Why Does Korea Have Such A High Rate?

The Here and Now website, Nahnews, has some comments on the latest celebrity suicide. The suicide didn't make any sense. He was a popular movie star and singer. Well known in countries outside of Korea and seemed to have all that anyone could desire. He left no testament and left many puzzling about what went wrong.

Recently, Korea has had a number of celebrities killing themselves. Statistics show that among the developed, OCED, countries, Korea is leading by far in this unfortunate statistic. Every year there is an increase, but what we do not hear much about is the elderly suicides, where the rate is increasing every year. The average would be 26 persons for every 100,000; the rate for those over 80 is 112.9 persons for every 100,000. The number of the elderly over 60 who have taken their lives would be almost 33% of the total suicides.

Why would a country that has made such great strides economically have so many finding it difficult to live? As important as it is to be friendly with older people--talking and being kind to them in public places, in buses, in subways and in stores, whenever and wherever we have an opportunity to do so--alleviating the symptoms can only be a temporary solution; we must look for the underlying causes if a permanent solution is to be found.

Many of the elderly have seen the breakdown of the family; they are living with an economic strain and illnesses that are too hard for them to contend with, which prompts many of them to take their own lives. Depression is a very big part of this picture.

The structures of our society have not kept up with the improvement of our living conditions. The article stresses that the quality of life in Korea has deteriorated in the past 20 to 30 years, and asks what happened during this time. We have become sensitive to our rights more so than any time in our history. Have we ever had a time with more prosperty? Have we ever worried like today over the excessive nutrients the body has to deal with?

It is difficult to try to make sense of what is happening. The prosperity we have achieved can also bring sadness into the lives of many. Are we making a society where the survival of the fittest will be our reality?

The current reality for many is the heightened interest and enormous resources devoted to develop the economic sector of society. It would be unrealistic to try to put a stop to this, but at the same time, interest has to be directed to understand the reasons for the death wish of so many. In Korea, and undoubtedly in other countries, families do not want to talk about these untimely deaths, and asking about the causes brings no satisfactory answers, only more sadness. What is needed is an attempt to look into the reasons, make them known, and work to eradicate the causes if we are to have a healthy society.

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Benefits of International Schools In Korea?

In a letter to the editor of a daily newspaper, a Religious Sister, principal of a Catholic School in Incheon, expresses her opinion on international schools that are now opening in Korea. Songdo International City in Incheon has received permission to go ahead with its international school and accept Koreans as 30 percent of its student body.

This is well received by many since it will allow many families to send their children to these schools, have the benefits of study overseas, allow parents to be protective of their children and save money in the process. The results of the product of these schools will be for the future to make clear.

The Sister plainly states that, out of pride, it is difficult to accept that we are going to turn over the education of our children to foreigners. She doesn't know about the propriety of middle and high school education overseas, but in the earlier years, it seems to her problematic to have children educated by foreigners in a foreign language, in a foreign culture, with foreign values and done here in Korea.

At this time of life, children are preparing themselves for maturity. It is during this time that they find out who they are and, hopefully, developing a coherent and worthwhile value system that will build their character. It is not like Koreans living in the States and sending their children to American schools; these children are living in Korea and are taken out of their home environment to go to school.

Schools, of course, do not teach only language and the usual intellectual subjects but emotional health, culture, values, among other things. If this is globalization why teach only English? To deal with the problems that will likely arise, it is necessary that the Government becomes involved and not leave the solution solely in the hands of the different districts.

Sister sees education dependent on the whole of life. It is easy to look at one area of life and forget the others. Utilitarianism, for example, would see education mainly useful in getting a good job, making more money, having access to the right people. This may be important to achieve these limited goals but if one doesn't find the expected happiness and meaning in life, then danger lurks ahead. Knowledge is just one part of the educational process. We tend to isolate it from the other parts and think that it alone will bring success. We must not forget that education begins in the home; we are educated more by what we experience in the family, in reading, relating, and pondering over the mysteries of life than we are by our schools. If we are orientated to getting good marks, degrees and jobs, then our schools will likely fail us in guiding us to a more meaningful life.

Father And Son In The New Korea

The mother of Mencius, an interpreter of Confucius, moved three times to help her child. They lived, first, near a cemetery where the son began imitating the mourners; then they moved near a market where he was influenced by the ways of the market, and, finally, they moved near a school where Mencius started his journey in scholarship.

Even today, parents will do anything to get a good education for their children. A good education is thought to be the road to happiness. The young are no longer protected by family from being influenced by what is going on in the outside world, so the problems are quite different from the past.

A priest, writing for the Pastoral Diary column in the Peace Weekly, tells us of two incidents that are frequent in the Korea of today.

