Still Life in my Journey: ‘Come and see where I live’

I was able to briefly look back on the activities related to JPIC through religious life.

As I shared environmental protection and ecological sensitivity with students through science and chemistry subjects in my school apostolate for 20 years, my interest broadened and deepened. At the same time, I read books with our sisters who were interested in ecology and shared theological and social concerns. Externally, I encountered various events occurring in society and exchanged opinions with them, which helped me learn how to read the society and world from different perspectives.

I began activities related to the environment and ecology with other religious congregations in the Superior Association of Korea. At that time, only a small number of religious were participated in social justice and peace, but over the past 10 years, many religious gradually participated and now many religious are actively in the field of JPIC.

Also, I had able to serve as a member of the Environmental Committee of the Korea Bishops' Conference and participate in exchange activities with JPIC of the Japanese Bishops' Conference. The Fukushima nuclear power plant accident at 2011, which everyone knows, had a huge impact. At the time, I was experiencing farming on Samar Island in the Philippines for 11 months, and in the aftermath of the accident, I packed up and evacuated. I know how big an accident it was and that it still affects me. After returning to Korea, I had a seminar on the anti-nuclear movement with the Japanese Bishops' Conference and was able to visit Fukushima twice with priest, lay people and. By going there and seeing the miserable reality, I experienced how we can come together not only intellectually, but also by listening to the actual life stories of the people there. Even 12 years later, I still remember the unimaginable pain of their life after the accident and the reality of being excluded by society.

In addition, as working at labor apostolate, I have attended street masses with unfairly laid off workers, peace conferences against the Jeju Island naval base, and masses with families of the Sewol ferry disaster in which 314 people lost their lives, and have met those who have been pushed out due to society's indifference for several years.

Now I have been serving as an apostolate at the Spirituality Center. I feel like I have entered a new path of deepening JPIC activities. It was the beginning of an ecological retreat. As I helping the retreat program to discover and develop ecological sensitivity more deeply, I am preparing and leading the retreats for the four seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter) and to look back on the seasons of Lent and Advent with laypeople, religious, seminarians. In addition, along with local churches, I am providing education for the parish church through the Eco-Spiritual School and Laudato Si’.

Among the many things that have happened in Korean society, I have seen and experienced very clearly that in the cases directly related to human life, the economy, politics, civic consciousness and safety are necessarily linked more than anything else.

Like Pope Francis emphasizes that everything is connected in his encyclical Laudato Si’ #16, we are all related and connected between all creatures and God.

“In the Gospel through His words, His attitudes, His relationships with people, 
His way of relating to all created things, we discover His Heart wholly given to the Father and to all people (Constitution #19)”.

Kim Young Hee rscj of
KOC, NEANZ