Korean Catholic Missionaries

The Catholic Bishop Conference of Korea has published the statistics of missionaries overseas.

According to the “Korean Catholic Foreign Missionary Education Association, 647 Korean missionaries were sent to 81 countries, as of October, 2007. Among them, 42 are secular priests, and 477 are women religious. The number of missionaries increased 11-14% annually since 2005.”

Since the report of the number of laypeople was not mentioned and this report dates from Oct. 2007 it would seem that the numbers would be much higher than those reported. It is sign of maturity that the Church of Korea in gratitude for the help she has received from the foreign missionaries is now returning to give from what she has received.

World's Largest Catholic Hospital

In one of the recent newspapers was an article that started with: “What country in the world has the largest Catholic hospital?” “Is it Italy, France or could it be the Vatican?” “The correct answer is Korea.”

The Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital of the Catholic University of Korea was just recently opened. It has a name change from Gangnam St. Mary’s to Seoul St. Mary's Hospital to make it more nationally recognized. The hospital can admit 1200 patients and has 22 floors above ground and 6 below.The overall atmosphere is that of a first class hotel and leaves one with a refreshing feeling, was the report of the writer.

There was a great deal of discussion on the pros and cons of building such a large hospital. The area of Gangnam is one of the most prosperous in Seoul. Some did not think it fitting to build there. However, it seems that many thought that the poor also like to have a nice hospital to go to. The money they make will enable them to be of greater service to the poor which is not in conflict with Catholic thinking. This was the thinking that finally prevailed.

We can pray that this is what actually will take place over time and that Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital will be an example of what all hospitals should be doing.

A Cyberspace Visit to Maryknoll

The Maryknollers here in Korea are part of the Asia Region which is one of the outreaches of the Society. The Society has a website which explains in a attractive format the work we are doing in many parts of the world.Those interested can go to:
the website of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers enabling you to tour the site and see what we are all about.

"Koreans Spend 8 Hours Per Day Online"

A reporter from the Korean Times reported that the average Korean
"spends more than half of his or her active hours logged on to the Internet or using mobile digital devices."

"In a survey of 516 adults, the state-run Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI) found that Koreans spend an average of eight hours and 20 minutes per day online, either through computers or portable data devices such as mobile phones and laptops."

This is very difficult to imagine of the ordinary Korean. It is certainly not true of the farmers and the country folk. I suppose this was a survey made in Seoul.But whatever it be, it does speak very loudly of the change that has come over South Korea in a very short time.

A Meaning for Virtue

In the previous post we mentioned how the word virtue is disappearing from its very prominent place it had in the past. The character for virtue is one of my favorites and one that I have used many times in teaching. Years ago when starting to learn Korean I remember a maxim that a General who is brave is less than one who has knowledge and one who has knowledge is less than one who has virtue. We who are Catholic certainly have no difficulty with this, although it is not part of our everyday thinking.

In the "symbol" itself the left side can be considered a person who is walking.That is the body, our external selves. The top right hand side can be taken to be a person who looks over what he is to do 10 times before acting. The cross is ten and the the image below that is a picture for the eye. This is the action of the head the mind. The bottom part is the image of the heart. A virtuous person is one that has the body, head and heart intergrated. A very meaningful ideogram and a powerful lesson.

Going from the Concrete to the Nebulous

In Korea placards, banners, posters can be seen everywhere. Years ago at the entrance to schools you often would see Knowledge, Virtue, and Body (Health). It was the wisdom from Confucian values that they were emphasizing. It was the Confucian holistic approach to learning: the head, heart and body. These days it has changed to: dream your dream, be part of the future and the like. The meaning is obscure but very appealing but no way as powerful and concrete as the old. We are less attracted to the here and now but rather to the vague and ambiguous. The very word virtue has almost completely disappeared. Could this also be an import from the West?

A Preposterous Understanding of Words

In Korea at present we have a debate on “death with dignity” and what it means. One of the bishops was upset, with the preposterous understanding of the natural death of Cardinal Kim. The Bishop's formal pronouncement a few days ago mentioned the way certain sections of the society have taken the recent death of Cardinal Stephen Kim as an example of “death with dignity” meaning assisted suicide. They are using his death as an example to push for legislation to approve of assisted suicide and euthanasia. The Bishop made very clear that The Cardinal’s death came from old age, a death he could no longer avert and he accepted with humility.

In Korea as in other parts of the world it is not surprising to see how words can be manipulated by the press and interested parties to make anything serve their particular purposes.