hankyoreh

Pope Francis meets representatives from the Sewol victims’ families committee

By Song Ho-kyun, Park Ki-yong, Kim Ki-nam, staff reporters, Choi Sang-won, South Gyeongsang correspondent and Huh Ho-joon, Jeju correspondent

In 2009, when Pope Francis was still a cardinal, he presided over a mass in Argentina, the country of his birth, on the fifth anniversary of a fire at a nightclub that claimed the lives of hundreds of young people. “We need to cry,” Pope Francis, then known by his birth name Jorge Mario Bergoglio, said. “We still haven’t cried enough. We haven’t cried enough for those who are no longer here.” Last year, referring to the difficulties faced by unemployed Italians, he spoke of the “tragedy of an economic system that idolizes money.”

The problems in Korea won’t be resolved merely because the pope takes an interest in them. Nevertheless, South Korean society has high hopes about the pope’s visit on Aug. 14. This article gives the Pope a chance to hear in advance the voices of people on the ground, people involved in struggles that South Korean society has thus far failed to resolve.

on the morning of Aug. 14. 　

On Aug. 13, the families of those who died in the Sewol tragedy held a press conference for domestic and foreign journalists at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, the location of their ongoing hunger strike. This is where Pope Francis will be presiding over a beatification ceremony on Aug. 16.

“We want to know the truth about the tragedy. We want to prevent this kind of tragedy from happening again. We want to create a society in which every precious creation receives adequate respect, a society that is safe for all to live in. We want to share our convictions with the Pope, Catholics, and the Korean people, and we want to do it here at Gwanghwamun, which stands between us and the president only 2,000 meters away,” said Kim Byeong-gwon, 50, chair of the Sewol families committee.

The Pope invited around 30 members of the victims’ families to attend the mass for the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which will be held at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on Aug. 15. The Pope is also planning to have a closed-door meeting with 10 of the family members, including Kim.

Jeong Hye-sook, 46, the mother of Park Seong-ho, a student from Danwon High School who died in the Sewol ferry sinking, says that her whole family is Catholic. “We had all decided to attend the beatification and canonization mass. We were looking forward to seeing Pope Francis when he came to Korea, but our dreams were shattered on April 16,” she said. April 16 is the day when the Sewol sank.

“It appears that our government does not want to reveal the truth about the Sewol tragedy. It is enough that we had to endure these moments of pain. These precious beings that God loves must never again be sacrificed on the altar of greed,” Jeong said.

On Wednesday, Kim Yeong-oh, 47, father of Kim Yu-min, a female student at Danwon High School who died in the tragedy, was in the 31st day of his hunger strike, subsisting on a diet of water and salt.

“I have been told that Pope Francis is someone who regards peace and human rights as important and who looks after the weak among us. Please remember us,” Kim said.

“We live in a greedy world that puts profit above life, governed by a corrupt and inept government that is more concerned with power than with the people. I hope that the Pope pays heed to these universal human problems and puts pressure on the government,” he said.

Lee Ho-jin (right) and Kim Hak-il

Seven of the former comfort women - women forced to work as sex slaves by the imperial Japanese military - were also invited to the mass at Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul, which Pope Francis will be presiding over on Aug. 18.

“I want to get on my knees before the Pope and sincerely entreat with him to find a peaceful resolution to the issue of the comfort women,” said Lee Yong-soo, 86, during a phone interview with the Hankyoreh.

Lee says that her excitement about meeting the pope is keeping her awake at night and that she is counting down the days till the mass. “The thing that I want more than anything else is for Japan to repent of its wrongdoing and to apologize. I sincerely hope that the Pope will do what he can to help,” she said.

On Aug 13, the Global Alliance Rally on the Memorial Day for the Comfort Women for the World War II Imperial Japanese Military was held as part of the weekly Wednesday demonstration in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul‘s Jongno district. At the rally, the Hankyoreh interviewed Kim Bok-dong, 88, and Gil Won-ok, 85, two other former comfort women who will be meeting the pope at Myeongdong Cathedral.

“There is bitterness in our hearts. The only thing that we want is to have our reputation restored by receiving an apology and compensation from the Japanese government. We hope that the Pope will listen to our appeal for the resolution of this problem,” said Kim.

