hankyoreh

Dec. 31.

“Yongsan is to me a place that holds the despair, hope and shouts of the world. In the abyss of oblivion, we scooped up hope to build a world of conscience, justice and where people can live like human beings.”

At 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday the Catholic Priests' Association for Justice held its final “Life and Peace Mass” in front of the Namildang Building in Hanggangno 2-ga, the site of the Yongsan Tragedy. The roughly 120 participants had to protect their candles with their hands each time the sharp winter wind blew between sermons given by Father Jang Dong-hun of the first ecclesial Team of Inchon Diocese. The “Life and Peace Mass” had been held daily on site except weekends without fail since March 28.

As the fight became prolonged and social interest lagged, the Catholic Priests' Association for Justice and Catholic Urban Poor Pastoral Committee of Seoul Archdiocese would themselves form a barrier against the wind so that the candles lit in remembrance of lives lost during the Yongsan Tragedy would not be blown out. They held 278 masses and for a total of 260 days held sit-down strikes, fasted for a solution to the tragedy and kept vigil in front of the Namildang Building.

On this day, however, when more people than ever flocked to the site at the news of a deal with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Father Mun Jeong-hyeon and others who had stewarded the site could not be seen. When asked where he was, Mun, who made an appearance after dusk, simply answered that he was sleeping. Furthermore, while they considered it fortunate that a funeral could finally be arranged, they were discontent with the terms of the deal reached. Mun said, “When your body is sick you go to a hospital, but when a society is sick people do not seem to care.” Father Mun added, “If you look at this site as an example where those who died have been treated so coldly for so long, it appears the state of our society is not such a bright one.”

Father Jeon Jong-hun, too, said with some remorse about the deal and said that it was more important to secure a full investigation into the circumstances that caused the incident and a promise that there would be fundamental changes to the redevelopment policy so incidents like Yongsan would not repeat themselves. Nevertheless, Father Jeon has asked many priests to attend the final memorial mass that will be held at the site on Jan. 6 for the Yongsan victims.

Despite trying to hold back tears, Kwon Myeong-suk, widow of Lee Seong-su, spoke at the mass and cried as she said the priests had nicknamed her a “fish that pours water when you press it” since she cried so much. Other bereaved family members thanked the priests and nuns for all of their efforts as for 345 days, the priests of “Namildang Church” had always been there with support.

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