For an Authentic Korean Ecotheology

1. Introduction 1

2. Key Terminologies and Overview of Literature 11

3. Primal Religion, Worldviews, and the Development of
Ecothological Thought in East Asian Countries 57

4. Origin Myths, Primal Religions, and Worldviews in Ancient Korea 85

5. Climate Change and Primal Ecological Thought in Korea from The Twelfth to the Eighteenth Century 113

6. Forest Resources in the Era of Chosŏn Dynasty:
Issues and Responses 137

7. Tonghak and the Shaping of Indigenous Ecotheological Thought in the Late Nineteenth Century in Korea 157

8. The Protestant Chapter in Korean Christian History:
Assessing the Roles of the Missionaries and their Theology as the Forerunner of Christian Theology in Korea 179

9. Resurgence of Primal Religious Ideas in Korean Christianity, Emerging Indigenized Korean Christian Theologies and Ecotheology in the Twentieth Century 203

10. Conclusion: Towards an Authentic Ecotheology for the
Korean Church in the Twenty-First Century 239
Bibliography 269

Appendices
(A) Key Milestones in the Evolution of International
Climate Policy 309

(B) North Greenland Ice Core Project 311

(C) Maunder Minimum 313

(D) Tan’gun Myth 315

(E) Transcripts of Interview Responses Quoted in the
Thesis 319

Index 323

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Bright Myeong Seok Lee is an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK) and serves as Assistant Professor of Practical Theology and Chaplain at ACTS University, Korea. He is also the General Secretary of the International Association for Mission Studies (IAMS). For two decades, he served in Ghana as a missionary and ecumenical coworker with the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, in partnership with the Palatinate Church in Germany. He holds a BA in Engineering, a ThM in Missiology, and a PhD in Ecotheology, supervised by the late Professors Andrew F. Walls and Allison M. Howell. His ministry and scholarship address issues of migrant worker rights, social inequality, interreligious relations, and environmental stewardship, also known as creation care. His current research explores the intersection of theology and ecology in Asian and African contexts, aiming to develop an authentic, contextually grounded ecotheology.

QUESTIONS TO THE AUTHOR ABOUT THE BOOK:

1. Why did you decide to write your book?

I wrote this book out of a conviction that contemporary ecological crises require theological responses grounded not only in global discourse but also in local histories, cultures, and spiritual traditions. My primary concern was to explore how non-Christian societies have responded to ecological crises and what insights these responses offer to Christianity today. The book arises from the belief that ecological crises are rooted not merely in environmental or social factors, but in humanity’s fundamental ethical consciousness and sinfulness, and that theology must seriously engage this deeper dimension in seeking faithful and constructive responses.

2. What is distinctive about the content of your book?

The book brings Korea’s indigenous cosmologies into critical dialogue with Christian theology and missiology, offering a decolonial and contextually grounded ecotheology. Rather than presenting a merely “Korean” case study, it traces the historical development of ecotheological thought in a non-Western society, demonstrating that such contexts are not immune to the ecological critiques raised by Lynn White regarding post-medieval Christianity. By foregrounding the social and political dimensions of ecological crisis rooted in human nature, the book moves beyond purely religious explanations and offers a more comprehensive theological analysis.

3. Why is this subject important?

Ecological crises are not only environmental but also theological, cultural, and ethical. This study argues that dominant Western anthropocentric frameworks are insufficient on their own and that indigenous wisdom traditions can enrich Christian responses to climate change, sustainability, and creation care. At the same time, the book critically engages with the limitations of indigenous traditions—particularly their vulnerability to social and structural contradictions rooted in human sinfulness—and brings them into dialogue with biblical ethics and theological truth. In doing so, it offers a constructive and globally relevant alternative for addressing contemporary ecological crises.

4. What difference would this book make for ministry?

This book equips pastors, theologians, and mission practitioners with theological resources that are both contextually grounded and ecologically responsible. It encourages forms of ministry that integrate faith, creation care, justice, and local wisdom, fostering a holistic approach to mission amid ecological urgency. Beyond ecclesial contexts, it invites lay readers and future generations to engage with ecological insights drawn from history through theological reflection, emphasizing that today’s environmental crises require not only religious concern but also an integrated, interdisciplinary response.

