Death— Helps us Live Life Holistically

“Oh Lord, grant to each of us our own proper death.” As Rilke (1875-1926) confessed, there is no event more unique in human life than death. The philosophy professor in his Catholic Peace column, Philosophical Chat, brings our attention to this always-present topic.

Death is a very unique event at the end of life that no one can do for us. Death has been a topic of debate in religion and philosophy since the beginning of human existence. Death is an eternal severance, a deep darkness, a heavy silence, that turns everything into nothingness. Humans fundamentally feel existential anxiety in the face of this inevitable death, and dream of a hope to overcome death.

The understanding of death varies from ‘death as the severance of life’ seen by natural science to ‘death as eternal immortality’ claimed by religion. Feuerbach (1804-1872), a materialist, emphasized the meaning of ‘natural death’, which involves living healthily in this life, reaching the end of one’s life, hopefully in old age, and recognized the importance of the unique life of this world and urged people to actively live their lives for meaningful causes.

However, natural death, which derives its significance only from its relevance to worldly life, has limitations in understanding death as a limiting situation that we face, regardless of age, even though it is a representative symbol expressing the world view of natural science and modernity. Even if natural death in old age is ideal, it is actually difficult for a dying person to reconcile with the unfamiliar death that is approaching.

Existential philosopher Jaspers (1883-1969) argues that death, as a fundamental and limiting situation of the human condition, contains significant meaning that goes beyond the biological end, which is to understand and clarify human existence. Death is something that humans can never overcome and is, in itself, inaccessible to experience and comprehension. 

Death represents an 'absolute ignorance' and 'absolute silence,' being something that cannot be described or contemplated. The moment death comes meaningfully is not at the moment of biological death, but at the moment of encountering death as a limiting situation that awakens the possible abyss of existence. This attitude is neither a stoic calmness that does not fear death nor a denial of the world that overcomes the emptiness of death through a life beyond. Instead, the true meaning of death is revealed in the attitude of willingly shouldering and enduring the weight of pain that comes from being aware of one's own death and the end of one's existence. 

Heidegger (1889-1976) defines human existence as 'being towards death.' Death signifies the 'absence of being' where everything becomes nothing, and only when humans proactively approach death do they come to make meaningful commitments regarding their existence. Humans fundamentally worry about their own existential possibility, and this worry is founded on the presence of death. What humans ultimately and terminally bear is the possibility of death. When faced with the possibility of death, humans can finally exist as their true selves. Humans are not beings who come to an end with death at every moment; instead, they are beings who are driven towards the end from the moment they are born. Death does not signify only the end of life or a rupture in life; rather, it is a fundamental element that allows one to view life holistically and comprehensibly, thus enriching life with greater meaning.

The moment when death approaches meaningfully is not the moment of biological death, but the moment when we existentially encounter death as a limiting situation that awakens the possible abyss of existence. This attitude is neither a Stoic calm that does not fear death, nor a denial that overcomes the futility of death with life on the other side. Instead, the true meaning of death is revealed in the attitude of being aware of one’s own death and willingly bearing and enduring the weight of the pain of one’s own existence ending.

Human beings do not face death at every moment, but are born to die. Death does not signify a disconnection from life, but instead it allows us to view life holistically and comprehensively, making it more meaningful through its limitations.

Remembering the Elderly

The Science and Faith columnist of the Catholic Peace Weekly tells readers a story about a rabbit and a turtle compiled during the reign of King Injong of Goryeo in 1145.

It is a famous story about a turtle that went up to land to get the liver of a rabbit to use as medicine to cure the daughter of the Dragon King of the East Sea, who was sick, but the rabbit cleverly avoided the situation. 

In this story, adapted into the pansori “Sugungga” and the classic novel “Tokkijeon” during the late Joseon Dynasty, the rabbit’s wisdom prevailed over the turtle.

A fable written by Aesop in Greece around the 6th century B.C. tells the story of a race between a rabbit and a turtle. In this story, the turtle’s efforts to crawl slowly but diligently won over the rabbit. In this way, rabbits and turtles have been the main characters of stories that teach lessons to humans since ancient times. How would you compare the characteristics of the two animals? 

First of all, the most significant difference is their lifespan. The average lifespan of a wild rabbit is 2-3 years, which is short. The lifespan of a turtle is generally known to be around 100 years, and some land turtles live up to 200 years. Therefore, turtles are considered a symbol of longevity to humans. 

