Peace on the Peninsula

01.10.2008

I remember the first time I met Ko Tong-ju (Pio). I was going to a Mass in solidarity with conscientious objectors, in particular to support Pio, the first Korean Catholic who had refused to go to the military on the grounds of conscience. At the Mass he was sitting beside his mother - she appeared to be nervous and apprehensive and he seemed so young.

At the end of Mass his mother shared her own mixed feelings. Her son would most likely go to jail. It would be a mark against him all his life in Korean society and yet she knew it was a matter of conscience for him.

Pio’s in jail serving 18 months because of his refusal to serve in the military. I was at his final hearing before he was jailed. On that day he was given a final opportunity by the judge to state his position. For Pio it was simple - he could not take a gun, he would not practice killing. He would love to serve his county but in an alternative way. He loved freedom and was not looking forward to going to jail but was prepared to face it.

After the hearing was over we went to a nearby restaurant for a meal; everyone was moved by the integrity and courage of Pio, but there was also a tangible anxiety about the impending jail term. Among the group was a young man just released after serving his time in prison as a conscientious objector.

Something new is happening in Korea. The action of Pio and his friends is but one example of a shift in consciousness. I believe that there is a new realisation that the task of building peace is the duty of everyone. There is a growing awareness that peace is not just the sole responsibility of Governments, that ordinary people must get involved if there is to be real change.

An example is the new peace-making role of various NGOs, which have emerged with the development of democracy. These organisations are opting for policies of engagement with North Korea, to pursue dialogue and outreach as opposed to using threats and ultimatums.

One such group is “Peace 3000” founded in 2003. Columban Kim Jung-geun (Domingo) is involved with this organisation which facilitates exchange groups with the North, peace education programmes for children in the South and funding small programmes in North Korea.

All these new initiatives are impacting on the Church and its leadership. A study group of interested lay persons, priests and religious has been established to research and make known the Church tradition and teaching on the issue.

In the aftermath of nuclear tests by North Korea, despite the strong call for cutting all links and  imposing sanctions, Bishop Yu Hong-shik, Director of Korean Caritas urged that dialogue and not force be the way forward. He stated clearly that Caritas would continue sending aid to North Korea. Other religious traditions have responded in a similar vein. The YMCA and Buddhist “Join Together Society” also announced that they would continue to send aid to North Korea.

The kernel of this change is that people are realising we must act peacefully to bring about peace. For many young people it means a decision in conscience not to bear arms; for many NGOs it means challenging Government Policy on contact with North Korea. Many years ago Martin Luther King had that same insight when he declared, “Peace is not just the Goal we seek, it’s the means by which we arrive at that Goal.”

Fr Donal O’Keeffe has been a missionary in Korea since 1976.

Read more from The Far East October, 2008