One evening, late at night, a teacher from the Sunday catechetical program came to see the priest, with a first-year high school boy, guitar in hand. The teacher explained that the boy was thrown out of the house because he wanted to study music and his father wanted him to go to college. That evening the boy had no place to go and the teacher had no room in his house for the boy, so he came to the priest for help. The priest called around to find a place for the teenager. He had the teacher call the mother to tell her not to worry; they had found a place for the son to sleep.

In this case, there is a young man in love with music. In the old days, music was not considered an occupation parents would consider for their children. This has changed but there are parents who haven't. The father wants the boy to go to college; the boy is interested only in music. So who gets his way?

In the other case, a boy has a temper tantrum, causing a serious commotion in his classroom. The priest spent hours with the young man, with the boy ending up crying. It was a problem again with the father, and in frustration the son took it out on others.

The priest concludes that fathers have to listen more compassionately to their children. It has not been the Korean way, but times have changed and fathers have to change as well.

Dialogue is still not something parents find easy to do in the home. The relationship of husband and wife is stronger than the relationship of father and son in the Korea of today. Still the pain that an older son can inflict is felt as in the old Korea. In the cases referred to, the boys want to do something the fathers consider unacceptable. Dialogue has to begin, with fathers seeing other possibilities than those they originally preferred.

Letter From Prison, St. Andrew Kim Martyr

Following is the letter sent by St. Andrew Kim to Christians while he awaited death in prison. In translating the letter, I wanted to experience the feelings of the Saint before his death. It was an attempt to relish the words that he used in his farewell letter to the Christians. The letter has been adapted to the Korean usage of the present, so liberties were taken with the original text.

Fellow Christians let us look and see.

Think, think of these things. God made all things and among these, he made us in his image to live on this earth. Let us reflect on God's great will and ponder it.

If we think of all that has to be done on this earth, there are many pitiful and sad things that come to mind. (Ecclesiastes 1-2: Vanity of vanities, says the preacher. All things are vanity!) Seeing this miserable and wretched world in which we are born, if we do not know the God, who made us, then we will not know the fruitfulness of life.

However, even if we know the God, who made us and have been baptized and have not lived as his disciple, then we will not find satisfaction, but we will have ingratitude to God, and we will be in a position worse than those who have not been baptized.

Let us look at the farmer who plants his field: he takes no notice of the heat and tiredness; at the right time, he plows the land, fertilizes it, plants the seed, and takes care of it. God does the same. He accepts us as seeds; grace can be considered the fertilizer and he waters us with the blood from Jesus' passion. If we take what is given and have produced fruit, at the judgement, we go to heaven. If we have not bourne fruit, then we become his enemy and worthy to be punished for all eternity.

Dear brothers and sisters, listen carefully!

Our Lord Jesus Christ came down to us and took upon himself much suffering and in the midst of this anguish established the Church, and the Church by suffering grew all the more. After the Ascension, from the time of the Apostles until now, the Church has been persecuted. The Holy Church has been in Korea for 50 to 60 years and has gone through many persecutions. Even now, many Christians, I along with them, have been arrested, and we continue to suffer. Christians, let us face this bravely. How can it be that we face this torture without difficulty? This forced separation from our parents is difficult to accept. However, in the Scriptures we all know that God tells us he is concerned about even the hairs of our head. Is this not all part of God's providence?

In following the will of our Lord with complete trust, and united with Jesus, already the devil has been struck. As we are now undergoing this time of strife, let us brace ourselves and with all our strength and with all our capabilities--using our weapons, the Rosary, Scripture, and Sacraments like strong soldiers--let us fight the good fight, and we will win.

Please let us not forget our love for one another, help one another and with patience overcome the suffering. Twenty of us are in prison. With God's grace holding us up, even after death don't forget our families; take care of them. I have much to say, but it can't be expressed with words. We are ready to go out to the place of execution. We will prepare well and meet you in heaven.

Please do not give in to the persecution, brace your hearts day and night, ask God for help, fight against the world, the flesh and the devil, and overcome these difficulties and give glory to God and save our souls! This trial is a way of gaining merit. Think of it with thanks. Let us imitate the life of the men and women saints and give glory to God. Let us give ourselves to one another, become one, and ask for mercy. Let us wait for the time of grace.

Since I am in prison, I can't say all that I want to. Let us meet in heaven. I pray earnestly that we may all enjoy heaven for all eternity.

1847 end of August, Kim Andrew

Dowsing in Korea

Koreans have an attraction to many areas of life that do not ordinarily enter the western mind. The search for underground running water is one of these. In both Korean Catholic newspapers, you have advertisements on how to neutralize harmful radiation that comes from underground running water, and even to protect yourself when sleeping by using beds with stone slabs.

A priest who with over forty years as a dowser, wrote an interesting article, some years ago in one of our Catholic Magazines. Since he is called the "doctor for wells" he felt an article explaining what he does would be proper. Judging from his experience, about 4 out of 10 are sensitive to the radiation from underground running water, causing health problems for many.

