Overcoming Discrimination

 

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In the Catholic News Here/Now a young man tells the readers of the site about his life as an orphan and how the realization that he was different came to him.

He grew up in a nursery from birth until he was 19. It was after entering middle school that He realized that he was an orphan. When he went to school outside the orphanage for the first time he naturally realized: "I don’t have any parents." He realized that the person he called mom was a social worker, and that she lived a different life from that of an ordinary family. That was his first encounter with people outside the nursery.

When he first entered middle school, the teacher handed out a piece of paper for each student to write down their home address. He wrote down his address and one child looked up his address on the Internet and asked him: "Isn’t this a daycare center?"  He was so embarrassed that he couldn't say anything. In this way, the fact that he lived in an orphanage was revealed to his classmates. From that day on, he got teased a lot by the children.

One day, his homeroom teacher told him to bring his mom's, older sister's, or younger sister's skirts for they  were having a talent show at school. One of his friends said: "Teacher, he can’t bring their skirts the mother isn’t there. What should he do?" She looked at him,  everyone in the class laughed. He was so embarrassed that he couldn't say anything.  

On days when there were open classes at school, his friends said to him: "You don’t have parents, so no one will come."  These all became triggers for his anger that described him to his classmates: "he gets angry easily because he comes from an orphanage."

At school, friends from difficult families were called and invited to the hallway in front of the teacher's office. During break time, other friends were all passing by, and the teacher said: "Since he is not good at cultural activities due to financial difficulties, the school will support me, so let’s all get together and go to Namsan on the weekend." He hated the teacher who talked openly about other people's family situations in front of all his friends.

Having experienced this in middle school, he thought that he would never let others know that he was from an orphanage when he he entered high school. He felt if his situation was revealed, his entire school life would be ruined.  

One day his homeroom teacher suddenly called him during the finale class and said: “You grew up in a different environment than others, but your orphanage is a large facility, so there is a lot of support, so think positively." At that time, the kids in his class looked at him, and and he wanted to hide.

His high school years were also very difficult. The children started whispering behind their backs that they were orphans. There weren't many friends who would talk to him, and the ones that did come up to him were for the purpose of arguing or teasing him.

When he gave a presentation at school, they even ridiculed him, saying that he was studying for no reason when he wouldn't be able to go to college because he didn't have money anyway. This happened a lot.  

 

Later, he couldn't stand it anymore and warned the eight children who were teasing him that he would open a school violence committee. At that time, the friends said: "You don’t have a mother, so do you have someone to call?" he was at a loss for words. He hopes that his juniors will no longer experience the social discrimination they had to endure because they were orphans.

 

When he attended Aloysius Elementary School, he joined the basketball team."We've been working hard since we were kids, so were all really good at sports. So when we went out to a basketball tournament, our school swept the awards." Whenever this happened, parents from other schools said: "This is why we shouldn’t sponsor children in daycare centers." An indescribable sadness came over him.

 

He strongly agrees with the statement that it is not your fault that you graduated from an orphanage. It is not the children's fault that their parents were unable to raise them from birth or in the middle of their lives and left them in an orphanage. Their childhood environment was not their choice and is not their responsibility. If they have friends who criticize or ridicule them just because they are orphans, they are wrong.  He has forgiven all those friends. The act cannot be justified, but when he thinks about it now, those friends were also very young. He hopes they reflect on their past actions.

 

It is really difficult and painful to be ridiculed at school or in society because you are from an orphanage during your school days. People who grow up with these experiences may deny themselves or feel worthless. This is a situation that can create really sensitive emotions, and it can have very serious emotional repercussions. There are many children who have difficulty finding meaning in life as they go through these difficult experiences. In severe cases, people even think about death.

 

During his school days, he was bullied so much that it was difficult to put it into words. However, he is now  currently focusing on life and living it diligently. This is because he thinks that if he stays in the past, and remembers what those friends did to him, and gets angry and resentful, his life will  only become more difficult and unhappy. This is really unfair, he wants to  live a good life to show that it can be done.

