The Korean Four River Project Controversy

A large part of the Catholic Church in Korea is on record in being against the Four River Project that has been started by the government. There is a great deal of controversy and the country is lining up in camps for and against.

The project got started last month, an attempt to remake the four longest rivers in Korea: the Han, Nakdong, Yeongsan and the Geum. The project is to control flooding and improve quality and supply of water and build new tourist attractions along the waterways besides giving work to many for years to come.

The project will cost $ 19.2 billion dollars. Those who are opposed see it is an ecological disaster. The Catholic movement against the project sees many problems and does not believe it is well conceived. The government did have a plan to build a canal to Pusan that was dropped because of the opposition of the people and many feel the Four River project is a copy of this canal project.

The editorial in the Peace Weekly mentions what the government is saying about the project is not straightforward, verification of the feasibility studies are not known, the opinion of those opposed to the project have not been studied, and the basic itemized cost is not known by the public.

The Church has made clear they are not opposed to human development and good use of natural resources but desire the use of God's creation in a mutually benefiting way, resulting in harmony in the development. Human greed and the principle of economics first, without sufficient reflection, is not in harmony with the Creator and his Providence.

The editorial ends mentioning that one of the reasons for the controversy over the Four River Project is distrust of the government. If this project was truly for the good of the people and the country as the government stated, then even though it would take time, an attempt should have been made to persuade public opinion for the project and get the citizenry on board.

The Bishops of Korea have made this point a number of times before. The government does little in considering the people as educated and entitled to know why a project is deemed necessary and helpful to them and the country. It is top down.The government knows best and goes its merry way. This can also be the way in many other areas of Korean life and is not infrequently found in the Church.

The Sad Trend In Korean Family Life

The editorial in the Catholic Peace Weekly lamented what the Korean Health and Family Welfare Department found in its 2009 report. In 2005, unmarried men who said they plan to get married was 82.5% in 2009, it went down to 75.7%; for women it was 73.5% and went down to 73.1%.

The average age of men marrying in 2005 was 31.8, in 2009 it was 32.1; for women in 2005 it was 29.7 and in 2009 it was 30.6. The men in 2005 who said children were important 54.2%, it went down to 24.3% in 2009; women went from 42.1% to 24%. Only one in four want children.

What was evidenced in the survey was that the families with the larger monthly income have less of a desire for children. It was suggested that they want to educate their children well and the expense is too much for their income, and so the desire to forgo children.

To change this trend means there has to be a movement against avoiding marriage and marrying late. The editorial stressed the understanding of family life has to change . The young people have to understand the importance of family life.

This is a strange development in Korean life in a very short period of time. The editorial ends with a quote from Pope John Paul's Apostolic Exhortation, Familiaris Consortio #14: "Thus the couple, while giving themselves to one another, give not just themselves but also the reality of children, who are a living reflection of their love, a permanent sign of conjugal unity and a living and inseparable synthesis of their being a father and a mother."

Dissenting Voices in Korean Society

Democracy is new to Korea and they have come a long way in a very short time. The interest in government and what is going on is minimal: interest is on what will benefit the individual, family or the area? The idea of the common good is still not part of the vocabulary.

There was an opinion piece in the Chosun Ilbo where the writer expressed his dismay on the many disputes on projects that have been started by the government and the lack of ethical standards and moral sensitivity on these issues.

There is the usual deploring of problems: North and South, East and West, black and white, left and right, men and women... and no way out of the impasse. The writer says Germany was able to find a third way of acting. They were able to find a way to unite. He blames the Koreans for not understanding the problems they have and failure to come to some understanding of them in their own minds.They keep on looking at the government to solve the problems and do not see where their responsibilities are in these matters.

He concluded much is made about the inequality of educational opportunities but those who speak this way continue to send their children to private schools and overseas for graduate studies. This he feels is speaking out of two sides of the mouth: it is lying and phony.
What one can not do is asked of another. To criticize another for lack of virtue that one doesn't have, is cowardice. In a word he sees hypocrisy at work and this is doing damage to one's true self.