Rabbits are herbivores at the bottom of the ecosystem food chain, so they are always exposed to the risk of predators and suffer a lot of stress due to their social lifestyle. Stress promotes the secretion of the hormone cortisol and weakens the immune system, making them vulnerable to various diseases and shortening their lifespan. On the other hand, turtles that live alone are less stressed and have strong immunity to bacteria and viruses, so they do not get sick easily. In addition, they can regenerate telomeres, which are the ends of chromosomes that determine cell aging, resulting in slower aging. 

Also, rabbits, which are mammals, are homeotherms with a constant body temperature, so they consume a lot of energy to maintain their body temperature and spend a lot of time finding food. However, turtles, which are reptiles, are cold-blooded animals whose body temperature changes depending on the surrounding temperature, so they do not need to consume energy to maintain their body temperature like rabbits, so they use energy efficiently and their body metabolism is about 5 times slower than other animals, so they can survive with a small amount of food. If people react sensitively to stress, like turtles, they will eat less and use energy efficiently, allowing them to live healthier, happier, and longer lives. 

Nietzsche said that aging is not something you can choose, but you can choose how you age. So, what if you choose the wisdom of turtles that adapt to nature and live with the aesthetics of slowness? 

The fourth Sunday in July is designated as ‘World Grandparents and Senior Citizens Day’ by the church. Everyone ages and eventually becomes an old person and a grandparent. As of December 2024, the number of people aged 65 or older in Korea is expected to exceed 10,244,550, accounting for more than 20% of the total population, and thus making Korea a super-aged society. 

Just as water flowing for a long time cuts through rocks and soil to create deep valleys, the sweat and sacrifices of the older generation for the future of their children and the younger generation have created valley-like wrinkles on their hands and faces. In this way, the hands and faces of our elderly parents and grandparents contain the history of their hardships. This is one of the reasons we hold the elderly in high regard. ‘Stand up before the old and show respect to the old.’ (Leviticus 19:32) 

Sense of Smell

In the Science and Faith column of the Catholic Peace Weekly, we find some interesting insights into the sense of smell. One of the five senses, and often considered the weakest and least important.

This year, the rainy season has come, and we carry an umbrella because we don’t know when it will rain. When rain starts to fall from a cloudy sky, we see the rain with our eyes and hear the sound of the rain with our ears. And sometimes, we feel the rain not with our eyes or ears but with the smell that enters our nose. It smells like grass or the smell of the earth, and that is the smell of rain. 

This smell that comes when it rains is not the smell that comes from the rainwater itself. When raindrops fall on the soil, the oil components produced by plants are dispersed into the air in the form of aerosols (small water droplets suspended in the air) along with the raindrops. These aerosols contain chemicals produced by bacteria in the soil, creating a distinctive, earthy smell similar to the scent of the soil itself. Scientists call this rainy smell petrichor.

Although people can sense rain with their senses, such as their eyes (sight), ears (hearing), and nose (smell), in the past, the sense of smell was looked down upon more than sight or hearing. Plato believed that the world of ideas could be accessed through the senses of sight and hearing, so he considered the sense of smell unimportant. His disciple Aristotle, who valued the senses, also said that the sense of smell in humans was inferior to other senses. Even Immanuel Kant considered the sense of smell to be the “most superficial and unnecessary sense,” and it has been underestimated.

In 1991, Richard Axel and Linda Buck of Columbia University in the United States discovered a group of olfactory genes, comprising approximately 1,000 genes, which led to a deeper understanding of the human olfactory perception mechanism and marked the beginning of the solution to the mystery of olfaction, the most complex of the human senses. They were awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physiology— Medicine in recognition of this achievement. 

In addition, scientists in the fields of neurology and brain science have discovered that olfaction, unlike other senses, not only accepts stimulus information analytically, but also emotionally. Olfactory information is sent to the limbic system of the brain, which includes parts responsible for not only olfaction but also human memory and emotions. Therefore, if a particular smell is associated with a person or event, when you have that smell again, the memory of that time comes to mind, and emotions are revived. In other words, olfaction plays a role in memory. This phenomenon is known as the ‘Proust effect’, originating from the French novelist Marcel Proust’s novel In Search of Lost Time, where he recalled memories from his childhood while smelling a madeleine soaked in black tea.

Fragrance comes not only from flowers or food, but also from people. It is not a chemical substance that stimulates the brain through the olfactory cells of the nose, but a fragrance of life that is remembered in our hearts through the words, actions, facial expressions, and personality of that person. To the columnist, Cardinal Kim Soo-hwan and Monk Beopjeong, a Buddhist born in South  Jeolla Province, South Korea, who died in 2010 (77 years old), are two persons remembered with such fragrances. The deep and resonant fragrances they left behind in the world will be remembered by the columnist for a long time. He wants to live a fragrant life like them.

