Unification of the Korean Peninsula

During the last 20 years, a columnist in the Catholic Times who writes on North Korean issues, a researcher on the subject, introduces us to the two questions that are most frequent. "When will we have unification? This was the number-one question regardless of age, gender or position in society.

When he receives this question he returns: When do you want unification? It is not something that will just happen. Division is something we lived with, for a change we have to be the subjects and  need to work for change. Unification will be a product of our work, bringing great changes to  Korea.

The second question is: What will be greater the cost or the benefits of unification? This is also a foolish question. Expenses are for a limited time, and  the benefits of unification will go on for ages.

Don't these two questions show that we have become accustomed to the division of the country and evidence that we have little feeling for unification? With the improvement of our financial situation,  we are more interested in what happens on the New York Stock Exchange than unification and more sensitive to what happens in the money markets of the world, then the nuclear testing in North Korea. The passage of time, he laments, has made us forget that we are one country.

We forget that because of the division of the country, there are numerous  abnormalities in our daily lives. Two million  of our young people are facing each other daily with the muzzles of their guns. Korea is a peninsular but the only way we can leave the country is by boat or airplane. Our products by boat have to go a long way around to go to Europe or South Africa. With the united country, we could move our goods by train and truck. At present, there  is no easy way for us to go to Europe.

Life in the North continues under three generations of totalitarian rulers. Hunger and crises are common. Living with a loss of human rights and in a security state, makes their life one of fatigue: the product of our division. The trust on armaments continues the totalitarian hold on the North Koreans by the government.

Becoming one country is not  a choice but a duty that we have to  undertake. Many of the tragedies on the military zone separating the North and South have been the results of our division.Our young people again should be able to take a train to Paektu mountain, go to Mongolia and the plains of Siberia, by means of the  peninsula to which we belong. What is necessary on our part, concludes the columnist, is the will and effort. We are not passive spectators but need to be  active participants working for unification.

The Land of the Morning Calm

At the beginning of the 20th century, a Benedictine Priest from Germany came to Korea, Land of the Morning Calm. The priest took movies and still life pictures of the early years of the 20th century. A Religious Sister writes in the Seoul Diocesan Bulletin about how far we have come from  a land that was so calm. Those who can understand Korean a visit to the Youtube (In the Land of Morning Calm Korea, 1925 -) would be worthwhile. Put what is in parentheses in your browser and click.

The expression: Land of the Morning Calm, is filled with sentiment, the light of  dynamic hope that was always alive. A simple, peaceful people that found it  easy to relate with others, an expression with  meaning for Koreans.

We have come a long way from the calmness of the past. The image of calmness in our society is difficult to find. The warm energy that made us one has disappeared, she says, and today we have the two camps: traditionalists and the  progressives, those on the right or on the left with harsh criticism of each other. Each facing the other with eyes of discomfort  and without any reasonable arguments in support of their positions, and  using all the power they can muster to bolster their position.Where do we look for the reasons for this forming of camps? she asks. Is it the honest search for the common good on the part of each group or the search for personal worldly benefits of each position?  

Scriptures are clear on the stress for  harmony against divisions.  Anything  that fosters factions is not the will of God. "You shall not repeat a false report. Do not join the wicked in putting your hand, as an unjust witness, upon anyone" (Ex. 23:1). These words she feels are appropriate for the mass media of today and the lies that are being spread. Often anything that will benefit oneself or one's position is permissible and little interest or rather a frigidity towards virtue.
 
In the Exodus passage above in the same  paragraph: "Neither shall you allege the example of the many as an excuse for doing wrong, nor shall you, when testifying in a law-suit side with the many in perverting justice." These words give us the limits of our democratic society. Most of the democratic nations  follow the will of the majority, a healthy way of government, but here  also is a weakness we need to remember. The will of the majority is not always correct and often the opinion of the minority has no place to stand. When the will of the majority is not mature in its stand on freedom, and justice, there is the possibility of the  unreasonable use of force to justify the position of the majority. The will of God is not in the use of violence but in dialogue and the respect for the other. She concludes her words with a prayer: "God, let us not  be divided because of ideological thinking  but work for harmony in a land of calm and hope. Amen."
 
The search for truth and for the common good makes for easy talk, but in most cases, it is often something besides truth that colors everything we say and do. Korea has many issues in which the two camps fight for the  righteousness of their cause. Little incentive is shown to understand each other, and to find ways that will not promote violence.

