Remembering the Birth of the Korean Church

This year, 2024, is the year of Gapjin (甲辰年 a Chinese term that refers to the 41st year of the 60-year cycle in the traditional Chinese calendar). The Catholic Times in the View from the Ark Column gives us a brief summary of the beginning of the Catholic Church in Korea in 1784. The Columnist is a Catholic university professor. 

The Korean Catholic Church celebrated its fifth Gapjin Year. The Korean Church was born 240 years ago, in the spring of the first Gapjin year of 1784. At the recommendation of Yi Byeok (John the Baptist), Lee Seung-hun (Peter) was baptized with the name Peter at a Beijing church in China and returned, sharing some of the books and sacred relics he received from missionaries with Yi Byeok. After studying the books of Western learning in detail, Yi Byeok met again with Lee Seung-hun, and others to discuss and preach the gospel. The year in which these great, beautiful, and holy events occurred was the year of Gapjin, 240 years ago.

Yi Byeok spoke of ‘gospel,’ ‘good news,’ and what living by accepting the gospel proclaimed by Jesus meant. It was life-threatening. When Yi Byeok was spreading the gospel, the nobles who heard this news sensed that this was 'overturning' the religious customs and social order of Joseon at the time, and tried to make Yi Byeok return to Confucianism.

The person who took on this task was a scholar who followed Confucianism faithfully and a person who served as a magistrate. He was the son of Lee Seung-hun's sister. He visited Yi Byeok and held a discussion to persuade him to return to Confucianism. Even though they debated for three days, he could not persuade Yi Byeok. On the contrary, he was persuaded by the new teachings of the Catholic Church. However, had no intention of publicly accepting this teaching. He said as he left: "This doctrine is good and true. However, it will bring misfortune to those who follow it." (History of the Korean Catholic Church by Charles Dallet)

The magistrate was right in his evaluation of Catholicism— for a century this was to be the situation. However, although Yi Byeok was himself a victim he did not die a martyr's death but his last years ended in mystery since his family was opposed to his newfound faith.

What is the gospel? Jesus’ first proclamation was delivered in the Gospel of Mark: "The time has come he said and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the Good News." What is clear is that we are in the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom is within us.

That we are in God and God is in us, this is the ‘gospel’. This means that God is our father and mother, and we are his children. That we exist as His daughters and sons in His kingdom. Imagine the ‘son who has found his father’ being filled with joy and not knowing what to do as he welcomes this good news into existence. 

He ends his sharing with the question that arises as he meets Yi Byeok in Gapjin year. "Does our church live in God? As His children?" Let's remember this beginning in Korea was without the help of the clergy.

Church's Confession of Fault First Step

 In the  Catholic Times Readers' column, the director of a Theological Research Institute gives his opinion on where the changes in the church need to begin.

The steady decline in the number of believers over the past several decades in Europe, a Christian cultural area, is due to a combination of factors, including secularization and cultural change, and the debate between the teachings of the Catholic Church and modern social values, such as contraception and abortion, same-sex marriage, and the role of women in the church.  Above all, the impact of scandals related to sexual abuse by Catholic clergy was significant. These scandals not only caused immediate shock and anger among believers and ordinary citizens, but also had a long-term impact on perception and trust in the church, and the effects are still ongoing.

When the report on the sexual abuse investigation commissioned by the bishops' conferences of major European countries, including Germany, France, Spain, and Poland, was published, although it was not well covered in the church media, the Catholic bishops' conferences in those countries humbly accepted it and announced follow-up measures. The German Catholic Church’s ‘Synod Path’, which was controversial due to a conflict with the Vatican over the level of reform, also started with a report published in 2018.

In 2018, when the 'MeToo' movement’ was active, the Catholic Church in Korea also promised an apology from the bishops and a promise to prevent a recurrence. At the bishops' conference level, follow-up measures were implemented, including a public apology press conference, gender equality education for priests, the establishment of a committee on countermeasures, and the operation of a 'MeToo' hotline, but there is no way to know what activities have been carried out even after six years. Although it is important to clearly confirm the facts of each victim's case, the European Church's report on sexual abuse is important to remember that it was a process of reflection on the Catholic Church's failure to confess and take action promptly despite being aware of these facts. This is so since the investigation into sexual abuse was conducted by external agencies.