But what is my fragrance, what is your fragrance right now? Are we emitting an attractive fragrance, a humane scent that makes people smile and miss what they remember just thinking about it? I must now examine myself to see what kind of fragrance I will be remembered by others. “We are the fragrance of Christ, rising to God.” (2 Corinthians 2:15)

Korean War Armistice

 

In the Catholic Times' 'Window of the Ark' column by a Seoul Diocesan priest, the reader is reminded of the situation in which Korea finds itself on the 75th anniversary of the Korean War. A heartbreaking war! At times, brothers, parents, and children became enemies and fought each other with guns. It was a fratricidal war. 

75 years have passed since the day when brothers began fighting as enemies, as if to prove the words of Jesus who came to give a sword that separated a son from his father, a daughter from her mother, and a daughter-in-law from her mother-in-law. The Korean War is recorded as the war that caused the most horrific war damage among the wars that occurred on the Korean Peninsula. 

Depending on the source, there are many discrepancies in the figures. Still, according to records, the total number of military casualties, including the South Korean military, is 800,000, with 900,000 wounded and 200,000 missing or captured. A total of 2.5 million civilians were killed, wounded, or abducted on the Korean Peninsula. The pain of millions of separated families continues to this day, and the repercussions continue to spread among individuals, regions, the Korean Peninsula, and the entire world, creating further sorrow. The war that brought such misery led to a temporary ceasefire, and the upcoming 27th marks Armistice Day—the day the three-year war was temporarily halted. 

Even 72 years later, the war has not ended. The conflict has escalated into an ideological war and even a war of daily life. Residents in regions where the front lines shifted several times within just one year of the war's onset endured relentless retaliation and punishment, spending their days and nights in fear. Even after the fighting ceased, massacres continued, leading to a horrific situation where the entire population suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Among civilian victims, the fact that half of them lost their lives in massacres goes beyond mere suffering, creating a devastating situation that shakes the very nature of humanity with extreme resentment and anger. The bizarre terms “defection to the North,” “abduction to the North,” “surrender,” and “defection to the South” continue to torment the families left behind, disrupting their lives. Under the guise of the “family responsibility system” and the “National Security Law,” the extent to which citizens' basic rights have been violated is unknown.

This ongoing division has become the freezing point that causes all the tragedies unfolding on the Korean Peninsula. At the confirmation hearing for the Minister of National Defense, the first question asked is not how to ensure the safety of citizens' lives and property. They probe the nominee's thoughts on whether North Korea is an enemy or not.

Even when engaging in debate over important decisions in our society, the thoughts that arise in one's mind must always undergo multiple rounds of verification. Efforts made for peace, whether by individuals or organizations, have been treated as hostile acts that benefit North Korea. 

Even expressing discomfort with the proud K-defense industry that exports weapons that kill people, or talking about peace, requires caution. The bizarre logic that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and the friend of my enemy is my enemy, is still our uncomfortable reality.

In this context, it is very encouraging and empowering that the first words of Pope Leo XIV were “peace.” In his first blessing to Rome and the world, he shared with everyone “the peace of the risen Christ, the peace that lays down arms, the peace that causes arms to be laid down, the peace that is humble and patient, and the peace that comes from God.” 

During his inauguration Mass, he appealed to the Church and the entire world to “become the leaven of hope that brings peace.” Inspired by this gracious appeal, we earnestly hope that this year, marking the 80th anniversary of liberation and division, will be a year when the terms “ceasefire” and ‘armistice’ are replaced with the new names “end of war” and “first year of peace.”  

Inherent Dignity of Human Life

In the Window of the Ark column of the Catholic Times, a Professor in the Graduate School of Life Sciences, Catholic University of Korea, describes the conflict of perspectives on Human Life in Today's Bioethics, which today is often understood as ethics on life that manages the side effects of scientific and technological development. 

However, in easily understood language, ethics has been reduced to a shield that creates the minimum standards necessary to avoid hindering the development of science and technology, as well as economic growth. In other words, the purpose of bioethics is to protect human dignity. Still, upon closer examination, it reveals a conflict of perspectives on how to view human life above all else.

The discussions ask us about real-world issues such as embryo research, abortion, gene editing, physician-assisted suicide, euthanasia, organ transplantation, and artificial intelligence. “Who is a human being?” “Who determines the value of human life?” These questions prompt us to reflect on how our society has perceived humans and human life.

