Visiting An Enemy Cemetery—

 

A Brother of the Taizé Community in his Catholic Times column gives us a meditation on seeing a documentary of a Shaman taking her disciples to the 'Enemy  Cemetery' in Paju Korea where she performed a ritual to console the souls of the North Korean soldiers who died during the Korean War.

The shaman danced tirelessly from morning until dusk, visiting many graves with great effort. As darkness fell, the shaman, now in a trance, began to spout the angry curses of the soldiers. Then, a boy's voice cried "Mother!" The wailing of the young soldier, filled with injustice, sorrow, pain, and longing, lingered in his ears for some time.

The 'Enemy Cemetery' located in Paju City, is now called the 'North Korean Military Cemetery'. The remains of 437 Chinese People's Volunteer Army soldiers, who were once at the same site, have all been repatriated after March 2014, leaving only their tombstones. The North Korean soldiers' gravestones are marked with names, ranks, dates, and places of death, though many are unnamed. 'Armed guerillas' dispatched to the South at various times, including during the January 21st Incident, are also buried here. The recent graves, marked only with numbers and no names or places, are presumed to be those of North Korean soldiers who died during infiltration incidents. 

For several years the Diocese of Uijeongbu has been offering Mass at the cemetery during All Souls’ Month. When Mass was offered conservative groups would come and protest and demonstrate. "Why do we pray for North Korean soldiers, our enemies?" 

“Ah, how can we forget this day / The day when our country was trampled by our enemies / We blocked the enemies with our bare fists and red blood / The day we stamped our feet and hit the ground and trembled with righteous indignation… ”

Our generation sang the June 25 song countless times when we were young, and we still clearly remember the lyrics and melody. The enemy in the song was none other than our fellow countrymen and brothers. 

As time passed and the situation changed, the enemy came to be referred to again as fellow countrymen, compatriots, and people. Movements for inter-Korean reconciliation occurred in the 1970s and 1980s, and several inter-Korean summits were held in the 2000s. However, peace, coexistence, reconciliation, and cooperation remain only a distant echo, and the North and South are once again growling like enemies and using the language of blackmail and threats. North Korea again remains the main enemy.

War exposes the most barbaric and bestial characteristics of humans, dehumanizing both themselves and their opponents. Perhaps hatred and revenge are more primitive human emotions than forgiveness and reconciliation. 

Looking at Korean society, the wounds and trauma of war seem to be passed down from generation to generation unbeknown to most. Wounds have not been properly healed— the language of hate is spewed at brothers and neighbors, dialogue is cut off, and camp logic is strengthened.

What can Christians on this earth do to change this terrible reality of confrontation and hatred? How can we become ‘wounded healers’ to break free from the shackles of the past in which we were both victims and perpetrators and be open to a common future?