Monday, July 3, 2023

What Division of the Country Does?

Korean crisis Royalty Free Stock Images

The Vice Chairman of the National Reconciliation Committee of the Seoul Archdiocese gives the readers of the Catholic Peace Weekly Diagnosis of the Times Column some thoughts on the divided situation of Korea in its 70th year.

On May 31st, citizens in the Seoul area started their morning by hearing loud noises. Since North Korea's reconnaissance satellite was launched on the morning of the same day, the Seoul Metropolitan Government issued an alert at 6:41am. The contents of the emergency disaster text were quite frightening. It was a message to be prepared to evacuate as a warning has been issued in the Seoul area and to allow children and the elderly to evacuate first. There was no guidance on what had happened and where to evacuate, but the message that came early in the morning accompanied by sirens echoing through the apartment complex made many people nervous.
 
Many people thought that something really serious had happened when even the portal site went down due to people flocking to search for news. Some wondered whether they should return home while driving in the middle of Olympic Boulevard, and at home, they were at a loss as to whether they should wake up their sleeping children, and if so, what and how to prepare. Of course, there were people who passed this situation indifferently, but loud sirens and emergency text messages also affected Memorial Day, June 6, a week later. The siren that sounded that morning was a signal of silence for the patriotic martyrs, and even told them not to be surprised this time.
 
Regardless of whether Seoul overreacted to North Korea's previously announced satellite launch or responded appropriately to the crisis situation, the emergency disaster message on the last day of May did not only come into our ordinary morning routine. It reminded us of the fact that we are now divided, and that division is still present in our daily lives.
 
In fact, the confrontation between the two Koreas is not something surprising. Even though hundreds of thousands of soldiers and weapons systems with tremendous firepower are concentrated around the Military Demarcation Line, our daily lives are oblivious to the situation. We worry about rising electricity bills and are sensitive to the reduced quantity and number of basic side dishes at regular restaurants, but issues of inter-Korean conflict or peace on the Korean Peninsula are far from our daily lives.
 
Parents who have to send their children to the military or visit border areas such as Paju or Goseong remember that our country is still at war. However, despite this insensitivity, the reality of division is part of our daily lives. The culture of taking sides in a company or community where you constantly want to question whether the other person is on your side or not is one of the signs of our culture of division.
 
For more than 70 years, we have been taught to doubt whether the people around us are friends or enemies, and doubt creates boundaries, and boundaries create differences. And taking sides has brought about a rigid dichotomy in which one must belong to one side. It is not possible to respect various choices and tastes and be comfortable when opinions are unified, stances are unified, and even menus are unified. Diverse thoughts and positions make the community complicated and dizzy and feel diversity is uncomfortable. However, a rigid society represented by the logic of taking sides and dichotomies takes away our composure and blocks inclusiveness and hospitality.
 
The siren should sound a little longer. Not the air-raid siren, but the siren that informs us that the culture of division is making our hearts sick. Peace can be achieved by uncovering the culture of division hidden in everyday life and finding ways to overcome it. We need to awaken our senses to why our society is rigid and why we find it difficult to accept our neighbors and respect their thoughts.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the ceasefire in the Korean War. Peace on the Korean Peninsula will cease to be a slogan only when we wake up to the division that operates hidden in our daily lives. Only those who are uncomfortable with conflict will walk the journey to create peace for they realize how serious the harm of division is.

Saturday, July 1, 2023

Vatican News Site

 Pope Francis conducts mass on March 19, 2013 in Vatican City, Vatican. The inauguration of Pope Francis is being held in front of an expected crowd...

The Former President of  the Catholic Journalists Association  in the Eyes of the Believers column  of the Catholic Times gives the readers information on Vatican News in Korean.

He has a special Kakao Talk group chat room. He has 11 conversation partners, and a notification pops up around 10 p.m. every night except on Saturdays or the day before holidays. About three article URLs come up with names. [Articles uploaded on certain days  in June]. In the URL link, the names  'Lee  and Kim'          are attached. The person in question gives only a short response, saying:“I understand”. There is no separate doorplate for each room. At this point, readers may not be able to contain their curiosity. ‘What is the true identity of this place?
 
