North and South Koreans Living Together

 

The recent Catholic Times in its North South Reconciliation Column has an article on a village in England where  the North and South Koreans are speaking to each other. 

The author Lee Hyang-gyu, Theodora, is a principal of the  Hankyoreh School in London. She has written a number of books and compiled A Missionary Journey,  a biography of Father Gerald Hammond a Maryknoll Missioner in Korea who has spent over 60 years in the country.

The parents and teachers of the London Hankyoreh School, have all left their hometowns in Korea. She lists the different provinces from which they came. Most of the children were born in England and can speak Korean but not very well so every Saturday they study Korean at the Hankyoreh School in London.

 

The London Hankyoreh School was established in 2016, by her North Korean parents who settled in the UK as refugees. Her father was from Chongjin and took the lead, her mother was from Pyongyang and became the principal. Theodora became  the principal in 2021, she is from Seoul. They now have about 90 students. She  doesn't  know exactly where the parents are from because she never asked them, but  would say they are half South Korean and half North Korean. 

  

This school is very special. She has occasionally seen a small number of North Korean defectors attend gatherings made by South Koreans in both Korea and England, but this is the first time she has seen a space where South Koreans join a place created by North Korean defectors, where one side does not overwhelm the other and  are able to create something together.  

 

The reason this is possible is that this place is outside the divided Korean Peninsula, and there are about 1,000 North Korean defectors living in this town called New Malden, located on the outskirts of London. Both South Koreans and North Koreans are a small minority among immigrants in the  mainstream British society.   

 

The parents both have the same desire to teach their children the Korean language and the culture of the Korean people. The fact that British society basically respects cultural diversity and has laws that prohibit discrimination, such as the Equality Act, makes it easy  for North and South Koreans to form a community. 

 

On the Korean Peninsula, we still have a long way to go for ordinary citizens of South and North Korea to meet each other freely. The few North Korean defectors living in South Korea are intimidated in their activities, but the setting in England is different. Perhaps, it may help us imagine life on the Korean Peninsula, where the division has been lifted, some time in the future.

 

The important thing in living together is an equal relationship and respect. Constant contact and exchange rounds off the sharp edges that have appeared in relating with each other over the years. She hopes they will begin talking to one another.

Solo And Marriage Hell

 

These days, people use the religious term 'hell' without hesitation. The self-deprecating word "Hell Joseon" ( a satirical South Korean expression used to criticize the socioeconomic situation in South Korea), Indirectly points to the harsh reality of the young people of the 'N-po' generation (giving up numerous things in South Korea). A pastor in the Eyes of the Believer column of the Catholic Times gives us a look at this present situation as seen in Korean Reality TV dramas. 

The difficulties of life that all generations must face are replaced with 'hell'. In particular, while monitoring popular broadcasting programs such as 'Solo Hell' and 'Marriage Hell', the situation of the times is reflected as it is, and viewers sympathize with it, but it exposes unethical and non-evangelical values. 

'Solo Hell' and 'Marriage Hell' are both entertainment programs, but there is a difference. 'Solo Hell' aims to create couples, and 'Marriage Hell' aims to recreate couples. The hell referred to in 'Solo Hell' is simply a place where you are a solo person and survive on your own without anyone’s help, but in 'Marriage Hell', hell is a miserable state with no escape, suffering, despair, and pain. According to Christian doctrine, a hell is a place where people go as a result of their sins and are punished endlessly. Even in marriage itself, the word hell is used symbolically in the sense of foreshadowing such an experience.

In 'Solo Hell', single men and women are confined to an uninhabited island, and when they become a couple, they escape from Hell and go to 'Heaven Island'. This reality show is gaining popularity not only in Korea but globally.

There are many 'solo people' in our society who have not been paired up. Recent statistical surveys show that most of them are unable to marry due to financial difficulties or unable to find a suitable spouse. In that respect, these mating programs can have a good effect in attracting young people from single-person households to marriage.

However, it is also necessary to be aware of problems that arise. The rules presented by 'Solo Hell' are based on the dichotomous thinking that couples are desirable and singles are not. As if shouting 'couples heaven', 'solo hell'. However, single-person households are the trend in Korean society these days and will become even more so in the future.

 

Of course, some people are voluntarily single, but there are quite a few people who live alone involuntarily. Therefore, this program subtly reveals the discrimination that living alone is not right. Careful consideration is needed so that this program can make use of the advantage of inducing solos into couples but not discriminate against singles.

 

Even if you manage to succeed in becoming a couple, go to heaven, have a good relationship, and achieve your final goal of marriage, there are many cases where the fantasy that was like heaven after marriage is broken. The reason why an entertainment program called 'Marriage Hell' has a huge viewership rating is that it provides a solution to escape from a hellish marriage life.

