Images of the Cross in Early Modern Korea: The Geomantic Prophecy of the Chŏnggam-nok and the Protestant Flag of the Red Cross
The symbolic power of the cross is one of the reasons Protestant Christianity attracted so many adherents in its first few decades in Korea. The simple Protestant cross had an advantage over the Catholic crucifix, which includes a three-dimensional image of the crucified Jesus. The unadorned cross o...
| Published in: | Journal of Korean religions |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
University of Hawai'i Press
2010
|
| In: |
Journal of Korean religions
|
| Further subjects: | B
Red Cross
B Cross B glyphomancy B Righteous Army [End Page 117] B Chŏnggam-nok B flagpoles |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The symbolic power of the cross is one of the reasons Protestant Christianity attracted so many adherents in its first few decades in Korea. The simple Protestant cross had an advantage over the Catholic crucifix, which includes a three-dimensional image of the crucified Jesus. The unadorned cross of Protestant Christianity reminded many Koreans of the Sino-Korean character for 10 (十), which some read as a reference to the ten auspicious places mentioned in the popular prophetic text Chŏnggam-nok. The cross also was used on flagpoles flying the flag of St. George’s cross, which Koreans interpreted as a sign of both the spiritual power of the Christian message and of the protective power of the extraterritoriality of Western missionaries. In addition, the use of the cross as a symbol of the Japanese Red Cross during the Russo-Japanese War strengthened its association with modern civilization. When Japanese military forces captured members of the Righteous Armies and tied them to crosses before executing them, the cross also gained a nationalistic aura. These multiple associations for the cross made it a powerful symbol drawing Koreans into the Protestant churches. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2167-2040 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of Korean religions
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/jkr.2010.0002 |