Catholicism is the next Korean Wave

We need imagination for everything. As overseas accolades to Korea’s quarantine measures continued, the Korean President even declared “the Korean Wave of the quarantine system”. It has probably provided positive publicity during the general election. The Korean Wave which started during the late 1990s has spread beyond K-pop, TV dramas, and food to other far-reaching areas. The idol group BTS, that has been compared to The Beatles, has rocked the US music market, and Director Bong Joon-Ho’s Academy Awards allow us to look forward to popularization of Korean movies in the global stage. It seems the Korean Wave has no limits. Is it too early for me to imagine this? I imagine Catholicism to be the next Korean Wave.

I only realized how much attention was on Korea when I went abroad. I went to an international convention of Catholics for the first time in my life in 2014. It was SIGNIS Asia Assembly, the gathering of Catholic communicators in Asia. It was my first time at an international conference and everything was unfamiliar to me. However, several people approached me and proposed Korea should host the next Asia Assembly. The celebratory stage prepared by the youths of the host country, Indonesia, was the proof of the Korean wave. A young lady sang “Arirang” in Korean, and the finale song was the Korean pop song “Because of You”.

SIGNIS is a Catholic layman communicators group accredited by the Vatican. In most countries, it is managed by the clergy working in the communications field. SIGNIS Korea is more expansive in its scale. The organization is mainly managed by Catholics working in major broadcasting companies including CPBC, KBS, MBC, SBS, and EBS, and has over 500 members. SIGNIS World Congress 2021 will be held in August at Sogang University. Some 300 Catholic communicators around the world are expected to visit so there couldn’t be a better opportunity to promote Korean Catholicism.

Catholic activities in Korea have also gained attention through the Cursillo Movement. According to Mr. Seo Wang-suk (Matthew), the Secretary of Cursillo, there are 5.5 million Curisillistars in 67 countries, and among them 220 thousand in Korea. This number alone is considerable for one country, but Ultreya is also managed systematically in each church. In particular, the operation of Ultreya for the youth is said to stand out. I might be ill-informed, but I believe no other nation has such a dedicated Legio Mariae (Legion of Mary) as in Korea.

Remarkable activities of the laity can also be found in the roots of Korean Catholicism. Korean Catholics came into existence spontaneously without direct guidance from foreign missionaries. Ancestors of the faith gathered by themselves to practice and study Catholicism, and later begged the Beijing Diocese to dispatch a priest to Korea. In the midst of severe persecution, many lay people were martyred with foreign missionaries. The holy traces of the 103 saints and 124 beatified ancestors can be felt all around Seosomun Historical Park and the holy sites. There is also the Seoul Catholic Pilgrimage Route which is the first of its kind in Asia to be approved by the Vatican.

In the course of managing COVID-19, we have been able to stand more proud. Korea is the only country that has achieved economic growth and democratization within half a century. The closer you look; Korea and the Korean Catholics are remarkable.

There are also opposing views. During the process of rapid and compressed growth, the gap between rich and poor grew wider and the depth of social conflicts deepened. The church has also been the subject to criticism that internal growth has not kept pace with external developments. It has also received stinging critique that it has become a “church only for personal well-being”. It is like a youth going through growth spurts, whose thinking ability is unable to catch up with his fast-growing body.

However, when the body develops and the maturing of the mind follows, the youth naturally becomes an adult. Korean Catholics have changed from a church that receives to one that shares. Korean missionaries are now going to Europe as well as South America and Africa. When Korean Catholic Church achieves qualitative growth along with external growth, Korean Wave of Catholicism will not just be a thing of imagination, but of reality.

Francis Kim (President of SIGNIS Korea)
10 May 2020, Catholic Peace News Weekly, Peace Column

Translated by Hee-jung Michaela Choi

Top from left to right: Myungdong Cathedral in Seoul; 103 Saints canonized by Pope John Paul on 1984 in Seoul; Catholicism handed down in Korea

Bottom from left to right: Senamteo Martyr’s Site in Seoul; 124 Blessed beatified by Pope Francis in 2014 in Seoul; SIGNIS Korea’s small group Mass in Munhwa Broadcasting Company