Korean Church: Without a “culture of life” the country will wither away

The Christian vision could be an antidote to Korea’s decline. The country is hounded by low birth rates, an ageing population and depression

What hope can there be for the future, in a country where depression if rife, suicide rates are at a record high, birth rates are among the lowest in the world, the elderly are neglected and abortion is too readily resorted to? And prospects does it have? None whatsoever, Korean bishops say. That is, if Koreans don’t rediscover the fundamental value of every Christian community – respect for life – pretty fast.

This has become one of the Korean Christian communities best-selling arguments and they will be presenting it again during Francis’ visit to the country between 14 and 18 August. The Catholic Church has grown to represent 11% of the population and has found itself immersed in the life of a nation which for the past decade has underestimated the serious human, social, moral but also economic consequences of a culture which bases itself on materialistic and consumerist models, undervaluing and trampling on human life on both sides of the life-death spectrum.

Alarms have been raised by various entities. A recent study published by the Korean Institute for Health and Social Affairs shows that with the current birth rate of 1,2 children per woman (the lowest among OSCE countries), over 65s will represent 39,4% of the population in 2050 and 48,2% in 2100. Over the last 13 years, a rapidly ageing society has caused social and economic problems. The Institute suggests “a systematic and cultural approach” to the question: for example focusing on maternity again and supporting young families through the introduction of fiscal provisions. The Church has been promoting this approach for years, using the expression “culture of life”.

Other illnesses gnaw away at Korean society from the inside: the country has the highest suicide rate in the industrialised world and alcoholism and depression are also widespread to a worrying extent. Add the popularity of plastic surgery to the equation (Korea takes the prize here too and this piece of data is considered quite symbolic) and you have a complete picture. 1 in 100,000 people between the ages of 10 and 19 commit suicide, while 34 in 100,000 adults take their own life. Of all OSCE countries, Korea’s suicide rate is by far the highest.

In most cases, suicide is the result of depression which according to the National Health Insurance Corporation, has risen by 77% in ten years. In 2012 there were 580,000 officially registered cases and that is not counting the “unofficial” ones. A study focusing on 40-year-old Koreans revealed a direct correlation between lifestyle and depression. According to the study, mental disturbance is fostered by fierce social competition and thirst for profit which goes hand in hand with the collapse of the traditional family structure: blood ties which had been strengthened through Confucian moralism, have been severed.

Bioethics is another area that has been the focus of heated debates: new biotechnologies and experiments on human embryos that have been carried out in some scientific laboratories, have gone way too far and even attempted human cloning. This has sparked a nationwide and international debate (the notorious case of Hwang Woo-sukis, a pioneer of therapeutic cloning, is an example). A court in Seoul ruled that frozen embryos are “not human”, sparking much discussion and controversy. The Catholic Church condemns scientists and medical professionals when they take on the role of “arbiters” or “new creators” of life. This led to the establishment of the Catholic University of Korea’s Nicholas Cardinal Cheong Graduate School for Life, the first of its kind in Asia.

Abortion has been legal in Korea since 1973 and is currently permitted in the first 28 weeks of pregnancy in cases of incest, rape, certain types of foetal abnormalities and if the mother’s life is at risk. According to figures published by the Korean Church, at least 1,5 million abortions are carried out each year (the government claims 340,000 abortions carried out every year). Bishops have joined forces with pro-life movements and launched the “New Life Project” which aims to support women in difficulty, giving them access to health and assistance services (including 15 care centres) in order to dissuade them from terminating their pregnancies.

Over the course of the past decade – which has seen a rise in these phenomena – the Catholic Church has been forward thinking and as promoted the Christian vision of the inalienable dignity of every human person from conception to natural death in the public “marketplace” as well. It has done so by presenting the Church as an antidote to the dangerous individualistic dissolution of society. The Korean Bishops’ Conference created the Committee for Life and Bioethics for this purpose. The “culture of life” campaign starts with the recognition of the embryo’s rights and extends to young couples, marriage and care for the elderly and the disabled. It also calls for the abolition of the death penalty which is still in force in South Korea, even though the country is in fact abolitionist in practice seeing as though no death sentences have been issued since 1997.

Source: vassallomalta.wordpress.com (Aug. 9, 2014)