Father And Son In The New Korea

The mother of Mencius, an interpreter of Confucius, moved three times to help her child. They lived, first, near a cemetery where the son began imitating the mourners; then they moved near a market where he was influenced by the ways of the market, and, finally, they moved near a school where Mencius started his journey in scholarship.

Even today, parents will do anything to get a good education for their children. A good education is thought to be the road to happiness. The young are no longer protected by family from being influenced by what is going on in the outside world, so the problems are quite different from the past.

A priest, writing for the Pastoral Diary column in the Peace Weekly, tells us of two incidents that are frequent in the Korea of today.

One evening, late at night, a teacher from the Sunday catechetical program came to see the priest, with a first-year high school boy, guitar in hand. The teacher explained that the boy was thrown out of the house because he wanted to study music and his father wanted him to go to college. That evening the boy had no place to go and the teacher had no room in his house for the boy, so he came to the priest for help. The priest called around to find a place for the teenager. He had the teacher call the mother to tell her not to worry; they had found a place for the son to sleep.

In this case, there is a young man in love with music. In the old days, music was not considered an occupation parents would consider for their children. This has changed but there are parents who haven't. The father wants the boy to go to college; the boy is interested only in music. So who gets his way?

In the other case, a boy has a temper tantrum, causing a serious commotion in his classroom. The priest spent hours with the young man, with the boy ending up crying. It was a problem again with the father, and in frustration the son took it out on others.

The priest concludes that fathers have to listen more compassionately to their children. It has not been the Korean way, but times have changed and fathers have to change as well.

Dialogue is still not something parents find easy to do in the home. The relationship of husband and wife is stronger than the relationship of father and son in the Korea of today. Still the pain that an older son can inflict is felt as in the old Korea. In the cases referred to, the boys want to do something the fathers consider unacceptable. Dialogue has to begin, with fathers seeing other possibilities than those they originally preferred.

Letter From Prison, St. Andrew Kim Martyr

Following is the letter sent by St. Andrew Kim to Christians while he awaited death in prison. In translating the letter, I wanted to experience the feelings of the Saint before his death. It was an attempt to relish the words that he used in his farewell letter to the Christians. The letter has been adapted to the Korean usage of the present, so liberties were taken with the original text.

Fellow Christians let us look and see.

Think, think of these things. God made all things and among these, he made us in his image to live on this earth. Let us reflect on God's great will and ponder it.

If we think of all that has to be done on this earth, there are many pitiful and sad things that come to mind. (Ecclesiastes 1-2: Vanity of vanities, says the preacher. All things are vanity!) Seeing this miserable and wretched world in which we are born, if we do not know the God, who made us, then we will not know the fruitfulness of life.

However, even if we know the God, who made us and have been baptized and have not lived as his disciple, then we will not find satisfaction, but we will have ingratitude to God, and we will be in a position worse than those who have not been baptized.

Let us look at the farmer who plants his field: he takes no notice of the heat and tiredness; at the right time, he plows the land, fertilizes it, plants the seed, and takes care of it. God does the same. He accepts us as seeds; grace can be considered the fertilizer and he waters us with the blood from Jesus' passion. If we take what is given and have produced fruit, at the judgement, we go to heaven. If we have not bourne fruit, then we become his enemy and worthy to be punished for all eternity.

Dear brothers and sisters, listen carefully!

Our Lord Jesus Christ came down to us and took upon himself much suffering and in the midst of this anguish established the Church, and the Church by suffering grew all the more. After the Ascension, from the time of the Apostles until now, the Church has been persecuted. The Holy Church has been in Korea for 50 to 60 years and has gone through many persecutions. Even now, many Christians, I along with them, have been arrested, and we continue to suffer. Christians, let us face this bravely. How can it be that we face this torture without difficulty? This forced separation from our parents is difficult to accept. However, in the Scriptures we all know that God tells us he is concerned about even the hairs of our head. Is this not all part of God's providence?

In following the will of our Lord with complete trust, and united with Jesus, already the devil has been struck. As we are now undergoing this time of strife, let us brace ourselves and with all our strength and with all our capabilities--using our weapons, the Rosary, Scripture, and Sacraments like strong soldiers--let us fight the good fight, and we will win.