The priest has been asked to find water for municipalities, colleges, churches and schools, the farming and industrial sectors, and for homes. The article mentions the case in Incheon where he found drinking water in ocean land fill. He was elated with the results, as were those who were present.

He believes that those who are sensitive to the radiation will usually have health problems. This is accepted by most Koreans. He mentions that trees by a well will be twisted or bent and concludes these are the effects of the running water below. With his knowledge of where the underground running water can be found, he has helped many recover their health.

Dowsing is not considered scientifically proven, and many still feel this is a belief from the past that is no longer acceptable to most enlightened observers --superstition. Koreans do not agree. Dowsing began in Korean in 1836, when a French foreign missioner started investigating its possibilities; when the concordat with the French was made in 1887, dowsing was taken up my many. And still today, many are involved in looking for underground water and freeing many from radiation that may come from this source.

A New Chapter On Naju

Naju is making the news again; an old story that does not want to die. The ordinaries of the Kwangju Archdiocese have studied the events starting in July 30,1985 with the weeping statue of the Blessed Mother, and made it clear there is no evidence that the events are supernatural--perhaps they show some preternatural power. However, there is another chapter with a so called "miracle" in Rome written up in an Italian Magazine.

An archbishop and Cardinal, who spent time in Korea as Apostolic Delegates and have returned to Rome show sympathy for what they saw on their trips to Naju. They have accepted what is being said by the supporters of Mrs. Julia Youn, who has been receiving the messages from the Blessed Mother. The archbishop was even present at the so called miracle in Rome, and they both considered the miracle in Naju as authentic when they were here in Korea.

A priest from Kwangju Diocese has made a study of Naju for his master's degree in Applied Theology, and concurs with the results of the Naju Investigation Committee that sees no evidence of the Supernatural. This paper is now being distributed to the dioceses that want to inform the Catholics on the occurences at Naju.


Rome has not changed their opinion about the phenomena and respects the decision of the Diocese that has studied all the facts. However, with powerful men who are in Rome the supporters of Julia Youn have made a DVD and sent them throughout the country and also overseas, so the confusion is going to continue. The DVDs include the words of the archbishop and the Cardinal in support of the phenomena which is in opposition to the decision of the Ordinary of the Diocese. The Diocese has excommunicated all those who participate in the events at Naju but this has not stopped the visits. The Cardinal and the archbishop are speaking as individuals, and it is not a decision of the Church, but it is easily seen why some of the Catholics have difficulty understanding what is going on.

Supporters of Naju see those in opposition as part of the liberal segment of the Church in Korea; they are dividing the liberal and conservative elements as if the conservative would support Naju. It is a private revelation and there should be a certain amount of humility shown in accepting the wishes of the Ordinary of the Diocese. However, the Cardinal and archbishop do not feel bound. Those who wish to disobey the wishes of the archbishop of Kwangju have easy access to people in high places, which makes the position of the Korean Bishops awkward.

To many, even if the Blessed Mother was speaking to Julia Youn, she would want the Catholics to listen to the Bishop of the Diocese rather than her, but that kind of thinking doesn't seem to have any persuasive power in these days of dissent and personal opinion pushed to center stage. Both Catholic newspapers have covered the story this week, and the Church will do its best to try to keep the Catholics informed but people like to hear miracle stories.

Tweaking Globalization To Make It Human

Once a Hermit Kingdom, Korea has now developed to a point where she is a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Group of 20, which met in Canada this past week. Economically, she is one of the stronger countries in the world thanks to globalization, but this was not all for the good.


With globalization, the world is more connected than ever before: trade, money, and people move easily to all parts of the world. But along with the benefits of globalization, there are problems. An article in the Kyeong-Hyang magazine suggests there are more cons than pros. The writer sees the spread of violence and anti-democratic movements on the increase. The traditional acceptance of sex, marriage and the family is being rejected and the traditional values of religion are being questioned.


Moral theologians tell us what has to be considered in the future of globalization. And the writer follows up on this by making three points: first, we have to rethink the place of finances in society. Companies have to have another way of looking at what they are about; not only increasing profits but finding ways of easing the struggles of the human family. Second, there has to be a new understanding of politics. It should benefit not only the elite but should be truly democratic: helping all in society. Third, efforts have to be made to strengthen a sense of community throughout society.


He believes the Church's role in society is to further the common good and work for solidarity, which is in line with the social gospel. Those who have been marginalized by society have to be brought back by a more equitable distribution of wealth.


The Catholic papers and magazines are sensitive to the failure of the catechumenates to teach the social gospel. This was readily seen in the way our Catholics looked upon the problems that society had to face. The effort to make up for this oversight is now shown by the effort and space that are given to this issue in the Catholic media.