Bible In One Hand and YouTube in the Other—

The Catholic Peace Weekly gives readers some interesting thoughts on the YouTube media from the Clerics Column. 

South Korea is a YouTube republic. It is said that Koreans spent over a  billion hours on YouTube in August. When divided by the population, each person watched YouTube for 73 minutes daily. This is much more than KakaoTalk or Naver, which are called national messengers. Now, people watch the news on YouTube. The global craze of K-pop and K-dramas was possible because of YouTube. People also listen to music and radio on YouTube.

YouTube, in particular, has a great influence on the younger generation. In an era where smartphones are everywhere, YouTube is a playground for children. Children make ‘short-form’ videos of about 30 seconds and upload them to YouTube or SNS to share with their friends. ‘Creators’ like YouTubers are the jobs that elementary school students dream of.

Religious life is also on YouTube. People listen to priests’ sermons on YouTube. They watch and listen to Pope Francis’ sermons from their living rooms. They shed tears while listening to hymns sung by various singers. If you have questions about doctrine or Bible knowledge, search YouTube to study. Father Hwang Chang-yeon's YouTube channel has 450,000 subscribers, and Buddhist Monk Beopryun has 1.47 million subscribers.

Pilgrimages are also done on YouTube. I am open to the Holy Land of Jesus in Israel. You can visit Our Lady of Lourdes in France 24 hours a day through YouTube. You can study the Holy Land, which you will see on YouTube before going on a pilgrimage. YouTube is full of videos of famous overseas holy sites.

So, how do Catholics use YouTube? There is no survey on Catholicism or Buddhism, but here is what we can estimate based on a study of Protestants. (Korean Church Trend 2025 Survey), 60.7% of Protestants answered that they use YouTube for more than an hour daily. And 64.8% of Protestants who use YouTube answered that they use religious content. 39.7% of Buddhists and 31.4% of Catholics said they use religious content. Interestingly, the main viewers of religious content on YouTube are the elderly over 60. The age group of YouTube viewers confirms the aging phenomenon of religion.

The Pastoral Data Research Institute conducted the survey and named the phenomenon of accessing the gospel through YouTube ‘You-evangelism’. In the mid-20th century in the United States, there was a term called ‘Televangelism,’ a derivative word combining television and evangelism, referring to activities of spreading the gospel through television. Now that YouTube is in the world, a new era called ‘You-evangelism’ has begun. In the past, with the establishment of religious broadcasting stations, evangelism through TV was considered a new innovation. Still, in the era of ‘You-evangelism', TV is the domain of the elderly over 60 and is no longer an innovation in evangelization. The innovation in missionary work lies in YouTube on smartphones.

In the media ecosystem that changes at the speed of light, CPBC’s concerns are also deepening as it approaches All Saints’ Day. There is a famous saying, “The Bible in one hand, the newspaper in the other.” However, I wonder if we should now say: “The Bible on one hand, YouTube on the other.” Now, the connection between the church and the world is not made by traditional media like newspapers but by new media like YouTube.

However, no matter how much of a YouTube world it is, the ‘gospel’ of Jesus Christ does not change. CPBC’s goal of spreading the gospel to the world does not change. Rather, a new chapter has opened where the gospel can be spread to anyone, anywhere, anytime through new media like YouTube. Catholic Peace Broadcasting Corporation (CPBC) will be at the forefront of this new era. 

Meaning of Literacy in the Digital Age

An author with a doctorate in sociology and a Member of the Future Society writes in Here/Now  Catholic Website on the Meaning of Literacy in the Digital Age.

Due to the influence of smartphones, images and videos have become more widespread than text. The literacy debate, an ongoing issue, has recently been amplified around Hangul Day (Celebrating the birth of Korean Script). The main point is the grumbling of the older generation that the younger generation has difficulty communicating due to their lack of vocabulary. 

Many students do not know basic Chinese characters even after studying for four years in college, so they cannot write documents or understand them. 

There is a clear difference in position on the literacy debate by generation. The 2030 generation does not understand the older generation's concerns or believe a problem exists. For them, communication between generations is no problem, and even if there is a word they do not understand, they can find it right away by searching the Internet or asking on social media, so there is no need to mention literacy.

On the other hand, the older generation’s position is rather strong. They criticize the 2030 generation’s lack of literacy by citing various reasons: they cannot understand even the most basic meaning of words because they do not read enough, their increased exposure to the Internet makes reading difficult, their school education focuses on memorization, and their exclusive use of Hangul.