The Catholic Church and its leaders in countries that commissioned external experts to release reports on Catholic sexual abuse suffered a severe blow to their trust. This had a direct impact on church attendance, and the financial burden on the church was significant enough that many dioceses were sued by abuse victims. In some cases, dioceses have declared bankruptcy. Following the release of the report, believers, civil society, and the state called for important reforms within the church, including greater transparency and accountability in the church and the participation of laypeople in church management.

It takes great courage to confess that the church does not always heal the wounded, but at times hurts them. The reason why this shameful picture of the church was confessed through the sexual abuse report is probably because church reform can take its first step properly from such an honest confession. 

Among the 20 themes in the comprehensive report of the first plenary session of the  Synod of Bishops, item number 9, ‘Women in the life and mission of the church,’ contains the shameful confession of the church facing a reality that cannot be hidden. "Many women expressed deep gratitude for the work of priests and bishops but also spoke of a church that was hurting them. Clericalism, male chauvinism, and inappropriate use of authority continue to mar the face of the Church and damage communion. … Sexual abuse, power, and economic abuse continue to call for justice, healing, and reconciliation. … When dignity and justice are compromised in the relationships between men and women in the church, the credibility of our proclamation to the world is undermined. The synod process shows that a renewal of relationships and structural changes are needed."

The reason why the voices of women in the Korean church were not heard well, unlike in the Western churches, during the listening process at the diocesan stage of this Synod of Bishops is not that the synodalitas with women was well implemented, but because there are few women left in the church to raise the necessary voices. The columnist asks— would this be an exaggeration? 

What if the church first honestly confesses how it has hurt the people of God, including women, and civil society before it is too late?

The Science and Philosophy of Life

In the Diagnosis of the Times column of the Catholic Peace Weekly a Catholic University professor gives us some thoughts to mell over on the Philosophy of Life.

The perplexity experienced by many Christian believers when Darwin published his theory of evolution in 1859 is well known. This book, first published under the title: "On the Origin of Species by Natural Selection",  clearly confused Christians at the time who believed that life was created in its current form. But no serious Christian today would renounce faith in God or the relationship between God and humanity because of knowledge of evolution. What is the reason?

Pope Saint John Paul II also declared that the Church has no opposition to any knowledge revealed about life by natural science. Nevertheless, the Pope went beyond such knowledge and clearly stated that the fact that God is the owner of life is the firm foundation of our faith.

Are these two declarations contradictory? Not at all. This is because scientific knowledge and the truth of faith have distinct hermeneutical horizons and diverse realities. 

First, the truth of faith is related to the area of trust and commitment to the source of existence and its meaning. The source of life and its meaning is based on the relationship with God, the source of all existence. The confusion arises when we cannot distinguish between an object and its existence.

Natural scientific knowledge reveals coherent facts about objective reality. Natural science presents this as scientific knowledge. The ontological meaning and interpretive truth of that knowledge lie outside the realm of science. The philosophy of life is the study of thinking about these truths about life. Life philosophy does not elucidate coherent knowledge of life sciences or is overly concerned with knowledge in such areas. Rather, we work to understand and explain the meaning of life and its ontological context, which is not the object of Science. Philosophy is not separate from objective knowledge, but it also does not remain within it.

Today, the idea that knowledge in life science appropriates the truth about life is widespread. This is nothing more than narrow scientific thinking that does not truly understand the meaning of life. Human thinking does not just remain in objective knowledge. Rather, the essence of thinking lies in going beyond this factual realm and revealing its ontological meaning. This is why philosophy is essentially transcendental.

Hannah Arendt's book "Eichmann in Jerusalem" (1963), which covered and analyzed the trial of Eichmann, who drove countless innocent lives to execution in Nazi extermination camps, is commonly known to speak about the banality of evil. However, the banality mentioned here does not mean that evil is widespread but exposes the problem of not thinking about it.

Sensitivity to life and existence, loss of respect for human life, and obsession with the unimportant issues in daily life blind our eyes to evil. When we lose the wonder of existence and become immersed in the banality of everyday life, when we do not go beyond this, even our goodness can flow into evil. 

The philosophy of life contains a transcendence that goes beyond this banality of life, the everyday buried life. When the sense of wonder and beauty in life disappears, and the respect for life becomes a mere formality, the philosophy of life tries to overcome this banality through reflective thinking. Life is inherently transcendent, and this philosophy of life speaks of this transcendence.

