Revival of Trot Music Among the Young

Music is an important ingredient of the Korean culture; a college professor in a column of the Peace Weekly gives the readers some information on what is called 'Trot': usually a two-beat repetitive rhythm, with vocal inflections, Korean pop music.

Trot's popularity was exclusively strong among the middle-aged. Music contests featuring trot singers were always popular compared to similar musical programs but now the young have taken a liking to the music and are becoming fans.

Reasons for the change are the new elements added, new interpretations and arrangement of songs, the participation of young and handsome singers and a popular contestant format. This trend with new interpretations of the old gave birth to a new word: 'Newtro', a reinterpretation of old and familiar styles in fashion, interiors, food, etc. It is a version of the Korean hip culture distinctly Korean in origin and interpretation. The 'Trot' movement may be called the peak of the Newtro trend, Newtro is made up of 'New' and 'Retro'.

This is because everyone remembers the good old times and wants to return to the good feelings of childhood, where mom and dad were in control and life was simple and uncompetitive, most people remember those days, experienced with vague positive emotions. In particular, when you become an adult and placed in a psychological, economically difficult or stressful environment, it is a great comfort to return to the memories and feelings of those good old days.

Young people who were not familiar with 'Trot' would be experiencing something new. It's no longer old fashion music but now with young, great singers on a new stage, they have made it their music. Ironically, the publicity that revived 'Trot' is digital. The technologies that opened the digital age have solved the temporal and spatial limitations that are obstacles to disseminating and enjoying the old. Young people could access the experiences of their parents' generation through computers or smartphones, and over 7 million people from various generations could participate in popular digital platforms at the same time.

Utilizing the good old days, 'Newtro Trend' is a keyword that opens the wallet in the consumers' market. To take advantage of 'Newtro Trend', whether it's food, music or fashion, you have to remind yourself of positive emotions like love, friendship, faith, comfort, joy, stability, intimacy, protection, courage, frustration, and longing. Therefore, it is important for any group to find clues that remind them of their childhood and happy old days. It could be the sound of a bird or rain that awakened them from a nap as a child, the smell of soybean soup that mother boiled, or it could be the music of a game room or roller skating rink. Music, in particular, is a pointer to the good old days. A study that was made showed that in the case of middle-aged women who are big in shopping, the sales increase by 20% if they insert music they were familiar with in their 20s.

How does one add a new taste to the good old experiences and memories to fit our modern taste? Consumers miss the good old days, but not the discomfort and boredom behind the memories. We do not want to give up the convenience, promptness, and treatment we receive as customers. The 'Trot' craze is a result of success by allowing old and young memories to be enjoyed conveniently and elegantly in a new format. What is the next 'old' that will comfort us after the gloomy spring? What will it be after the "Corona Blue Trot"? What will be the new old to return life to our spirits?

Coronavirus Pandemic And Harmony

During the Coronavirus pandemic, many are the opinions on the tactics and strategies to prevent harm caused by the virus. We are still in the learning stage on the pandemic and a doctor writing in the Catholic Digest gives us his personal ideas on the subject.

The Creator borrowed the body of his parents and the living noble person called 'me' was given life. The Creator put the genetic factors for life in the bodies' directory giving direction to a healthy life. Even if we don't know what the directory contains we are programmed to lead a harmonious life.

He believes that the virus does not easily attack those who are living a harmoniously healthy life. We have within ourselves the antibodies that will do battle. Life is always seeking health and fights disease but always at its strongest when we live in harmony with nature. In our thinking, healing comes with the destruction of harmony. However, the infectious nature of the virus comes from the breakdown of the harmony that we should have in nature.

Bats have lived as friends to humankind for a long time eating harmful insects. There are about 130 different viruses that live in a bat body. However, because of the 40-degree body temperature they are not infected and are not the immediate host of the spread to humans. Consequently, bats with the virus can live harmoniously with us.