The Neocatechumenal Way

In the recent issue of the Peace Weekly, reported was the interview of the  ambassador emeritus  to the Vatican with  Kiko Arguello, the founder of the Neocatechumenal Way. The movement  began in Spain in 1968 and has spread throughout the world and received approval from the Vatican in 2008. 20,000 communities exist in 124 countries. 34 communities exist in Korea. The movement has had criticism over the years for the way it conducts their teaching, liturgy  and for not being sensitive to the cultures in which they work, but the popes continue to give approval to the movement.
 
Mr. Thomas Han  asked about the beginnings of the movement.  After the Second Vatican Council at a time when many were trying to come to terms in what happened during the Second World War, the atrocities and the suffering moved Kiko to go to a shanty town to live with the Gypsies bringing along only his Bible and guitar. It was at this time that he began teaching the catechism and forming communities.
 
Pope John Paul gave the movement approval as a valid spirituality for the present age. Why did the pope describe the community in this way?  The parishes are places in which the sacramental life is lived, but many are not familiar with the Jesus they receive in the Eucharist. The first gospel imperative is the love of one another. This does  not begin in the church but within ourselves.
 
In response to his recent book, Kerygma, which has been translated into 26 languages, Kiko mentioned the word means to proclaim the Gospel. By the Gospel message, we are liberated from all that keeps us from the joy of life. The book is the story of his life with the movement which he was asked to write by Cardinal Antonio Cañizares, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, and he complied in a wish to be of service.
 
St. John Paul II  often said that the third millennium would be the time for the evangelization of Asia. What did Kiko think of this  and the place of Korea in this future? God is inviting us to participate in this work. This is a reason I have come to Korea. We have a number of countries that are under the influence of atheism and communism, which is a reason to make the message of the Gospel heard.
 
Neocatechumen way, for this reason is concerned about  fostering priests for the work. At a meeting in Manila, 200 young man have volunteered to become priests. At baptism, we received the Holy Spirit  that makes us a part of the new creation. We are new people. 'Love each other and you will be my disciples be united, and the world will believe.' When this becomes a reality, all will change.
 
What is the relationship with the family? Young people are searching for the truth. They want their lives to be in harmony with God's will.  The devil is fighting against the families.  Christian families  will save society and the Church. The marital act has to be open to life is the teaching of the Church and  in Europe at the present  those who are following the neocatechumen way are having more children than Muslims. In many parts of the world members of the Way are volunteering  for missionary service overseas. Members of the way are trying to live the way the early Christians lived.
 
In conclusion, Kiko was asked what meaning do we need to accept from the teaching of the martyrs. They have a lot to teach us, and they should be an occasion to give new life to the Church and bring about renewal.

Getting to Know Ourselves

None of us likes to acknowledge we have some kind of disorder. And yet we know none of us are perfect; we live with a number of imperfections, not an overly intelligent judgement of our earthly situation. We work to  diminish the problems that arise from this reality. Some of us have physical disorders, poor eyesight; some  live with personality and mental quirks and the vices we have picked up over the years. All of this makes for an interesting world, provided we work to change what we can and make the best of what we can't.
 
We should be willing to face this reality and not justify our disorders, but do what we can to live searching for the ideal. As Christians, we trust in the graces to overcome our problems and not in a few cases the very disorders will allow us to grow as persons and become  instruments for peace in establishing God's kingdom.
 
One of the disorders that we all have to deal with is a lack of attention to what we are doing and what is important; the society in which we live is not much help. A religious sister in her column in the Catholic Times has some helpful suggestions on what we can do and cease doing.
 
She works with the Korean words for searching using the help of others as we would in a computer search (檢索), and our own personal internal searching   faculties to meditate and philosophize about the meaning in life (思索).
 
An example was her searching for a recipe on the Internet. After a few days, she was back for another recipe. The search did not give her the principles or reflection on meaning, but  merely directed her to follow directions.
 
Traveling to her college class for four years she used her navigation device and when it was not turned on she felt uncomfortable. She believes that it weakened her ability to pay attention to the surroundings. She tells us about the taxi drivers in London, who are required to memorize tens of thousands of street names, squares, and side streets to get a license. Neurologists have made a study of the hippocampus (region of the brain associated primarily with memory)of these drivers and compared to other segments of society their hippocampus was greatly enlarged and the longer they were in the work the more so. The brain works to become bigger with use.

The lessons that we receive from this are clear, and she says not exaggerated. When we continually use  information gained by others and  do not search within ourselves, we will lack creativity. However, some will think this will require daily training. Some feel it is a luxury for which they do not have the time.
 
