Korean Birth Rate

The Eyes of Priest column in the Catholic Peace Weekly reports on an unwed couple who has made known the birth of their child. 

The news of a Korean actor and model having a baby was surprising. On the 22nd, the child's mother, a model, announced the baby's birth through her social media. The father confirmed through his agency that he is the child's biological father. He stated that although there are no plans for marriage, he will fulfill his responsibilities as a parent to raise the child.

The columnist congratulates the father and mother on their decision to raise the child. He appreciates the courage of the two of them to choose life over abortion, even though it could tarnish the image that they have built up so far. 

A child, God’s creation “just by existing,” brings joy and love to the world. He applauds the father for taking full responsibility for their child until the end. He prays that God will bless the couple and the child born.

The priest columnist is disappointed at some of the public’s evaluation of this unmarried birth. Some entertainment media and YouTubers are pouring out gossip articles about inheritance or child support. They are also forcibly linking this incident to the mother's volunteer work and using sarcasm against her. All the words poured out on them feel like stones thrown at the woman in the Gospel of John. 

If they treat famous celebrities this harshly, how much worse must it be for ordinary people who gave birth alone to protect their lives? Unfortunately, our community’s atmosphere makes people choose abortion because of the opinions of others. I hope you put aside your curiosity and pray for this child.

However, he is concerned that voices are calling for various family structures because of this incident. They say that our society’s traditional view of family through marriage is outdated. The younger generation is responding positively to the unmarried birth. The government is exploiting this atmosphere and promoting policies to diversify family structures. The birth rate is continuously falling, so they are trying to increase it this way. The National Assembly is discussing a bill that would recognize unmarried ‘couples’ and same-sex ‘groups’ as family status, like European countries like France.

However, the birth rate cannot be solved this way. As Tesla's Elon Musk recently pointed out, Korea's birth rate is falling due to structural problems in our society. The fundamental reasons for the low birth rate are long working hours compared to OECD countries, pyramid-based education as seen in the medical school entrance exam craze, materialism that believes money is the most important, and our politics that cannot solve this problem. Therefore, rather than the diversity of family composition, we need to change the reality that children face to increase the birth rate.

The Catholic Church supports all those who protect life. Like Mary's conception and Joseph's courage 2,000 years ago, I pray that the Lord's grace will be abundant for all who seek to protect life.

Companion Dogs In Korean Society?

In her Catholic Peace Newspaper column, a religious sister examines the era of 10 million companion dog households in Korea.

The New York Times recently highlighted Korea's companion dog culture under the title: 'The lonely country of Korea adopts dogs as life companions'. Korea has a declining birth rate, an increasing number of singles and childless people, and a country that used to eat dogs but now accepts dogs as children or grandchildren and treats them as family members who cherish them as life partners.

The New York Times uploaded a video of a funeral for a companion dog, similar to a human funeral, and even mentioned other specific cases in detail. The owner wears an old $38 padded jacket while putting his dog in a new $150 jacket, and while he eats old food from the refrigerator, he feeds his dog fresh chicken breast. It is reported that the pet economy is growing as dog strollers sell better than baby strollers in Korea, and the number of dog daycares, trainers, clothing, funeral homes, and groomers is increasing. The newspaper reports that dogs in Korea today are family members needing care.

The word 'responsible' is related to self-identity. People feel psychologically stable when their inner self and external behavior are consistent when they acknowledge their true nature and desires as they are, and when they pursue authenticity. However, when they act 'inappropriately,' they feel psychological discomfort in a state of cognitive dissonance. Therefore, they think the greatest happiness is when their 'self' is acknowledged, when they build relationships based on their own self, and when they love and are loved.

Dogs also feel secure when they love and are loved like dogs. There is a tendency to treat dogs excessively like humans by giving them human characteristics or anthropomorphizing them. Animals live and exist in their own way. However, there are cases where dogs are dressed in clothes that can be uncomfortable and painful or used excessively with cosmetics or accessories. She wonders if they are using their companion dogs as tools to show off their image to others while ignoring the physical discomfort of dogs.

Humans should be loved while loving like humans, and dogs should be loved and loved like dogs. Humans and dogs are clearly different. Kant defines humans as rational beings. They can set their own goals and make moral decisions and judgments. Therefore, loving humans like humans means respecting the other person's freedom and choices while relating to them based on mutual respect and consideration.

However, dogs are sensitive and faithful to their instincts. Loving dogs like dogs means respecting their instinctive needs and nature. Humans are born as immature babies and grow into independent adults who can take care of others. In the process, they share emotional bonds and become interdependent, growing and maturing. However, dogs are like children who need care from the beginning until death.

However, humans expect dogs to act as emotional partners for humans and try to gain psychological satisfaction by treating them like mature people. It would not be a proper way to care for dogs if we project our complex emotional needs onto dogs to get emotional rewards, make dogs behave the way humans want them to, or have excessive expectations that dogs love and understand us.

Dogs cannot become people, so why do we try to 'anthropomorphize' them?  We should consider whether we are overly relying on companion dogs to relieve the fatigue, emotional deprivation, and loneliness from human relationships and trying to get emotional compensation.

<Spiritual Questions>

Wives and husbands are called 'companions.' Dogs have also become relatively high in status as they are called 'companion dogs'. Companion dogs have become part of the human family. Sometimes, the degree of obsession is greater than that of family. Questions such as "Please baptize my companion dog," "Please pray for my companion dog's healing," "Please hold a funeral for my companion dog at church," and "Will I be able to meet my dog ​​again in heaven?" are now a reality that we can no longer ignore. Just like people, we hold funerals and keep the remains of our companion dogs at home, remembering and praying for them.

However, excessive obsession with companion dogs can quickly become a substitute for religious and emotional salvation. Do you feel like the time you spend walking your dog at a particular time every day is a sacred act? Do you find emotional stability in the daily ritual of uploading pictures of your dog to SNS and writing a walking journal? Does the anthropomorphization of dogs, treating them like people, make you love them more?