Our Attitude In the Age of Hatred

 

The Winter edition of Theological Perspective has three articles on a serious problem both in Korea and the world— How to deal with differences? Sadly often followed by hate, and disgust in society. We do have a response from the Pope in Fratelli Tutti. The authors were all Catholic professors in Catholic Universities.

Hate speech is a topic that is present in our society. Disgust based on gender, age, physical characteristics, economic conditions, etc...

This theme of disgust is related to individuality, dignity, and otherness and the problems that arise in accepting differences. It is not extending mercy to all and every behavior, but making a distinction between error and the person. The object of disgust should not be the person.

This is not to condone relativism, for love and mercy require there be valid principles and truths.

One of the writers sees the problems in Korea coming from three areas: the uncertainty and social vulnerability of our society; the structural makeup of our internet SNS; and the carnival-like environment in the new tribal era.

The social vulnerability of society came to a head in 1997. Korea accepted the thinking that if you worked hard you would do well, which was experienced with Korea's economic development in the 1960s. This all changed in 1997 with the takeover of the economy by the IMF— International Monetary Fund. The coronavirus pandemic also showed the weakness in society. All need to be prepared to be losers: accidents, disease, fired from their jobs, natural disasters, etc... 

The second influence is the internet and populism. Populism is a range of stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group with "the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. 

With the internet and handphones all seems easily accomplished: shopping, amusement, hobbies, leisure, finding a job, etc., we have all the information at our fingertips. The person-to-person way of dealing with others has changed. Rather than sincerity, we have authenticity we can see this as 'Individualism'.

In this virtual world, more important than rational argument, and truth— interest, narrative, and the possibility of anonymity are the values.

The third understanding is the tribalism and carnival aspects of society. When they face hostile others, interest in what is objective gives way to the subjective feelings of the tribe: tastes, rank, and what pleases them is what is right.

The talion principle is a legal concept that means "an eye for an eye" or "like for like". It is based on the idea of exact retribution or proportional punishment for a wrong 

Ekstasis is a philosophical term that means "outside of oneself" or "a removal to elsewhere". It is used to describe a state of being in which one transcends one's normal place and time and experiences a different mode of existence or consciousness.

To move from the talio principle to ekstasis means to shift from a rigid and narrow view of justice and reality, to a more flexible and expansive one. It means to go beyond the limits of one's self and one's situation, and to explore new possibilities and perspectives. 

Pope Francis reminds us of the teaching of the Church in his Encyclical letter Fratelli Tutti. He offers us a comprehensive reflection on the fundamental spirit, works for the common good, and the imitation of Christ in our daily lives.

Understanding the Introvert

What questions do you ask when you meet someone for the first time? A question often asked these days is probably: "What is your MBTI?" (Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator). This is the question that begins the Sunday Chat column in the Catholic Times by a Psychological Counselor.

Although it may be absurd to understand a person holistically using a framework categorized into 16 categories, the popularity of MBTI is welcomed if you see it as an attempt to understand another person.  

The columnist feels that her perception of the first letters of the MBTI type classification, I and E, which distinguishes the attitude of responding to the environment as Introversion and Extroversion, is different from before. In the past, introverted people were sometimes seen with negative connotations, shy or timid, and mentioned as a personality that needed to be improved or changed for a smooth social life, but now they are understood with an innate temperament and treated as such. 

Compared to extroverts, introverts feel uncomfortable in situations where they have to demonstrate social skills and often feel awkward when many eyes are focused on them. Because the direction of psychological energy is directed inward, introverts often find the ‘broad and diverse interactions’ that extroverts like to be daunting, and prefer  ‘a small number of intimate relationships’. Therefore, there is often a misunderstanding, that introverts like to be alone and do not like interacting with people. However, as an introvert herself, she assures us that introverts also like people, a lot. However, she prefers individual, close, one-on-one interactions, not multiple people at once. While extroverts are building-wide networks, introverts may be busy forming a smaller number but deeper relationships.

Recently, she hosted a meeting where introverts were the main focus. It’s called ‘Introverts' Secret Brunch’. A thought came to her as she received inquiries from people who wanted to participate in a support group but were hesitant due to anxiety about unfamiliar situations. ‘Let’s just get together with introverts!’ The condition for participation is that you must be an introvert. Ten minutes before the meeting was to start, the quiet tension as each person cautiously entered the room was enough to make her sweat. Then an idea occurred to her. ‘Oh, we’re all introverts.’ She let go of having someone speak up first and naturally faced silence.