 

As a young adult preparing for independence, he is  taking a leave of absence from the university he attended and preparing to re-enter the major of his choice. He studies at an academy during the day and works hard to make a living by working part-time as a video editor at home in the evening.

 

Uneasy Peace: North and South Korea

In the Catholic Times  a principal of a Korean School in New Malden, England, wrote in her column:  Reconciliation and Unity of the work she has done with prisoners of war some years ago.   

New Malden is home to the largest South Korean community in Europe, the home for Koreans living in the UK. They account for around one third of the area’s population, estimated to be about 10,000.

Around 700 North Koreans currently reside in New Malden, making it the world’s largest North Korean settlement outside the Korean peninsula. May they all enjoy the New Harvest Festival that the Koreans are celebrating these days.

In September 2000, 63 non-converted long-term prisoners returned to North Korea. The repatriation was a measure in accordance with the June 29 Joint Declaration. Among them, a teacher Mr. Kim, whose  oral life history the columnist  later published as a book: "I am a member of the Korean Workers’ Party" (Seonin, 2001).

At that time, her mind was complicated. This is because it reminded her of other people who would not have had the opportunity to leave a record of their lives for posterity. Like Mr. Kim, who returned from the South to the North, there will be many people there who still have to return from the North to the South. 

 

More than 20 years later, she came across the book: "No one came to get me" (Deep Sea Dolphin, 2023) contains the stories of nine South Korean prisoners of war who escaped from North Korea and returned to their hometown after living in captivity in North Korea for over 50 years. She did not know that there were as many as 80,000 South Korean prisoners of war detained in North Korea who could not be repatriated despite the ceasefire. Most of them worked in coal mines, their descendants were discriminated against, and they didn't know that the Korean government wasn't looking for them.

 

When non-converted long-term prisoners were welcomed on a grand scale in Pyongyang, we could not estimate the sense of disappointment and betrayal they felt. Each individual’s story is amazing. When the war started, it was the People's Army, but later it became the ROK Army. Some people ended up spending their entire lives in coal mines as ROK POWs, while others were captured three days before the signing of the armistice agreement. 

 

I met the author the writer Lee Hye-min (Teresa) who wrote in the preface the reason why she devoted herself to this work for 10 years:  "I did not meet the returned South Korean prisoners of war to expose… Neither a liberal nor a conservative, I just listened to and recorded the lives of war victims as a human being... I hope you read this book slowly, remembering the mothers of South Korean POWs who passed away while missing their sons who never returned."

 

There are still many stories in our land that need to be heard and recorded. Wouldn't there be someone who listens to these  stories so that the deep wounds of division in the hearts of those who suffered can be healed even a little? "Sister Hyemin Lee and I prayed together to guide us in what we should do."

 

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Closure And Opening of Borders

 

 

In the Catholic Times a Fellow of the Catholic Institute for Peace in Northeast Asia gives us some thoughts on boundaries  and  connections.

Overseas tourism, which had been limited due to quarantine issues related to the COVID-19 virus, are becoming active. Acquaintances are visiting Mt. Paektu frequently, and photos of nearby scenery are being posted on social media once every one to two weeks.

[Paektu Mountain is the highest mountain in North Korea and Northeast China. Korea and Manchu people give a mythical quality to the mountain and its lake and consider the mountain to be their ancestral homeland]

 

The routes to climb Mt. Paektu are divided into the eastern route, the western route, the southern route, and the northern route. Except for the eastern route, which passes through Samjiyeon in the north, all routes must be taken through China. So, those who have made  the trip are quite proud.

 

Meanwhile, there has been some limited opening measures between North Korea and China following the adjustment of quarantine levels in August 2023, 3 years and 7 months after the border was closed in January 2020 due to the COVID-19 epidemic.

 

In July 2023, Chinese and Russian delegations entered the North to celebrate North Korea's Victory Day, and on August 16, a North Korean delegation moved to China via the Yalu River Railroad Bridge to participate in the World Taekwondo Championships in Kazakhstan. Flight operations between Pyongyang and Beijing and Pyongyang and Vladivostok were resumed, and North Korean residents who had been staying in China and Russia for some time returned to Pyongyang via Air Koryo airliners.