This is the story of the people who create the Korean page for the Vatican News. Vatican News, the official news outlet published by the Holy See's Ministry of Public Relations, is a digital portal serving the mission of evangelization. Currently, news services are provided in 40 languages, including Italian, English, and French, and Korean.  In addition, the news is classified into 4 divisions— the Pope, the Vatican, the Church, and the world, and goes out to the  Catholics around the world.
 
Let's find out more about the 'Vatican News' Korean page. In 2014, on the occasion of Pope Francis' visit to Korea, a business agreement was signed between the government and the Vatican for the Korean language addition project. After the government project ended in 2017, the Public Relations Committee of the Seoul Archdiocese took over the operation of the Korean language service. The Korean page is the only case run by a local church outside of Rome.
 
 My gaze goes to the aforementioned group chat room routinely around 10:00 p.m. every Thursday night. This is because in Rome, Italy, the responsible priest distributes Italian and English articles to translators. The Korean page currently has 2 reviewers, 2 editors, and 6 translators.
 
He started translating English news into Korean from the beginning of the year, and half a year has passed before he knew it. After checking the news to be translated, sharing the original text on Google Drive, he works on translating until late at night. He wakes up early the next day, checks the words, and works to refine the article. This is because he personally has to finish the translation early before he goes to his classes in theology. Although his body and mind are busy, he is  grateful he can use some of his small talents for the church.
 
There is a famous saying “translation is treason”. It is observed that the translation does not properly preserve the intention and accuracy of the original text due to the intervention of the translator. While accepting the reasonableness of this view, it is difficult to respond perfectly due to differences in language and culture. In fact, there are many cases where it is awkward to directly translate a foreign language. So, some paraphrase and explain that does not damage the  original text.  Most of the translators of Vatican News translate Italian articles into Korean, but only the author and one other person are in charge of English news. Anyway, he  turns on his laptop and works with his  butt on the chair. It reminds him of a elder's encouragement that translation is a work of perseverance. Looking forward to the next work, taking advantage of the saying “translators are creators of culture”
 
There are not many believers who know the ‘Vatican News’ and its Korean language pages. This is because of the lack of publicity. Shouldn't good things be spread through word of mouth and shared? The Catholic news media thirsts for our love and attention. Let's bookmark it now and surf whenever we can.  
 
Just install the Vatican News app on your phone. On the web, click the Korean page address (https://www.vaticannews.va/ko.html). You can also access it through Facebook or Kakao Page. Let's not miss the many spiritual treasures, such as the Pope's sermons, along with the latest news from the universal and local churches. The biblical phrase: “Only taste and see” (Psalm 34:9) sounds like the words of the Lord to inform us of ‘Vatican News’
 

Thursday, June 29, 2023

Speaking Heart to Heart

two person holding papercut heart

Synodality is the word we hear a lot and will continue to do so until next year. It is the encounter with the other: communion, participation and mission. It is the desire of the church for all the people of God to walk together, listening to the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.

We hear a great deal about the lack of dialogue within society. The advances in technology have been tremendous they have brought  us closer together in many ways but as with most of our reality we have both the positive and negative which depends on the way used and our values.

Our encounters have multiplied  but have  they increased our interactions on a deeper level or a superficial one? Has our personal communication become deeper? The Pope has in recent years in his Communication Day Messages addressed these issues. Last year it was listening with the heart and this year speaking with the heart "The truth in love" Eph. (4:15). "Among the five senses, the one favored by God seems to be hearing, perhaps because it is less invasive, more discreet than sight, and therefore leaves the human being more free."

In this years message he quotes St. Francis de Sales in one of his most famous statements: 'Cor ad cor loquitur', heart speaks to heart. St. John Henry Newman, chose this as his motto. One of his convictions was: "In order to speak well, it is enough to love well". It shows that for him communication should never be reduced to something artificial, to a marketing strategy, as we might say nowadays, but is rather a reflection of the soul, the visible surface of a nucleus of love that is invisible to the eye. For Saint Francis de Sales, precisely "in the heart and through the heart, there comes about a subtle, intense and unifying process in which we come to know God".