 

In 'Marriage Hell', many viewers sympathize with the various marital conflicts that are seen without filtering and have a positive effect in eliciting vicarious satisfaction. However, due to the nature of broadcasting, which is tied to viewership ratings, several critics point out that there are limits to a system that relies on a single professional counselor, even though problems such as child molestation and domestic violence are raised. 

Also, the word 'marriage hell' in the program title imprints a negative image of marriage as hell in the era of low birth, and the danger of making 'living alone', attractive, and raising concerns of hitting a steep demographic cliff. 

 

In Dante's 'Divine Comedy', he takes himself as the main character and travels through heaven, purgatory, and hell. A place without hope is hell. If you think about it, it means that the moment you have hope, anyone can head to heaven. Whether you are living alone or married, you can have a fresh start when you acknowledge your own and the other person's shortcomings and accept the hope of change.

Victims Of War

 

 

The director of the Bishops' National Reconciliation Committee gives the readers of the Catholic Times his thoughts on victims of war.
 

He introduces us to George M. Carroll (1906-1981) a Maryknoll missioner who experienced the war as a military chaplain.

George M. Carroll (1906–1981) was ordained a Maryknoll priest in February 1931. He came to Korea in August of the same year, and began his mission life in Anju, Unhyang, and Seopo, in the Pyongyang Province of North Korea.

When the Pacific War broke out in 1941, Monsignor Carroll was arrested by Japanese authorities and deported to the United States in June 1942. After re-entering Korea after liberation, he led the establishment of a military service system in the early stages of the Korean War.

The war he experienced as a military chaplain was indescribably harrowing. The following is a diary he wrote on December 12, 1950, describing the miserable situation of Seodaemun Prison, which was filled with "suspected servicemen" after the South Korean military restored Seoul.

"I visited the prison this morning with the representative of the International Red Cross. The situation was horrible. About 30 people would die every day starved to death packed together in small quarters. The hospital was the worst. The building was actually falling apart. I looked in the morgue where 12 bodies were thrown, piled one on another. Women were nursing babies in small cells. Two babies died in two cells a while ago, and the small bodies were still there. We talked to people awaiting execution. Many men and many women, most of the prisoners, were guilty of cooperating with the Communist Party. Many people have not yet been tried, and have been waiting for a trial for many months. The Red Cross representative was very angry. This is because there was a clear attempt by the prison authorities to cover up the facts."

The Ukraine war, which has no signs of ending, is still showing the bare face of a harsher war towards the poor in this 21st century. In last week's Christmas Eve Mass, Pope Francis condemned the endless war and said, "I think of all the children swallowed up by war, poverty, and injustice before all else."

Recently, several experts are concerned about military tensions on the Korean Peninsula. This is because the repeated "Tit for Tat" strategy in a situation where dialogue is cut off could lead to a larger military conflict. No matter how difficult it is, we cannot give up the path to peace. In the new year of 2023, the writer sincerely hopes that dialogue for peace can begin anew wherever there is a conflict.

The Art of Conversation

The Church in Korea for many years tried with great effort to establish Basic Christian Communities (BCC), or Small Christian Communities( SCC) (the concepts are basically the same). They are small groups of Christians who live in similar geographical areas of a parish and who get together usually monthly within the territorial parishes to share their faith and life with others. In Korea, they have not been successful for the most part, and not only because of the Covid pandemic.

The efforts in the different dioceses to begin these small groups began at different times and with different rates of success. Some of the bishops have considered this one of their most important efforts in the diocese.

Today we are concerned with the preparation for the Synod in 2024 and the Synodalitas way of being Church. The word listening is used prominently but speaking with the help of the Spirit is also a requisite. Listening and speaking with the heart.

This is no longer something that comes naturally, is desired, or is found useful. Conversations about matters that are important, without pretense that come from the heart are rare but the exchange of words has no doubt increased.

And yet sitting down together and talking to one another about important matters seems to be a wise pursuit in this very confusing world in which we live. However, many see the art of conversation disappearing for a multitude of reasons.

Individualism is one of the values that society has succeeded in imposing on us in recent years. The sense and need for community that was necessary are no longer present.

Social Media has been introduced and is greatly used; the eye-to-eye and heart-to-heart encounters have greatly diminished. Technology in its many forms has become ever-present. Secularism, consumerism, competition, and success are values that motivate society, and what was considered common sense has become ambivalent.

Voices in society have been saying these same things for years but they no longer have an audience and life continues the course of least resistance, our default status.