My reading of the article was that he was hoping Korea would come to a way of acting the Germans have made their own, thanks to Hegel. He would see differences evolve to a third way, after discussion and compromise. It is a dream that worked in Germany which he feels was a polarized country.

The article doesn't add much to the discussion on how to get people to agree. There are too many who are interested in their own personal needs and find it difficult to break out of this self imposed confinement. Much of the blame should be with the past and present governments. This is a reason the bishops and many priests have difficulty with some of the recent activities of the government: the government's interest in material development at the expense of the poor, without any efforts to persuade the citizens of the rightness of their projects.

In a recent editorial in the Catholic Times: "starting from the president there has to be an openness to the country and the people. The very meaning of the word 'president' signifies a chairperson, one who works to unify and balance the different opinions and claims. We have learned from our history, without communication, let alone harmony we will never proceed even one step forward. This is the time to humbly listen to the wishes of the people and with a humbler attitude to walk with the citizens."

Korean Martyrs of Japan

It is known that in the invasion of Korea in 1592 the Japanese brought back to Japan many Koreans some of whom entered the Catholic Church. Totus Tuus websiste has a good introduction to this period.

In 1862, 26 Japanese martyrs were canonized, in 1867, 205 martyrs who died during the years 1597 to 1637 were beatified. In 1981, 16 martyrs were beatified and in 1987 were canonized, just last year 2008, 188 companion martyrs were beatified in Japan.

In the years from 1597 to 1637 there were known to be 13 Koreans who died as martyrs in Japan and now they have discovered two more to add to the list. According to some documents in 1594 there were about 2000 Korean Christians in Japan. In 1610 the Koreans had a Korean Church in Nagasaki.

The Peace Weekly had an article on the finding of two more Koreans in the list of Japanese martyrs by a Korean Sister who is working in Nagasaki. She received help from many to help her work with the documents and gave the results to the the archbishop of Nagasaki who told her to make the results known to the bishops of each country. Those who know some of the history of the Korean Catholicism in Japan feel that there are more to be discovered in the coming years.

The martyrs of Japan are considered to have been killed in the cruelest possible ways and some would say crueler than the early Christians and the martyrs who were killed in Korea. We do have martyrs in this age but at least its seems some of the cruelty has been mitigated. Possibly a sign that we have been sensitized in some way to the dignity of humanity.

Another Alternative Medical Practice

Some women that I knew in a previous parish came for a visit recently. They came to visit public health centers to introduce their
capsicum (an extract from peppers) plaster (PAS) treatment for medical problems. They gave me a demonstration of the possibilities for treatment putting a very small half inch square patch of capsaicin on different parts of my arms and face. The thinking of those who use acupuncture is that in our bodies there is the flow of energy (Ki) and if the Yin and Yang is not in balance things will not be right. Working with these points that relate with different organs they try to get the (Ki) to flow correctly. These women were using the same points used for acupuncture but with the small patches at these points.

In Korea acupuncture was in the past the first method of treatment for many ailments. There was a development to hand acupuncture (needles in the acupoints of the hand), moxibustion (heat in these same points ), acupressure ( pressing these points), and now according to these woman a non invasive way with no bad side effects by using hot PAS patches on the meridian points.


It is very inexpensive for with a package of PAS, cut up into small one half inch squares, you have enough small patches to last you for over a year. I have seen these small patches on the hands of many of our Catholics but now I know what they signify. If I knew the meridian points that relate to the different organs of the body I would know what ails them.

There are many alternative ways of dealing with medical problems in Korea. Some of them are harmless but the medical profession would see some of them as harmful for they keep the person from going to a doctor when something could be done and medical remedies prescribed.

Despite all the years I have been in Korea not once have I been treated with acupuncture. I do not like anything which I think is invasive. When you get sick and are in a doctor's care that thinking is forgotten. The ladies left me a package of capsicum PAS and the next time I get a plugged nose I will be using a couple of those patches.With this kind of treatment for a head cold there is little that I would find objectionable. Before they left they did mention that I have to believe in the effectiveness of the procedure; acting on that suggestion if there is good results, I will never know if it is the hot patch or the placebo effect.