The 2030 generation is naturally far ahead of the older generation regarding digital literacy. The 2030 generation can be called digital natives, having grown up in an internet environment since birth and in a mobile environment during adolescence. The 2030 generation uses the internet for virtually all aspects of their daily lives, including information acquisition, communication, entertainment, finance, dating, and convenience. For those who spend a considerable amount of money on purchasing new digital devices, digital literacy is almost perfect. You can communicate and do everything as long as you have a cell phone. In addition, as generative artificial intelligence, represented by ChatGP, recently began mobile services, the digital literacy of the 2030 generation is improving even more.

On the other hand, the digital literacy of the older generation is improving compared to the past, but it is still low compared to the 2030 generation. 

Let’s ask a question here. Is the controversy over literacy something that happened after the development of the Internet and didn’t happen before? If we look at the records, this isn’t the first time there has been a controversy over literacy. 

When Hangul began to be used in the late Joseon Dynasty, people lamented the younger generation’s inability to use Chinese characters properly. These cases were reported in the media whenever Hangul's use expanded or the proportion of Chinese characters in textbooks was reduced, and they were used to point out the younger generation’s lack of literacy. 

In newspaper articles from the 1960s and 1970s, frequent articles were saying that young people at the time were using Chinese characters incorrectly because they lacked Chinese character skills. Despite these concerns from the older generation, the use of Chinese characters continued to decrease, and most of the current generation has become accustomed to this environment. The current older generation was the younger generation before that. Therefore, it is inevitable that their Chinese character skills are much lower than those of the previous generation, and it can be said that they were naturally criticized by the older generation. This generation is now pointing out the literacy of the 2030 generation. Specifically, they are not talking about literacy but rather about vocabulary. However, it is inappropriate to point out that you lack vocabulary or have literacy problems because you cannot immediately understand the meaning of a few words.

Being obsessed with language, especially letters, or giving excessive meaning to them does not help maintain smooth communication. If you are obsessed with literalism, you lose understanding of the context and repeat opinionated claims. The Bible is also continuously being translated into easy modern language. There is no need to maintain an old version of the Bible that the younger generation cannot read. Not immediately understanding a few Chinese words in the Bible is not a problem. What is important is to find or develop a means of communication that the other person or other generations can understand and communicate.

Meaning of Presence

In the Preciousness of Faith Column of the Catholic Peace Weekly, the priest meditates on 'Presence' and its healing power.

The word ‘presence’ is not used often, but it is an experience we have every day. Being with someone in the same space is very important and valuable. If your heart is somewhere else, it is not a true presence even when you are near. If your heart is always turned toward someone even when you are far away, that is also presence.

I once confessed to believers after returning from a long period of study abroad: “I have been away from my home country, but I have never forgotten you, Korean believers, even for a moment.”

We know this even without saying it in words. People live in presence. Babies cry to ask for something from their mothers, but isn’t it actually a sign that they are thirsting for their mothers’ presence?

When someone gets seriously ill, they often become discouraged and lose their will to live. When treatment is not effective, and they feel close to death, they fall into a deep depression. Isn’t it someone else's presence allowing them to endure difficult times? The fact that someone is by my side and that someone remembers me gives me strength and hope and makes today meaningful.

In the recently aired documentary,  Dr. Bae Hyeon-jeong from Belgium said about hospice: “It’s a place to end one’s life, but it’s not a place to come to die, but a place to live well together until that moment.” Hospice ministry is about helping to preserve human dignity until the last moment.

I also spent my last moments with my mother in a hospice ward. It’s not easy to decide to go to a hospice ward because it’s usually thought of as a place to die, but I remember that my mother and her family spent the most beautiful moments of their lives there together. Presence means being together until death. Presence has the power to connect with each other beyond death. Presence that willingly gives up one’s life saves each other and allows us to dream of hope.

I think about Jesus's presence. He was with the poorest and most marginalized, suffering and wounded. His presence spoke tender words, a touch, and a look. Jesus was with the most abandoned on the cross, praying for them. So where was the Father at that moment? Wasn’t he with his Son in quiet silence?

In the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), no one was by his side when the younger son wasted all he had and was tending pigs. What he desperately wanted was someone’s presence. When he came to his senses, he returned to his father. The father saw his son from a distance and ran to him. The father never left his son for a moment. He was always present with his son. That loving presence brought the son back and saved him.

