Culture, "a bridge" that will make South Korea great
Seoul (AsiaNews) - Culture "is a bridge that can take South Korea to greater heights. The Catholic Church, which was brought to the country in 1784, is one of the actors active in promoting culture and education," said Fr Johan Pahk Yeong-sik, president of the prestigious Catholic University of Korea (CUK), who spoke about the rise of the "Korean model" in the world.
The arrival on the international scene of characters like "Psy or Korean movie makers is but the latest step on a steep ladder," the clergyman said. "We want to educate students to be competitive but we also want to develop people who can survive anywhere in hard times. Hence, we have created targeted programmes that allow our kids to think outside of traditional thinking."
Here CUK president is referring to artists like the rapper Psy who is behind 'Gangnam Style' and film directors like Kim Ki-duk (winner of the 2012 Golden Lion Award for Pietà at the Venice Film Festival) and O Muel, one four filmmakers recognised at the Sundance Festival two days ago with a movie, 'Jiseul', that focuses on a massacre perpetrated by South Korean authorities on 3 April 1948 against a Communist uprising that left tens of thousands of civilians dead on the author's home island of Jeju.
Fr Pahk, who was the late Card Kim's secretary and a member of the Pontifical Bible Institute, became CUK president in 2009. His mandate was renewed in 2012.
"We want to create a cultural platform to export Hallyu (the Korean wave of literature, music, food, etc.) and import the best from abroad," he said.
Competitiveness is not the goal of the Catholic University. "I worry when I see that many universities focus only on students' academic and professional development," Fr Pahk said. "We cannot reduce education to this. Ethics is a fundamental part of our programmes. Preparing people's souls comes first."
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