Friday, July 3, 2009
The history of migration, to me, is about people searching for a better life. The route out of North Korea, though, goes beyond the norm.
The story of Myong Hui Eom puts it into perspective. How else does a teacher go from one extreme to the other, from the "utopia," as she puts it, of her home country to realizing that it's not what she thought.
Showing posts with label East Asia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label East Asia. Show all posts
Friday, July 3, 2009
Breaks the heart again and again
Thursday, July 2, 2009
If it seems odd that one of the most Christianized nations in the world is South Korea, consider the peninsula's crisis.
I used to wonder, how and why did South Korea become so strongly Christian? This goes back to my teens, when I went to church with one of my best friends. The kal bi was excellent! But it was much more than that. It was my first real experience being around Christians young, old and in between.
I always wondered later, how Christ came to be such a focal point in a part of the world that is otherwise Buddhist, Shinto and, further south and southwest, Hindu. The how part isn't on my mind these days. The why part, though, is clear now. The faith required to help North Koreans escape the tumult of Kim Il-Jong's regime is enormously deep. Nobody else but missionaries are willing to risk their lives to help North Koreans get across the Tumen River, then through China, all the way down to Thailand, before they can reach freedom in South Korea.
It's something I'm watching on a recent episode of Wide Angle on PBS. Crossing Heaven's Border is a mirror of the reality, the risk, the sacrifice that continues on. While some people get their kicks watching a bunch of spoiled brats act stupid on programs like The Real World, folks in places like North Korea simply want freedom so bad they'll risk being killed. It's enough to make a cynic want to cheer for the underdogs again.
If it seems odd that one of the most Christianized nations in the world is South Korea, consider the peninsula's crisis.
I used to wonder, how and why did South Korea become so strongly Christian? This goes back to my teens, when I went to church with one of my best friends. The kal bi was excellent! But it was much more than that. It was my first real experience being around Christians young, old and in between.
I always wondered later, how Christ came to be such a focal point in a part of the world that is otherwise Buddhist, Shinto and, further south and southwest, Hindu. The how part isn't on my mind these days. The why part, though, is clear now. The faith required to help North Koreans escape the tumult of Kim Il-Jong's regime is enormously deep. Nobody else but missionaries are willing to risk their lives to help North Koreans get across the Tumen River, then through China, all the way down to Thailand, before they can reach freedom in South Korea.
It's something I'm watching on a recent episode of Wide Angle on PBS. Crossing Heaven's Border is a mirror of the reality, the risk, the sacrifice that continues on. While some people get their kicks watching a bunch of spoiled brats act stupid on programs like The Real World, folks in places like North Korea simply want freedom so bad they'll risk being killed. It's enough to make a cynic want to cheer for the underdogs again.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Opening a chapter on Okinawa
I was slow to enjoy the internet. Even at work, back in 1993, we got real computers for the first time and were completely banned from the 'net.
Not having been on it, I didn't miss it. I finally got my own computer in 1996 or so and it's been a whole new world since. In the last several years, reading theories about migration has been one of my pastimes. And one of the places that fascinate me is East Asia.
Growing up with all kinds of kids, it always amazed me how different we are though we may have roots from one region of the world. Take Korea and China. Korea and Japan. Their relationships through the millenia are compelling in so many ways. The way the cultures and societies view each other is sometimes perplexing, as well. Ask a Japanese national about the fact that his or her descendants probably came from Northeast China and Korea, and they might rebuke you.
But what really trips me out is the history of Okinawa. I'll go into more detail about the islands later, but having grown up without knowing the difference between Japan and Okinawa was so unfortunate. Learning about the differences much later has been so rewarding.
More later.
Not having been on it, I didn't miss it. I finally got my own computer in 1996 or so and it's been a whole new world since. In the last several years, reading theories about migration has been one of my pastimes. And one of the places that fascinate me is East Asia.
Growing up with all kinds of kids, it always amazed me how different we are though we may have roots from one region of the world. Take Korea and China. Korea and Japan. Their relationships through the millenia are compelling in so many ways. The way the cultures and societies view each other is sometimes perplexing, as well. Ask a Japanese national about the fact that his or her descendants probably came from Northeast China and Korea, and they might rebuke you. But what really trips me out is the history of Okinawa. I'll go into more detail about the islands later, but having grown up without knowing the difference between Japan and Okinawa was so unfortunate. Learning about the differences much later has been so rewarding.
More later.
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