Manuscripts Taken from Korea by France

In the year 1866 seven French Missioners were martyred, two were bishops, along with over a thousand Catholics. This was the last persecution of Catholics and was the the persecution that provoked the French naval forces to invade Kangwha as a punitive measure against Korea. The French forces attacked and occupied the island for about 6 weeks in the autumn of 1866 and burnt down the royal achieves that were kept on the island. They took back to France some of the manuscripts that were in appearance of better quality; these are now in French possession and they refuse to return them. They are called the Oekyujanggak manuscripts: Having to do with the protocol and rites in the Joseon Dynasty.

The Peace Weekly had an editorial on this dispute with France. Many civilian groups are working for the return of these manuscripts and the weekly is asking the government to keep pressing France. The editorial mentions there is a great deal of double talk on this whole issue on the part of the French.

The news reports say the French government admits that the books were confiscated by the French while occupying Kangwha and that it was an "unfortunate confiscation," but the French government can't return the books because they are now part of France's national assets.

The books were found in the French National Library in 1975 by a Korean professor, living in France, who was working in the Library . Up until that time France wasn't even conscious of their existence.

The Catholic Church in Korea does feel a responsibility to show concern for the taking of these manuscripts by the French and is hoping that they will accede to the requests of Korea.The reason for the occupation of Kangwha was because of the persecution of the Catholics and the killing of 7 French citizens, members of the Paris Foreign Missionary Society. The Paris Foreign Missionary Society has given all their material they had accumulated during the many years of persecution, to the Church in Korea and without any conditions on their part. The German Benedictines also did the same. France has agreed to digitize the books but the return of them is more to the point.

Korean Table Culture

The process of eating is a very important part of life, both of the body and spirit.Koreans can eat what in other cultures you would not dream of eating and not even think it possible. This over the years develops into a culture of eating and a way of behaving at table.

Is it that they enjoy eating so much that they can eat even those things that are not eatable? They eat insults, fright, age, money, their hearts, heat, cold, effort, great loss, points in a game, goals in soccer and many other things.

I have always admired the eating habits of Korea for the table is set up in a way that no housewife is embarrassed if more show up than were invited. You have all kinds of side dishes placed on the table with the ever present eating utensils--chopsticks. So with a rice bowl and your chopsticks you are ready for the common table.

Yesterday the men in the mission station wanted to send off the pastor of the parish, who is being assigned to youth work in the diocese, with a farewell meal. We went by our van and picked him up and went to a raw fish restaurant overlooking the ocean.

We all sat down at a table that was prepared for us with common dishes of all kinds of sea food, both raw and some cooked. This was the appetizer followed by strips of raw fish. Each would have a small dish with some condiments, mustard and pepper sauce, in which to dip the strips of raw fish. At the end of the meal there is another common dish, a fish stew, boiled on little stoves set before us and eaten with the rice that finishes off the meal. Of course this is taken with Soju the preferred drink for Korean males. It would be comparable to the Japanese Saki.

The meal takes about two hours to finish, with a lot of talk and sharing. The comradery is shown in pouring the drinks of our table mates and making sure the glass is never empty. This is one areas I would like to see changed to our American style of pouring one's own drinks but the eating from the common table has a meaning that our western way of individual dishes does not. The talk is more intimate and conducive to a bonding that for me is missing in the western table manners. The drinking of course does help.

Incheon Priest Ordination Ceremony 2010

On Tuesday of this week, in a large indoor gymnasium, the diocese of Incheon ordained 22 deacons to the priesthood. This is the largest number of priests' ordained for the diocese in their history of 50 years, which they will celebrate next year.

Actually the number of priests ordained were 27 because 5 religious priests were ordained at the same time. During the ceremony 18 deacons were ordained for the diocese and one as a religious. This means next year we will, with God's grace, have 17 new priests.

The question is asked will this continue? Why is Korea different from other countries in the East or even from the States? These are not questions one can answer knowledgeably. It is a fact that Korea continues to do well even with the prosperity that the country has achieved. Many thought that this would not be the case. Those who showed an interest in the priesthood and wanted to enter the new class starting in March from Inchon was well over 30. Only 12 were accepted, because the grades in the college entrance exams were not considered high enough for the seminary. This does show the interest is there and in the next few years we will have about 1o ordained each year.