"It is from this 'criterion of love' that, through his writings and witness of life, the saintly Bishop of Geneva reminds us that 'we are what we communicate'. This goes against the grain today, at a time when — as we experience especially on social media — communication is often exploited so that the world may see us as we would like to be and not as we are. Saint Francis de Sales disseminated many copies of his writings among the Geneva community. This 'journalistic' intuition earned him a reputation that quickly went beyond the confines of his diocese and still endures to this day". 

Today we hear often that conversation, the art of relating with others face to face with words is diminishing. Personal interaction is  no longer what it use to be. We have all experienced this in many different ways, all one has to do is ride on a subway for an hour it will  be obvious. Many people are becoming isolated due to the lack of personal interaction and consequently the lack of conversation.

We have all seen picture of family members at the kitchen table with their hand phones in hand while eating. The hand phone is a great blessing but it comes with a cost and the need to discern how it is to be used so that it doesn't stand in the way of our personal  encounters with others in the here and now. St. James exhorts us  in his epistle:The most important task in pastoral activity is the "apostolate of the ear" – to listen before speaking, as the Apostle James exhorts: "Let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak" (1:19). Freely giving some of our own time to listen to people is the first act of charity.

#heart

 

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Tuesday, June 27, 2023

Lord, Open My Eyes

 handicap symbol

 

Lord Open My Eyes. In the Catholic Times, a parish priest in the Eyes of the Believers Column gives the readers something to dwell on, finally coming out of the long tunnel of Corona 19.


This is because the World Health Organization (WHO) has officially declared that it will lift the COVID-19 quarantine system, which has shocked people all over the world over the past three years and four months, and the Korean government has also announced that it will follow the measures from June. This means that most of the quarantine measures and obligations that were compulsorily applied to the public after the COVID-19 pandemic will disappear and we will return to normal life.

 

In the COVID-19 situation, many lived with their eyes open yet were spiritually blind, and not a few lived as if they were physically blind but with their spiritual eyes wide open. Those who were healed physically and spiritually by their firm faith in Jesus, the "light of the world" (John 9:5) appear throughout the New Testament. 

 

 "As Jesus was leaving Jericho, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus son of Timaeus was sitting by the roadside, and when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ … Jesus asked: "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man said, "Teacher, let me see again." Jesus said to him: "Go. Your faith has saved you. And immediately he saw again" (Mk 10:46-52).

 

Those who suffered from a disability at birth or who suffered from a disability due to their own fault, or the fault of others or some external influence, need, above all, the devoted sacrifice and help of their families and neighbors, and the absolute and unlimited support of the State that wants everyone's welfare. "Lord, open our eyes" (Matthew 20:33).

 

Song Francis lost his eyesight in a grenade explosion accident when he was a private in the army, and Lee Lucia, a life partner always stood by her husband and became his eyes, ears, and cane even when she was sick and uncomfortable! As the world's first disabled person to complete the world's four extreme marathons: the Sahara, Gobi, Atacama, and Antarctica, he is an iron man who achieved a grand slam. And gave hope to many. Perhaps that is why, when the priest wakes up in the morning, steps outside the door with a cane, looks at the statue of the Virgin Mary, and makes the sign of the cross with a grateful heart.

 

Every time the pastor brings them the Eucharist twice a month, the couple radiates the joy of receiving the body of the Lord. A brother who lives with an uncomfortable body but has always lived a spiritually fulfilled life, and a sister who silently sacrifices and serves her husband a true examples of a holy family. 

 

He is reminded of the essay 「Three Days to See」 by Helen Keller, an American disabled person who could not see, or hear but did learn to speak. She said that if she had only one wish it would be to open her eyes and see for ‘only three days’ before she dies.  

