Starting today, groups can register on the organising committee’s website to participate in the global gathering of young people in Seoul, on 3-8 August. Addressing a congress on school-based pastoral care, the pope said that, “Beneath the armour that many teenagers build for themselves to avoid suffering lies a deep desire to love and to be loved.”
South Korea has started a project to hire 100 Philippine domestic workers to help Seoul families. Two reportedly fled from "overwork and overwatch,” only to be found a few weeks later in Busan. Discussions are underway about wage levels and how to extend the programme to the whole country.
Chosen by the Swedish Academy for her ability to deal with "historical traumas” and “the fragility of human life", the 53-year-old author is the first Korean to win the prestigious award. Alongside "The Vegetarian", her most famous novel, she has also confronted the country’s wounds, like the massacre carried out in 1980 by the military in Gwangju, her birthplace.
Lee Im-jae, 54, convicted of failing to foresee the huge turnout of people in Itaewon on 31 October 2022. Other officials including the head of the local government exonerated. Incident ‘not classified as an accident’ and regulations not ‘mandatory’ according to the court. Victims' relatives appeal demanding harsher punishment.
The theme and logo were presented at a press briefing today in the Vatican in the presence of the archbishop of the South Korean capital. The Cross that accompanies the meetings of young people with the Pope will be handed over in St Peter's Square on 24 November. Speaking about the possible presence of young North Koreans, Archbishop Chung said: "We want to invite them,” but today's political situation does “not currently favour their presence.”
Blessed on the feast day of St Andrew Kim in the presence of Korean bishops on an ad limina visit. The Virgin wears a hanbok, the traditional Korean dress, and is depicted as Our Lady of Peace. ‘Intercede for reconciliation on the Korean peninsula’.
For the first time, three South Korean dioceses organised together this moment of encounter and prayer, with thoughts for the deceased and divided families. For Fr Jung, “While the Catholic Church’s support and companionship for North Korean defectors were more focused on the initial settlement in the past, now it seems that pastoral and spiritual companionship is also requested.”
Today's news: About 8,000 Rohingya have left Myanmar in recent months and taken refuge in Bangladesh; Thai king approved new government presented by PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra; Former governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon Riad Salameh arrested; Fumio Kishida in Seoul Nov. 6-7 to revive alliance with South Korea.
Today's headlines: The Philippines, the US, Canada, and Australia hold a two-day exercise in the South China Sea. Taiwan’s defence spending is expected to reach a record high next year. Hamas appoints Yahya Sinwar as its new leader. In South Korea, climate change is disrupting agriculture with new banana and papaya farms popping up.
The Paris Olympics opened with some confusion over South Korea’s name, annoying the East Asian country’s officials. Mixed Doubles Table Tennis instead took a group photo on the podium with a Samsung.
After two days of competition, Asian fencers take home three out of four gold medals. This sport is increasingly popular in South Korea and Japan, while it is set to become Hong Kong’s national sport. Vivian Kong Mai-wai's victory in the women's epee follows that of Edgar Cheung Ka-long, who emerged as Hong Kong’s star with gold in the men's foil at Tokyo 2020.
Gathered the Myeongdong Cathedral, the local community officially began the preparation for the event that in three years will see young people from all over the world converge on South Korea for the meeting with the Pope. Among the 900 present were also young exiles from Pyongyang. Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taek: ‘The Church wants a place for young people where they can be protagonists in giving direction to society as well’. In September, the theme chosen by Francis.
The verdict of the Unesco World Heritage Committee (WHC) body was released today from New Delhi. The decision comes after a heated debate between Japan and South Korea. Seoul's accusation of misreading modern history: Sado is a symbol of the forced labour of Koreans after the Edo period (1603-1868).
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