A theological response to racism in post-apartheid South Africa: A Korean perspective

Abstract

This article explores a theological response to racism from a Korean perspective as a way to celebrate the legacy of Vuyani Shadrack Vellem who introduced the first Korean author (S.K.) to Black Theology of Liberation (BTL) in South Africa. The article argues that the privilege of white people, inequality, and racism, have continued in post-1994 South Africa, and that this is happening because the political liberation of black people has not been fully realised. To illustrate this point, the article drew comparisons between BTL of South Africa and Minjung Theology (MT) in South Korea through a case study of examples of racism cases to highlight the reality of the lives of black people and their encounters with racism that has continued in the post-apartheid South African context. Contribution: This article is a theological response to the continuing racism challenges in South Africa despite the collapse of apartheid in post- 1994 South Africa and it is an interdisciplinary approach to BLT and MT, which emerged from the Korean context.

Keywords

• black theology of liberation
• minjung theology
• racism
• south africa
• vuyani vellem