With the population increase and development continuing within nature the bats have retreated deeper into the wooded areas and domesticated animals and wild animals have come into our habitat; the virus mutating and coming into our lives.

It’s unlikely that bats directly gave the virus to humans is the opinion of many who have studied the subject. Scientists suspect that the bat infected another animal, an 'intermediate host', which transmitted the virus to humans.

All of life has a reason for its existence. Even what we consider useless such as weeds with their strong roots help to prevent landslides after heavy rains and during dry periods filters dust. What would happen if we got rid of all weeds?

In 1872 the United States made Yellow Stone a National Park. In 1926 the wolves living in the park, for fear they would harm the sightseers, were killed. For 70 years they were able to see the changes in the natural habitat of the park and were surprised to see the great harm to nature.

The wolves in one year would have killed 22 deer. After the disappearance of the wolves, the elks began to increase. They grew in great numbers destroying the aspen and willow trees, grasses, and water became scarce. Instead of wolves, the cayotes increased and they began to rule and the number of other animals began to change and little by little the park began to deteriorate.

Without those trees, songbirds began to decline, beavers no longer built their dams and riverbanks started to erode. Without beaver dams and the shade from trees and other plants, water temperatures were too high for cold-water fish.

The natural environment was destroyed. In 1996 the experts seeing the results of their interference in the natural life of the park put back 14 wolves. It was like a miracle. The number of elks decreased, those that remained, to evade the wolves moved to another area. Where the deer vacated the aspen and willow began to appear in great numbers and birds and many different kinds of plants began to grow. The otter, ducks, a variety of fish, rabbits, rats, foxes, and weasels brought badgers and eagles.

What nature desires is harmony and a healthy environment. We have to be conscious of not destroying this harmony in nature. We are a part of nature and the Creator programmed our genes to live harmoniously and in a healthy relationship with nature.

Everything Will be Well

"Everything will go well. Everything will be fine. All manner of things shall be well." (Julian of Norwich) A religious sister in her article in the Catholic Times gives us an idea of the times of this contemplative nun.

Julian of Norwich is a 14th-century mystic and anchoress who lived during the time of the Black Death which brought great confusion to society, at a time when the church was struggling with power squabbles. 

In Julian's autobiography, there is a phrase that says: "everything will be all right" repeated three times. This is her core message, which says, "God is love, and God's love will eventually win." 

These words of Julian, who survived the pain of death and did not lose hope and trust in God, reverberate in the hearts of believers who have to deal with this long period of quarantine and exhaustion from the Coronavirus Infection.

She wants to meditate on these words of infinite affirmation in a time when we on the feast of Easter were not able to meet to celebrate. What are we to take from this unprecedented situation? She wants us to have us remember: "God is love, and God's love will eventually win."

Pope Francis began Holy Week by sending video letters to families worldwide. The Pope's warm advice reminds us to remember many who have worked hard in these difficult times, especially those who are alone, and those isolated with Corona 19, he urges us to find ways with the 'Creativity of Love' to send messages in the spirit of love to those around us.

The hermits of Julian's day were also isolated in small rooms, but spiritual liberty connected them to others, as healers and counselors. 

Recently, unable to meet directly with believers in each parish, priests and religious encouraged believers by phone calls and messages. Besides, various videos of consolation and encouragement introduced by the social media were seen as a new form of communication that showed 'Creativity of Love' beyond the difficulties.

Corona 19 brought many unusual phenomena, both good and bad to our attention. As the world pauses for a while, we see how the outcome of some development for human convenience, not for our good, is being restored to a healthier state. As industrial activities decrease, the atmospheric environment improves, the sky opens transparently, and in the homes, families spend a lot of time together and relationships are recovering. 

The virus doesn't discriminate it infects anyone, but the structure of inequality that has been established in human society has a sad phenomenon that results in a more letal mortality rate for the socially disadvantaged. 