For Christians, the test should be the results of what we have chosen as a people. St. Paul in 2nd Corinthian chapter 13:5 says: "Put yourselves to the test and judge yourselves, to find out whether you are living in faith. Surely you know that Christ Jesus is in you?—unless you have completely failed." Once one knows that Christ is living within us, joy can't help but follow and we have a lot to learn and a lot to communicate.

It is surprising how we have lost the importance of conversation for growth in wisdom. When one has a deep conversation, not afraid of difficult subjects, where we speak from the heart and listen with the heart we will come away from the encounter as different persons.

Overcoming the Generational Gap

 On the Spirituality page of the Catholic Peace Weekly, a religious sister working with the elderly asks the readers to go beyond differences in age to what we have in common.
 
A teenager asked: "Is there an age you want to go back to?" She gave it some thought but was sure she didn't want to go back to the past. It's not that she's satisfied right now, but knows how precious this moment is because it's the result of living her life thinking countless times about what's best, whether happy or sad.
 
The incident of assaulting an elderly person with abusive language on the subway or on the street appears in the news every so often, which she would like to forget. It's distressing seeing some teenagers vent their anger toward the elderly. Some people see this as the disappearance of education in table manners. In the past, before an adult raised a spoon, no one would hold a spoon first, even a grain of rice would be valued, and when meeting adults, they would be greeted politely, etc. Often human rights were taught at the table. The meal culture was important not only as a means of filling their hunger.
 
How is it these days? When a baby cries, you often see the parents giving them a smartphone rather than trying to figure out why they are crying. At the table even when the whole family is present it is not rare to see each focused on their smartphones and no conversation. The opportunity to know each others' thoughts and overcome differences is lost and individualism continues to grow.
 
Rather than asking parents, teachers, or seniors for advice on things one has not experienced, one searches for answers on the internet. Looking for information, it's okay without friends and family around oneself,  one only needs a smartphone. We are not concerned with fellowship, communication, our emotional life, and building relationships, between people. The generation gap is getting deeper and deeper because we are not concerned with understanding the issue. To narrow the conflict gap between the younger and the older generation, communication and efforts are required to arouse generational sympathy.

The Sister mentions a "Generation Empathy" program in which the younger generation and the older generation communicated. Through the program, teenagers say they learned that "old people still dream, like to talk with excitement when they see flowers and want to belong to a community." Many of the young unconsciously thought the elderly would be unconcerned with ordinary emotional life. The Sister asked one of the older generations what they felt positive about becoming old.

"No one thinks of me as a competitor, so I have no enemies, and as I gain a lot of experience, I get wisdom, I get relaxed in front of mistakes, I understand other people's difficulties, I understand, I don't get angry, and people approach me...." The old man's voice, who was talking to the writer, became more lively and said: "I thought I was in trouble because I was afraid I would become a loner when I got older. But instead, when I let go of my greed a little bit, there seemed to be more good things!"
 
The younger generation looks at the elderly as seniors who have lived life first, and now the elders approach the young with care and concern that they may have the passion for life proper to their age to bloom. Wouldn't that overcome the generation gap? Wouldn't that be the starting point?

Because of closeness, we often fail to speak kindly to our family. She hopes today will be a day to say a warm word to parents and children so that each other's differences can be understood and respected as beautiful diversity.

Honesty In the Market Place

 

It's not easy to follow the Catholic faith while running a business? Many things need to be done. With these words, the Peace Column of the Catholic Peace Weekly begins.

This is a conversation that usually appears at the beginning when people who know that the writer is a Catholic ask him questions as head of a foundation. This prejudice may have arisen from the idea that corporations are profit-seeking groups. However, as you know, business activities are not simply the pursuit of profit. They also have responsibility for society, including employment, and activities with various purposes and functions. The writer has been a businessman for a long time and is thankful for having a faith life.  

"Who are trustworthy persons?" "How does one go about getting a lot of trustworthy people?"

Management becomes easier when there are many people you can trust. There will be fewer mistakes and failures, and the effort to check and monitor will inevitably be reduced. "Can you trust that friend?" The answer to this very common question is that the same words are repeated all the time.

"Of course. That friend and my brother-in-law lived in the same neighborhood for some time. It's a local person. You can believe what is said." "Yes, it's okay to trust that friend. I went to middle and high school with that friend for six years." "Yes, he is trustworthy. My cousin is married to that person, so I know the family well."

It sounds good when you hear it, but if you think about it, the answer is that it's okay to trust because there is a relationship between friends, school, and blood. However, it has been proven countless times how futile such trust based on regionalism, academic ties, and blood ties is in companies and organizations, there are still many in our society that cannot escape from this thinking.

So, who can be trusted? And how can you make sure there are a lot of trustworthy people in your organization?  