Just as the father never left his younger son for a moment, God never left us for a moment. God’s name is presence because He is always present in us. He is with us more deeply, especially when we suffer from illness and are troubled by death. Because Jesus experienced it all, He can stay with us more deeply, comforting and encouraging us.

Am I conscious of the Lord’s presence? Am I sharing my existence and staying with someone? I believe that these questions will add depth to our lives.

First Korean Nobel Prize for Literature

The third Nobel Literature Prize awarded to an Asian was to author Han Kang, who was the first Korean to receive the prize. The Catholic Times published the story in its 'Eyes of the Priest' column.

When Han Kang’s Nobel Prize was announced, her books sold like hotcakes. Online bookstores were so crowded with people trying to buy her books that it was difficult to even access them. People flocked to a small bookstore run by Han as if they were making a pilgrimage. This is how much interest in reading has increased since Han won the Nobel Prize.

In fact, the amount of reading by Koreans is embarrassing. According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, only 43% of adults read at least one book last year, excluding exam preparation books or magazines, which is the lowest ever.

This number has been cut in half in 30 years compared to 1994 when the survey was first conducted. In other words, 6 out of 10 adults in our country do not read a single book in a year.

As people stop reading books, their ability to understand the meaning of text is declining. These days, adults criticize students who do not read books and only watch YouTube videos or short-form videos, but adults do not seem to be much different from those who do not read books.

Reading is an important part of religious life. All religions consider reading and meditating on their scriptures important. Catholics also call it ‘lectio divina’, sacred reading. Many people still copy passages of the Bible. Religious set aside time to read the Bible or books of saints in their daily routines to cultivate virtue. Not long ago, parishioners gave books as gifts when there was a baptism or confirmation at their parish. 

It is also good to read books written by Catholic writers who are devout in their faith. Good books are food for the soul.

The columnist congratulates the author on winning the Nobel Prize in Literature and says we all grow in wisdom through reading.

The Nobel Prize winner is a person who 'walks the talk'. She has declined to celebrate her Nobel Prize, seeing it as inappropriate while wars continue causing significant suffering and loss of life; she believes that in light of these global tragedies, to celebrate her personal good fortune would be insensitive and out of touch with our world reality.

 

Maryknoll Sisters 100th Anniversary in Korea

The Now/Here Catholic Website gives readers a glimpse of the recent 100th-anniversary celebration of the Maryknoll Sisters' beginning of their missionary work in Korea.

On Oct.18th, at the Mass and event held at the Franciscan Education Center in Jeong-dong, Seoul, those who had a connection with the Maryknoll Sisters in the past gathered to express their gratitude and congratulations.

The Superior General of the Maryknoll Sisters of America, the Maryknoll sisters and priests from Japan and Korea, and priests from several neighboring religious orders, mission societies, and diocesan priests attended the Mass that day.

Above all, the Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, whom the Maryknoll Sisters helped to found and nurture, the Women Workers' Association, Busan Maryknoll Hospital and the Anesthesia Nurses' Association, the Catholic Labor Youth Association and the Young Adults' Association, and the Ecological Spirituality Group, as well as members and friends of each local community that accompanied them in Korea, remembered and celebrated the 100th anniversary together.

The 100th Anniversary Mass of the Maryknoll Sisters was held on the 18th at the Franciscan Education Center in Jeong-dong, Seoul. Father Richard Augustine, Maryknoll Fathers' local superior, Father Phil Mares, and Father Hong Geun-pyo of the Archdiocese of Seoul concelebrated the Mass that day. 

The founding purpose of the Sisters of Maryknoll was to “participate in missionary work of the universal church, spread the justice, peace, and love proclaimed by Christ to all people, and bear witness to this through the lives of the sisters in every part of the world. " The six nuns who arrived in North Korea on October 24, 1924 embodied this purpose in Korea.

The Sisters of Maryknoll, established in 1912, were the first convent in the United States for overseas missions. In 1923, when the founder, Mother Mary Joseph, visited Korea, the priests and nuns of the Maryknoll Society working in the Pyongyang Diocese requested the presence of the Maryknoll Sisters.

Sister Mary Joseph emphasized the ‘love’ present throughout Jesus’ life and activities. The most important thing in the Maryknoll Sisters' identity consciousness was the ‘female’ missionary.