However, because of this, the 'public health system' is better maintained, 'basic income' so that everyone can evenly maintain human dignity is systematically introduced, and a 'social safety net' is established so that socially disadvantaged people are helped. Also, structural and institutional alternatives have been proposed to overcome the 'climate crisis', a major cause of the corona problem.

Human pride has done much harm to creation and 'Corona 19' has shown us why. God will turn crisis into opportunity through our change of heart. 'Post-Corona' should be a time to make a transition to a sustainable society that lives in harmony with all creation. 

"We are in God and God whom we do not see is in us."

 

 

Grace of TV Masses

To prevent new coronaviruses, not only the Korean Catholic Church but also the Vatican has ceased all Masses. Pope Francis, says Mass daily without believers, broadcast live on the Internet for the first time. A priest writing in the Eyes of The Believer Column of the Catholic Times gives his ideas on TV Masses.

In Korean churches, the number of Internet YouTube channel Mass inquiries has increased tremendously, and the weekly broadcast Mass from the Catholic Peace Broadcasting TV is on the rise from 3 to 5 times, and the weekly broadcast Mass has increased 10 times. Compared to the days of the past, when only Christmas or the Easter Mass were celebrated by the Pope. We have a big change.

The main audience of TV Mass is composed of believers. Among the believers, the elderly, the sick, pregnant women, and those who are unable to participate in Mass due to travel or business. Of course, TV Mass viewers can actively participate in the liturgy of the Word, but cannot receive Holy Communion. It's not the same as attending Mass in church but the second-best.

TV Mass has the effect of conditionally substituting for the obligation of attending Sunday Mass but there are other advantages. First, provide opportunities for evangelization, directly or indirectly. TV Mass plays an important role in encouraging the religious life of Catholics belonging to the community, mission stations, various groups, foreign migrants, etc. Also, TV Mass contributes to the evangelization of the culture by informing society that the Catholic Church exists in this culture impregnated with materialism and individualism.

As a second advantage, it makes the Mass more intimate; the viewers see the actions of the priest at the altar from different angles and closer than would be the case in church. The third advantage is that TV Mass helps spiritual life. As individualism becomes more prevalent, young married people, elderly people living alone, those disconnected from their neighbors, many are experiencing human alienation, consequently, the deeper need for spirituality to find meaning, to bring inner calm. In this situation, TV Mass can fill one's spiritual thirst and remind the viewer they are members of a community of faith. The church should develop and expand these TV Masses in a way that makes them more effective.

As a pastor of a community, the writer mentions how he notices over time that the numbers attending Mass continue to decrease. The increase in apathy plays a part, but also travel, weekend leisure, or work, aging, etc. However, according to a survey conducted by the US Pew Research Center in 2019, Korea's smartphone penetration rate was 95%, ranking first in the world. In a situation where the majority of people spend a day with their smartphones, it would be good to emphasize the benefits of religious life through more active promotion and use of TV Masses. 

God works through the media. In the Encyclical Communio et Progressio: The Church sees the media as 'gifts of God' by His providential design, unite men in brotherhood and so help them to cooperate with His plan for their salvation. "It is the mission of those with responsible positions in the Church to announce without fail the full truth by the means of social communication, to give a true picture of the Church and her life. Since the media are often the only channels of information that exist between the Church and the world, a failure to use them amounts to "burying the talent given by God" (#123).

Therefore, the church needs a more active attitude towards the media suitable for mission and ministry. God's grace comes in many ways. Those who watch TV Masses will be open to grace. Sometimes, comforted, renewing one's identity as a believer, and the feeling of belonging to the church community.

Freedom Needs to Have Limits

We continue to be flooded with news, special video reports, articles, all kinds of media keeping us updated with what is happening here and the rest of the world with Corona 19. The Peace Column of the Peace Weekly gives the readers some thoughts to reflect on during this time.

The articles the writer reads about the corona 19 outbreak, are messages to him coming from the earth to humankind.  He understands them coming from the 'Creator God' and related to global warming.