 

Of course, it seems that it will take time to fully open the country, such as allowing Chinese tourists to enter the country or cargo trucks to operate. Nevertheless, he is envious of the official ‘opening of the border’ between North Korea and China for visits to Paektu Mountain.

 

Until now, ‘border’ has meant closure and disconnection, and the region has no choice but to be economically underdeveloped. The border between us and the North is still the same as before, but the border between the North and China seems to be one of connection, cooperation, and coexistence rather than closure and disconnection. 

 

Suddenly, he remembers a manuscript he presented at an anti-communist speech contest when he was in middle school in the early 1980s. “There is an old saying that everything changes in 10 years. However, the 155-mile ceasefire line here, which should have changed four times since liberation, remains the same... "The speaker standing here shouts loudly and powerfully that we must gather our hearts and unify."

 

Since then, the river and mountain have changed again four times. But our borders are still intact. Moreover, it is no longer a simple border between South and North, but is now the forefront of maritime and continental powers. He wants  to  empathize what people  who participated in the independence movement, would say when they see us today. “Can’t we stop now  and act differenly?” .” Wouldn’t it be like this.

 

In the Catholic Times a Fellow of the Catholic Institute for Peace in Northeast Asia gives us some thoughts on boundaries  and  connections.

Overseas tourism, which had been limited due to quarantine issues related to the COVID-19 virus, are becoming active. Acquaintances are visiting Mt. Paektu frequently, and photos of nearby scenery are being posted on social media once every one to two weeks.

[Paektu Mountain is the highest mountain in North Korea and Northeast China. Korea and Manchu people give a mythical quality to the mountain and its lake and consider the mountain to be their ancestral homeland]

 

The routes to climb Mt. Paektu are divided into the eastern route, the western route, the southern route, and the northern route. Except for the eastern route, which passes through Samjiyeon in the north, all routes must be taken through China. So, those who have made  the trip are quite proud.

 

Meanwhile, there has been some limited opening measures between North Korea and China following the adjustment of quarantine levels in August 2023, 3 years and 7 months after the border was closed in January 2020 due to the COVID-19 epidemic.

 

In July 2023, Chinese and Russian delegations entered the North to celebrate North Korea's Victory Day, and on August 16, a North Korean delegation moved to China via the Yalu River Railroad Bridge to participate in the World Taekwondo Championships in Kazakhstan. Flight operations between Pyongyang and Beijing and Pyongyang and Vladivostok were resumed, and North Korean residents who had been staying in China and Russia for some time returned to Pyongyang via Air Koryo airliners.

 

Of course, it seems that it will take time to fully open the country, such as allowing Chinese tourists to enter the country or cargo trucks to operate. Nevertheless, he is envious of the official ‘opening of the border’ between North Korea and China for visits to Paektu Mountain.

 

Until now, ‘border’ has meant closure and disconnection, and the region has no choice but to be economically underdeveloped. The border between us and the North is still the same as before, but the border between the North and China seems to be one of connection, cooperation, and coexistence rather than closure and disconnection. 

 

Suddenly, he remembers a manuscript he presented at an anti-communist speech contest when he was in middle school in the early 1980s. “There is an old saying that everything changes in 10 years. However, the 155-mile ceasefire line here, which should have changed four times since liberation, remains the same... "The speaker standing here shouts loudly and powerfully that we must gather our hearts and unify."

 

Since then, the river and mountain have changed again four times. But our borders are still intact. Moreover, it is no longer a simple border between South and North, but is now the forefront of maritime and continental powers. He wants  to  empathize what people  who participated in the independence movement, would say when they see us today. "Can’t we stop now  and act differently?"  "Wouldn’t it be nice to see a change?"

 

The Tragedy In Libya and Climate Change

 

The Catholic Peace Weekly Diagnosis of the Times column by the Director of the Jesuit Center for Human Rights gives the readers some background on the recent floods in Libya.

