Militarisation and empire: an eco-feminist theological perspective in the context of South Korea.

Abstract

The Korean Peninsula has seen an increase in militarisation since the end of the Korean War. The US military deployed the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) in Seongju County, South Korea in 2017. The deployment of THAAD confirms the phenomenon of militarisation in the name of national security. Militarisation is seen as linked to the notion of ‘empire’, and ‘empire’ has become a new form of sovereignty. The US military is the military empire that promotes hegemonic power in military activities of security. However, the deployment of the THAAD system has come at a cost to residents who are concerned with the damaging effects of THAAD on women’s lives and natural resources. This study interrogates how militarisation of the military empire affects women and natural resources through the lens of eco-feminist theories. The study employs a qualitative research methodology. Semi-structured interviews and focus-group discussions were the instruments used to collect data. The data collected were analysed thematically. From the eco-feminist theories of the West, dualistic thought in the militarisation process by empire influences a division to superior privilege, and inferior degradation. In their argument, Christian triumphalism advocates militarisation. Militarised Protestantism, based on triumphalism, is exposed as militarised patriotism relevant to pro-Americanism in South Korea. However, the eco-feminist perspective from the Global South offers an alternative spirituality to respond to the destruction of the environment and the oppression of women. This alternative spirituality is the notion of Life in East Asian knowledge. Moreover, women's resistance against militarisation as a Western-centred socio-economic and political system is under scrutiny by the eco-feminists of the Global South. Therefore, this study discovered the subjecthood of Life as an alternative spirituality from the perspective of East Asian knowledge. The subjecthood of Life provokes liberation from militarised masculinity in women's resistance to the THAAD movement. The women's resistance that embraced the subjecthood of Life embodies all living beings and seeks to create a community that lives in harmony with nature. Thus, a women's theology of Life from an East Asian perspective to respond to militarisation and empire in the context of South Korea is suggested in this study.