ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the power of lament to express Han and suffering during COVID-19. It explores the significant role of psalms of lament as a response to suffering in four ways. First, they are vehicles for expressing and communicating sorrow, anger, and real human struggles. Second, psalms of lament can provide pathways leading us out of the experience of muteness, of being overwhelmed and silenced by suffering, and the accompanying resentment that results. Third, they can build communal motivation toward shared protest, becoming a resource of solidarity in giving voice to pain and struggle in the world. Finally, psalms of lament can bring a cathartic, emotional release in the context of faith, a prayer growing from a deep desire for a healing relationship with God. This paper will research Lament psalms and draw resources, particularly from Dorothee Soelle's articulation of suffering and transformation, from the concept of Han in Minjung theology, and develop a contextual aesthetic approach in light of Korean musical forms that communicate the experience of Han. Korean forms of traditional music can be employed in worship to express Han via psalms of lament and provide a significant case study for taking up Korean local cultural and spiritual heritage. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023.