Remembering the Sewol Tragedy

 

In a report from the Catholic Peace Weekly News Service a priest columnist reminds us of a tragedy from the past.

April 16, 2014. The Sewol ferry, which departed Incheon and was on its way to Jeju Island, sank off the coast of Jindo, Jeollanam-do. The captain, wearing only his underwear, was the first to escape from the sinking ship. About 300 people, including students from Danwon High School in Ansan, were on a field trip and could not return to their families. Paengmok Port becomes a sea of tears. Citizens hung yellow ribbons, saying something had to be done in response to the rising sadness. The Sewol ferry, which carries her pain, is salvaged from the sea and docked at Mokpo New Port.  

Perhaps because 10 years have passed, the feelings of remembrance are becoming dull. The yellow ribbons that were seen telling us to remain still and be with the bereaved families have disappeared. Those who were in the disaster control tower at the time are now living well without any problems. Only those who lost their precious family members are still wiping away their tears. 10 years have passed and the writer thought time would heal the pain.  However, even on the 10th anniversary of the Sewol ferry disaster, we still talk about the reason for our nation's existence and its safety.

159 lives were lost in Itaewon, in the center of Seoul. Itaewon was the Seoul Sewol Ferry. There was insensitivity to safety and the incompetence and irresponsibility of the persons in charge. Although we pledged to never repeat the Sewol tragedy, we failed to protect lives. 

It's not just the Sewol Ferry and Itaewon. We demand safety and concern for life every day. Our ordinary citizens demand safety from the state. Workers say that they should not die while working and that if they are sick, they should go to the hospital instead of going to work. Citizens ask whether we should create a culture of life rather than a culture of greed. Citizens ask the world to help us learn from our tragedies.

“We remember the victims” This year, the 10th anniversary of the Sewol ferry disaster, is also the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ visit to Korea. He remembers Pope Francis comforting the Sewol victims' families in the middle of Gwanghwamun Square. As a religious person, he was asked to remain neutral and not say or do things that the powers may dislike, and the Pope said, "How can you do that in the face of suffering?" He personally attached a Sewol yellow ribbon on his chest and offered Mass. We baptized the victims of the Sewol ferry disaster. The starting point of the Pope's consolation was memory.

Memories are powerful. We must remember not only the Sewol disaster and Itaewon but also the sick and those who live with difficulty worldwide. We must remember and walk together. If you cry, you should hold hands and cry together, and if you laugh, you should laugh together.

Creation Its System and Mechanism

The author of  Climate Crisis and Ecological Spirituality reminds us of the need for concern for our environment. The Catholic Times Diagnosis of the Times column brings this to the attention of the readers. 

Looking at the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament, God created the heavens and the earth, separated light from darkness, made day and night, plants and animals, as well as seasons and days, and blessed them with the words, "Be fruitful." It tells the story of the creation of humans on the last day of creation and the creation of plants and fruit trees that humans can eat (Genesis 1:1-31). This is the creation of a 'system'—a collection of components, living creatures, and inorganic substances to achieve the purpose of creation.

What is important here is the message of 'fruitfulness.' To be fruitful means that living things increase. How do they increase? It can be seen that when food is abundant, they multiply. Farmers, when growing crops, generously apply compost or fertilizer so that the crops grow well and bear much fruit. If there are many plants, the number of herbivorous animals increases, and as the number of herbivores increases, so does the number of carnivores and simultaneously the human population.

From a scientific perspective, starting from the most basic plants and moving towards animals and humans, 'energy transfer', defined as 'organic matter', 'grassland', and 'food', occurs along the food chain, leading to fruitfulness. This energy movement is a 'movement of heat' that moves in only one direction, forming an energy pyramid—heat moving to places with lower temperatures. Ultimately, the number of consumers is naturally adjusted by the number of subordinate producers and consumers to achieve equilibrium. However, humans are an exception, which has a huge impact on the balance of the ecosystem.

The environment suitable for life on Earth lies in the operation of the Earth's magnetic field and its revolution and rotation. The Earth's magnetic field, the ozone layer of the atmosphere, protects life on Earth from radiation and solar winds from space. The Earth's rotation and revolution operate as a 'mechanism' to keep the average temperature of the entire Earth constant. What is the source of these mechanisms?