So, how did our meeting go? We introverts, who do not open our mouths hastily and are considerate of each other and observe the atmosphere, naturally join in the conversation at our own pace. Before she knew it, she had put down the bag she was holding sat back against the chair, sipped her coffee, and ate the cookies, getting comfortable, and our time was filled with warmth, well over 3 hours.

For the first time in a while, we had a comfortable, slow conversation, and it became deeper and more fulfilling. Introverts also need communication. Maybe even more so than others, she doesn't know. They want to communicate, many environments in this society do not wait for introverts until they are ready, so this desire is often frustrated and suppressed. She wants to create a space where people can freely express their desires and hopes that introverts will be more understood and accepted in our society and that our understanding of others will deepen.

What Makes Us Happy?

In the View From the Ark of the Catholic Times a Religious Sister gives the readers a meditation on her experience from the Philippines many years ago but it still remains fresh in her thoughts.

Payatas in the Philippines was called the Garbage Mountain. This landfill was located not far from downtown Manila and was formed into a huge trash mountain. [This site was permanently closed in December 2017. and in 2023 was developed into an urban park for cycling]

The people who gathered here in the past lived by picking up trash from this mountain. As long as they could eat and walk, everyone, whether children or the elderly, went to the garbage mountain to pick up trash to help make a living. 

Years ago with welfare center employees, she had an 'on-the-spot field experience' in Payatas. She picked up trash, ran programs with children, and experienced life with them. We were invited to stay overnight with one family, like a homestay, but there wasn't enough food or water to wash. This was even more so when it came to sleeping. For this family of 9, one room was all they had.

In this small space, was a shabby bed (for the grandmother) that had been picked up and repaired from the mountains and a plastic rug. Even in this environment, what was truly surprising was the simple, happy laughter of the family as they gave everything they had to welcome the guests. My whole body was covered in dust from digging through trash all day, and my hands and face were stained with sweat. She couldn't wash properly due to the lack of water, but with the smiles and laughter of the family who held out their hands and welcomed her, she felt that she had everything in the world at that moment. 

The children and their families, wearing t-shirts and shorts with holes in them, forgot that they were hungry. The children and their families let us know the happiness that exists, filling everything they lack with the laughter that never disappears.

The next day, during Mass at the church, the hymn ‘Like a child having fun’ came to mind. Mass filled with children, the excited sounds of participation from children shouting “Me, me” in response to the priest’s questions, the rhythm of the children’s restless voices, the hymns, even though the pitches were different, the sound was like blessings pouring from the sky. She met Jesus in these poor children.

The desire to have everything in the world, perhaps the desire to have it all, but more often than not, we are unable to satisfy even a small fraction of our desires. So even though happiness is just around the corner, we cannot feel it and live our lives longing for it. However, the children of Payatas did not say that they had a lot of happiness and learned a lot, but they gave her a gift that reminded her that a person who knows how to be satisfied with even small things, that person, is happy. 

She was finally able to recognize the happiness that lay deep within her heart.  When will she be able to help others discover the Jesus that is within us? It still remains a big task. 

The next time she goes to the Philippines for a conference, she'll make a plan to go see the children who helped her realize where happiness comes from and where it is. They will not be the children that she met back then...

Religions In Korea

The Catholic Website Here and Now has an article by a theologian with a doctorate from Sogang University. He gives the readers his understanding of the religious situation here in Korea in recent years. One of his books is The Saint Next Door. 

Those who choose a religion in Korea do not concentrate on one specific religion but tend to choose from among various religions. The religion with the highest social trust would monopolize new members, but this does not happen. Although the situation has changed recently, Catholicism always ranked first among Korean religions in social trust (the most trustworthy religion in Korean society) until 10 years ago. There was always a large gap with second place. At this time, although Catholicism was not a monopoly, it gained more believers than other competing religions. 

According to a recent survey, Catholicism has been ranked second in social trust, behind Buddhism, for several years. Although it is a small difference, it feels like a world away from 10 years ago. However, Catholicism still surpasses Buddhism in the number of converts. Protestantism has always had the lowest credibility among the three major religions but has gained the most believers. So why does this happen

There are over 250 religions in Korea. Among these, Protestantism, Buddhism, and Catholicism account for 98% of the total religious population. In terms of religious affiliation, the order is Protestantism, Buddhism, and Catholicism. This Protestant supremacy has never changed since 1907. However, the fact that Buddhists outnumber Catholics has become unclear, at least after the 2015 population census. Before that, there was no need to doubt this as many surveys showed that Buddhist believers were greater than Protestants and Catholics combined. However, since 2015, the proportion of Buddhist believers has fallen to less than half of the religious population. 

