ASIA/SOUTH KOREA - Prayer for peace and reconciliation in Korea in the face of an “emotional civil war”

Monday, 23 June 2025 peace prayer reconciliation

Archdiocese of Seoul

KOREA, REPUBLIC OF

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Prayer for peace and reconciliation in Korea in the face of an “emotional civil war”

Seoul (Agenzia Fides) – “Let us walk together on the pilgrimage toward peace with eternal hope,” said Bishop Simon Kim Joo-young, Bishop of Chuncheon and president of the Reconciliation Committee of the South Korean Bishops’ Conference, during the Mass for the Day of Prayer for Reconciliation and Unity on June 25. This date was established by the Korean bishops in 1965 to commemorate the beginning of the Korean War (1950-1953) and to pray for peace. In 2025, the 80th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule (1945) will also be commemorated.
Novenas, Masses, and prayer vigils are being held in all Korean dioceses for this day, during which Korean Catholics pray together for peace and reconciliation with their North Korean brothers and sisters. Bishop Kim Joo-young noted that South Korea is experiencing "a time of crisis and opportunity." On the one hand, there is a crisis in bilateral North-South relations. While, in recent months, incidents such as the launching of drones, leaflets, and balloons filled with garbage exchanged between the North and South have increased hostility and mutual resentment, in Korean society "people find themselves immersed in a sea of mistrust and conflict," he stated. "This situation is the result of ideological conflicts accumulated over a long period of division, which could be described as an emotional civil war," he added. Thinking of opportunities, the Bishop invited us to remember how many in the past have attempted to walk the path of peace and reconciliation and have united spiritually on the Day of Prayer for Reconciliation and Unity, suggesting the use of the word "hope" as a key term to "dispel the shadow left by the division of the Korean peninsula." The Bishop mentioned the Jubilee, recalling that the theme of the Holy Year is "Pilgrims of Hope," and emphasized that the first step to overcoming all conflicts is precisely "not losing hope." "After 80 years of division on the Korean peninsula, we must overcome conflicts with faith in the resurrection of Christ," he insisted. In the Novena underway in Korean Catholic communities, each day has been dedicated to a special prayer intention. On June 25, each diocese will celebrate the Eucharist with the participation of priests, consecrated persons, and faithful. On the occasion of this Day, the Committee for Reconciliation of the Korean Bishops' Conference also held a symposium on the theme of education for peace: this, it was said, begins with a reflection on the violence deeply rooted in oneself.
“We must all hoper that we can eliminate division and conflict, prejudices and strife between the South and the North so that a new path toward peace and harmony may open up,” said Bishop Mathias Lee Yong-hoon of Suwon and president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea, during his address at the meeting. Bishop Kim Joo-young, president of the Committee for Reconciliation, reiterated that “overcoming conflict through dialogue, listening, and cooperation is always a task for our people.” In recent weeks, the Korean Conference of Religion for Peace, which brings together seven major religious communities present in Korea, including the Catholic Church, has expressed hope for reactivating channels of dialogue between North and South Korea. The Conference recently convened the “Pilgrimage for Life and Peace in the Demilitarized Zone,” the strip of land that divides North and South Korea. At the end of a 385-kilometer walk, the pilgrims issued a call for peace: “It has been 80 years since liberation, and 80 years since the people of this land, freed from the chains of colonial rule, worked hard to create a country where they could live in peace and security.” “We walked unarmed through the demilitarized zone where the roar of weapons never ceases, and we prayed. We gathered in one place to talk about peace, sing for peace, and build peace,” the statement containing the call states. “Only through dialogue and cooperation, and only through efforts of mutual respect and coexistence, can we protect the lives and security of all citizens of the Korean Peninsula. If we allocate resources from arms purchases to dialogue and negotiation, all citizens of the Korean Peninsula will be able to live safer and more peaceful lives,” the text concludes. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 23/6/2025)