Werner Heisenberg famously said that drinking the first cup of science leads to atheism, but after drinking the cup, God is waiting at the bottom. Pope Francis said that when God created all things, he allowed them to develop according to internal laws given to each of them. Ultimately, it can be seen that when God created the world, he created a system and a mechanism containing these internal laws. Nevertheless, we must deeply reflect on the fact that humans, the last created by God, are disrupting and collapsing the mechanism created by God.

The Apostle Paul in his 'Hymn to Christ' confessed that the Lord was with God before creation and that all things were created in him (Col 1:16-17). He also learned how to be content in any situation and lived a humble life. He knew how to live (Philippians 4:11-12). The solution to the climate problem caused by human excessive greed will be determined by the kind of life we live. 

However, the climate policy of the 22nd Korean National Assembly members, on climate issues, is not visible, and the collapse of the mechanism that maintains God's creation continues. How should we accept this reality in which 'economic abundance' appears as a new 'god' and replaces God?

Welcoming Young Immigrants to Korea

The Catholic Time's View from the Ark column by a religious sister gives us a view of the foreign community of young people in Korea. 

Looking over the status of multicultural students for the past 10 years, the number is increasing every year from 46,954 in 2012 to 160,056 in 2022. The proportion of multicultural students among all students is also continuously increasing from 0.7% in 2012 to 3.0% in 2022. Looking at the proportion of multicultural students over the past five years, the proportion of those born domestically (internationally married) is still the highest but is gradually decreasing, while the proportion of children and adolescents with immigrant backgrounds (immigration) and foreign students has recently increased relatively. 

Korean society is rapidly changing into a multiracial, multicultural society. As of November 1 last year, the number of foreign residents living in Korea was 2,258,248. According to the standards of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which classifies a country as a multiracial and multicultural country if the population with a migration background is more than 5% of the total population, Korea, where the number of foreigners residing in the country is 4.4% of the total population, has already reached the threshold of becoming a multiracial and multicultural country. 

Among these, students with immigrant backgrounds who entered Korea are called 'youth who immigrated misway' These children and adolescents show very different background characteristics from children from multicultural families born in Korea. Because they are teenagers who were born and raised in their home country and then come to the country, they often experience difficulties after entering the country. The biggest difficulty among them is the language barrier. Academic difficulties due to language, cultural shock that they face without preparation, and teasing that belittle their appearance are all too much for these teenagers to endure. Moreover, some of them enter the country on tourist visas and are often classified as illegal immigrants.

Regardless of whether they have Korean nationality or not, children and adolescents have the right to be protected and educated. To guarantee basic rights, support is needed for youth with immigrant backgrounds, especially immigrant youth. Nevertheless, our society is still not fully prepared to accept them.

We have a social task to provide Korean language and basic education to children and adolescents who have immigrated to Korea to improve their language skills and learning levels and to provide information for living in Korea and help them adapt to their new environment.

In particular, children and adolescents who immigrate to Korea feel alienated even though they live with their mothers in Korea. If you are staying as a foreigner for various reasons, you are living with psychological and emotional anxiety, so you need a warm welcome to those who are discouraged by everything and have a bleak future. What can we do to become a welcoming environment?

First of all, we must accept the current society that has become a multi-racial country and practice welcoming people as close neighbors to us. Let's look for data and share it with families and neighbors to gain a correct understanding of children and adolescents who entered the country. Let's welcome our children as friends so that they can feel love for their neighbors and build stable relationships. Let's teach them how to communicate and how to say hello when talking to adults and friends. Let’s help them so that they do not “reveal that their school life was mentally difficult by saying that their friends imitated their speaking style and made fun of them”  

“I give you a new commandment, love one another. Love one another, just as I have loved you!” (John 13:34) Let’s give our children and teenagers from different cultures a chance to slowly adapt to our Korean culture.

A Life of Work and Leisure

  

A professor in the sociology department of a Catholic University shares her thoughts on the kind of life she envisions in our world.

Although he has now left the political arena, the primary slogan of a former politician still resonates with people. It was 'life with dinner.' "An economy that takes on a human form in a life with evenings." (This expression suggests a vision for an economy that values work-life balance and human dignity). This slogan captured people's hearts with an image that seemed to counteract the rapid growth of our society and the fatigue it caused.