Inculturation of Catholicism in Korea

The word 'inculturation' has been used for many years in what is seen as trying to adapt the Church to the culture. The word used in Korea is made with the characters: becoming like the earth- to indigenize, to adapt to the culture. This is a very difficult subject, how much and where, are questions that are are not easily dealt with; there are many problems and disagreements on what is acceptable.

The Catholic Times in an articles on academic awards had some interesting opinions expressed by the recipients. The Sister who received the primary award said that when she entered her community she had in her bag along with the Scriptures , the Analects, Lao Tzu, and the Book of Changes. The Sister said that her dream was to graft onto Christianity the spirituality of the East that would enrich both of them.

After graduating from Harvard, receiving a doctorate in Comparative Religions, she assumed a teaching role and continued the study of inculturation. She has written much on Christian understanding of the Analects of Confucius and Lao Tju's teachings. She is now working on the Book of Changes. She received much strength and insight from these three classics and has expressed this in her writings.

She believes that the Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu is a rough sketch for spirituality of the 21st century. "We should take from the area of abundance and add it to the place of need," this she feels goes right along with the central teaching of the Social Encyclicals. She reflects on the three treasures from Lao Tzu if we want the blessings of heaven: love, simplicity and humility; this she says is the same as the teachings of Christ which were the foundation of the first community.

In Korea because of the plurality of traditional customs and variety of religions we have a fertile soil allowing us to adapt our evangelization and helping us in our dialogue with other religions. She hopes that with this climate in Korea there will be many theologians who will produce original and beautiful works from the intellectual fertile soil that we have in Korea.

This word inculturation is considered a religious word used much in Catholicism. Jesus in his incarnation came to live with us and is an example par excellence for its meaning. We do not find it easy to inculturate the teachings of Jesus to the many different cultures in which the Church has taken root but it is a work that continues.

The bishop who was present at the ceremonies and gave his impression said that when he was in Rome studying he was asked about the inculturation of the Church in Korea, but all that he had to say was he was " more Roman than the Romans." Embarrassed he he did not know more of his own culture. He thanked Sister for her work in this area.

Meditation on the Korean Flag

Is there any National flag that has as much to say as the Korean flag? It has the mysticism of the East and its philosophy in symbols, easily understood with little explanation.

The Korean Flag has the Yin Yang symbol in the Center. The red is the yang and the blue is the yin. A harmony of opposites making one circle. The Yang is the masculine the Yin the feminine, positive and negative, hot and cold, day and night, the harmony of opposites; the Sun seen on the sunny side of the mountain, the shade on the other side. You need both for the whole. They react with each other for harmony and wholeness.

The flag is called 'Tae Keuk Ki" the Tae Keuk means the ultimate, the cause of all things,the Great Absolute in Chinese Philosophy, the source of the yin and yang. The 'Ki' means flag. Christians have no difficulty in seeing this as God.

The trigram on the top left of the flag (3 unbroken lines) symbolize heaven- creativity, firmness. (6 lines on the opposite bottom right) earth- yielding,receptive. (4 lines bottom left) water -profound,meaningful. (5 lines top right ) fire-illumination, intelligence. These trigrams come from the Book of Change.


The white background of the flag is Korea's traditional color. In my first parish I decided to paint the upper part of the walls of the Church a red color that I thought would be a good attempt at inculturation ( becoming more like the Koreans). Well, after painting the Church a dark red I got a lot of bad feedback. They did not like the red it reminded them of a Buddhist temple. So I had to paint the upper wall a brown which they accepted but they would have been pleased if it stayed the plaster white that it was.

Red was not a color that Koreans were attracted to in the past. It is a Favorite of the Chinese and since the Koreans have taken the yin yang thinking from China and the Taoists, it was only right that they accepted their colors; however it was not the color that the Christians wanted on the wall of their church. My familiarity with what I thought was their culture was not that of my Christians.

Korea has a preference for white. In the old days you would see many in white clothes, men and woman, white rice paper for windows and white interiors. The Korean flag has the simple white clean background with which the Koreans can identify easily.