The Catholic Times has another article and editorial on the Jejudo April 3rd 1948(4-3) massacre that happened 70 years ago. At the end of last month, a symposium in Seoul reinterpreted the Jejudo 4-3 incident with Christian eyes.
Theodor Adorno a German philosopher, who experienced the two World Wars, said the German Nazi massacre of the Jews was something unthinkable beyond the unthinkable. Jeju 4-3 was a historical tragedy in which more than 10% of the population was indiscriminately massacred. It was called the Auschwitz after Auschwitz.
The difference between Auschwitz and Jejudo is that the former is remembered and helped humanity, hopefully, to grow in wisdom while the later remains a history to be erased from the mind.What are we being told about Jeju-do?
Bishop Kang of Jeju-do gave the keynote speech at the symposium. He spoke about the meaning of the tragedy seeing it from a social and theological point of view—the biblical tradition. It is not simply an incident in Korean history nor do we need to identify social responsibility.
After the defeat of Japanese imperialism in the Second World War, many of the Koreans living in Japan within a short period of time returned to Jejudo. 70,000 returned, although others came from other countries most came from Japan.
These new members of Jejudo society had a stronger national consciousness than the ones who lived in Jejudo and a great desire for the restoration of their homeland. However, what awaited them was political, economic and social unrest stemming from the policies and mistakes of the US military government. One of the big issues was reinstating the police officers and personnel who had been leaders when they were under Japanese occupation.The residents felt betrayed that it was an extension of Japanese rule instead of hope for a new era.
The armed uprising that took place on April 3,1948 was the South Korean Worker's Party with many hundreds of members whose expectation were also the hope of all those on the island: freedom, independence, resistance to the evil structures in society and corruption.
The bishop compared this to the salvation history of the Jewish people. The history of suffering the journey to seek dignity: the response of God in man. 4-3 was not an accident but a deliberate act in search of human liberation from all sorts of social evils and injustices. The insurrection was against efforts to hinder and stop this movement towards freedom and independence.
Although efforts were made by the government to ascertain the truth and some compensations made, the causes of the ideological confrontation and conflict are still not healed. Forgiveness and tolerance are important. More important may be to reclaim the evangelical value of Jejudo 4-3 and sublimate it in a Christian life: What are you citizens of Jejudo to do?
A Chinese Philosopher from the 4th century before Christ used the phrase: only a live fish goes against the current. A dead fish has no choice but to go with the current, true even of a dead whale. In an article in the Catholic Peace Weekly the writer gives us a mediation on the phrase. Going along with the current makes life easy but is not always the right thing to do.
Evil and good, depending on the situation in society can use the phrase to express their hopes which means we need wisdom to decide what needs to change and what doesn't: the cause of polarization in society.
At the Pyeongchang Olympic Games, the two Koreas were united briefly in a hockey game. Was it a gesture for survival to break through some very powerful international sanctions against the North? The leader of the North sent his younger sister along with elder statesmen to the South; an attitude different from that of the past. The writer hopes this will be a sign of a new future for the North-South relationship.
Another movement aganist the flow are the women seeking to abolish the criminality of abortion. A few years ago adultery was no longer considered a crime. Recently the 'me too' campaign against sexual violence is showing results. The writer understands the vitality of the women movement to fight against the remains of a patriarchal culture but abortion should not be part of that movement.
However, the issue of legalizing abortion can be seen in a different dimension to that of going against the flow. The fetus breathing in the mother's womb is sending a message of life. In Korea, half of the babies are aborted, babies necessary if Korea is to sustain its numbers which is another going against the flow.
In 1960, 1 million babies were born, last year less than 400,000. All kinds of methods to increase the numbers have been tried and proved ineffective. Many young men are not interested in marriage and women don't want to have babies; the state needs to have a policy that goes against the thinking of many in our society otherwise we face a gloomy future. If our selfishness and easy life, stand in the way, we will even see a change in our faith life.
Humanity, however, never loses hope for we can always go against the flow and overcome the most tragic of situations. He mentions an uprising of the people in China during the Qin Dynasty when a poor soldier Chen Sheng iniated an uprising of the people and for a brief time became the emperor of the country. Today it is the vitality of democracy and the people's power; even the biggest problems can be overcome with numbers going against the flow.
Catholics, Protestants and Buddhists trying to keep that law as it is, were able to garner over 1 million signatures.