The respect for the priesthood and the Catholic Church in Korea is strong. When Cardinal Kim died, his last words: “Thank you, we have to cherish each other,” were heard and seen in many different situations in Korean society . Cardinal Kim's successor Cardinal Cheong was selected as the most influential religious leader in Korea last year. This all helps the standing of the Church in Korea, and would add to a climate in which Catholic young men, who have a love for the Church, would find naturally attractive and a help in making their decision for the priesthood.

As an example of this respect the priest would have even among some Protestants, the pastor of our parish, with whom I went by car to the ordinations, stopped for a meal on the way to the 2:oo pm ceremony. The owner of the restaurant, a Protestant, took payment for my meal but the pastor got his on the house. This motivation of respect received, is certainly not very high, as motivations go, but one believes the ten years required before ordination would be sufficient time to purify the motivation to one worthy of a disciples of Jesus.

Korean Catholic Alternative Press--Internet

The Church in Korea does not have a history of Catholics kibitzing on what the bishops do in administering their diocese and the Church, at least publicly. The Church in Korea is not accustomed to this, and could be seen as a lack of respect for those who have the responsibility for teaching. And yet we know speaking out politely and with respect, to those who are in a position of authority, is an act of love and loyalty. The nahnews, has in one of its recent coverages of the bishops' Pastoral Messages, made some comments on the contents with suggestions to the bishops.

All the dioceses have a new year's message for the Catholics of their respective diocese. It usually comes out at the beginning of the liturgical year. A reporter for nahnews went through the messages of the last two years and had some points of suggestion.

The reporter's words seemed to say that the bishops are rather vague in the way they write their Pastoral Messages. In the eyes of the reporter the bishops are only interested in problems within the Church and do not have a vision for the relationship the Church should have for society. It was mostly a pep talk to the Catholics to renew their faith; statistics say the Catholics are losing some of their ardor in spreading the faith and are not as faithful as they were at Sunday Mass attendance.

The way the messages was written would make it difficult to evaluate it the following year. The reporter would like to see concrete suggestions that can be evaluated as to its success and less vagueness and indefiniteness in the writing of the messages. He did acknowledge that each diocese will have its own diocesan offices deal with the concrete plans, but the reporter thought this should appear in the message in someway. The writer would like to see more direction in the messages, with concrete targets and goals that can be evaluated the following year. He would also like to see the bishops mention in their messages what the dioceses will be doing to help in these plans.

Having someone on the sidelines making suggestions and giving a critique shows interest, concern and love for the Church. It should be a mark of maturity. The Korean Church should be able to take this change from the way things were done and accept it as a fraternal response of those who want to see the Church be more of what it was meant to be. We do not have a history of an Independent Catholic Press, with the Internet this is a possibility open to all. Each is free to add their personal suggestions to the matters at hand. It could be a blessing or a misfortune depending on how this will be accepted in the years to come. Loyalty to the Church should be a value that is understood by all and not doubted by anyone within the Church.

First African Priest Formed in Korea

The first African priest, to have finished the required course of studies for priesthood here in Korea, was ordained in his home country on Jan. 9th. He is a native of Zambia, Africa, his name, Ernest Mwila. Ernest finished the same formation program the Korean priests are required to finish before ordination here in Daejeon Catholic Seminary.

He was inspired by the Korean Sisters who were working in his country with orphans and those suffering from AIDS, and decided to come to Korea. He entered the seminary in Daejeon in 2002 and at the end of 8 years was ordained as a member of a religious order. The Korean bishop was thinking of being the ordaining prelate, but Ernest wanted to return to African and be ordained there.

The bishop of Daejeon gave Fr. Ernest a statue of Saint Kim Andrew and told him: "In the future when you are facing problems that seem too much to handle remember St. Andrew who studied to be a priest in a foreign county, and came back to his people to spread Jesus' message and died a martyr."

One of our Marknollers, while on his overseas training program in Korea, attended the seminary in Seoul. After seminary training he returned to the States to finish his course of studies. This is a good way to familiarize one with a different culture and acquaint one with the difficulties of living out side of one's own country, while at the same time continuing his education. The benefits to the students at the seminary is also a by product of this interaction; the cross fertilisation can't be anything but good for the Church.