Bioethics emerged in earnest in the mid-20th century, when life sciences developed and their technologies began to intervene at the beginning and end of human life. In the past, religious and moral traditions played an important role in defining the boundaries and meaning of life, but in modern society, as individual choice and the possibilities of science and technology are given more importance, life is increasingly perceived as an object that can be selected and manipulated, and sometimes as a burdensome reality. In this flow, bioethics ultimately becomes a turning point that takes an entirely different path depending on ‘how one views humans.’

Catholic bioethics presents a perspective that protects the inherent dignity of human life in this confusion. Human beings are holistic beings with soul and body, and their life is a purpose in itself and a dignified being from the moment of conception. This fact is connected to a universal truth and determines our actions on how to protect and respect human life. In other words, universal standards of right and wrong are engraved in human existence. Just as we have a compass in our hearts to know where to go, we have the ability to think deeply and discern good and evil based on those universal standards.

However, as our society increasingly pursues decisions based on social consensus rather than universal truth, it prioritizes the pursuit of profit over the pursuit of truth. This kind of thinking is rooted in modern secular bioethics, represented by utilitarianism and relativism. They view human life as a relative value that can change depending on the situation.

Utilitarianism is a result-oriented thinking and sometimes justifies the sacrifice of one life for the benefit of the majority. Relativism can judge based on principles such as autonomy and justice, but since those principles change priority depending on the exercise of rational ability or the situation rather than the essence of human life, they do not guarantee human life itself. As a result, there is a danger that the boundary between ‘valuable life’ and ‘less valuable life’ is drawn, and life itself becomes an object to be evaluated. This trend is increasingly manifesting itself in “legalizing the decision not to punish acts against life and even legalizing them altogether.” 

For Pope John Paul II, bioethics is not a matter of solving scientific and technological problems, but rather a matter of re-examining the meaning of human existence. He emphasized that “we must fully realize that we are faced with a tremendous and dramatic clash between good and evil, death and life, the ‘culture of death’ and the ‘culture of life’” and he believes that bioethics should be a place for deep ethical reflection in the face of such clashes.

This is precisely why bioethics is essential to us. All human life, whether embryonic, fetal, elderly, healthy, or sick, has the same dignity. We must bear witness to this viewpoint to the world and become the seed of a culture that protects and respects the mystery of life. 

Momentum for Improving Inter-Korean Relations

 

The 'Catholic News Here Now' Catholic site features an article by a PhD in Political Science and Chairman of the Catholic Northeast Asia Peace Research Institute, titled "Momentum for Improving Inter-Korean Relations."

The president of South Korea is struggling to improve the worsening inter-Korean relations. Inter-Korean relations have been consistently hostile and confrontational throughout the previous term of the past president's government, with all lines of contact severed. This is because North Korea's Chairman Kim Jong-un has defined inter-Korean relations as "two belligerent countries at war," leaving no room for change. Furthermore, North Korea has expanded its external position through close ties with Russia, making it less inclined to improve inter-Korean relations.

Why do we need to talk, exchange, and cooperate with the North Korean government? This question is essential in a situation where the extreme right-wing forces' anti-North Korea hatred and incitement of inter-Korean confrontation are rampant, and one-third of voters agree with this. The '2024 Unification Awareness Survey' by the Seoul National University Institute for Peace and Unification Studies clearly shows the weak domestic support base for inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation. 

According to the survey results, 31.6 percent said that inter-Korean talks are not necessary, 40.9 percent said that North Korea is an enemy that we must be wary of and threatens our safety, and 73.6 percent said that the North Korean regime is not capable of dialogue and compromise. This survey was conducted at a time when the atmosphere of confrontation between the two Koreas was at its peak due to the Yoon Seok-yeol government's breach of the "9.19 Military Agreement," the resumption of loudspeaker broadcasts toward the North, and the distribution of leaflets toward the North via drones, but it is shocking.

In the present situation, exchange and cooperation between the two Koreas are essential steps toward unification. If the two Koreas, who share the same language, exchange and cooperate with each other, they will be able to communicate and empathize at a profound level, which will lead to a strengthened sense of national community, and this will serve as a driving force for unification. The "national community unification plan," which has been the unification policy of the South Korean government since the Roh Tae-woo administration, is also a gradual method of building a national community through reconciliation and cooperation and moving toward South-North union and complete unification. 

However, exchange and cooperation between the two Koreas are not smoothly achieved, as they repeatedly start and stop due to political and military conflicts. The relationship between the South and the North is one of antagonism and hostility. As one people, the two Koreas will inevitably be unified someday, so a fight for the initiative in unification is inevitable.  