Please let us not forget our love for one another, help one another and with patience overcome the suffering. Twenty of us are in prison. With God's grace holding us up, even after death don't forget our families; take care of them. I have much to say, but it can't be expressed with words. We are ready to go out to the place of execution. We will prepare well and meet you in heaven.

Please do not give in to the persecution, brace your hearts day and night, ask God for help, fight against the world, the flesh and the devil, and overcome these difficulties and give glory to God and save our souls! This trial is a way of gaining merit. Think of it with thanks. Let us imitate the life of the men and women saints and give glory to God. Let us give ourselves to one another, become one, and ask for mercy. Let us wait for the time of grace.

Since I am in prison, I can't say all that I want to. Let us meet in heaven. I pray earnestly that we may all enjoy heaven for all eternity.

1847 end of August, Kim Andrew

Dowsing in Korea

Koreans have an attraction to many areas of life that do not ordinarily enter the western mind. The search for underground running water is one of these. In both Korean Catholic newspapers, you have advertisements on how to neutralize harmful radiation that comes from underground running water, and even to protect yourself when sleeping by using beds with stone slabs.

A priest who with over forty years as a dowser, wrote an interesting article, some years ago in one of our Catholic Magazines. Since he is called the "doctor for wells" he felt an article explaining what he does would be proper. Judging from his experience, about 4 out of 10 are sensitive to the radiation from underground running water, causing health problems for many.

The priest has been asked to find water for municipalities, colleges, churches and schools, the farming and industrial sectors, and for homes. The article mentions the case in Incheon where he found drinking water in ocean land fill. He was elated with the results, as were those who were present.

He believes that those who are sensitive to the radiation will usually have health problems. This is accepted by most Koreans. He mentions that trees by a well will be twisted or bent and concludes these are the effects of the running water below. With his knowledge of where the underground running water can be found, he has helped many recover their health.

Dowsing is not considered scientifically proven, and many still feel this is a belief from the past that is no longer acceptable to most enlightened observers --superstition. Koreans do not agree. Dowsing began in Korean in 1836, when a French foreign missioner started investigating its possibilities; when the concordat with the French was made in 1887, dowsing was taken up my many. And still today, many are involved in looking for underground water and freeing many from radiation that may come from this source.

A New Chapter On Naju

Naju is making the news again; an old story that does not want to die. The ordinaries of the Kwangju Archdiocese have studied the events starting in July 30,1985 with the weeping statue of the Blessed Mother, and made it clear there is no evidence that the events are supernatural--perhaps they show some preternatural power. However, there is another chapter with a so called "miracle" in Rome written up in an Italian Magazine.

An archbishop and Cardinal, who spent time in Korea as Apostolic Delegates and have returned to Rome show sympathy for what they saw on their trips to Naju. They have accepted what is being said by the supporters of Mrs. Julia Youn, who has been receiving the messages from the Blessed Mother. The archbishop was even present at the so called miracle in Rome, and they both considered the miracle in Naju as authentic when they were here in Korea.

A priest from Kwangju Diocese has made a study of Naju for his master's degree in Applied Theology, and concurs with the results of the Naju Investigation Committee that sees no evidence of the Supernatural. This paper is now being distributed to the dioceses that want to inform the Catholics on the occurences at Naju.


Rome has not changed their opinion about the phenomena and respects the decision of the Diocese that has studied all the facts. However, with powerful men who are in Rome the supporters of Julia Youn have made a DVD and sent them throughout the country and also overseas, so the confusion is going to continue. The DVDs include the words of the archbishop and the Cardinal in support of the phenomena which is in opposition to the decision of the Ordinary of the Diocese. The Diocese has excommunicated all those who participate in the events at Naju but this has not stopped the visits. The Cardinal and the archbishop are speaking as individuals, and it is not a decision of the Church, but it is easily seen why some of the Catholics have difficulty understanding what is going on.

Supporters of Naju see those in opposition as part of the liberal segment of the Church in Korea; they are dividing the liberal and conservative elements as if the conservative would support Naju. It is a private revelation and there should be a certain amount of humility shown in accepting the wishes of the Ordinary of the Diocese. However, the Cardinal and archbishop do not feel bound. Those who wish to disobey the wishes of the archbishop of Kwangju have easy access to people in high places, which makes the position of the Korean Bishops awkward.

