wfn.org | Korean Church Struggles with Asian Economic Crisis

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16-June-1998 
GA98055 
 
    Korean Church Struggles with Asian Economic Crisis 
 
    by Eva Stimson 
 
CHARLOTTE, N.C.--The economic crisis in Asia is having a profound effect on 
people and churches in South Korea, according to Presbyterian leaders from 
that country attending the 1998 General Assembly.  In this country of 45 
million people, close to 2 million people are unemployed.  And there is no 
government-sponsored safety net for those who lose their jobs, as there is 
in many Western countries.  The situation is so grim, say the Korean church 
leaders, that an average of 27 people per day are committing suicide, some 
of these entire families. 
    The crisis has forced Korean Presbyterians to recover their vision for 
social justice, says the Rev. Byung Uk Min, moderator of the General 
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK).  "For the last couple 
of decades," he explains, "we have put a strong emphasis on church growth, 
and we have neglected sharing what we have with others.  We feel God 
demands us to be more just." 
    Besides sharing with the newly poor in their own communities, Korean 
Christians also are committed to helping their neighbors in famine-stricken 
North Korea, says the Rev. Jeong-Rae Suh, moderator of the Presbyterian 
Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK).  Over the past year, Presbyterian 
and other churches in South Korea have sent between $3 and $4 million to 
relief efforts in North Korea, reported the Rev. Sang Hak Kim, general 
secretary of the PCK. 
    In an interview at the Assembly, the wives of the Korean church 
moderators, Hyun-Ja Choi (Mrs. Suh) and Chang Bok Choo (Mrs. Min), 
described in concrete detail the suffering of Koreans and the things 
churches are doing to help.  They said students are dropping out of school 
because they have no money to pay tuition.  Many are trying to join the 
military because the military will feed them, said Choi. 
    Unemployed white collar workers are competing for a limited supply of 
day labor jobs.  Women are swarming into YWCA offices seeking assistance. 
In some cases families are being thrown into conflict as husbands lose jobs 
and wives go out seeking work for the first time. 
    Churches are responding by providing meals, setting up clothes closets, 
and eliminating tuition for their nursery schools.  "Since the economic 
crisis began," said Choo, "members of my church pray day and night."  Many 
church members are skipping a meal a day so they can give more to fund 
these efforts. 
    Even though costs have doubled, Korean Presbyterians are still 
committed to sending missionaries to spread the gospel in other countries, 
said Min.  The Korean church considers this an important part of God's 
call, as well as a way of repaying their debt to U.S. Presbyterians who 
brought the gospel to Korea. 
    "We hope the PCUSA will send a message to investors to invest fairly 
and justly in South Korea," Min said.  Too many investors have acted like 
speculators, pouring in huge amounts of money and then withdrawing it 
suddenly, destabilizing the economy. 
    The Korean leaders also encouraged the PCUSA to send English language 
teachers and other workers willing to share the pain of the Korean people 
and help build back their country.  They also asked that U.S. Presbyterians 
remember Korean Christians in their prayers. 

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