 

'Being eyes to the blind and legs to the lame' (Job 29:15). In today's individualistic and concerned-with-self world, do we live faithfully as believers who serve as eyes and bridges for people with disabilities?

 

Sunday, June 25, 2023

Justice Versus Ideological Bias

의견 또는 사실 - political bias 뉴스 사진 이미지

The Catholic Times gives the readers some pros and cons  on the National Catholic Priests' Association for the Realization of Justice  which has been  holding Prayer Meetings for the restoration  of democracy and peace in society.

When it is judged there is political or social confusion or a serious problem in society, intellectuals, such as professors and religious figures gather at a designated place at the same time to express concern about the current issues and urge a solutions.
 
Members of the  religious world continue to bring news to society of the state of affairs one after another. The National Catholic Priests' Association for the Realization of Justice is offering weekly Masses.
  
The priests’ association explained the reason for the prayer meetings in a statement released recently: "I pray to you at the time of desperation." The priests' association pointed recent government proposals with which they didn't agree that they thought violated the Constitution. 
 
Depending on the location, hundreds to 2,000 people participate in the priests' prayer meetings. However, the eyes of the believers who look at the prayer meetings are largely divided into two categories. We have those who see priests reading the signs of the times and speaking out ‘bitterly’ about the current situation, and the negative position that the priesthood, which shows a biased political ideology, and see the clergy involved in politics. 
 
A believer in Inchon, who requested anonymity, said: "Rather than alleviating the pain of farmers and workers, the current regime intimidates the people by rejecting the Grain Law and announcing the suppression of protests against the government by force, and in particular, threatens the country’s existence with faulty diplomacy. The priests are properly rebuking the current regime with the eyes of the gospel and that the government should listen to the voice of the priests."
 
However, a priest from another diocese said: "The priests did not say a word about the government's incompetence or the situation that took place during the the past administration, but only exposes the situation of the present government"  He also pointed out:  "Clergy should participate in politics as members of society, but in order to 'realize justice', the priests must first be righteous."

 There is also an opinion that the terms "prosecutor’s dictatorship" and “regime resignation" used by the priests were objectionable. A lay leader in Seoul said: "It is understandable that the priests congregate to offer a Mass for the state of affairs and point out the government's realities, but they need to choose  language that the believers can relate to."



Thursday, June 22, 2023

The Need for Concern of Others

 Free Melancholic man in suit standing on wet ground in park Stock Photo

A university professor writes in the Catholic Times Column 'We Are All One' about persons who can't live by just living: the difficulties of life that don't change no matter how hard one tries.

In the preface to the novel 「Life」written by Chinese writer Yu Hua there is an expression— "People live for the sake of living, not for anything else." Sometimes, when counseling persons, there are times when I think of the novelist's expression and desire to fully convey the meaning to the person who is thinking about death."
 
When the professor first met K, he felt that her eyes were very beautiful. Her bright smile was charming and had the ability to express situations in a funny and pleasant way. She found it easy to socialize and drink, creating a festive atmosphere around her. But when she returned home alone from her hustle and bustle, she felt an uncontrollable feeling of emptiness and bitterness. Maybe she was laughing at a situation she was having trouble coping with.
 
She was born with gorgeous looks, into a poor family. "Both her mother and her father were indifferent to their children, lethargic with their lives, and financially incompetent," she said. It's common for children in a similar situation to graduate from high school and enter society, but she herself was gifted in studies and entered a good university. K had dreams of becoming a humanities scholar, but her family only expected financial support for the house rather than concern for K's talent. K continued her arduous schoolwork while supporting her family as the main provider.
 
In the meantime, K met a man from a wealthy family and they began living together, and it developed into a relationship that promised her marriage. There were moments of happiness, but things changed when K became pregnant. Her boyfriend's demeanor changed and he demanded that she have an abortion and left her. Eventually, she had the abortion and returned to living alone. Even under these circumstances, K continued her graduate studies and provided money for her family.
 
There are only a few ways for a humanities major to earn money while studying. Even if she works as a teaching assistant or research assistant, it is difficult to pay the tuition fees. She can't afford to set aside time for an outside part-time job.
 
