한국기독교역사연구소 ‘인물’ 연구 동향과 과제

Abstract

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Institute of the History of Christianity in Korea(IHCK), this study set out to examine all of its research trends through as objective statistics and analyses as possible and identify future research tasks related to Christian figures based on the results despite the limitations of an insider’s viewpoint. “Who” did IHCK investigate for the last 40 years? One can say, “Two research streams combined to form a big flow.” The next focus was on researchers. “Who” conducted the researches? “While historians investigated Christian nationalist activists, theologians placed more interest in ministers.” The two major topics of IHCK for the last 40 years were “people”(民族) and “church.” There is a task to “addressing the excessive values of ‘church’” in front of IHCK, whose researchers thus should not neglect conscious efforts to lower the voltage of “norms.” The blade of “norms”(規範) is always ready to cut out “demonstrations.”(實證) The “excessive values of ‘people’” can be addressed by the expansion of the research horizon. It is time to disperse the research viewpoint and driving force inclined toward “people” and spread the interest to its adjacent areas. The study of Christian figures also needs a paradigm shift. Some of IHCK’s future tasks are to select more diverse figures and expand the research horizon. In the study of missionaries, they need to expand the viewpoint to new and fresh figures that were not covered by previous researches. There is a need for researches on different combinations of figures in the history of local churches. It is also required to continue interest on figures related to the mission station in North Korea, women, and theologians.