula of private schools. In the late 1930s it enforced Shinto shrine worship, and some Presbyterian-affiliated schools that refused to comply were closed. After liberation, as the number of Christian schools grew, the practice of appointing school chaplains became established.

Practice in the Korean Church

Most school chaplains are employed by the school rather than by a church. Denominations therefore classify them as pastors who serve in institutions rather than pastoring congregations. The constitutions of many Presbyterian denominations classify the school chaplain, along with the military chaplain and the hospital chaplain, as a type of institutional pastor. In Methodist bodies such as the Korean Methodist Church, school chaplains are reportedly treated as pastors "appointed" to the school (that is, sent by the denomination to a particular post). Depending on the denomination or school foundation that established the school, some schools hire only pastors from a particular denomination.

Middle and high school chaplains often hold teaching credentials and also serve as religion teachers. After the high school equalization policy left students unable to choose their schools, controversy arose over religion classes and attendance at worship. In a lawsuit that began in the 2000s when a student at Daekwang High School raised objections, the Supreme Court of Korea ruled in 2010 that religious education offered without giving students a choice violated their freedom of religion, and it found the school liable for damages. Since then, many schools have reportedly changed their practices to offer alternative courses and to let students choose whether to participate.

Many universities make chapel attendance a graduation requirement, and opinions on the practice are divided.

• Schools and chaplains regard chapel as part of the curriculum that conveys the school's founding mission.
• Critics regard mandatory chapel as coercion in matters of faith.

In recent years some schools have increasingly offered chapel in the form of performances or lectures. The chaplain's role is also broadening, as chaplains take on Christian counseling and support for student faith groups as well.