Imagine a life spent having dinner with family, strolling leisurely along riverbanks or in the local park, playing badminton with children, or cycling around the neighborhood. An acquaintance of the professor mentioned that hearing 'Life with Evening' brought peace to his heart and moved him to tears. It is said that suddenly, everyone in our country thought that perhaps they could be happy. To that extent, 'life with dinner' was something we all desired and hoped for. This 'life with dinner' necessitates substantial and challenging changes that must transform the country’s socioeconomic system.

In advanced Western welfare states, the policy agenda related to 'life with dinner' is termed 'work-family balance.' Commonly abbreviated as 'work-life balance,' it refers to restructuring family life and the labor market from a work-centric model to one that supports both work and family life. By doing so, we aim to achieve a balance between work and leisure.

It is no exaggeration to say that work and family are central aspects of our lives. Therefore, what is most essential for a 'life with evenings' is the ability to adjust working hours and support family life in the evenings. Europe's advanced welfare states have attained a significant degree of balance between work and family life. They lead lives where 'work-family balance' is feasible through various laws that alter the labor market structure and welfare policies related to family life. These include measures like reducing working hours when necessary, shortening the workweek, prohibiting discrimination against part-time work, and allowing parental leave for various family-related situations through parental insurance or childcare support. Such legal and institutional measures have been established and embraced by society at large.

Korea has introduced various systems by benchmarking the experiences of advanced welfare states. There have been many achievements, including free childcare, flexible working hours, and the provision for both parents to take parental leave. However, the most significant changes needed in the labor market are minimal, and 'work-family balance' is, in reality, very challenging except for a very small number of occupations. In particular, the corporate culture that favors long working hours and is reluctant to invest in new systems is persistent and chronic, making it difficult to implement changes, even with institutional reforms regarding working hours.

To achieve 'work-family balance' and 'life with dinner' under these adverse labor market conditions and practices, active intervention and support from the government are necessary. The ability to improve these conditions relies on the country's policy efforts. The dream persists, but the reality seems distant. These are harsh times, and we yearn for the days when we could dream of a 'life with evening.'

A Missioner's Life— Fr. Jerry Hammond Maryknoll Priest

The recent Catholic Times featured an article on Fr. Ham Je-do a Maryknoll Priest who was born in August 1933 in Philadelphia, USA, the son of an Irish immigrant family. 

At that time the United States was going through a very difficult economic period. His parents also had a hard time finding work. After many twists and turns, his father worked at a tobacco shop and his mother worked at a department store.

Father Ham,  grew up in a devout Christian family. It was when he met the late Bishop Jang Ik (John), (1933-2020) that Father Ham came to know the unfamiliar Korea across the Pacific. He met Bishop Jang Ik in the minor seminary and they became best friends. They spent a long time together and he got to know Korea, his fellow student Jang Ik urged him to become a missionary to Korea. From that time on his desire to go to Korea continued to grow.

“When he was a seminarian at Maryknoll he heard a lot of stories about Korea from Maryknoll priests who had been missionaries in North Korea since the 1920s and were expelled by the Japanese.” 

After ordination, Father Ham expressed his strong desire to go to Korea during a meeting with the Maryknoll Superior General to decide on his future missionary life. Korea was his 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices but he knew that he had to go where they sent him.

According to Father Ham's wishes, he was sent to Korea. On the day of separation from his family, the entire family cried facing the separation. Father Ham described that time as ‘a very sad and unforgettable day’. 

The journey to Korea took all of three weeks. From San Francisco to Japan, Busan, and Incheon by cargo ship. After arriving in Incheon, he was taken to the  Maryknoll Society headquarters. It was August 1960, when the heat was at its peak. Father Ham began his pastoral ministry in Korea as secretary to Bishop James Pardy ( 1898-1983), the first bishop of the Diocese of Cheongju

The first years in Korea, where everything was unfamiliar, were difficult. Father Ham honestly confessed: He wanted to return to the United States after only six months.

However, as he interacted with Korean students, his curiosity about Korea gradually developed. Father Ham remembered: “I learned Korean customs one by one, such as manners to follow when entering a house and dining etiquette, and I was especially impressed by the culture of polite language.”

