Joseph Yun Li-sun

The bishop of Daejeon celebrated a solemn Mass this morning, anniversary of the great martyr's beatification, on the site where he met a martyr's death. "I called on the faithful to examine their conscience to see if they live according to the right principles," he said. We prayed for the pope who "needs all the support and love he can get."

With a solemn Mass Msgr. Andrew Yeom Soo-jung became the 14th Metropolitan of the Korean capital. Friday he will receive the pallium from Benedict XVI. The new shepherd asked the faithful "for help to carry on the great challenges that the Church has before her: we will always fight for human life and for the reunification of Korea." The prelate also wants to transform into a site of pilgrimage the place where the first Korean martyrs were killed, including some of his direct ancestors.

In his annual message on the Day of the Environment, the bishop of Suwon urges Catholics to stop "The ecological destruction [that] is still committed today in every corner of the world".

The Buddhist Jogye Order, one of the oldest and most respected in South Korea and in the world, attacked the Chinese delegation, which left the 26th conference organized by the Friendship of the Worldwide Buddhists in protest against the presence of the Tibetan delegation: "Now they must apologize."

According to the testimony of Jo Chung-Hee, a former party member who converted to Christianity, the country has six labour camps holding religious leaders (mostly Christians) and political dissidents. In 2008, prisoners numbered 900,000 but they were killed by famine.

A source in South Korea's Interior Ministry tells AsiaNews, "As far as I know, the report of Chinese vehicles to North Korea is false. The Chinese government has lost patience with the Kim regime, which does not respect its promises."

Chinese Buddhists get Tibetan delegates thrown out of world conference. However, unsatisfied they suddenly leave. Samdhong Rinpoche, a former prime minister of Tibet's government-in-exile, is present at the conference. "China still hopes the world might forget" us, Tibetan source tells AsiaNews.

In recent days, a campaign launched to commemorate first wife of Kim Il-sung, who gave her life to the "dear leader" Kim Jong-il. She died in 1949, was part of an ancient Christian family in Korea just like her husband, who disowned the faith to build a personal cult.

Israel's Koreans are a tiny but steadily growing community. Its Christian members are passionate about the work of evangelisation in the "land of the Bible". Korea and Israel have a lot in common and this helps the two understand each other "despite initial mistrust".

Gwangju Archbishop Hyginus Kim Hee-joong opens the '12th Forum for Christian Unity in Korea' together with the National Council of Churches in Korea and the Orthodox Metropolis of Korea, "seeking and sharing our common heritage rather than focusing on our differences".

The Pope has appointed pastor of the Korean capital - and Apostolic Administrator of Pyongyang - Mgr. Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, committed to dialogue with North Korea and in the forefront of the battle against secularization of society.

According to the latest numbers released by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea, Church membership is up, to 10.3 per cent of the population. There are also more parishes and priests. More than 100,000 adults have been baptised. Some 12,000 mixed marriages have been celebrated. "For this growth, we must thank God," said Mgr Lazarus You Heung-sik, "but also our lay people" who proclaim the Gospel.