Studying Modern Theology and Searching for a New Horizon of Hope

Yi Yong-do, who reentered Songdo Middle School in 1923 and completed his life in Gaeseong, entered the English Department of Hyeopseong Seminary. His close friend Rev. Yi Ho-bin remembers Yi Yong-do’s motivations for choosing theology as the following:

His conviction was that our nation must be that of an autonomous and independent people, and he felt deeply that that was man’s natural role. But he did not curse or hate the Japanese, but only resented the ignorance and inability of our people. Autonomy and independence will naturally be had if our people became more enlightened, our culture improved, and science developed, but he thought the power of religion was more needed than other things, in order for our people to live rightly as autonomous humans, and that is why he sought out religion. He resolved to study theology because he thought it was religion that could rectify the nature of our people.

By studying modern biblical theology, historical theology, systematic theology, and practical theology in seminary, Yi Yong-do came to grasp Christianity more fully and deeply. He was taught by professors such as C. S. Deming, A. W. Wasson, E. M. Cable, R. A. Hardie, Choi Byeong-heon, Kim In-yeong, Byeon Seong-ok, Jang Nak-do, and Yim Du-hwan. Through the teachings he received and his theological study, Yi Yong-do was able to approach what he personally experienced and encountered within Korea’s historical situation from a reflective framework.
During this period, Yi Yong-do received influences that contributed seminally to the formation of his eastern-Asian or eastern spirituality. For example, Yi Yong-do met Rev. Choi Byeong-heon, who left his pastoral field and had been teaching “Chinese literature and comparative religion” at Hyeopseong Seminary. Rev. Choi Byeong-heon, while learning the paradigm of modern western Christianity, interpreted the Christian gospel from an indigenous perspective and tried to open up a horizon of uniquely Korean Christianity. Through the teaching of Rev. Choi Byeong-heon, Yi Yong-do encountered Chinese literature and an East Asian spirituality.
Yi Yong-do was cognizant of the reality of the western imperialism, and carried within him a spirit of nationalism and a sense of eastern identity. Because of this, he was able to intuit the value of the eastern tradition through the study of Chinese literature and use it in the formation of an eastern spirituality in which he was interested. Yi Yong-do frequently read the Analects, Mencius, The Great Learning, and The Doctrine of the Mean from Confucianism, Diamond Sutra and Perfection of Wisdom Sutra from Buddhism, and Tao-te Ching from Taoism, and felt a deep connection to their worlds. Later, he wrote down many passages from these eastern classics in his diary, and derived from the eastern philosophy and thought depicted there new interpretations of the Christian gospel.