"For more than 20 years, we have been coming to this rally every week and screaming our lungs out, but we have not gotten an answer from the Japanese government. Since the Pope is revered around the world, it is more effective for him to call on Japan to deal with the comfort women issue one time than for us to do it a hundred times,” said Gil, her eyes red from crying.

“Women continue to suffer from war in various places around the world and the Pope sends a message of peace and reconciliation. I hope that the Pope will create a peaceful world with no war,” she added.

Residents of Gangjeong Village in Jeju Island, who are in the seventh year of a campaign opposing the construction of a naval base on the island, were praying that Pope Francis’s visit to South Korea would be an opportunity to raise awareness of their suffering and to bring resolution to the issue. The activists have pinned their hopes on the Pope’s visit, even starting a letter-writing campaign in February asking him to come to their village.

Koh Gwon-il, 51, chair of the Committee Opposed to the Gangjeong Village Naval Base, will be attending the mass at Myeongdong Cathedral over which the pope is presiding on Aug. 18. “We had hoped that the Pope would visit our village, and it is too bad that he cannot. If he did, we thought that the mere fact that the pope was visiting a place that is undergoing such hardship would create a huge sensation. We want the pope to send a clear message that peace begins with respect for life and human rights,” Koh said.

“I hope that the Pope helps more people understand that peace on the Korean peninsula is necessary for peace in East Asia and in the world. It would be great if he would bring up the issue of the naval base that is causing the villagers so much grief, but we will be happy if he just communicates the message that weapons aren’t a substitute for peace,” said Cho Yak-gol, 41, who participated in the letter-writing campaign.

Jeong Im-chul, 72, Choi Min-ja, 60, and Han Ok-sun, 67, are also planning to attend the mass at Myeongdong Cathedral on Aug. 18. The three are residents of Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province where high-voltage electricity transmission towers are being erected. All three of them endured a great deal of hardship over the past few years doing a sit-in at the construction site of the 765kV towers in an attempt to block their construction. Of the three, only Choi is a Catholic. Jeong is a Buddhist, and Han is not religious.

“I think that Catholicism, Buddhism, and other religions are the same in terms of the philosophy of life that they teach, how we need to love and respect each other. Our struggle to stop the construction of the transmission towers can be seen as being connected to this same philosophy. We want to give our descendants clean land to live on. We would really appreciate it if the Pope would make some small mention of this,” Jeong said.

“The Pope brings hope and peace, and I think that it will bring me strength just to see his face,” said Han.

“On Aug. 17, we are planning to announce the letter that we sent to the Pope, a letter that communicates the hopes of Miryang residents. We hope that the Pope will give an official warning about the violence that the Korean government perpetrated against individuals and the danger of nuclear power plants,” said Lee Gye-sam, secretary-general of the Committee Opposing the 765kV Electricity Transmission Towers in Miryang.

There are still 186 workers dismissed from Ssangyong Motor who are unable to return to their jobs at the factory. Three of these workers - Kim Deuk-jung, 44, union chapter head; Moon Gi-joo, 53, head of the repair chapter; and Kim Jeong-wook, 43, secretary general - have been invited to attend the mass at Myeongdong Cathedral. The pledge made during Park Geun-hye’s presidential campaign to carry out a parliamentary investigation into the Ssangyong Motor layoffs proved to be no more than empty words. Since the workers were laid off in 2009, 25 workers and family members have either committed suicide or died of illness.

“When I asked for a meeting with the Pope, I was grasping at straws” Kim said.

“South Korea is infamous for having the longest working hours, the most industrial accidents, and the worst oppression of workers in the OECD. We believe that we will be meeting the Pope on behalf of those workers who are in an even more difficult situation than the people dismissed by Ssangyong Motor,” said Moon.

“We are very grateful to the Pope for his invitation, and we think it will be very helpful in increasing social interest in the issue. But in the end, it is South Korean politicians who must find a solution to this issue,” Kim said.

The workers who did not receive an invitation are also expecting a lot from the Pope’s visit to South Korea. Yang Geun-young, 33, a technician who installs cable television and a member of the C&M chapter of the Hope Union for the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, said, “The Pope is always talking about how he is called to help the lowly. I hope that he will send a message of hope by urging the government to guarantee employment and a living wage.”

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]