I wrote in a previous musing about how I somehow missed the June 1987 Democracy Movement in South Korea. No recollection of it from when it happened in my college years. I am grateful to have stumbled upon a movie based on those events.

“In 1987 Korea under an oppressive military regime, the unlawful interrogation and death of a college student ignite ordinary citizens to fight for the truth and bring about justice.” — Official Description, 1987: When the Day Comes

Before I say more about the movie, some context for how this historical event gave me hope and sparked my imagination. My family has been concerned, angry, and disheartened by the on-going genocide of the Palestinian people. What can be done about this evil?

“Genocide is not a term I use lightly… We have mounting evidence… that what Israel has been doing in Gaza fits this definition, meets the criteria, and accounts for genocide.” — Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac, Harvard Divinity School lecture

My adult children have been to numerous protests, calling on our government to stop supporting the genocide to no avail. It’s difficult to keep hearing news of all the atrocities that continue to be perpetrated. How is one to find hope?

My son and I visited a church together, where we heard a sermon on Habakkuk. The preacher said that God judges evil. In the context of Habakkuk, God used a foreign power to judge Judah for its evil. This is consistent with the overarching story of scripture. God judges evil in history and at the end of the age.

While the central message was on point, how the preacher alluded to current events was murky. He mentioned Gaza and Ukraine at different points, but it was unclear what he was saying about them. Yes, God judges evil, by whose evil is being judged right now?

On one disheartening day, my son forward me a link to some horrible news coming out of Gaza, and he messaged, “Where is God’s judgment?”. That’s when the movie, 1987, spoke to me. My son’s protests and patient teaching about genocide and Christian Zionism at his church is seen by God and will make a difference. We may not see it yet, but the day will come.

The protests in South Korea brought about material change in the constitution, prevented the military regime from appointing its own successor, and forced the government to hold direct presidential elections.

“The last paradox is that the tale of Palestine from the beginning until today is a simple story of colonialism and dispossession, yet the world treats it as a multifaceted and complex story—hard to understand and even harder to solve.” — On Palestine by Noam Chompsky and Ilan Pappé

I credit my son for teaching me that the situation in Palestine is not complicated. There clearly is evil that needs to be judged. Huge wrongs that must be made right. The change we want in Palestine is not yet, but the day will come. That was what I humbly offered him. By faith, we believe that God will judge evil.