A Visit to Flower Village Korea

For the last two months, we have a new Internet TV Station that is going out to the world from Kkottongnae, meaning Flower Village, a Christian community, which provides the homeless and the abandoned with care and love in the hope that they will realize the love of God and find peace as the children of God.

In 1976, Fr Oh, the founder of Flower Village, saw 18 beggars living under a bridge in the parish where he was assigned, and decided to do something for them. He thought: “It is God's blessing that one can have the strength to beg for food”; he built a house of love, started accommodating the beggars at the house, the beginning of Flower Village.

With the help of many it has spread to other parts of Korea and the world. The work has proven a great blessing for the country, and for many who come in contact with poverty so great that it leaves one helpless. Kkottongnae is a heaven for many who are working in welfare: a place to send those who are homeless, who will be loved and taken care.

The Peace Weekly has an article describing the new Internet venture of the Flower Village. They have a small studio where five Religious of the Community are working in planning, production and implementation of programs, with the help of a volunteer who worked for a major network and directs the operation.

They introduce the different events of Flower Village, the facilities, recorded lectures, their work, the sponsors and many other areas that would be of interest to friends of Flower Village. Korean is the main language used, but you do have an English menu. The story of the village, in English, is done in animation for those who would like to hear and see the progress of the Flower Village from the beginning.

The head of the program, a lay volunteer, says they do not have the equipment and the necessary help the operation needs, so they have scaled the operation down to fit the situation. It does show the work and the spirituality of the Flower Village.

The dream of the founder was to have a world where no one gets abandoned, everyone is respected, and everybody loves the other as they love themselves. This dream is now being introduced to the world. For those who are interested you can access the Internet TV Station at www.kkottv.com.

Korean Catechetical Summer Camps

For many years, Catholic parishes in Korea have spent a great deal of time and money on summer camps for students enrolled in the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. Pastors have tried all kinds of programs: sometimes including family members, separating the students into groups by age, and also having them all together from grammar to high school. The editorial in the Catholic Times this week stresses that it is not so much the contents of the programs that are important, as it is making clear to the students the reasons for having the programs.

Camps are an extension of the Sunday school programs that we have in all the parishes. The programs are not intended to give students all they want during their summer camp experience, but an effort to cultivate their learning abilities and heighten a Christian awareness of the meaning of life.

Understandably, the students often want to have more time for play. However, the primary reason for these summer camps is not to alleviate the stress that the students have built up during the year by focusing solely on playing games. Play is a means to the goals the camps are intended to achieve. The editorial judges that we have prepared these camps in years past with too much emphasis on play, and the unfortunate results can be seen in our churches and Sunday school programs. How many of our children, the editorial asks, have experienced God in some way by going to these camps?

One of the slogans of the camps: "Together With" refers to bringing teachers and students closer together, but how many students become closer to the teachers in understanding what was planned for the camps?

A quote from Pope John Paul: " Humans to mature must know the value of virtue, love it and become habituated with virtue." Are we being successful in getting summer camp students to know and love this value, making it a part of their lives? The answer, for the most part, would have to be No. The editorial was critical of teachers for not having done their job well enough, suggesting that more effort should be made in the future to have our teachers trained in spirituality. The power of example needs to be emphasized. Bringing the students closer to Jesus is the core task of the teacher and is what the summer camps are all about.

The editorial gives us an ideal but pastors have difficulty getting volunteers for the parish catechetical programs. To find teachers who are willing to give their time, and have the necessary knowledge and spirituality required is a colossal job. However, the effort certainly should be made, and prayers for all those working in education would also help.

Needs For A Good Summer Vacation

A columnist for the Catholic Times gives us ten commandments for a good summer vacation.

1st: Let us get rid of unnecessary baggage. While we laugh on the outside, inside we may have many things bothering us. Let us get rid of them and be content with our light baggage.

2nd: Let us bring our souls along with the body.

3rd: Let us get rid of confrontations. The knife we aim at others, let us use only in disciplining ourselves.

4th: Let us empty ourselves. The road to virtue is humility. When we empty ourselves, the world appears differently.

5th: Let us get rid of greed. Happiness and greed can't exist together: the more greed, the less happiness.

6th: Let us change. And not demand that others change.

