It was in the year of 2010 that the news, which the thirteenth General Assembly of the World Council of Churches would be held in Pusan in 2013, was reported. Since then, the Korean Protestant church community has been extremely divided. While many Christians welcomed the news in jubilation, some opposed it in anger. Those church leaders and theologians in opposition have said that the WCC denies the orthodox doctrine of proselytism and promotes a religious pluralism through its program of dialogue among various religions The WCC’s theological orientation, they argue, “anti-Biblical, anti-Christian and anti-church.” The WCC’s theology and ecumenical movement ia “a Satanic challenge to the church. Therefore, they oppose the scheduled General Assembly of the WCC.
However, their seemingly theological argument and accusation is, it seems, is political rather than theological. An anti-WCC movement in Korea, which began immediately after the Liberation, more specifically after the north-south division, was also begun not by theologians but by some politicians and ultra-conservative church leaders during the Korean War in Pusan.
This article aims to explore this historical context in which the anti-WCC movement was begun. Who did initiate it, when and why? This article thus discusses such concepts as the Cold War, the emergence of a new world order, the division of Korea, the Korean War, McCarthy’s anti-communist hysteria, ‘red complex and so forth. All of these elements brought about a new doctrine that communism is anti-Christianity and Christianity is anti-communism. In this peculiar historical context, a strong militant anti-communist element is so strong in the Korean church community that some church leaders have stood militantly against the WCC.

• 박정신(숭실대학교) | Park, Chung Shin