About 100 people gathered to celebrate the 100th anniversary Mass that day. Following the six who were sent, the 120 fellow nuns for 100 years followed the founder’s request to become people with “Christ-like mercy, a clear and simple soul, heroic generosity, selflessness, steadfast loyalty, diligent zeal, gentle hospitality, and the grace of affectionate humor” wherever they lived.

They embraced the women, children, workers, and the sick who were suffering, especially amid the historical suffering of the Korean people, and went wherever they could as doctors, nurses, teachers, social workers, environmental activists, friends, and sisters.

Home visits and vocational training in Uiju, Sinuiju, Jinnampo, and Pyongyang in North Korea, support for the establishment of the Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in 1932, the kidnapping of Sister Jang Jeong-on, a Korean-born Sister Aknita, medical activities by nuns who arrived in Busan in 1949, the Korean War, and the resumption of medical ministry after fleeing to Japan but unable to turn away from refugees, and the sharing of clothing and food continued amid the war.

After the end of the Korean War, the areas of ministry and mission expanded until 1956, establishing medical centers in Jeungpyeong and Ganghwa, social welfare and worker ministry in Incheon, school ministry, operation of Maryknoll Hospital in Busan, credit union activities, and nursing school.

After the war, as reconstruction and development took place, the nuns left the city and went to islands and rural areas. While continuing medical and social welfare activities, they also created communities for justice, peace, and human rights and lived with workers and abused women. Four Maryknoll Sisters are active in Japan, and two are in Korea, among the Northeast Asian regions.

Sister Joan Mun celebrated her 70th anniversary in Korea last year. Her diary expresses her determination to spread good news and love to the ends of the earth.

At the memorial Mass, Mother Teresa Honen began her sermon with the words of founder Father James Walsh, “We remember the mission of the Apostle Luke,” and “We go to places where we are not wanted but needed, and when we are wanted but no longer needed, we leave.”

Mother Teresa Honen said that the service and pastoral work of the Maryknoll Sisters up to this point has been a sign of God’s love for the Korean people and that when the Korean people suffered from the war, we suffered together. “The division of Korea, the kidnapping and death of Sister Jang Jeong-on were all of our suffering, and we worked together for peace, justice, and the abused. We stayed with them, ate with them, and experienced the kingdom of God.”

“Our mission today is to live in sharing with all people and all of creation,” she said. “The mission of missionaries is to convey God’s love for all people, and we came here to fully demonstrate this love. We came here for love, were loved, and were united by love.”

“Our hearts are filled with gratitude for the love the Korean faith community has welcomed us. Together, we will continue to create a world of peace and inclusion for all of creation,” she said.

The nuns of the Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help also expressed their gratitude, saying, "We, the spiritual fruit of the Maryknoll Sisters, are deeply moved by the sisters' love and passion for the Lord, and through their sacrifice and devotion, we too have been able to proclaim the gospel to our people and all of humanity."

The Maryknoll Sisters currently have 280 nuns in 19 countries. 100 Years of Maryknoll Sisters in Korea, “The Journey Is Not Over”

Listening to Speak...

The Catholic Peace Weekly 'Preciousness of Faith' Columnist offers readers some thoughts on an important issue for our era. 

Listening and speaking are the most basic actions in life. But is there anything as easy and difficult as listening and speaking?

Anyone who has traveled or lived abroad will know how important listening and speaking are. He remembers the time when studying in Europe and couldn’t communicate. He was envious of the dog that understood its owner’s words. ‘Oh, how great it would be if I could understand French like that dog!’

Listening and speaking are the basic skills we must learn from birth. How much effort did we put into communicating with our mothers when we were babies? Babies learn to communicate with their mothers, families, and the world. He imagines how difficult it must be for parents to teach their babies to speak and listen. However, no matter how difficult, the baby will have more trouble.

However, paradoxically, listening and speaking are also difficult as we age. This is the opposite of the difficulties we face when we are born. When we are babies, we don’t know anything, and it’s the first time, so it’s hard to learn, but when we grow older, we know too much, so it’s difficult. We have too much inside us, so listening and speaking properly is hard.

The Gospel of Mark contains a story about the healing of a deaf and mute man (Mark 7:31-37). Jesus took him aside, put his fingers into his ears, spit, touched his tongue, looked up to heaven, sighed, and said, “Ephphatha!” (Be opened!). Immediately, his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he began speaking properly. This story is based on a real event and has a spiritual meaning.

