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day of prayer for the peaceful reunification of the korean peninsula
In recent years, news from the Korean peninsula has tended to focus on the North. Nuclear capabilities and missile tests, famine and poverty, and the political turmoil that marked Kim Jong Un’s ascendance following the death of his father, Kim Jong-Il, have all captured headlines. Added together, these headlines can give the misimpression that the barriers to peace and reunification on the Korean peninsula are largely parochial affairs to which those of us in far flung places can only look in on. But because today is set aside as a chance for us to reflect on and hope for peace, reconciliation and reunification on the Korean peninsula, it’s also worth remembering that the current situation is deeply indebted to U.S. interference and a longstanding U.S. foreign policy that puts militarism first.
Do you know when the Korean War has concluded?
I am sure that there is no single person who answers correctly to this question because it has never ended.
Protest! Why would a 74-year-old retired PC(USA) pastor join in a protest in South Korea? The answer will come later. First, I must tell you I was part of a study group organized by the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program and World Mission in November 2018. What an eye-opening experience. Along with my wife and nine others, we spent 12 days traveling from Seoul to the southernmost part of the Korean Peninsula and then north to the “demilitarized zone” (DMZ) where the 39th parallel divides North and South Korea. We learned about the so-called “forgotten war” in Korea. We were appalled to hear about the atrocities committed by all sides. We learned about the continuing tensions on the peninsula because the war ended with a truce and not a treaty. We heard about the hope of a peace treaty being signed this year, the 70th anniversary of the start of the “conflict.” Such a treaty could reduce tensions, making the outbreak of war much less likely.
Tomorrow Presbyterians will join in prayer with other Christians worldwide to observe the Day of Prayer for the Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula.
Tomorrow members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will join in prayer to commemorate the beginning of the Season of Prayer and Reflection in the Korean Peninsula. The annual observance will conclude on Aug. 15.
On Aug. 15, 1945, Dr. David Suh and others from the Korean Peninsula were liberated from Japanese occupation. Suh remembers his family returning to Northern Korea. His father resumed his Christian ministry, but under the communist rule of the new North Korea, things would never be the same.