In any case, Koreans choose and join different religions regardless of the results of the ‘popularity vote’ (social trust survey). This trend has not changed at least since the religious survey was conducted. Therefore, researchers like us see this as a result of the preferences of converts. Of course, when choosing a religion, those wishing to join are influenced by the results of the popular vote, but most follow their own preferences.

Over the 1,700 years of Buddhism, 240 years of Catholicism, and 140 years of Protestantism, each religion has interacted with Koreans and formed its own unique image. Of course, the doctrine had a great influence here. In particular, it greatly influenced the external appearance of buildings, worship styles, clothing, and the behavior of believers. Relationships with state power and social behavior patterns also influenced non-believers in forming images of the religion. All of these factors combined to create social trust (and image) in the religion. This difference is clearly evident in the reasons why converts chose the religion in question.

Looking at the survey results corresponding to these reasons, it is clear that Koreans have a taste for religion. People who prefer Buddhism dislike Protestantism, and people who prefer Protestantism dislike both Buddhism and Catholicism. Relatively speaking, one dislikes Buddhism more than Catholicism. People who choose Buddhism have an affinity with Catholicism. Conversely, people who choose Catholicism prefer Buddhism over Protestantism. These clear tastes of Koreans have prevented the monopoly of certain religions.

People who like Buddhism cite openness as the reason for choosing Buddhism. Regardless of affiliation, 'it doesn’t matter if you believe in it with your heart, and it’s good not to say that other religions are wrong'. However, perhaps because of a weak sense of belonging, the number of believers fluctuates wildly every time\ surveys are conducted. People who choose Protestantism say: ‘I like the bright and cheerful atmosphere.’ I also prefer a tight believer management method. At least on the outside, it seems that an atmosphere that welcomes new believers is helpful to beginners. Those who prefer Catholicism highly value the solemn and holy atmosphere and active service to the Great Society. In particular, those who prefer Catholicism tend to view the lightness of Protestantism as frivolous. Even when these people leave Catholicism, they rarely switch to Protestantism. So, it seems that this difference in taste is one of the main criteria for choosing a religion.

In one of the writer's previous studies, he shows how Catholicism is becoming a family religion,. he based this claim on the fact that more than half of new believers come from families. Of course, in terms of the rate of family transmission of faith, Protestantism is by far the best among Korean religions.

This is the secret to why Protestant churches always come first in terms of the number of converts, even if they come in last in the popularity polls. This phenomenon continued even when the popularity of Protestantism hit rock bottom. Protestantism was once the religion of the family. So, despite the worst social reputation, the number of believers continued to increase. Of course, Protestant believers' missionary zeal and the reality of mass production of pastors even during a period of decline in the religious population also had an impact.

This is also the secret behind why Buddhism ranks first in popularity polls but ranks last in the number of converts. Buddhism has the lowest rate of family transmission of faith among the three major religions. Since believers do not recommend their children to join them in belief there is no way they would recommend it to anyone else. Therefore, if the current trend of increasing the rate of family transmission of faith continues, Buddhism will be the first to decline. If we assume this, Protestantism will be the religion that continues to grow.

When one religion holds a monopoly position in a society, discrimination against minority religions occurs. In these societies, religion is often a threat to peace. In reality, most societies that experience religious conflict are places where there is a serious imbalance in religious affiliation. Peace can be broken even when small or medium-sized religious sects compete with each other. The most severe case is when there are multiple monotheistic religions within one society. In this case, if there is a large difference in religious affiliation between sects, conflict almost without exception arises.

In light of these general cases, Korea is a rare case in the world where various religions coexist and peace is maintained on the surface. I believe this primarily comes from the pluralistic nature of Koreans. Next is the religious population ratio. The current structure in which the religious population ratio is less than half of the population and no particular religion forms a dominant majority among the religious population is also seen as a factor suppressing religious conflict. If this is true, the Korean characteristics of free movement between religions and religious preferences not being biased towards one side serve as a background for maintaining religious peace.