Seoul’s Vietnamese Catholic community celebrates 20 years
Founded by those who came to work in factories, today it also looks at the many Vietnamese students - often non-believers - who attend Korean universities. At the Mass marking the anniversary, Archbishop Chung expressed his heartfelt appreciation to the Vietnamese for their faith. “As the disciples of Jesus,” they “live like apostles who practise the Gospel” despite difficulties.
Seoul (AsiaNews) – Last Sunday the Vietnamese Catholic community in the Archdiocese of Seoul celebrated its 20th anniversary with a Mass led by Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-Taick of Seoul at the Archdiocese's Labour Pastoral Centre.
Archbishop Chung, who also chairs the Pastoral Committee for Migrants and Foreign Residents of the Korean Catholic Church, expressed his gratitude to the many Catholic priests and lay people who contributed to the development of the community, which today is among the most important in Seoul.
In April 2003, Salesian Fr Pham Thanh Bin began celebrating Sunday Mass at the Labour Pastoral Centre. Now the community consists of six groups.
It “started as a small community with factory workers and marriage women (migrant brides) in Seoul,” says Fr Yoo Sang Hyeok, director of Migrant Pastoral Committee of the Archdiocese of Seoul.
It now “boasts the largest number of believers among the ethnic communities of the Seoul Archdiocese”; and some “500 to 600 people attend the Sunday Mass, and the reality is that we need space for them.”
Fr Yoo explains that the profile of those arriving in South Korea today from Vietnam has also changed. “Seoul now has more international students rather than migrant workers,” he notes, adding that “there are many more non-believers.”
Nguyen Chi Hung, a 27-year-old computer engineering graduate who attended the Mass led by the archbishop, said he joined the Vietnamese community "with a desire to go to the Lord’s house" and that the community helped him settle down in Korea.
He would like to continue living in Seoul after graduation. "I want to get closer to more Koreans in the future and I want to get to know them well."
In his homily Archbishop Chung mentioned a visit he made to Vietnam as a priest of the Carmelite Order.
"Around five o'clock in the morning,” he said, “I heard and saw believers from [different] neighbourhoods come to the large church of the Carmelite Convent to attend in Mass, singing hymns and praying with all their heart. I was deeply moved by the scene and the impressive memory is still vivid.”
What is more, “living in an unfamiliar foreign country away from his or her beloved family and home is a difficult task that requires great sacrifice,” he added.
“All of you here are enduring various hardships for the sake of work or study. The resurrection of Jesus is an event that gives strength, grace, and blessings to all of us who are enduring difficult times.”
“As the disciples of Jesus were dispatched to various parts of the world after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, you are also sacrificing yourselves and enduring hardships for your beloved families and for your own future, offering the love of Jesus. Let’s dedicate your resolve to live as apostles who practise the Gospel.”
In addition to the Vietnamese community, the Archdiocese’s Migrant Pastoral Committee includes communities from the Philippines, South America, Mongolia, Thailand, China, and Indonesia.
“I want all of us to remember that before they are migrants, they are also people loved by God,” says Fr Yoo.
Although “lifestyles are different in different cultures, and various conflicts occur and will arise, I think if we first respect the new culture and share our culture with them, our society will be naturally integrated.”
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