[Interview] Leaders of S. Korea’s 7 largest Protestant denominations to apply for tourism visits to N. Korea

Posted on : 2020-01-24 18:50 KST Modified on : 2020-01-24 18:50 KST
Reverend Lee Hong-jung explains the importance of inter-Korean cooperation among religious leaders
Reverend Lee Hong-jung, secretary-general of the National Council of Churches in Korea
Reverend Lee Hong-jung, secretary-general of the National Council of Churches in Korea

“The leaders of South Korea’s seven largest denominations will be the first to apply for individual tourist visits to North Korea,” said Reverend Lee Hong-jung, the 64-year-old secretary-general of the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK), an association of the nine Protestant denominations in South Korea.

“Each denomination will also campaign to push for individual tourism to North Korea,” added Lee at a New Year’s press conference in Seoul on Jan. 22.

Lee explained that at the annual meeting, on Feb. 25, of the Korean Conference of Religions for Peace (KCRP) -- a leadership group representing seven religious bodies including the Protestant Church, the Catholic Church, and Buddhism -- leaders will discuss a campaign to support individual tourist visits to North Korea and try to reach an agreement. In an effort to invigorate inter-Korean cooperation, the government recently announced that it’s reviewing the possibility of allowing North Korea-issued visa holders to travel individually to North Korea via another country such as China.

“I met President Kang Ji-young of the Korean Council of Religions (KCR), a partner organization of the KCRP in North Korea, at the World Conference of Religion and Peace in Lindau, Germany, in late August last year. We had every meal together for a week. I emphasized to Kang that we deeply empathize with the idea that regime stability comes first in North Korea, but also shared the opinion that limiting civilian exchange is not advisable, because it could lead to estrangement with South Korean society,” said Lee.

Lee also announced his plans to proclaim this year, which marks the 70th anniversary of the Korean War, as the year of jubilee, a Christian term meaning “liberation,” and carry out a variety of events in the US to further the cause of securing peace on the Korean Peninsula.

In this vein, on June 19 the NCCK will participate in a commemorative march in Washington, DC, as a tribute to the words of the civil rights activist Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., and convene a council of Korean and American churches to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula. Then on June 23 it will attend prayers in conjunction with the No Gun Ri Peace Foundation at Saint Mark Church in Washington, and later in the afternoon host a “Korean Peace Forum” in the US Senate and request for mediation for matters regarding peace on the Korean Peninsula. Furthermore, an invitation was sent out to the Korean Christian Federation (KCF) in North Korea to attend the Presbyterian Church in America (PCUSA) conference in Baltimore later this year.

“In 2018, we tried to invite the KCF to the Methodist Church conference in Atlanta, but our visa application was denied by the US Department of State. This year, we will seek active collaboration with churches in the US to overcome the difficulties created by the State Department,” said Lee, noting that they’d already informed their North Korean counterparts of their intention to extend an invitation to attend the upcoming week-long events commemorating the Korean War.

“The United Nations Command (UNC) stationed in South Korea should work to keep the peace on the Korean Peninsula, instead of prolonging the Cold War status,” Lee said, emphasizing that the churches would continue to do their part.

Tackling the issue of state violence

The NCCK also announced that it would take up the matter of state violence. First, the NCCK plans to expose the civilian massacre case in the Golryeonggol area of Daejeon at the beginning of the Korean War. “Based on [our] research since last year, the targets of the massacre in the Golryeonggol area were leftists and Bodo League members [who were held in Daejeon Prison at the outbreak of the Korean War]. This area is called the ‘longest tomb in the world,’ but there is currently no excavation work being done there. [We] will begin the reconciliation process,” said Lee.

The NCCK also revealed its plans to share updates regarding the research being done by religious communities on May. 9 in Gwangju, in time for the 40th anniversary of the Gwangju Democratization Movement. It also announced its plans for a “peace campaign,” related to the movement, in a collaborative effort with other Christian organizations.

“The media committee at the NCCK will spearhead the establishment of an ‘anti-fake news center’ and publicly expose those who generate fake news on a large scale during the parliamentary election in April and other upcoming political events,” said Lee.

The NCCK also plans to publish a 20-volume series titled “The History of Social Movements of Christians in South Korea” to mark its 100th anniversary in 2024. The first volume of the series, which deals with historical records before Korea’s liberation from Japanese rule, has recently been published.

“Within the church, ‘consistency, reform, and change.’ Outside the church, ‘healing, reconciliation, and peace.’ These are the two crosses that I will bear,” pledged Reverend Lee, who was appointed the NCCK’s 12th secretary-general, during his inauguration speech in November 2017. Born in 1956 in Seoul, Lee graduated from the College of Education at Seoul National University, then enrolled in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) at the Republic of Korea Army Infantry School in 1980. That was when the Gwangju Democratization Movement broke out, and Lee was sent to serve with the East Coast Defense Command in the DMZ.

Influenced both by his paternal grandfather, an elder at his church and a graduate of the Pyeongyang School of Theology, Seoul School of Theology, and Kobe School of Theology, as well as his maternal grandfather, a founding pastor at Samcheonpo Holiness Church, Lee undertook training as a pastor, studying at Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary and later in England. Lee has held positions as the head of planning at the Presbyterian Church in Korea (PCK) conference, director of the Christian Conference of Asia, professor at Hanil University, and secretary-general of the Presbyterian Church in Korea (PCK) conference.

Cho Hyun, religion correspondent

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

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