"Han" suffering so deep

Catholic New Times, Nov 16, 2003 by Joelle Morgan

It feels ironic that a "rah rah America" show, though with a critical twist, is the thing that triggered this reflection.

In a recent episode of the "West Wing," a Korean artist was seeking asylum in the U.S. but he is refused. As the president is informing him of this fact, he stops playing the piano and asks, "Do you know what is 'han?'"

Then the pianist begins to play a mournful piece that tugged at a deep place of yearning. The piece did indeed communicate the essence of this term, which has no English translation "Han" is a suffering so deep, so profound that it is beyond tears.

This interaction struck me because I learned about the concept of "han" this summer during an anti-racism course, and I was astonished to find it in mainstream media.

It is a key concept in the Asian Christian theology of liberation. Andrew Sting Park, in an article in The Other Side of Sin, explores "han" in a biblical and social context, He defines it its "a physical, mental and spiritual repercussion to a terrible injustice done to a person, eliciting a deep ache, a wrenching of all the organs, an intense internalized or externalized rage, a vengeful obsession, and the sense of helplessness and hopelessness." These are profound words if one sits with them long enough to digest their 'meaning.

Andrew Sung Park explores numerous aspects of "han;" such as the cycle of han in the Hebrew Bible through Cain and Abel, and then through various episodes in David's life, but specifically with Bathsheba, Tamar and her brothers. He writes that because of the oppression that women have experienced at the hands of patriarchy, their han is always deeper than that of men. He says that han is a perspective that honours the sinned-against and their story.

Traditional theology deals with sin in a "sin-repentance" cycle that concentrates on the "sinner/oppressor" despite that the story of Job and Jesus reminds us that God is present among and for the oppressed.

The Job story is rich for the theological discussion of "han," because the suffering and loss he experiences is beyond reason, and beyond the traditional understanding of suffering caused by sin requiring repentance for healing. Through the story of Job (and his theologian friends), we are reminded that God is present even when faith is not "rewarded", but that even God's presence may not resolve the questions of human suffering. Han challenges all of us to seek ways to transform suffering.

I heard Dr. James Orbanski of Medecins Sans Frontieres speak this week. Though he used a very different language as he spoke of the suffering he has seen and experienced in this world, he also explored this notion of "han." His work as a doctor has placed him at the front lines of some of the most traumatic events of the end of the 20th century. He worked in Somalia during the famine and in Rwanda during the civil war. In South Africa he witnessed the ravages of AIDS/HIV. He knows of "han." He spoke of the rage and despair that can entrap us when we witness deep human suffering, He toll the story of arriving in Somalia and sitting on a pile of medical supplies while looking at a "sea of silent hunger" and noticing that at the tent which served as the morgue a man not quite dead was placed on a pyramid of dead bodies.

Orbanski carried the man back to the medical tent, raging at the efficiency that allows the living to die among the dead. He reminded us that a basic principle of humanitarian action is that we must see ourself in the "other," and through this compassion overcome feelings of powerlessness, and engage in the world.

Andrew Sung Park warns that "han" can be dealt with constructively by unearthing the root causes of suffering.

So many of the horrors that James Orbanski has experienced were connected to how humans chose to deal with han. The challenge of the witness of his work is to stay committed to the transformation of the world.

Joelle Morgan teaches in

Toronto