The desire Fr. Ernest had to return to his own country, even though the bishop and the seminarians were prepared and even hoping he would be ordained in Korea, was something very laudable. He thanked all those who were kind to him over the years, and said that he will return to his impoverished country to plant love and hope among his people.

Motivations: from Thanks to Conversion

After teaching catechism and preparing our catechumens for baptism it usually is a natural step, finishing the catechumenate-- period of teaching catechism-- to receive baptism and enter the community of faith, participating in the sacramental life of the Church. However, it does not always work that way.

Living in a mission station we do not have many who show an interest in the Church, probably one or two a year. This year after teaching for over a year I felt that the father and daughter that had been preparing where a rather unique type of cathechumen. Usually, those who do not show an interest after starting the program, drop out or it becomes obvious they are not interested because of their absence from the classes and not attending Sunday Mass. However in this case the two of them were very faithful at both the classes and the Sunday Masses. There were few questions and showed little desire to be baptized.

Both of them had come out to the English classes that I was conducting and were very faithful. They asked if they could attend a catechism class so they started to study. After studying for over a year, I did not feel that I could accept them even in the "first initial stage of conversion".

Motivation is important and it is not infrequent that people come out to the Church because they are attracted by the building, they like the priest or the sisters in the parish, or are asked to do so by their parents or friends. This father and daughter I felt wanted to thank me for the time spent teaching English. This is no big problem, for you feel that the motivation will change and they will be open to the graces given by God during the catechumenate. The problem comes when you have done a sufficient amount of teaching and the motivation is still, ' thanks for the efforts in teaching English', what does one do? I have told them to take some time off and see what God is saying to them in their hearts. If they see some changes we will resume the steps to baptism.

Motivation is an important part of our faith life. We can do many things for many different reasons but we know that love trumps them all. In giving, St. Paul tells us to not to give out of necessity but with joy. We all have to work to purify our motivations in what we do daily and to get to a point where what we do is done out of love, and even the very laudable motive of thanks can be elevated to another dimension if we remember that it is all grace. Hopefully this father and daughter will begin to feel the love of God and want to respond in the months ahead.

Greeting People in Korea

Leaving a hospital after treatment an essayist expressed his shock at being addressed as 'abeonim' (the word father) by one of the nurses. The salutation of the nurse made him feel sad, although he new it was done with respect. I found the response strange but it does show how important titles are in Korean society. He was in his forties and a father but to be addressed as such was unsettling to him.

He mentions that he was in an office working as a civil servant for many years and addressed in a way befitting his position as an official of his grade; with the arrival of new staff those in the office found it difficult to address him in the same way they addressed the new arrivals, so called him doctor. It was difficult for the office people to address one who worked for 18 years in the office with the same title as those who were just recently joining the staff.

He mentioned being addressed as 'wonjang' (director, the head of a school). He was in a position that entitled him to the name but as he said, it is attributed to all kinds of people in Korea. He uses the example of going to a baduk club where he gave his skill level and was told to play with the 'wonjang'; the man who came was not older than twenty, he asked the writer to start with 3 pieces on the board. The writer did not think he was entitled to the title he had given himself and a little bit put out that he was asked to start with a handicap of 3.

In Korea you can address a person you meet for the first time with the title teacher, brother, sister, grandfather, grandmother, uncle, aunt, or these days: Mr., Mrs. Ms and Miss-- Koreans have descended from one ancestor so all are related. However, in giving one of these titles you have to be careful that it fits the situation and the person.

In the extended family the names are complicated and many of the Koreans would not be familiar with all of them. He mentions even after marriage, before they had the first child, they addressed each other rather evasively. He never used the frequent 'Yobo', translated freely meaning 'dear' but literally 'look here'. After the first child they used the name of the child to address each other--the mother of so and so. This sounds strange to foreigners, but probably the sacredness of the name is implied, using the name may have overtones of possessing the person. This is a conjecture on my part and mentioned with little evidence.


I have always had difficulty with using titles. As a foreigner and a priest I do use the baptismal names of those I know. I have rarely added the honorific to the name as a Korean would. They would say Maria Ssi or use another honorific. Many years ago I asked the sisters in the parish whether what I was doing was permissible, and was told the parishioners will have little difficulty accepting it from a missioner. Even those with big positions in society I can address with their baptismal names. This has made life very easy, it is convenient, with little stress and apparently no problem for those addressed.(Being a foreigner they make the necessary allowances).