wfn.org | WCC NEWS: The road to reunification is obstructed by potholes

["WCC Media" <Media@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches - News Release

Contact: +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
For immediate release - 23/10/2009 10:33:43

THE ROAD TO REUNIFICATION IS OBSTRUCTED BY POTHOLES

If there were an easy path toward the reunification of Korea, it
might have been discovered during the past 25 years or at least
since the Cold War ended in the late 1980s. But it hasn't been
found yet.

In 1984 the World Council of Churches (WCC) began the Tozanso
Process with the modest goal of bringing Christians from North
and South Korea to the same table in order to build relationships
and slowly chip away at structures perpetuating a painful
division resulting from the Korean War, the Cold War and starkly
differing ideologies.

Twenty-five years later, an international consultation is being
held in Hong Kong to celebrate that new beginning, jointly
organized by the WCC and the Christian Conference of Asia. The
question is not whether there have been accomplishments resulting
from the Tozanso Process. The fact that there is a 25th year to
celebrate is an accomplishment in and of itself. 

At the same time, the WCC and its member churches are asking
what the next steps should be for the ecumenical community, given
that North and South Korea remain divided. 

The division, particularly within the context of the churches in
both countries, is not as deep as it was a quarter century ago.
But as with peeling the proverbial onion, each layer reveals more
and more challenging detail, including issues of historical
grievances, colonialism, occupation, war, injustice, power
imbalance, fear and conflict.

During the second day of discussions at the International
Consultation on Reconciliation and Reunification of the Korean
Peninsula, a series of speakers laid out just how complicated and
challenging this process continues to be.

The conference is being attended by nearly 140 church leaders
from more than 30 countries with the goals of celebrating the
Tozanso Process and setting a direction for the future role of
the ecumenical community in Korean reunification.

None of the day's speakers disagreed with the proposition that
there is a path forward. The question was which path should be
taken, and where it would lead. How one reaches the goal and how
one speaks about that goal can be equally important.

“There are numerous unresolved issues,” said Dr Leonid A.
Petrov, a University of Sydney professor and specialist on Korea,
during a presentation. He explained that the language used in
describing the situations in both the Korean states requires a
high level of sensitivity for the sake of avoiding more
misunderstandings.

Most of the presentations, including Petrov's, wrestled with the
geo-politics of the region. It took the intervention of North
Korean pastor the Rev. Ri Rong Ji to call the group back to the
primary task of the consultation: discovering the role of the
church in bringing about peace, reconciliation and reunification
in Korea. That is what his delegation of four North Koreans was
hoping to hear.

While it is certain the discussions will eventually focus on the
role of the church, the speakers on Thursday did present a
certain realism that the Korean division is not just found along
a demilitarized zone separating the two nations, but goes much
deeper, reaching into the soul of Korea itself, with regional and
world political posturing swirling around the issue.

It is not surprising that these divisions are found around the
table of the Six Party Talks, and in the academic interpretations
of regional political analysts influenced by the security needs
of each country involved in the situation.

Whose problem is the division of the Korean peninsula? Of
course, the Koreans from north and south live with the deep and
often overlooked pain and hardship of their separation. But the
causes behind the division also rest in the hands of the main
protagonists in this tortured storyline: China, Russia, the
United States and Japan. Along with North and South Korea, these
players account for the power groups making up the Six Party
Talks.

The seven presentations on the second day of the consultation
included perspectives on peace, reconciliation and reunification
from the Chinese, Russian and Japanese contexts, analyses of
multilateral security and intra-Korean cooperation, and a
historical overview of the beginnings of the Tozanso Process by
the former director of the WCC's Commission of the Churches on
International Affairs, Ninan Koshy, who organized the first
Tozanso Consultation in 1984.

Yet none of the speakers could offer definite answers on the
future. 

Only a decade ago reunification appeared to be well on course.
However, South Korea's Sunshine Policy of engagement with North
Korea, adopted in the late 1990s, has been suspended under the
current government. Economic cooperation between north and south
has lessened, there are more restrictions on entering North
Korea, and suspicions have emerged from the Six Party Talks.

Some in the meeting, who are not Koreans, voiced concern as to
whether it is realistic even to consider Korean reunification
today, particularly given the vast economic disparity between the
two nations. South Korea is one of the top ten industrial
countries in the world and in 2010 will be hosting the G-20.

The economy of North Korea has been under enormous stress since
funding from China and Russia disappeared after the end of the
Cold War. Its most loyal allies have made strides toward market
economies.

Despite a day filled with presentations that had the potential
to emphasize challenges, the moderator of the final session, the
Rev. Dr Yoon Jae Chang of South Korea, echoed the sentiment
expressed by the Rev. Ri Rong Ji from North Korea earlier in the
day by focusing the group on their task at hand: “How can we
continue our Christian mission to love?”

Media contact in North Korea and Hong Kong: Mark Beach, +41
(0)77 439 3492 (mobile)

"Churches support Korean reunification at Hong Kong
consultation":
http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1634/churches-support-korean-r.html

"Kobia and WCC delegation meet North Korean president Kim
Yong-nam":
http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1634/kobia-and-wcc-delegation.html

"Nurture our unity in Christ, Kobia tells North Korean
congregation":
http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1634/nurture-our-unity-in-chri-2.html

Photo gallery:

http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/photo-galleries/wcc-visit-to-north-korea-and-china-october-2009.html

WCC programme on Public witness: addressing power, affirming
peace:
http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=2946

Additional information:Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507
6363media@wcc-coe.org

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith,
witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical
fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings
together 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches
representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110
countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic
Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, from
the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.