Once a Hermit Kingdom, Korea has now developed to a point where she is a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Group of 20, which met in Canada this past week. Economically, she is one of the stronger countries in the world thanks to globalization, but this was not all for the good.With globalization, the world is more connected than ever before: trade, money, and people move easily to all parts of the world. But along with the benefits of globalization, there are problems. An article in the Kyeong-Hyang magazine suggests there are more cons than pros. The writer sees the spread of violence and anti-democratic movements on the increase. The traditional acceptance of sex, marriage and the family is being rejected and the traditional values of religion are being questioned.
Moral theologians tell us what has to be considered in the future of globalization. And the writer follows up on this by making three points: first, we have to rethink the place of finances in society. Companies have to have another way of looking at what they are about; not only increasing profits but finding ways of easing the struggles of the human family. Second, there has to be a new understanding of politics. It should benefit not only the elite but should be truly democratic: helping all in society. Third, efforts have to be made to strengthen a sense of community throughout society.
He believes the Church's role in society is to further the common good and work for solidarity, which is in line with the social gospel. Those who have been marginalized by society have to be brought back by a more equitable distribution of wealth.
The Catholic papers and magazines are sensitive to the failure of the catechumenates to teach the social gospel. This was readily seen in the way our Catholics looked upon the problems that society had to face. The effort to make up for this oversight is now shown by the effort and space that are given to this issue in the Catholic media.