Eastern Libya was devastated by the storm Daniel. Even though it was the dry season in September, the port city of Derda was washed out to sea after two dams collapsed due to heavy rain. It is said that the number of deaths has already exceeded 20,000, but in fact, there are no ways to confirm these numbers. The sight of ruins on the news is terrible and makes the viewing difficult.

 

Libya, an oil-rich country, has suffered greatly from colonial rule and dictatorship for a long time. Even after the death of dictator Gaddafi, the country was already in a state of crisis due to division and civil war that continued for over 10 years, with the  ruling elite's pursuit of self-interest and the power struggle. In addition to the natural disaster, it became a man-made disaster that caused the entire society to collapse due to "corruption, poor infrastructure, impunity for those in power, and suppression of civil society." (Interview with the Guardian by Libyan human rights lawyer Elam Saudi) 

 

This disaster is inseparable from the history of invasion and exploitation by Western powers. Libya, under Italian colonial rule, overthrew its monarchy in a revolution in 1969. When the revolutionary government nationalized the oil industry, the United States bombed oil production facilities to stop it. As Islamic extremist forces spread across the Middle East and North Africa due to the ‘Arab Spring’ in 2011, the United States and NATO used this as an excuse to intervene in the Libyan civil war, resulting in numerous civilian casualties.

 

During the refugee crisis in Europe in 2015, the European Union completely blocked Libya's Mediterranean coast. Powerful countries always choose violence over peace when interests are at stake. The powers of the United States and Europe, who intervened to somehow profit from a country where the majority of the people were farmers, created a corrupt elite in Libya. It is no exaggeration to say that the Libyan disaster was the imperialist thinking on the part of wealthy citizens of wealthy countries who live blind to the fact that their comfort comes from the power of the imperialism to which they belong.

 

This disaster is also related to the climate crisis. This year, Hong Kong, which recorded the highest rainfall since observations began in 1884, as well as Greece, the United States, Spain, and China, suffered unprecedented heavy rain damage. In terms of frequency and severity, it is an extreme weather event. Natural disasters are now the most obvious symptom of the climate crisis. Climate change, natural disasters and social disasters are all interconnected.

 

In this way, natural disasters enter the crossroads of either destruction or recovery depending on politics and governance, intervention by powerful countries, and the role and response of civil society. At first glance, it is tempting to view climate change as only a problem of science, technology, and the bureaucracy that coordinates them, but this is a mistake. Disasters related to the climate crisis are deeply intertwined with democracy and imperialism. The climate crisis is accelerated by the disappearance of the public, that is, privatization and corruption, colonialism and militarism, and the ideology of globalization.

There is no quick solution to these complex life risks.  This is because the rules of this race are created by energy companies, banks, and the military-industrial complex. The reason people feel a sense of crisis but also feel helpless is because citizens are unable to adjust the policy-making process and direction in society. Not only political life, but also social life has already become unable to promote common interests due to excessive intervention of markets.

 

Political and cultural renewal takes a lot of time. What we need now is to revive the connection between people, the common good, at the core of life, which must always be for the benefit of all. It is to promote the most basic good in human life, to resist and avoid evil. "Ask yourself whether I am really a decent and noble p erson?" "There is a hometown everywhere in the world."(Naomi Klein, "Flowers Blooming Through Asphalt") You can meet that hometown at the ‘Climate Justice March’ which we experienced on September 23.

I Could Be Wrong!

A novelist writes in the Sunday Talk column of the Catholic Times about "I Could be Wrong" understanding of her positions in life.

Bjorn Natiko Lindeblad, a Swede who graduated from the prestigious Stockholm School of Economics in Northern Europe, joined a multinational company and became its youngest executive.  One day he suddenly quit his job and left for the forests of Thailand. He becomes a monk following the strictest precepts. One day, his teacher, Venerable Ajahn Jayasaro, gathered his disciples together and told them in a sermon that would guide them for the rest of their lives.
 

"Whenever a conflict is brewing, or when you confront someone, just repeat this mantra three times in your mind. Your worries will disappear like dew on the grass on a summer morning. I could be wrong. I could be wrong. I could be wrong."  

