Ham Seok-heon

This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (March 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Ham Seok-heon
Korean name
Hangul	함석헌
Hanja	咸錫憲
Revised Romanization	Ham Seok-heon
McCune–Reischauer	Ham Sokhon

Ham Seok-heon (13 March 1901 – 4 February 1989) was a notable figure in the Religious Society of Friends (Quaker) movement in Korea, and was nicknamed the "Gandhi of Korea." Ham was an important Asian voice for human rights and non-violence during the 20th century, despite numerous imprisonments for his convictions. He was a Quaker who concluded that all religions are on common ground in terms of human beings, a view shared by many Quakers.

He encouraged peace and democracy and promoted non-violence movement known as “seed idea” (ssi-al sasang), consistently present in his books Korean History Seen through a Will published in 1948, Human Revolution in 1961, History and People in 1964, and Queen of Suffering: a spiritual history of Korea edited in 1985. He was also a poet and wrote about 120 poems such as “Song of the West Wind” written in 1983. In 2000, Ham was selected by the Republic of Korea as a national cultural figure.