Dr. Ligaya A. Acosta, Director, HLI-ASIA, February 1-8, 2008.

I left the Philippines for South Korea on February 1, 2008.  I was visiting the country for the first time, and I came as the new head of HLI-Asia to bring the Gospel of Life where only a handful of people speak and understand English.  While there, I not only preached, but I learned and was nourished beyond my expectations!

I arrived on a very cold, early winter morning.  As I got off the plane for the long walk to immigration, I immediately saw footprints of the culture of death!  On all planes of Asiana Airlines were proud announcements of their support for UNICEF, and just before leaving the arrival area, I saw another bold proclamation that Korea was a public service awardee of the United Nations!  I felt chills in my bones. 

As I left the baggage claim area, I met my gracious hosts: Mrs. Kim Duck Ja and her husband, Mr. Gin Kee Beung. Since neither of them speak English, they had an interpreter in tow - a young Korean lady who told me later she was being paid "much" for the job.  I was very touched.  They welcomed me like we were long lost friends. 

After a hearty Korean breakfast, I was brought to the blood-drenched Chol tu San, the Catholic Martyr's Shrine, where thousands had offered their lives "as witnesses to the glory and truth of the Gospel." What a first stop!  The 140,000 square-foot shrine, where a big statue of Korean Saint Fr. Andrew Kim Dae Gon stands, was also the first place Pope John Paul II visited on his journey to Korea in 1984.  How blessed I was indeed!

I expressed to my hosts my desire to see "Fr. Song," but I was told that there are many Fr. Songs in Korea, so I needed to have a full name.  I just prayed for a miracle.  As we were traveling the next day to Surichi Holy Place, the Mother House for some religious sisters, my Korean host received a call from Fr. Song himself!  I knew it was a miracle that I had made contact with him-and a relief that he spoke English!  He invited us to a "Mass for Life" that was going to be held at the famed Myeong-dong Cathedral in the capital city of Seoul at 6:00 p.m. that day.  Thus, after lunch and Mass at Surichi Holy Place, we headed straight to Seoul, which was four hours away. God was taking over my itinerary.

THE MASS FOR LIFE

Every year in South Korea, a "Mass for Life" is sponsored by Life 31, a pro-life group affiliated with the Catholic Bishops Conference of Korea (CBCK). Life 31 was established by Fr. Casimir Song of Cheongju Diocese-the same Fr. Song who had miraculously found me.  He is a former General Secretary of the CBCK, and he had once visited HLI-Central in the U.S.

I met Father Song and his key staff briefly for the first time before he set off to prepare for the Mass.  A TV camera covered the event.  It was a cordial meeting, and he invited me for a visit at his home parish in Cheongju the next day.

The "Mass for Life" was overflowing with people who came from all over the country-priests, nuns, and the faithful-with the heads of ladies covered with veils, as I observed at all the Masses we went to every day.  I marveled that this practice had been beautifully retained in Korea.  The Mass was presided over by the Cardinal, with two Archbishops concelebrating, and I was told that the Cardinal's homily exhorted everyone to defend life, even though abortion had been made "legal" in Korea some 35 years ago. 

After the Mass, Father Song gave acknowledgments. When he announced my presence, TV cameras turned in my direction, and I was briefly interviewed by some reporters.  Some ladies literally "dragged" me so I could shake hands with the Cardinal and the Archbishops, and then they introduced me to the acknowledged "Father of Pro-life" in South Korea, Father Oh Woong Jin.

At the dinner that followed, it was a great honor to share a special table with the famed and much revered Father Oh.  I had heard many stories about his saintly work and healing power. My hosts told me later that it had been their long-time dream to be able to see Father Oh, but it is very difficult to do so.  We not only got the chance to be with him up close, but he extended a personal invitation for us to visit the "Kkottongnae."  My hosts were ecstatic. 

FATHER SONG and LIFE 31

On February 5, we took a taxi to Fr. Song's parish in the city of Cheoungju.  We were welcomed by large statues of the Holy Family at the entrance of Fr. Song's territory on top of a little hill.  We sat Korean style in his office, where we talked about the current situation in Korea and my wish to have a Congress on Faith, Life, and the Family.

Father Song spoke candidly and related to me how abortion had been made legal in Korea in 1973.  He said that the Korean Bishops Conference had gathered 1,240,000 signatures from all over the country and petitioned Parliament to declare the law void, but to no avail.  

As elsewhere, the culture of death has pervaded Korea. One in two marriages ends in divorce in the first year of marriage!  There are 1,292 abortion clinics in South Korea, and about 4,000 babies die every day there through abortion.  [Editor's note: South Korea is slightly smaller than the state of Virginia, and yet it has more abortions each day than the whole of the United States.] The fertility rate has dropped to a dying 1.18, way below the replacement level of 2.1. Thus in 2003, when he was elected Executive Secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Korea, Father Song established Life 31-referring to the three persons-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit-in one God.  Membership is composed of both religious and lay experts who meet once a month, but Father Song admits that their activity is very poor. He shared his disappointment that many priests do not speak for life.  Thus, two years ago, he started speaking about life in seminaries and with nuns. 

It is interesting to note that Father Song became an avid pro-life convert after attending an HLI Congress in Houston, Texas, which he said opened his eyes to the various life issues. The more I spoke with Father Song, the more I dreamt of having a national Congress on Faith, Life, and Family in South Korea.  Thus, I pursued it at every opportunity. 

FATHER OH AND THE KKOTTONGNAE

It was with much excitement that my hosts and I headed for our next important meeting: to the Kkottongnae, where we had a 10:30 a.m. appointment with Fr. Oh.  It was amazing how my hosts and I understood each other-they not speaking English, and I not speaking Korean. 

After the Mass, Fr. Oh welcomed us very warmly.  I presented my gift:  the HLI CD Library, for which he was grateful.  We were then summoned outside for a personally guided tour, which was led by the founder himself, Fr. Oh.  It was wonderful to see the priests, nuns, employees, and volunteers, lovingly sitting side by side as one big family:  young and old, well and handicapped, limping and walking straight, the very rich and very poor-4,000 in all-living together in the spirit of love, a love only God can give.  And they do not wait for the clientele to come.  With ten ambulances, priests, nuns, and volunteers go all around Korea in search of the poor and the abandoned, the sick and the dying, so that they can be brought to the Kkottongnae to experience a life of love and dignity. 

The Kkottongnae is a life-changing experience, and so many volunteers end up staying for good to become nuns and priests of the congregation that Father Oh himself founded-the Congregation of Kkottongnae Brothers and Sisters of Jesus. Even before the tour ended, I fished for my few remaining dollars and gave them to Father Oh.  At the Kkottongnae, a dollar goes a long, long way.  Members are asked to give a fee of only one dollar every month.

During lunch with the great Father Oh and his staff, I finalized a verbal agreement for Kkottongnae to host HLI's National Congress on Faith, Life, and Family in South Korea.  I thought the Kkottongnae would be an ideal spot for such a congress, since participants could also witness the inspiring example of Christian life and loving that is there.

Thus, from start to finish, God and Our Lady had truly held me by the hand and guided me where they wanted me to go in South Korea.  A foundation has been laid and some seeds planted.  I look forward to returning so that we can assist these good people and bear fruit for the future of South Korea.