This year the writer turned sixty. Last winter, her juniors gave her a surprise 60th birthday party. She said the following to commemorate her 60th birthday.
 
“I’m so glad that you guys praise me for being wiser, more generous, and calmer than when I was younger. But this is not what age gave me. If you get older and remain where you were, you'll just regress: more stubborn, and more narrow-minded. You become a fool who doesn't even know he's a fool. If there is any improvement in me compared to before, it is because of the blood and tears I needed to admit that I was wrong but they helped me become mature. I was embarrassed and upset, tears of blood were flowing when I admitted that I was wrong. But today, at age 60, when I look back on my life, I think that was the best thing that has happened. Praise my bloody tears!”

Looking back now, on the friends who she thought were weak who said: "My mom is sick" or "My younger sibling is still young" and needs help at home and fell behind in the rapid march of the times. Now that she thinks about it, how natural they were - after 40 years have passed, they are living the most sensible and righteous life, compared to the friends and seniors who were full of conviction at that time.

Not to mention other people, she includes herself. Perhaps the worst decision she made in her life was when she thought she was right, even with a knife at her throat. When she had no doubts about her beliefs, she was going with the worst option.
 
Looking back, she feels very fortunate to have gotten older. Nowadays, when she sees people who are so full of faith she feels anxiety. Sometimes she repeats to herself “That’s a hundred percent!” and then is embarrassed. When she feels  distraught about things in this world, when she hates someone, or when anger rises, she repeats over and over again "She could be wrong, I don’t know everything." [When one is not distraught and overcome with hate and anger faith is not a problem--- reason should be in control]
 
Then, strangely enough, her anger and hatred loosen up a little, a quiet breath comes through, and only then does her soul enjoy a little peace. Then, she will straighten her stiff shoulders and think about it all very calmly. Perhaps it is then that she is  hearing Jesus' quiet whisper: "Do not judge".

Ontological Meaning Of Life

A Philosophy professor at a Catholic University  in Diagnosis of the Times column of the Catholic Peace Weekly considers a topic that receives a great deal of coverage in modern times.

He begins by stating that in order to establish a culture of life rather than a culture of death, the  culture needs to respect life and reveal its mystery, must understand the meaning of life. However, our modern culture, where life resides, is entirely founded on science and technology, and the political and economic system is structured by capitalism. The path to establishing a life culture in this environment is bound to be difficult. It would be safe to say that the culture of death and killing that is so widespread today is due to the science, technology and capitalist system that we take for granted. 

 

At first glance, this may sound like a rejection of not only the science that guarantees factual knowledge, but also the technology that has been the basis of the tremendous success achieved by humans in the real world. Or, one may hastily think that this is a communist statement against capitalism, which made a democratic society possible along with economic prosperity. But that is not the case at all. Rather, when we do not reflect on the science, technology, and capitalist liberalism that made the modern world possible, its internal logic becomes excessive, and eventually the culture of death that drives life to death prevails.

 

We must be wary of the fact that science, technology, and capitalism, which are legitimate in and of themselves, may become poisons that cause death if we do not reflect on life and its ontological meaning.  

German philosopher Martin Heidegger divides human thinking into calculative thinking and deliberative thinking. Calculative thinking is the thinking that supports the positivism that dominates the modern world, and is the foundation of a culture that thinks by reducing everything to calculable objects. In contrast, deliberative thinking refers to thoughts that reflect on the meaning of existence. What is needed now is reflection that faces the limitations of capitalism, which has brought political freedom and economic prosperity, as well as scientific knowledge and cultural wealth that are legitimate in themselves.  

 

At the same time, we must achieve a cultural transformation so that we can share the meaning of existence discovered through this process with the world we live in, other people, and other life forms. Therefore, despite the human success of modern society, a philosophy of meaning that complements its limitations becomes urgent. Life philosophy seeks to answer that urgency by revealing the ontological meaning of life. This philosophy does not scientifically explain life, but seeks to reveal the meaning of life. When capitalism sets capital as the standard for life and society, a philosophy is needed that says capital is merely a means. What are our society and church saying today against science, technology, and capital?  