After K entered graduate school, she secretly worked at a bar. She said: "As a child. Kids like me, who have pleasant faces but were born into poor families, end up doing things like this... I didn't believe that. No, I didn’t think I would live that kind of life." As time passed, K's appearance became more glamorous and the smell of her cosmetics grew stronger. Still, she felt comfortable when she came for counseling. She slept on the sofa in the waiting room, although she said sleep did not come easy and was able to present a comfortable and stable appearance during the consultation. Was she able to read the professor's mind? By the time the counseling was over, K said that she would live thinking only of living without thinking about anything else for the time being.
 
And after nearly a year, he heard that K had taken her own life. Maybe K thought it was no longer possible to get over the situation with a smile. He doesn't know. She apparently thought she was no longer able to sustain life just by living. Every year around this time, he fondly remembers K's bright smile.

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Reasons for the Study of Drug Use In Korea

마약 개념입니다. 사용 하 여 불법 약물 남용. 헤로인 중독입니다. 주입도 핑. 아편 전염병입니다. 토닝, 선택적 초점입니다. - 로열티 프리 마약 스톡 사진

A Catholic University professor in the Department of Social Welfare and Addiction gives readers in the Diagnosis of the Times column his opinion that it's time to study drug use in Korean society.

There have been many articles about drugs lately. He doesn't think he has ever seen drug-related articles as often as these days. The news that a famous celebrity who played a leading role in a popular movie took various types of drugs surprised and disappointed many.

Articles about drug use by ordinary people and celebrities often appear in the media. A seven-car collision caused by a drugged driver driving in a hallucinatory state was a terrible accident you would only expect in a movie. It was difficult to believe it had occurred in Korea.

Another article reported the use of drugs by teenagers in an area where academies were located and also the threatening of parents. Another article mentions a mother reporting drug selling and use among middle school children.

According to data from the Prosecutor’s Office, teenage drug offenders increased about 4 times in 5 years from 119 in 2017 to 481 in 2022. 

Drug use causes enormous socio-economic loss to the individual who uses drugs and to our society. Therefore, it is time to recognize the seriousness of the drug problem and come up with effective measures to prevent the spread of drugs.  The government is also aware of the increase in drug use and is preparing various countermeasures, but it does not seem to focus mainly on cracking down on drug smuggling and strengthening punishment for drug offenders and preparing policies based on an accurate understanding of drug use.

In fact, there has never been a nationwide survey of drug users in the country. We are still at the level of estimating the number of drug users based on the number of drug sellers detected. For example, with 18,395 drug offenders arrested in 2022, one can surmise that 10 times or 30 times these numbers would be those selling drugs.

To come up with a proper policy, an accurate understanding of the actual situation should be prioritized. It is self-evident that policies can be effective when the size of the drug user population, the characteristics of those who have experienced drug use, the types of drugs commonly used, and the purchase route are properly identified and policies are prepared accordingly.

In the United States, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health has been conducted annually since 1971. This survey includes not only alcohol and tobacco, but also other drugs, and about 70,000 people aged 12 and over participate in the survey. The survey provides up-to-date information on drug use in the US population, and agencies and researchers use the findings to develop prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation programs. In Japan, since 1995, a nationwide survey of drug use has been conducted targeting adults.

These countries have more serious drug problems than Korea, so they conducted fact-finding surveys on drug use early on. It is necessary to design and conduct a nationwide survey by referring to the experiences of these countries. This is to accurately determine the actual state of drug use in Korea.  Adding drug-related items to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Mental Health Survey, and Adolescent Health Behavior Survey would be an effective method.

In particular, in a survey of adolescents who have yet to experience drug use, it is necessary to identify attitudes toward drug use, protection, and risk factors related to drug use in addition to what was experienced. It is hoped that a fact-finding survey targeting representative samples will be conducted as soon as possible to accurately diagnose the actual state of drug use in Korea. Based on the results, effective drug prevention education and drug addiction treatment and rehabilitation policies will hopefully begin to appear.