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Korean Church Struggles with Asian Economic Crisis
From
PCUSA NEWS <pcusanews@pcusa80.pcusa.org>
Date
18 Jun 1998 10:35:22
Reply-To: pcusanews list <pcusanews@pcusa80.pcusa.org>
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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