Son Yang-won

Life

Son Yang-won was born in 1902 in Guseong-ri, Chilwon-myeon, Haman County, South Gyeongsang Province, the eldest son of Son Jong-il and Kim Eun-su. His father, Son Jong-il, was the first elder of Chilwon Church and was imprisoned in Masan Prison for taking part in the March First Movement. Son Yang-won was admitted as a catechumen at his home church in 1914 and received baptism from a missionary in 1917. While in elementary school, he refused to perform the eastward bow (a rite of bowing toward the east, where the Japanese emperor resided) and was nearly expelled. In 1919 he entered Jungdong School in Seoul, but he abandoned his studies when his father was imprisoned; he later studied in Japan.

After graduating from the South Gyeongsang Bible Institute, he served as an evangelist at Gamman-dong Church in Busan and elsewhere in the South Gyeongsang region. He entered Pyongyang Theological Seminary in 1934 and graduated in 1938. While later traveling throughout the Busan area as an evangelist, he joined the movement opposing Shinto shrine worship. In July 1939 he was appointed to the church at Aeyangwon, a residential facility for people with Hansen's disease in Yeosu. On September 25, 1940, he was arrested for refusing shrine worship and was held in prisons in Gwangju, Cheongju, and elsewhere until his release on August 17, 1945. After liberation he returned to Aeyangwon Church and was ordained a minister by the South Gyeongsang Presbytery.

In October 1948, during the Yeosu–Suncheon Rebellion (the October 19 Yeosu–Suncheon Incident), his two sons, Dong-in and Dong-sin, were killed. Son interceded to spare the life of their killer, An Jae-seon, and adopted him as his son. During the Korean War, those around him urged him to flee, but he remained, saying he could not abandon the infirm Hansen's disease patients. He was arrested by Communist forces on September 13, 1950, and shot at Mipyeong in Yeosu on September 28. Some sources give a different date of death.

Ministry and Achievements

• Ministry to people with Hansen's disease: From 1939 until his death, he lived among and ministered to people with Hansen's disease, who had been marginalized by society.
• Refusal of shrine worship: Imprisoned for "violating the Peace Preservation Law," he spent nearly five years in prison until liberation. He is known to have refused throughout that period to undergo "conversion" (tenkō), that is, to renounce his convictions.
• Practice of love for enemies: At his two sons' funeral, he spoke of "nine thanksgivings." This episode is widely known as a living embodiment of the teaching of Matthew 5:44, "Love your enemies."

Influence on the Korean Church

Known by the nickname "the Atomic Bomb of Love," he is regarded, together with Ju Gi-cheol, as one of the most revered figures in the Korean church. A memorial service was held on October 29, 1950, at Namdaemun Church in Seoul, where Park Hyung-ryong preached in his honor. On August 15, 1995, the government posthumously awarded him the Order of Merit for National Foundation, Patriotic Medal (Aejokjang); his father, Son Jong-il, received the same decoration. A memorial hall dedicated to his martyrdom stands at Aeyangwon in Yeosu. In 2015 his birthplace in Chilwon, Haman, was restored, and a memorial hall opened there. The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Korea (Kosin) designated Chilwon Church as his martyrdom memorial church. In 2014 Jungdong High School awarded him an honorary diploma. His life has also been portrayed in novels, an opera, and documentaries.

Assessment

He died before the Presbyterian schism of 1952. As a result, he is honored by several Presbyterian denominations alike and is revered across denominational lines as an exemplar of faith. Views differ, however, on how to interpret his refusal of shrine worship. Some see it as an act of religious conviction, while others hold that it also took on the character of a national movement as a result. Some also interpret his contacts with Kim Gu shortly after liberation in terms of political allegiance.