5. Anything else you would like to add?

Rooted in the Korean context yet reaching far beyond it, this book speaks to a global Christian audience. It challenges readers in both Western and Majority World settings to critically engage their own histories, traditions, and geo-cultural realities, and to reimagine ecotheology as a vibrant, lived, and missional practice—one that nurtures communities and responds creatively to the urgent call to care for creation.

For those concerned with the intersection of Christian theology and the environment, this book is a refreshingly compelling and highly original Godsend. Lee’s book offers an alternative way of understanding and addressing environmental challenges, not by looking forward but by looking back at the nature-integrated insights of our ancestors – our cultural, social and religious ‘grandparents’ and ‘great-grandparents’.
This book is a valuable and profound exploration of such questions. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Jonathan Bonk, Retired Research Professor of Mission, Center for Global Christianity and Mission, Boston University School of Theology

Don't let the title put you off! For an Authentic Korean Ecotheology deserves a readership well beyond Korea. It is a learned, well-written and important contribution to the global task of discerning God's word for God's world in every cultural context. It brings together insights from about West Africa and a thorough analysis of Korean ecological, social and religious history in dialogue with western Christianity and the biblical text. Bright Myeong Seok Lee also makes a compelling case for all Christians to integrate biblical faith, contemporary science and technology, along with the insights, wisdom and traditions of ancestral spiritual practices. The book is superbly researched and thoroughly referenced. Any Christian who is serious about engaging with our global ecological crisis or with decolonising the hegemony of western Christianity should read this book!
Revd. Dr. Dave Bookless, Head of Theology, A Rocha International Lausanne Global Catalyst for Creation Care

This book is remarkable. It is readable and manageable while carefully exploring wide swaths of history, particularly Korean and Chinese but also African and European. Developments of civilizations, dynasties, religious movements, languages, political movements, international relations, and economics are explored. The research is more far-reaching than readers can imagine, but the successive chapters clearly lead to focused recommendations on what the book's title suggests: For an Authentic Korean Ecotheology. Bright Myeong Seok Lee – whose name and life experience embody the kind of international and multilingual experience required for this ambitious study – is to be commended for this timely, enlightening, and constructive work.
Rev. J. Nelson Jennings, PhD, Chair, Korea Global Mission Leadership Forum (KGMLF), Editor, Global Missiology, Former Director, Overseas Ministries Study Center (OMSC)

Dr. Bright Myeong Seok Lee has long been my close colleague and companion in the journey of nurturing emerging missiological voices within the Global South through the International Association for Mission Studies and the Korea IAMS Fellowship. For an Authentic Korean Ecotheology embodies the fruit of that shared pilgrimage of accompaniment. Drawing on his remarkable doctoral research that traces ecological wisdom from Korea’s ancient primal heritage, Lee offers a pioneering and deeply contextual vision of Korean eco-theology. His work reveals how primal worldviews, Christian faith, and ecological consciousness can be woven together into a theology both authentically Korean and globally resonant. This volume is not only a personal academic achievement but also a vital contribution to the ongoing effort of theologizing the lived experiences of World Christianity in the majority world. I wholeheartedly commend this book to all who seek an integrated, life-giving missiology for our shared planet.
Bokyoung Park, PhD, President, International Association for Mission Studies Professor of Missiology, Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary, South Korea, Founder and President, Korea IAMS Fellowship

In this volume, Prof. Lee provides a masterful historical survey of indigenous Korean sources for the construction of contemporary ecotheology. The creativity and breadth of his research are an inspiring contribution to the growing global literature on traditional spiritualities as essential for Christian ecotheology today. I recommend this book very highly.
Dana L. Robert Daneel, William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor, Director, Center for Global Christianity and Mission, Boston University

A work of high significance which opens up discourse on this important topic in new ways.
Professor Andrew F Walls OBE DD, Honorary Professor in the University of Edinburgh; Professor of the History of Mission, Liverpool Hope University; Professor Emeritus in the Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Mission and Culture, Akropong, Ghana