“I remember saying to the kids, ‘Take it easy~’ in a slightly awkward polite way, and everyone just laughed.”

At that time, the wounds of war in Korea had not yet healed. Father Ham recalled: “Not only in the countryside but even in the capital Seoul, it was often dark at night due to a lack of electricity.”

The situation was not easy in the Cheongju Diocese as well. Father Ham had to prepare dinner himself to save on living expenses at the rectory where several priests lived together. He was sometimes scolded by Bishop Pardy, Father Ham said: “Since the bishop came on a mission, he wanted to live the same way as Koreans,” and “When he said he wanted to buy a bicycle, he scolded him and told him not to try to live more comfortably than Koreans.”

Nevertheless, his relationship with Bishop Pardy was a great help in adapting to Korea. Father Ham said: “Even now, whenever he misses the bishop he goes to the bishop’s grave and says hello.”

Father Ham later served as pastor in two parishes in the city of the  Cheongju Diocese and a country parish. Even when he was serving as a parish priest, he was full of various anecdotes. He laughed and said: “I was so nervous while giving the Sacrament of Reconciliation that he remembers telling a person to drink beer instead of praying the Rosary [The words for beer and rosary in Korea are similar]. Word spread among male believers, and after that, the line to see me for the Sacrament got longer.” He enjoyed visiting public offices and communicating with believers. He said: “During this time, I drank a lot of soju and ate a lot of  samgyetang. I was asked what kind of food I liked, so I said Samgyetang, and every public office I went to gave me Ginseng chicken soup.”

“It was a time when everyone was poor, and there were many things that did not go as planned, but as time went by, I came to love Korea, and I tried to be the same as Koreans.” At the same time, he recalled the words that he had already mentioned in his book: ‘Mission is romance’.

"Romance means being human. This is because human life is a process of falling in love."  Missionaries must also give unconditional love and live ‘like human beings'.

Father Ham expressed his deep affection for Korea, saying, “The Diocese of Cheongju is the hometown of my heart.” In the early days of his missionary work, he wanted to escape the difficulties of living in a foreign country, but now it has become a home he does not want to leave.

The Resurrected Life

A college professor reminisces over her resurrected life in the Catholic Peace column of the  Peace Weekly.

She remembers the Paschal Vigil, the Feast of the Lord’s Resurrection, 10 years ago. On that day when 304 lives were lost in the cold sea. She parked her car in the dark parking lot in front of the church, sat there for a while, and then returned home. She couldn't handle the light that would brighten up the church announcing the resurrection. It seemed as though she was left sobbing, wounded, at Paengmok Port, which had become a graveside. It seemed like resurrection morning would never come.

After that year, the Feast of Resurrection was not the same for her. Whenever she still listens to the reading of Exodus 14, the image of a huge body of water comes to mind and makes her flinch, and when she sees the yellow forsythia flowers in front of the church, the yellow ribbon comes to mind and her heart tingles, but the memory of the Sewol Ferry has now become a part of the Lord's resurrection for her. She asks herself: 10 years after the Sewol Ferry, has she experienced resurrection?

There is something you can see if you look closely. There are things you can hear only if you listen. Over the past 10 years, she has learned what resurrection is like. Resurrection is not a momentary change. The only thing that allows her to recognize the difference between before and after is her open heart toward the resurrected One. Like the disciples who looked closely at the gesture of a strange traveler breaking bread and suddenly realized that he had returned alive, like Mary Magdalene who heard his voice calling from a seemingly innocuous gardener, our eyes and ears must be opened to meet the resurrected one.  Although it may seem subtle and faint, if we do not discover the person who is being resurrected at every moment through our lives and the lives of our neighbors, we will not be able to change the world of violence and death.

Has there been a resurrection? She learned that life after resurrection is not a choice between life and death, but a life that remembers death. As we endure this time of pain, some of us have had our entire being turned into scars. Just because she laughs like everyone else doesn't mean the wounds have healed. She is learning how to live with the scars etched into her being. That's why she is choosing the path of life more earnestly and fiercely. Memories of death always bring collapse and confusion. Breaking, falling, and scattering are repeated. That's why it sometimes looks embarrassingly boring. But that's not the end. Life eventually makes us stand up. That is the mystery of Pascha. It is more beautiful and persistent because it is a life that remembers death.

