hankyoreh

Bishop Kang Woo-il, head of the Catholic Diocese of Cheju

Bishop Kang Woo-il, head of the Catholic Diocese of Cheju (Jeju Island), appealed to Koreans to refrain from provoking fear and panic about the outbreak of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

“The excessive incitement of fear and panic has created another contagion in our society. I’m talking about the replication of the psychological virus of unreasonable suspicion and hate for other people,” the bishop wrote in a pastoral letter published on Feb. 26.

“Hatred incites discrimination, and discrimination develops into violence,” Kang said, offering as an example the Great Kanto Earthquake that struck Japan in September 1923. “After the earthquake, false rumors circulated that Koreans were poisoning the wells, committing arson, looting, and attacking Japanese. These rumors incited Japanese police, soldiers, and ordinary people to indiscriminately slaughter more than 6,000 Koreans and foreigners. That tragedy was triggered by the psychological virus of hate. We mustn’t be so foolish as to single out people for hostile attacks and exclusion because of COVID-19.”

Kang said it was embarrassing that some Koreans had engaged in hateful speech and behavior against Chinese and asked for their restraint. “Chinese who visited South Korea over the Lunar New Year talked about taxi drivers refusing to give them rides and Koreans picking fights with them. It’s embarrassing that the Chinese have been the targets of so many hateful words and deeds,” the bishop said.

Kang also responded to the recent push by politicians to block Chinese from entering the country by explaining the historical relationship between Korea and China. “When Korea was taken over by the Japanese and Koreans became refugees, the Chinese gave a neighborly welcome to many Koreans, and China hosted our provisional government for many years,” he said.

“All around us, people endure circumstances that are far more difficult and painful than COVID-19,” Kang also said. “Every year, more than 2,000 workers lose their lives in industrial accidents, while more than 3,000 people are killed in car accidents. We have lost our sensitivity to, and our ability to sympathize with, other people’s pain and misfortune. That’s the chronic disease that we should fear and regret most of all.”

By Huh Ho-joon, Jeju correspondent

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