Korea Peace March and Vigil Held in Washington, D.C.

On the morning of July 26 (local time), one could hear the Korean song “Urieui Soweon” (We Wish for Reunification) in Lafayette Park, located at the rear of the White House in Washington, D.C., United States. Approximately 300 Korean and Korean American Christians were singing the song in chorus. In front of them were placards declaring, “61 Years is Too Long for Korea, Let’s Stop the Korean War” and “Pray to End the War, Reunite Families, and Bring Peace to Korea.” This was a prayer rally, the last segment of a two-day “Peace Vigil and March” organized by the United Methodist Church, the World Council of Churches, and the National Council of Churches in Korea. This day marked the 61st anniversary of the signing of the Korean War armistice.

Rev. Kim Jeong-ho, president of the Committee on Reunification of the Korean American Assembly of the UMC, prayed on the stage, “May the hearts of all politicians in China, Russia, the United States, Japan, and both South Korea and North Korea become one for the reunification of the Korean Peninsula. Dear Lord, just as you made Rev. Martin Luther King’s ‘Dream’ come true, please take away the division, conflict, and pain of the Korean Peninsula.”

Bishop Mary Ann Swenson, vice-moderator of the WCC Central Committee, said, “61 years is too long. The Korean Peninsula is one, one country… All 345 member churches of WCC, representing 65 million believers, will observe the Sunday before August 15 (Korean Independence Day) each year as the Sunday of Prayer for the Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula.” She added, “This prayer will continue until the day reunification takes place on the Korean Peninsula.” Loud applause and “amens” followed her remarks.

When UMC Five Loaves of Bread and Two Fish Committee Chair Rev. Lee Chang-sun shared his family’s history of division, the audience listened with tears in their eyes. Rev. Lee’s father went missing during the Korean War while serving as a Methodist pastor in the North. His mother, 36 years old at that time, missed her husband and held on to her hope to meet him again, until she passed away three years ago at the age of 97. She had hardly ever talked about her husband to her three children, however. Just two weeks before her death, she suddenly mentioned him. “I’m going to give your father what for, when I see him.” Rev. Lee said he understood these words as her way of expressing how much she had missed her husband. The audience became solemn and even some tourists who had stopped by out of curiosity and were watching the rally, had tears in their eyes.

Rev. Kim Young-ju, general secretary of NCCK, said, “Starting from this prayer meeting in Washington, D.C. today, we begin our grand march toward peace. We hope that 100,000 persons will in future become a million, and that the armistice will become a peace treaty next year… Being a Christian is to have a dream. Peace on the Korean Peninsula does not come free, but it comes when we all shout out ceaselessly and continue our peace march.”

According to a staff member of UMC, the heads of the organizations had visited the White House the day before and met with Sidney Seiler, the Korea Director at the National Security Council, to emphasize the necessity of lessening the conflict and forming peace on the Korean Peninsula. Some other participants met at the same time with Robert King, Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues, and discussed human rights problems in North Korea and the situation of Korean American Kenneth Bae, who has been held in North Korea for over a year now.

Article and photo by correspondent Bae Byeong-wu in Washington, D.C., with Yeara Ahn-Park (yap@kmib.co.kr)


Click here for the original article in Korean

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