"A trustworthy person admits his mistakes and keeps his promises." Since mistakes are not covered over but made known unconditionally, it is possible to know transparently whether the person did a good job or not. If he honestly admits that he has done something wrong, he should  be allowed to realize and learn so that it does not happen again. A person who keeps his promise is someone who can increase credibility and sustainability even if he loses something in keeping his promise. Exposed to harsh performance-oriented evaluations and unlimited competition, performance and results take first place and honesty is pushed aside.
 

However, with faith, it is already clear that we must admit mistakes and live a life that keeps our promises. Are there any more powerful means of admitting mistakes than the sacrament of confession? Is there a more powerful promise than making a promise with God through daily prayer and reaching the resurrection beyond death? The Catholic faith always teaches us to raise reliable people who admit their mistakes and keep their promises. This explanation leads to the next question.

"Then, wouldn’t it be better to hire more people with such good character?" "No, it won’t be. What can make a person of good character bad is the way a company operates."
 
No matter how good the character is, if a company's operating rules are harsh and if a mistake is made, regardless of the process and cause, if punishment and disadvantages are given, everyone will cover up the mistake. It is because in the management of the organization survival takes precedence. No matter how much a practitioner makes a promise to an external stakeholder, if he is constantly driven by supremacy of performance, he has no choice but to choose performance and abandon his promises if he wants to  survive. In other words, if the organization is operated in a way that allows mistakes to be admitted and promises to be kept, more people can be trusted, and if the evaluation is harsh and constantly based on short-term performance, even people with good character will hide mistakes and abandon promises.

However, God gives us infinite love so that we can admit our mistakes and ask for forgiveness and become better people. Our work will also improve.

Reason, Will, Faith

"Faith is the result of the act of the will,following upon a conviction that to believe is a duty." St. John Henry Newman

 

In the Catholic Peace Weekly "Uncomfortable Content's Column," the writer introduces the readers to his thoughts on the faith life of some believers.

He goes back to an end-of-the-year drinking party where a younger friend next to him suddenly asked: "Do you really believe there is a God? To attend church weekly as you do?" It must have been amazing to see a man who had lived dissolutely for a long time suddenly end his apathy a few years ago and resume his religious life seriously.  

Well, he's also curious. He was hesitant about what to answer, but his friend said: "Isn’t it because you like going to church every Sunday to receive comfort and peace of mind?" Nodding his head at what he just said. His friend wasn't wrong, and he wanted to explain 'belief' in one or two words, so he swallowed his answer silently. ‘So, what exactly is faith?’

What he was going to say that day would have been something like this. Faith is not complete, it is always in the process of being made. He is not sure of God. To tell the truth, he has no choice but to say so. Even though he makes a confession of faith at Mass, he still cannot fully believe in the existence of an all-powerful God, and it is difficult for him to believe that a virgin conceived a child and that her son died and was resurrected. After all, he considers himself a half-penny believer who does not fully believe in any of the most essential facts of the Christian faith.

A long time ago, when he was in the military he dared to ask the chaplain if he really believed in the resurrection. "I tried to believe, so I came to believe. Strange as it seems, without question. You will believe it too." He remembers being comforted by the priest's answer.

What is Faith Really? "To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope  for, to be certain of things we cannot see."  By faith, we understand that the world was prepared by the word of God so that the visible came out of the invisible (Hebrews 11). It says that faith saves us and that the ancestors of faith proved it. However, he sympathizes with Apostle Thomas who believed in the resurrection only after touching the hand of Jesus. We live in a world too scientific and rational to believe in such impossible things.

He concludes by asking the readers not to expect him to believe unconditionally. Without doubts, there will be no growth in faith. Since Jesus said that the poor in heart and those who mourn have the kingdom of heaven, he wants to believe that God's great 'Will' exists even in the humility of those who acutely realize their lack of faith and will. As long as our lives have a purpose, that purpose is to exist in some way. I pray that it will be a new year in which everyone comes one step closer to his will to love others and hope for a better life.

The thoughts of our columnists are those shared by many of our Christians and non-believers. #155 of the Catholic Catechism we hear that: In faith, the human intellect will cooperate with divine grace: "Believing is an act of the intellect assenting to the divine truth by command of the will moved by God through grace."

The ways of coming to a belief in God are many but it's always a gift. The easiest access to faith on our part would seem to be an investigation, experience, study, the perusal of history discovering what Jesus left on earth before leaving us. For many, it was a community, an institution—Church—that was left. It's composed of weak, sinful human beings and yet many are able to see beyond the human element, the corruption, and evil and see the hand of God working in his mystical body the Church. They have been graced.