She recommends we read a book we always wanted to do but never found the time. Spend time alone, accompanied with deep breathing, and work with the  ideas that come to mind, associations, deducing from what comes to mind, discerning. It will take time, but something will happen. We need to be in control of  the information from the 'smart' world in which we live. We have within us a world of ideas, experiences, questions, difficulties, doubts, feelings, convictions, beliefs and for a Christian Christ's presence. That is more than enough material to work with.

A Joy-filled Life

The pope's visit to Korea is approaching and there is hope within the Church that it will be more than an event, but an occasion for renewal. The editor's column in the Peace Weekly asks what is to be done and where do we  begin? He, like many others feels the exhortation of the pope: Joy of the Gospel is a good place to start.

He selects two areas, not in their degree of  importance, but rather of ease in discussion, the need as Christians to live full of joy, and the second is to embark upon a new way of  evangelization with new paths for the Church's future journey.

These two are not to be separated. The life of a Christian has to be one with obvious joy for without  joy the words we  express of Gospel joy become empty.This living the joyous life is a prerequisite for evangelization and its foundation.

The pope in the exhortation mentions those  "Christians whose lives seem like Lent without Easter" (#6).  " Evangelizers must never look like someone who has just come back from a funeral!"(#10) He stresses we must live a joy-filled life.
 
Why is it that we do not live this joy-filled life? "Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard." When this happens: "the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades." These are the  words in (# 2) of the exhortation.

The pope gives us the prescription for this  kind of life." I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since 'no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord'. The Lord does not disappoint those who take this risk; whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms... No one can strip us of the dignity bestowed upon us by this boundless and unfailing love. With a tenderness which never disappoints, but is always capable of restoring our joy" (#3).

What is another reason we are not living this life of joy? We are not sure that we are loved by Jesus. Because we are Christians does not mean we will not have pain and sorrow in our lives. "Joy adapts and changes, but it always endures, even as a flicker of light born of our personal certainty that, when everything is said and done, we are infinitely loved."  The pope goes on to explain: "But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning." (#6).

To live with this Gospel joy we need to open our hearts and secondly, to have unlimited trust in his love. If there are any Christians without the joy let them pay attention and practice this in their daily life. He also feels a need to do this in his own life. He concludes that he has always been open and proud of being a Catholic but has not lived a clearly joy-filled life.

Willingness of the Church to Welcome Criticism

Few are the  countries with such a favorable environment  to examine itself and plan for the future. In preparation for the visit of the pope many are the symposiums, programs, lectures in  preparation  for a renewal, preceded by an honest appraisal of the situation. The Peace Weekly gives us an account of a symposium in Seoul that was attended by over 300. The subject was the  exhortation of  pope Francis: Joy of the Gospel. How do we share this message in a  world with different values? Bishop Mario Toso, Secretary of the Pontifical Council gave the keynote address for  the symposium.

The article begins with the reality  of Korean society. One of the presenters mentioned the  polarization of society. The middle class is being destroyed, and we are seeing new poor. New areas of conflict appear.The Church needs to be with the poor, but the Church has grown with the  advancement of capitalism, and we have become a middle class Church and distanced ourselves from the poor. We have also learned some of the tricks from capitalism not only in the fields of medicine and education, but in another profit ventures. The hierarchical system has become exclusive, and we have a vision for salvation that is individualistic, a worldly spirituality seeking comfort.

Economy excludes; money has become an idol, immoral investment practices; violence from  a growing inequality makes a need to work to achieve the blue print given to us by pope Francis.  Another speaker spoke about the need to not be excessively  concerned with our internal pastoral issues, but to go out to the world. We need to be with  those who are hurting.
 
Joy of the Gospel gives us directions to become a poor Church and  in search of the common good for society. Jesus is the example of the one who loved all his brothers and sisters, searching for justice, peace and the dignity for all.
 
In the address by Bishop Toso, he  quoted from Joy of the Gospel: "People in every nation enhance the social dimension of their lives by acting as committed and responsible citizens, not as a mob swayed by the powers that be. Let us not forget that responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation."
 
The Church's need for renewal requires, said one of the speakers, to open the  doors of our churches, go in search of people, open ourselves up to the persons who are hurting in society. The first step in evangelization is to have the mind of God and to hear the voices of the people. Since half of the Catholics are not practicing we have to go in search of them. We have to listen to the words of Scripture and become prophetic in our lives.

The article concludes with a  paragraph on what is needed to become a Church of the poor: a spirituality of poverty. One of the speakers criticized the appearance of the Church being with the poor, but that is not the reality of the middle class Church we have made. To be a  Church of the poor we have to give of our personnel, our money in the work for the poor. It requires said another, for ourselves to have a spirituality of poverty, which will  motivate us to get involved in the work of the poor and those who are alienated from society.