In the “Ephphatha Rite” in the “Baptism of Infants,” the officiating priest touches the ears and mouth of the baby being baptized and asks the Lord to allow the baby to hear the Lord’s word with his ears and confess his faith with his mouth. This also applies to adults. Being born again through baptism means seeing the world with new eyes, hearing with new ears, and speaking a new language with a new mouth.

It is important to note that listening and speaking are connected. If you were to choose which of the two is more important, most people would say listening. This is probably because listening is so difficult. 

What do we hear? We hear countless sounds but also ‘words’, not just sounds. Listening to someone means that the words they speak to me are transmitted to my heart through my ears. Sounds pass, but words are transmitted to my ears through someone’s mouth and reach my heart. True conversation is only possible when human words, not sounds, are exchanged between persons.

However, words are not transmitted only through sounds. It is difficult to hear words transmitted through sounds but even more difficult to hear words transmitted through body language—wordless language. For example, a person who cares for a sick person must understand the words the sick person communicates in unspoken language and provide necessary help. The words of a poor and sick person, the words of a lonely or depressed person, the words of a person struggling in deep despair and wounds… Our listening will be a great comfort to them, and our ‘words’ to them can have the power to heal them. If the Lord is active in them.

Consequently, the need to listen to this wordless language. May the Lord say, ‘Ephphatha!’ Open our eyes, ears, and mouths so that we can hear the voice of the Lord and sing the love of the Lord with our mouths.

The Power of Words

The  Catholic Peace Weekly column on the Preciousness of Faith gives us some thoughts on our faith life by the priest columnist.

When he was studying abroad in France, his young cousin wrote this in a letter: “Brother, in France, you can only eat bread. How can you live without eating rice?” His younger cousin must have thought he would die if he didn’t eat rice. Of course, you can live by eating bread, but I had no choice but to admit that you can’t live by bread alone. Koreans must eat rice, kimchi, and soybean paste stew to live. You have to speak Korean and socialize with Korean people to survive.

Most people think that faith is boring. They think that it's belief in unrealistic and absurd stories. However, if faith were a story about eating and living, it would be different. There is nothing more realistic than a story about eating and living. This raises the question: What do people eat and live?

“Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4) These are the words Jesus spoke to the devil’s temptation.

Let’s start with our experience with words. How many words have we exchanged today? What words came out of our mouths, and what came into our ears? Some words sound like words, and some words don’t sound like words. The power of words is truly enormous. Words save us, and words also kill us.  

A Korean proverb tells us we can repay a debt of a thousand nyang (old currency) with words and take on a debt that can never be repaid with words. How much have we been hurt by words, and how much have we hurt others with words?

However, to be words, they must respect the other person. Just as conversations begin with greetings, conversations become possible when the other person responds to the greetings we give. Our words can be answered or rejected. That is the fate of words. Words must also contain the truth without the intention of deceiving or hiding. True conversation is possible when there is trust in the other person, the conviction that sincerity is communicated, a desire for fellowship, respect, and trust for each other, and the belief that the other person will not deceive me.

People live by words. When someone speaks to me, there is a gaze toward me and a heart of trust. That someone is interested in me and wants to talk to me and come into my life. We become strong and comfortable with each other through conversations with people who truly share our feelings. Words filled with love, sincerity, and trust, words that give courage to save me, revive me, and change my destiny.

The sick man at the pool of Bethesda, who had been suffering from a 'lack of hope' for 38 years, was restored to his feet by the words of Jesus. “Do you want to be healed?” (John 5:6) “Get up, take up your mat and walk.” (5:8) The sick man who had lost love, hope, and faith was restored to his feet by the words of Jesus. Jesus’ words, filled with concern, consideration, and love for the sick man, revealed his true life and thus made healing possible.

The Word of God not only gives us life but also saves us. The Word of God penetrates deep into our hearts, purifies and renews us, and gives us the strength to live anew. The Word comes to us through our daily prayers, through the life of the Church, especially through the liturgy and the sacraments. It also speaks to us through countless events, encounters, and conversations in our daily lives. He speaks words full of concern and consideration for us and wants us to have a relationship with him and grow in that relationship.

How about praying like this now? Lord, open the ears of our souls so we can live by your words today!