Sin Ai Kim

I have worked for thirty years in pastoral ministerial roles within various Korean churches both in Korea and in the UK, and as a missionary in various countries including India, Cambodia and the UK. These experiences, both as a missionary and church pastor in Korea, have motivated me to undertake this study into gender power relationships within the Korean Christian missionary community.

PhD Studies

Title      

A Theological Analysis of Gender Power Relationships among Korean Women Missionaries

Supervisors       

Prof. Nicola Slee, Dr Eun Sim Joung, Prof. Miranda Klaver, Dr Manuela Kalsky.

Research Topic

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate Korean female missionaries’ perceptions and negotiations of gender discrimination. The majority of Korean female missionaries express dissatisfaction with their role, having low personal expectations because of negative female stereotyping and discrimination within the Korean missionary community. Although the ratio of female to male missionaries is large, their roles have been minor and women have been excluded from key roles within Korean Christian community. I am pursuing an exploration of Korean women missionaries, from an empirical perspective, discovering their experiences of gender discrimination within the Korean Church including associated missionary organizations and the missionary community, as well as society in general. I am examining the nature and extent of gender discrimination among Korean women missionaries in the Korean Christian context and, in particular, how gender discrimination affects the vocational journey of female Korean missionaries. I am also seeking to discover some of the methods which Korean women missionaries use to criticize and change their situation, seeking to identify the strategies training agencies could use to promote gender equality for female Korean missionaries.

Consequently, in this study I am endeavouring to comprehend the voices of female Korean missionaries within the context of Korean theology and Korean Church doctrine and policies, including the educational praxis of gender power relationships within the Korean Christian context.

Research Activity

Research Interests

Feminist Practical and Pastoral Theology

Conference Papers

October 2015,  ‘A Theological Analysis of Gender Discrimination among Korean Women Missionaries’ (Symposium on the Faith Lives of Women and Girls, Birmingham, UK).

November 2015, ‘A Theological Analysis of Gender Discrimination among Korean Women Missionaries: Exploring some discoveries from the pilot fieldwork’ (Queen's Research Seminar, Birmingham, UK).