7th: Let us study. Bring along some spiritual books.

8th: Let us be open to meeting others. If we approach others with a welcoming attitude, they will respond with a welcoming attitude.

9th: Let us go in search of the road of virtue. Get rid of all anger; criticism is of little use.

10th: Let us see all with a new light. Vacations can be discoveries of something new. If up until this time we have seen the sun only peeking through the clouds, let us get rid of the clouds and see the true sun, Jesus.

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A Sad Story Too Often Heard

A columnist in the recent Catholic Times gives us something to think about. He described the conversation he had with an ex-convict whose greatest problem was trusting others. Living in a world he found threatening, he grew up believing he must be strong and, if necessary, violent; it got him into prison.


He told a story that goes back to his 5th-grade grammar school days. He lived in a city and on one occasion relatives came to attend a wedding, staying overnight at his house. Since the group was in the city, they thought it a good idea to do some sightseeing before returning to the country. That evening he was invited to sing and, imitating a famous comedian on TV at that time, he was a big hit with everybody.

The next day when he returned from school, his mother, without a word, slapped him three hard blows to the face. He couldn't talk, it hurt so much. Money had been taken from a wallet of one of the relatives, and she thought he was the culprit. The young boy remembered the reception he got for singing the night before, and now to be slapped in front of them all for something he did not do was an insult he couldn't bear. The relative had placed the money in another bag and found it later. But no one apologized to the boy for the false accusation and his mother never seemed to give the incident a second thought.

When the boy was hit, he couldn't forget the feeling of wretchedness, the look on his mother's face, and the laughter of his relatives. He can still recall the whole scene without difficulty, and understands how they all felt, thinking he was the thief. The difficulty is that no one, at any time, said a word of apology or showed any sadness for what happened. Why didn't anybody express regret, he wanted to know, for the false accusation. He broke down and cried. The columnist also cried.

It's a sad story that could easily have had a different ending. Many times a word or two of sorrow expressed for some hurt we have caused others can change how a troubling situation is ultimately perceived. But these words of sorrow do not easily form in our mouths. We hope that our kindness in the future will take care of the scars, but it doesn't usually happen that way. The incident is often repressed, and those who have been hurt do not forget. Those in our family and in the communities to which we belong are usually the ones we find the hardest to apologize to. Ironically, those who intend to do the right thing at all times, the perfectionists among us, have the most difficulty saying, I'm sorry. These few words would make a big difference in society. Spoken when necessary, these words can often defuse a threatening situation that otherwise might linger with us, causing problems--as it did for the ex-convict--for many years,and maybe for life. .

The Young and Old in Korea

"Why are the kids acting up so much? And wearing the clothes they wear? And no longer respect their elders." A typical response from an elder.

"Why do elders say, 'when I was young,' as a matter of course, and keep on repeating themselves?" A typical response from a young person.

In the eyes of many, there are in Korea two groups of people having little contact with each other: the young and the old.. And the breach and failure to understand each other keeps on growing. Society does not show any interest in doing something about the generation gap, and neglects the numbers of old people living alone and the abuse that they receive; 14 percent of those over 65 have been mistreated.

The Catholic Church, however, has taken an interest, and the Seoul diocese recently had a symposium on the generation gap and the discord that currently exists between the young and the old.

The changes that have taken place in Korea in the last 50 years are such that one can't help but expect this discord. The old have had as their goal in life to eat and live well. Those born after 1980 are searching for happiness and meaning. It is no wonder that they have a different way of looking at life. What took the West hundreds of years to achieve, Korea achieved in 50 years.

The older generation grew up in large families and were taught to be independent; most of the younger generation are treated like royalty by their parents. We should not be surprised when the consequences of this upbringing become manifest.

One professor who spoke at the symposium said that older people should see the young with an open mind and the young should try to understand the older people's way of thinking. Attending the liturgy and events together should help break down some of the differences. .

Another professor presented some interesting statistics: 2nd-grade grammar school children seem to be the most understanding of older people, and those after middle school seem to have the most trouble with them, perhaps due to the heavier burden of school duties.

The article reporting on the symposium concluded that we should show more consideration for elders, create a friendlier society for them, and more welfare programs, and that the public media show more sympathy for the problems of the elderly.

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.