To many, even if the Blessed Mother was speaking to Julia Youn, she would want the Catholics to listen to the Bishop of the Diocese rather than her, but that kind of thinking doesn't seem to have any persuasive power in these days of dissent and personal opinion pushed to center stage. Both Catholic newspapers have covered the story this week, and the Church will do its best to try to keep the Catholics informed but people like to hear miracle stories.

Tweaking Globalization To Make It Human

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.

Preparing for Korean Catholic Youth Day

On August 12th to the 18th, the Uijeongbu Diocese of Korea will host the 2nd Catholic Youth Day.The 1st Korean Youth Day was in the Diocese of Cheju in 2007. It drew the youth from parishes throughout the country. It was also a preparation for the World Youth Day in Australia in 2008.

These Youth Days are organized like past International Youth Days. The host diocese organizes daily conferences, discussions and prayers, and celebrates Mass and the sacrament of reconciliation. Attendees stay with local families or in places designated by the host.

The youth commission of the Korean Bishops Conference will sponsor the event with the Diocese doing most of the preparation. Uijeongbu Diocese has over 260 Volunteers that have attended the inaugural Mass and have started preparations with numerous meetings, seminars, and rehearsals.

The event will be held with the theme: "Hope In God" (Isaiah 26:8).

The next World Youth Day will be held in 2011 in Madrid, Spain, and in 2012, the Korean Catholic Church will host the Asian Catholic Youth Meeting, which is held during the years when there is no International Youth Day celebration. Hosting the Asian Catholic Youth Day should be good preparation for the Korean Church, when they have the chance to host the International Youth Day. As organizers, they are hard to beat.

The Church in Korea is justly concerned about the youth. They are the future, and statistics have shown that many of them are no longer going to Sunday Mass or show any interest in the spiritual. The need to work with the younger generation is urgent, but the postmodern world view that is so predominant among the young makes it difficult to reach them. An important aspect of this world view is the belief that so-called 'truths' have caused us only trouble, and thus the attraction of relativism for the young is easy to understand. The efforts of the Church to get youth to come together to discuss and reflect on life can't have anything but a positive effect on the future of Catholicism in Korea.

Social Gospel In Catholicism

Leaders in the Catholic Church in Korea, from before 1987, have been interested in the consequences of what has been called the social gospel of the Church--applying the truths of the gospels to solve or alleviate social problems. This has spread to the lay Catholics, helping to democratize and humanize culture, according to a professor writing in the Catholic Times.

He goes on to tell us that this is the way we make the Gospel live in society, in the family and in the Church. The Church in Korea started teaching its social doctrine to lay people after the Asian Lay Assembly in 1994: a 15-year history of the social gospel. In many areas of the Church's work--the family, moral life issues, pastoral youth work, welfare, justice and peace issues, ecology, working with immigrants, mass communication and national unity--it is the social gospel which gives the principles on which to judge and the guidelines to direct the activities.

The professor laments that there are only 5 dioceses in Korea that have programs for teaching the social implications of the Gospels. Seoul has been the leader in this area, and over the last 15 years they have had 65 different courses, with nearly 4,000 attending.

In recent years there has been a drop in attendance. An effort needs to be made to reverse this trend by recruiting interested Catholics to attend and also to find teachers who will conduct programs throughout the country.

The term “social doctrine” goes back to Pope Pius XI and designates the doctrinal teachings concerning issues relevant to society which, from the Encyclical Letter Rerum Novarum of Pope Leo XIII, developed in the Church from 1891. This Encyclical Letter marks the beginning of a "new path" for the Church.

Those who have been educated in this new way of seeing our society become our modern day Apostles. They see something they did not see before. The Catholic Church is considered by many to be part of the anti-Democratic and anti-humanistic elements in the modern world. This viewpoint is easy to understand: the Church's record was far from prophetic. In attempting to preserve the good it was seen as against.

The Church was not the first to change to meet the problems that developed but neither was it the last. Becoming acquainted with the Church's Social Teaching does open up areas of our Christian life that goes back to the Gospel, and gives us a theology that shows how we are to look upon our society and be leaven, salt and light in today's world.