 

We need to look back at the church again and think about the numerous institutions it runs. How do hospitals and welfare institutions, as well as elementary and middle schools, universities, and other businesses, including the media, contribute to spreading the spirit of the gospel? Society judges the church by its actions, not by its words. There is no doubt that the institutions we run are a touchstone for judging whether the church's words of truth are legitimate. We need to examine whether these organizations are buried in their own logic and have forgotten the fundamental spirit of the gospel that we must carry out, and furthermore, to what extent we are showing through our own words and actions this truth.  

 

The core of the gospel spirit lies above all in truth and life, and the fundamental heart that guides it is love for others, which carries the same weight as love for God. Perhaps the culture of death is due to this mind and attitude that prevents us from seeing. As we look at ourselves again with a critical eye and the culture of death prevalent outside the church, we must reflect on how much of a culture of life we live. 

Is Lyrical Poetry Possible?

The Catholic Times in its 'Vision' column has an article on the place of  lyrical poetry in our world today.

The priest writer was introduced to a book by a close friend which left a lasting impression on him. This is the novel “Snow”  by French writer Maxence Fermine. This novel was concise, like reading a prose poem, but it left him with a wealth of thoughts.

 

Set in Hokkaido, northern Japan, this novel tells the journey of the main character, Yuko, who wants to become a poet against his father's wishes. The contemplation of nature, which is as beautiful as human relationships, is as thrilling as it is human. For Yuko, who lives in a snowy country, snow is special. His poems, which flow "as if laid down on silk paper",  are solely about snow. Snow is the main subject of his poetry, that  comes from the hand of God.

 

The conversation between Yuko and his father, who is opposed to his becoming a poet, is interesting. The father says. "Snow is white so it lacks existence. Snow preserves nature by freezing it. It dares to idolize the world. Snow keeps changing. So I can’t trust it. Snow is slippery. Do you like slipping on snow? Snow turns to water. That’s why floods occur during the thaw season."

 

Yuko gives response: "Snow is white. That's why it's poetry. It’s pure poetry, snow preserves nature by freezing it. It is the most delicate picture of winter, it keeps changing. So snow is a form of calligraphy. There are thousand ways to write the word ‘snow’. The surface of snow is slippery. So snow is made for fdancing. Everyone on the snow will think you’re an acrobat. Snow turns into water. Snow makes music. When spring comes, snow turns rivers and rapids into a symphony of white notes."

 

For the father snow makes for a harsh winter and for the son lyrical poetry. If the pursuit of unity between the self and the world is called ‘lyrical,’ for the father snow is merely a display of  emotion upset with his son, and for the son, they become a projection of who he is.

 

The columnist forgot the novel was by a Frenchman  who was born at the foot of the Alps, this novel also seems to be an expression of his lyricism.

 

Clearly, there are various reasons that the subject matter of nature evokes strong feelings. He thinks of literature featuring not only snow, but also rain, sea, wind, mountains, sky, and the earth. Someone’s memories of what they enjoyed in what we call ‘nature’, untouched by human intentional touch, sometimes become literature  sharing its hidden meaning with the world. But will this  romance with nature continue in the future? 

 

On August 24th, Japan began releasing wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean, prompting a furious outcry from many."Children born in Pacific countries after today will not remember the Pacific Ocean before it was mixed with nuclear wastewater."  It is no longer the sea it used to be. It is different from the sea in which the whale “Moby Dick” swims in Melville’s novel, at least for some.  

The reality is that attitudes toward nature are quite different. Snow can now remind us of snow drifts, the rain and wind remind us of storms, the sky of fine dust, and the mountains and land remind us of development and real estate.

 

Philosopher Adorno said:"It is barbarism to write lyric poetry after Auschwitz." How deceitful must it have seemed to write lyric poetry after so many human atrocities? So, can we continue to write lyric poetry in the face of the natural crisis caused by human hands?