Examining history, countries with superior national power have been actively engaged in exchanges and cooperation. In contrast, countries with inferior national power have been passive out of fear of absorption or unification. 

In the East-West German relationship, West Germany, with its strong national power, was actively engaged in exchanges and cooperation with East Germany. In the case of South and North Korea, when North Korea was superior in national power in the 1960s and 1970s, North Korea took the lead. Since the late 1980s, when South Korea was more advanced, it has been more active.

What is unique is that the conservative governments were reluctant to engage in exchanges and cooperation between the South and the North. This was because they believed that the funds flowing into North Korea through exchanges and cooperation projects would keep the North Korean regime alive. Since the early 1990s, they have consistently argued that we must pressure and isolate North Korea based on the theory that North Korea will collapse. Even though the extreme confrontational policy toward the North that the Yoon Seok-yeol government pursued for three years resulted in the strengthening of the North Korean regime rather than the collapse of North Korea, there are no signs of change in the conservative camp. 

As of 2025, South Korea's GDP is expected to be 60 times that of North Korea, and its military budget is expected to be 1.5 times that of North Korea, indicating a significant lead in terms of national power. There is no reason for the South Korean government, which has the upper hand in national power, to refuse exchanges and cooperation between the two Koreas.

On the 11th, President Lee Jae-myung announced that he would stop broadcasting through loudspeakers toward the North as of 2:00 p.m. that day. He said, "I hope that this measure will help the South and the North ease military tensions and rebuild trust in each other." 

Blessings of Agri-culture

In the Catholic Peace Weekly column on Faith and Science, the writer recalls that in January 2016, at the World Economic Forum (WEF) held in Switzerland, German economist Klaus Schwab, then chairman, introduced the concept of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. 

The remarkably advanced science and technology of this era, including drones, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, virtual reality, big data, self-driving cars, blockchain, and quantum technology, are driving significant changes in modern civilization. 

There have been several instances in human history when civilization underwent a revolutionary transformation. Alvin Toffler expressed this as three waves in his book, “The Third Wave.” The first wave was the Agricultural Revolution, which began approximately 10,000 years ago, during the Neolithic Age, following the end of the Ice Age. Humans, who had been wandering around hunting and gathering for over 2 million years since the Paleolithic Age, began to settle down and raise grains and livestock, and in the process, civilization began. The development of civilization, which encompasses the material and technological aspects, naturally led to the development of culture, the mental and social aspects of humans, and the wildness of humans gradually disappeared. It may not be unrelated to the fact that the word “agriculture” contains the word “culture”. 

The second wave was the Industrial Revolution, which began in England in the 18th century and spread to Europe, marking a transition from an agricultural to an industrial society. 

The third wave was the information revolution (digital revolution) in the late 20th-century industrialized society. However, among all these changes, the agricultural revolution is the most significant to humanity. The early civilizations that emerged in human history were founded on agriculture. Agriculture is the most fundamental means of addressing the basic problem of human beings' need to eat and live, so if there had been no agricultural revolution, there would have been no subsequent progress in civilization.

Agriculture is the process of artificially manipulating the natural environment of plants and animals that can become food for humans, as well as land and water, to convert and collect the energy of living things into a form applicable to humans. Grains produce organic substances, such as carbohydrates, which convert the sun's light energy into chemical energy that is valuable to humans. This process is caused by photosynthesis, a chemical reaction that occurs in plants. Surprisingly, the materials that plants need to make one molecule of glucose are only 6 carbon dioxide molecules, which exist in the air at a rate of only 0.03%, and 12 water molecules absorbed by the roots. When the sun’s light energy is applied to this, glucose, a carbohydrate, is synthesized by several enzymes inside the plants. This seemingly simple photosynthetic process is the basis for feeding all living things on Earth.

However, photosynthesis—the amazing ability of plants to convert light energy—is something that even advanced science and technology cannot yet imitate. Humans only harvest light energy through plants, and farmers are at the forefront of this work. The agricultural revolution is still in progress in the 21st century.

This third Sunday in July is ‘Farmers Sunday’, designated by the Korean Church. The current situation in rural areas is becoming increasingly challenging due to the decline and aging of the rural population, unstable farm income resulting from agricultural liberalization, and climate change. This is why we must gather our hearts and pray for our farmers, who silently work the land and harvest despite the many difficulties they face. “As long as the earth endures, sowing and harvesting, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease” (Genesis 8:22)