Updating to [April 12, in the United States, a world's superpower, the number of deaths from corona has exceeded 20,000] so the global village is panicking. In Italy, Spain, France and the United Kingdom, the death toll could range from thousands to tens of thousands. It is not an exaggeration to say that the corona crisis will result in the largest number of deaths since World War II. 
The bigger problem is that we don't know how serious and long-lasting this crisis will be. Even if in June and July with the temperature rising and we see a change, without a vaccine, it can recur at any time. The various effects such as economic, social and political are difficult to measure. It is also predicted that the U.S. unemployment rate will exceed 30%, the highest since the Great Depression.

In Korea, the decrease in demand has led to an increase in the closure of businesses dealing with travel, flights, food, furniture, clothing, and electronics. This leads to unemployment. The service industry is more than 60% of Korea's industrial output. It doesn't sound ridiculous to say that economic paralysis is more frightening than more deaths.

Corona 19 is said to be a common infectious disease such as SARS, swine flu, and MERS. It is caused by pathogens that spread between animals and humans. The habitat of wild animals has been greatly reduced due to the destruction of the human ecosystem and contact with humans has increased. More than 70% of the new infectious diseases that occurred in the last 20 years are common animal/human infections.  They can develop more often in the future.

Ecosystem destruction is known to have the greatest impact on global warming. This is due to greenhouse gases from excessive use of fossil fuels such as oil and coal. Because of this, wetlands are disappearing and dry areas and desertification are increasing. Due to extreme weather conditions, the frequency and intensity of drought, flood, typhoons have also increased.

Human ethical corruption is always present. The neoliberal system is the foundation for unlimited growth and consumer desire. Neo-liberalism promotes free markets, deregulation, and minimization of state intervention in the market because of reduced efficiency.
 
"Everything that is as vulnerable as the natural environment in front of the interests of the market, which has become an absolute rule, must be defenseless. In the meantime, economic powers continue to justify the current global system where priority tends to be given to speculation and the pursuit of financial gain, which fail to take the context into account, let alone the effects on human dignity and the natural environment. Here we see how environmental deterioration and human and ethical degradation are closely linked. Many people will deny doing anything wrong because distractions constantly dull our consciousness of just how limited and finite our world really is" (Laudatio Si #56).

Pain is said to be a school of love. The Corona event can be God's way of instructing us that the way we are living needs to be changed. If we demand to be free to do what we want when we want, life in the global village will suffer. We need to respect God's creative order, respect all creatures in the global ecosystem as well as people, and live a life of solidarity.
 
This period after the Resurrection is to be freed internally to continue to refrain from the unhealthy desires we gave up in Lent. The church, which has postponed offline Mass indefinitely, should be a sign of the times and suggest new standards and new ways of spreading the good news of new life.

Searching For Happiness

In the Weekend Letter column of the Catholic Times, a novelist introduces us to a four-letter Chinese expression 邯鄲之步, (Citizens of Handan were admired for their walking style). Lesson learned: Beware of being enamored by what we see and forget what we can't see).  

A young man in the time of the Yuan Dynasty (BC 403~BC 221) admired the way those in another area of the country walked. He leaves his own country and goes to Handan to learn but before he succeeds in learning the new gait, he forgets his own way of walking and crawls back home. 

As a believer in God, our spiritual life often imitates this way of acting. Humans constantly want happiness, but, inevitably, we never find what we seek. In search of happiness, we are filled with many false ideas and forget that for Christians happiness is a gift—grace.

Anxiety is a component of the human condition. It afflicts humans in many forms: deficiencies, demands, sadness, suffering, and death. We can't give up our human desire for earthly happiness even if we know it will not be realized; this effort is the essence of will, even when goals are reached, other aspects of our desires will appear for the will to pursue. 

So, while trying to expel anxiety you can't do anything other than try to change the appearance of the anguish bothering us. This anxiety is inevitable, and one pain is expelled by another, and when one pain disappears, new pain appears. 