Has there been a resurrection?  She is learning that she must love in order not to be swept away by a world where hate has become the norm. Anger towards an unjust world is justified, but hatred is not. Anger is a perception of a situation and a surge of emotion, but hate is an attitude toward an object. Anger can be converted into energy to change the situation, but hatred is expressed through violence that seeks to destroy the target. She turns the other person into a monster, and she turns herself into a monster. When anger accumulates and is internalized, it can easily turn into hatred. Ultimately, the power that transforms anger into change is love. Christ was angry in front of the profiteers who turned the temple into a den of robbers, but he did not hate (Mark 11:15-19).

He chose love. Instead of destroying the world, it revived it. In front of those who hated him, he tore his body into small pieces and became the bread of life. In this way, he is revived through the lives of each and every one of us. Resurrection is like that. It involves self-annihilation to conceive a shared life with others. She foolishly believes that love will ultimately save her and the world.

Has there been a resurrection? Resurrection must be ongoing. She is experiencing resurrection. now.

Service to Others Within the Church

The Catholic Times' View From the Ark column had an article by a university professor on Service to Others within the Church.

Attending Sunday Mass while traveling can be burdensome, but seeking out local churches and participating in Mass with the locals has become a delightful experience. It's a precious time that allows for immersion in local culture while also providing peace and comfort amidst the potential for theft, wariness of strangers, and the fatigue and tension that can come with travel.

Last October, she went on a free trip to Tokyo without any plans to visit a church. However, She was not familiar with the subway system, so the journey from the airport to the hotel was not easy, and she was already exhausted upon arrival. The difficulty at the trip's start made her decide to go to church.

The 12 PM Sunday Mass at the Tokyo  Cathedral was conducted in Korean. Due to the impact of COVID-19, there were few worshippers, and everyone was seated apart. She arrived just before the Mass started and, not knowing the distancing rules,  sat next to an elderly female parishioner, which made her feel uncomfortable. Also, although there were kneelers installed, the space between the front and back seats was so wide she wondered how to kneel and pray.

During the offertory, the parishioners did not go up to the altar but instead put their offerings into a cloth basket on a long pole, similar to European churches. The most surprising thing was that the parishioners did not move during Communion. The reason for the wide space between the front and back seats was that the priest would come directly to the parishioners to distribute the Eucharist. The parishioners received Communion standing in their places. She was not sure if this method was developed due to COVID-19, but it was new and impressive.

In Korea, as well as in other countries, parishioners usually go up to the altar to receive Communion. They prepare their hearts and approach the altar. 

She has experienced receiving Communion standing in a circle during retreat Masses or small-scale Masses, but it was unfamiliar yet refreshing for the priest to move around distributing the Eucharist to parishioners in their seats in a not-so-large church. It made her feel the presence of Jesus, who came down to us, and reflect on humility.

In modern society, humility is not considered a virtue, and without boasting or showing off, it's difficult for one's value to be recognized. It's hard to find humble people in a world where self-promotion is common, and it's often tiring to be among those who boast about themselves. In our society, competition and achievement have become important virtues, and people who boast about their wealth and power or exude confidence are seen as attractive and positive.

However, her experience in the Japanese church was an opportunity for self-reflection and made her think about the church's 'outreach service'. The prayers offered by parishioners who visit the homes of the bereaved were a sincere comfort during a time of grief. Recently, when her mother was suffering from a chronic illness, she requested the Eucharist for her, and the priest, along with the parish leader and other parishioners, visited her home to pray for her. When she thanked the priest, he said: "It's what we ought to do."

When we demand kindness and service from priests, religious, and parishioners, they can suffer from emotional fatigue like many others in society. Nevertheless, she believes the Catholic Church should actively seek out those who are marginalized and unable to come to church and offer comfort and support to them.

In times when people justify the reduction of welfare as efficient and when hatred towards the elderly, disabled, and women is legitimized, she hopes the church will actively explore its role and responsibility to seek out and comfort the marginalized and correct social discrimination and prejudice.