Jesus said he was the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6) who showed us the energy of life. As long as we possess life than we always have the opportunity to overcome fixed ideas and stereotypes and false understandings. He hopes to see new ways of putting lives at the center and a pledge for the future.
Pope Francis in his first Apostolic Exhortation: Joy of the Gospel presents the Pope's vision for a Church which shares the gospel with enthusiasm and vitality. "Pastoral ministry in a missionary key seeks to abandon the complacent attitude that says: “We have always done it this way”. I invite everyone to be bold and creative in this task of rethinking the goals, structures, style and methods of evangelization in their respective communities (#33).
Saint Augustine of Hippo is quoted as saying: "The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page." We need to be bold, adventurous and creative if we are to be open to the movements of grace that come to us daily.
A university professor writing for a diocesan bulletin gives us some ideas that he has gathered from his own teaching experience. Students have shown him two different realities in the classroom that are seen in life on a larger scale.
1) Once the student has selected a seat in the classroom rarely do you see a change. The ones who sit on the sides or in the back are always the same.
2) The chance that the one who sits beside the student will develop into a friendship is very high.
Once you are interacting with a person a few times the contact feels comfortable and the relationship becomes friendly.
Our situation in life, the place where we sit, will determine pretty much the view we have of life. The professor says sadly, this is the reality in most cases. More than we would like to think, we are limited by our passivity to see beyond what is around us. It's easy to stay with the familiar. We are not adventurous, have the courage or diligence to want to change.
Happiness comes as a gift, according to the professor, to those who are not fixated in one place but are adventurous. He finishes the article by hoping he will be an example to the students on how to be adventurous, courageous and diligent.
Marriage Encounter (ME), was introduced to Korea in the early 1990s and grew rapidly but recently, difficult to maintain as a parish organization. ME meetings are held once a month but few couples attend and it's difficult to find leaders. Getting couples to participate in the weekend programs is also difficult. Sadly, the movement that's done much as a guide for married couples to grow in love for one another is now in decline.
An article in the Catholic Times by a parish priest describes the problems faced in the pastoral work. Looking at this one reality of the Marriage Encounter Movement he realizes how much change we are experiencing. According to the data of the National statistical office in 2016, one person families in Korea accounted for 27.2 % of the total families. Followed by 26.1 % for two-person households, 21.5% for three person households, and 18.8 % for four-person households.
As the number of single person households spread and the YOLO (You Only Live Once life) style of living and philosophy spreads, values and consumption patterns change. This is the trend of the times. New words appear: eating alone, drinking alone, watching movies alone, traveling alone and playing alone and are no longer strange to our ears.
We have those who no longer consider marriage necessary, the happy single person who selects the single life, and the not so noble single person who doesn't want the burden of children. Many are single because of divorce, separation, families that live separately for the education of the children, elderly people living alone, and those who have lost their spouses because of death and those who have no choice but to live alone. Living alone in the past was an abnormal situation but what was abnormal has become the norm.
Lifestyles of the single person living alone are many and varied. We have those who are connected with others but not relationally or socially. They dislike collectivism, delays, and making contacts with others, they choose voluntary isolation. Happiness and comfort are great values. Another type would pursue individual value and at the same time desire community and constantly try to connect with others by means of SNS.
Pastoral care of the family is difficult. The Church has generally divided the family of four into the normal and abnormal and been mainly concerned with the normal family. However, we need a new pastoral policy to work with the one person family. We need to remember that there are many who are comfortable living alone but want to be connected with others and long to join a community and do not because they don't know how to go about it. The church needs to recognize this and work to make their communities open and welcoming to these one-person families.
I am Nobody! Who are You?
Are you-Nobody-too?
Then there's a pair of us!
Don't tell!
They'd banish us-you know!
How dreary-to be-Somebody!
How public-like a Frog-
To tell your name-
The livelong June-
To an admiring Bog!
A university professor begins an article in the Kyeongyang magazine with the above short poem by Emily Dickinson. The article deals with changes in society and the aspirations of the young people in comparison to the past and some of the reasons for the changes.
Young people no longer dream about the glorious and prominent positions in society, but rather the secure ones such as civil servants. We should all be dreamers, young and the old, but the young early on are frustrated in their attempts to go to the schools they want. Many enter their 20s with great deprivations. After college, if they get a job, they have other serious problems: marriage, housing, children. They are a nobody who desires to be somebody, but they are overcome with defeat and a feeling of inferiority and lack dreams.
