This book offers a critical-constructive study of Korean women's self-esteem from a feminist practical theological perspective. Jaeyeon Lucy Chung recognizes two different and yet related problems: the absence of scholarly work on women's self-esteem from non-white, non-Western groups in the field of practical theology, and the lack of attention to the low self-esteem prevalent in Korean women's sociocultural and religious context. Chung employs in-depth interview studies while drawing on theoretical resources of psychology, theology, and cultural studies to develop a relational-communal theory of self-esteem, and a systematic, communal understanding of pastoral care practice. The project offers insights into the life experience of Korean women, especially self-esteem, and it reveals some of the ways self-esteem can be fostered.
1. Introduction.- 2. Korean Women's Personal Narratives.- 3. Rhetoric of Obedience and Self-Sacrifice in Confucianism and Christianity.- 4. Self-Esteem as a Relational Psychological Construct.- 5. Imago Dei, Friendship, and the Theology of Self-esteem.- 6. Relational-Transformative Pastoral Care for Korean Women.
Jaeyeon Lucy Chung is Assistant Professor of Pastoral Theology and Director of the Styberg Library at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, USA.