When we don't get what we want, its value seems to surpass everything, but once we get it, it looks different and a similar desire captures us and we hunger for it. In other words, lack is a prerequisite for all joy. Hence, satisfaction or happiness is nothing more than emancipation from what we lack.

Therefore, even if we strive tirelessly from hope to hope we may never end satisfying ourselves. This is because we don't realize we are pouring water into a bottomless jar. In this way, even if it is not realized, it leads to desire that cannot be given up, and this desire ends only by being blocked; if left alone, it goes on infinitely.

These desires appear differently to the lower and the upper classes in society. Poverty is the scourge of the lower classes but the upper classes have a more severe scourge, boredom, the search for sensory stimuli to be rewarded with pleasure. At this time anxiety is the choice between truth or pleasure. 

With a strange type of vanity, I try to be happy in this life with my own powers, but I cannot live properly with these powers. With faith and prayer, we need to realize that without the help of the one who gave us these powers we will not achieve what we desire.

We should accept the difficulties of life that we can't change; a true believer is not uneasy about life but has gratitude for graces received and responds in prayer.

Living the Paschal Mystery in Corona 19 Era

On this Holy Saturday, our hearts are filled with many thoughts, prayers, and anxiety about the future.

Lent began without Mass, no ashes on Ash Wednesday. We expected to begin several times with a date, only to be told the quarantine would be extended; finally, extended without a date.
 
Lent was without the liturgy but with the opportunity to internalize it in a way never imagined. Many are those that found it difficult: families who have lost a loved one, the sick and those filled with anxiety and not least of all, those prepared for baptism at the Easter Vigil.

We are all trying to live the Paschal Mystery. The catechumens and all of us are desiring to make this movement from one way of life to another—a Passover. This is the Paschal Mystery that is so important in our lives as Christians. Is it not the pivotal mystery of Christian life?
 
During Lent, the readings for the 3rd, 4th and 5th Sundays give the catechumen and all Christians the message of the Scrutinies. These are the readings for the liturgical A year.
 
In the first of the readings, the Church is asking the persons to be baptized if they have personally encountered Jesus in their preparation. The Samaritan woman meeting Jesus changed her whole life in a very dramatic way and the Church is hoping this will happen to the newly-baptized. It was a meeting that the woman never imagined was possible, changed her thinking, way of life and the lives of those she had difficulty living with.
 
The second reading on the 4th week is the blind man. The church wants us to accept the fact that we are spiritually blind, deaf and dumb but don't realize it. The blind man in the reading knew of his handicap and desired a change. The catechumens during their months of study should come to a realization of this reality and have a strong desire to be healed. Spiritual blindness is a more serious handicap than physical blindness, but not easily comprehended.
 
On the third Sunday, we have the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Life is much more than just breathing and moving and doing our daily tasks. We hear often that many go through life never having lived. God is calling us to come out of the tombs we have made for ourselves, and in the reading, it was not Jesus that freed Lazarus to move, but the community was asked to "unbind him, let him go free." We need others to grow and begin to live.
 
Lent ends with the beginning of Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper and the start of the Holy Triduum— Holy Thursday, Good Friday the Easter Vigil/ Easter Sunday. They are three days but can be considered one day in which we meditate on the Paschal Mystery and the way we should be living it. The Passover from death to life. This year, many, will miss the liturgical representation of the "Passover" but hopefully, it will still mean a 'pass over' to a new life—a gift—ready to receive with outstretched hands.
 
Jesus gave us the ultimate paradox when he said we have to lose our lives to save them. This sounds crazy, doesn't make sense, counter-intuitive and yet it is the lesson that Christ has given us and we try to experience during these days of Triduum and live daily.

The Coronavirus has entered the lives of most of the world; as Christians, we try to make sense of what it teaches us about life and help us to change the way we think and act.

 A Blessed Easter.