In the poem, the poet asks: I am nobody who are you? Humbling herself to the readers she draws them to herself. We are a pair. This oneness with the reader becomes a secret they share. Why keep the secret to ourselves? She answers that it is an important secret, for those who seek to be famous will consider us, who are satisfied as nobodies—a threat.
Those who want to be nobodies are going against the flow of society are dangerous and subversive. We only have to look at Jesus to see what happens in such cases.
This poem not only admires the simple life but also shows how the famous can make their values seep into the purpose of life. In the last segment,we hear about the frog which makes itself known to the admiring swamp always croaking with nothing to say. The swamps are the admirers, that make the frog feel important. It's better to be a nobody than this dreary, limited kind of life.
We have those who silently, courageously move ahead one step at a time. Nobodies, who risk their lives; what makes them do it? Is it work for justice, truth or love? Each one with their convictions, station in life, silent, without names, lead us. There are, of course the traitors and the corrupt, but many more who with sacrifice, courage and love are opening our eyes. I am a nobody you are a nobody but we move along haltingly but move ahead.
Disposable single-use items are part of our life. Paper cups, chopsticks, plastic bags, coffee packets and hundreds of other items are used and disposed of daily. Bad for the environment and may not be good for the psyche?
A religious sister in an article in the Kyeongyang magazine begins telling the readers of her friendship with her laptop computer. She knew everything about it having used it for 10 years. When it finally gave up the ghost it was no big problem but she was sad and distressed; it was a friend.
This was not only true with the laptop but also with other articles in her possession: the plastic comb and mirror had been with her for about 30 years; the comb had lost some of the teeth and the mirror was broken at the edges but they were friends. A number of times while shopping she looked for replacements but nothing appealed to her. She decided that she would keep them for as long as they could do what they were meant to do.
One-time-use items used again will make that product more useful than normal. When a product is used profitably for a period of time the product is more than just something used but it has a relationship with the user. We live in a disposable society. A throwaway society can make us think all is disposable.
Adam in Gen. 2: 19 gave a name to all that God created and made them special. This makes it possible to call them by name. If we could give a name to all that is created the relationship we would have would be quite different. Our world would be different.
We have a surfeit of disposable products in use. The danger is always present to see our fired workers, our young unemployed people as just so many expendables.
Some years ago the Sister remembers an apartment that was being renovated that surrounded their convent. Coming into a new apartment much of the furniture was discarded and the sisters had a great time furnishing their convent with the discarded furniture—still in use.
As we continue to throw away cheap one time used products is it possible that we begin to see our fellow human beings as throwaways and expendables? When we start seeing everything we touch as valued, life in all its forms, all the products we touch is that not a kind of prayer, an expression of love and worship of God. It may be seen as insignificant but in God's providence a way of returning vitality to the world.
An article in the Catholic Peace Weekly by a university professor recounts her efforts in repairing an old apartment in which she lives. It's never easy to repair, reduce costs and achieve the results one wants. She needed a lot of inspiration and effort to find the information needed. She was a teacher and repairing was not something with which she was familiar. Her efforts to learn were not made easy by the technicians, merchants and the distributors of the materials necessary.
Work which can't be seen should also be done with meticulous care. It may look alright from the outside but it can be uncomfortable and dangerous when used. In her apartment what was not seen was done shabbily and when she made this known she was told: "Who is going to see it?" Comfortableness, safety making the owner happy were not valued.
Manufactured goods installed left much to be desired. Instead of clean, neat and delicately finished they were roughly handled. One side was done with care, smoothly and evenly, the other side was rough and uneven. What she wanted was not necessary, she was too fastidious and they reproached her. The workers would not see their work again but she will be living with it not only for 10 years but for a lifetime. She was not fussy but merely wanted a job well done.
Carelessness and dishonesty of those who make, sell and distribute can lead to a lifelong inconvenience, risk, and dissatisfaction for the user. A chair, a desk, a window when done well, finishing it delicately and honestly you are respecting and caring for those who will be using them.Technology is not only necessary for convenience sake but with the premise that we are doing this for humans. What are the implications of technology that does not respect and care for the human beings using it?
Everyone needs to have a professional outlook. This is required of all of us. With this outlook on life, we will all contribute to humanity no matter what is done. All is based on the human respect we should have for another. Repairing old shoes the craftsman should feel respect for the human being that will be using the shoes.
We need to have pride in what we do and respect those for whom we are working. More important than the 'what' of the work is the 'how' of what we do, this will determine the value of our efforts.
