Issue 28
May 28, 2020
Seoul, Korea
Greetings!
Some countries have ended their COVID-19 lockdowns; others still maintain their shelter-in-place status. In Korea we’re gradually reopening school doors, though many colleges continue holding classes online. We do not know what lies ahead, but of course that has always been true. We cannot be certain about the future, so we depend on our Creator God. This newsletter carries an interview with an artist who encourages young people to appreciate every bit of earth-life as a work in God’s art gallery. It also includes news about two local churches whose preventive measures successfully blocked the spread of the coronavirus. We know our readers will join us in continued prayers for those who are suffering, and for the well-being of everyone.
“A good life is one with many good memories… Be a good influence”
While we’ve been keeping social distance and spending time at home, spring has come into vivid being. The paintings of “Song of Life” artist Kim Byeong-jong (67, Prof. Emer. of Seoul National University) also hold spring’s scenes intact. Kukmin Daily recently met artist Kim, who has confessed his faith in his “Jesus the Fool” works and presented the beauty of nature and life in his “Song of Life” and “Scattering Pine Pollen.”
- Please explain the “Jesus the Fool” series, reckoned to be your representative works.
“In the 1980s when the democratization struggle was becoming more heated, the social situation was chaotic. One day as I passed by the tear gas filled campus, I suddenly found myself asking, ‘If Jesus came now, what solution would he offer?’ and the scene of Jesus on the cross spread out before me as if on a screen. I recalled his life in Judea at a time when revolution or minjung (grassroots people’s) uprising was a possibility, but when, like a fool, he went the way of the cross, sacrificing himself. From then on, my ‘Jesus the Fool’ works poured out.”
- Now society is going through COVID-19 chaos.
“Hungarian philosopher Georg Lukacs said that civilization’s excessive speed was corrupting soul. He was talking about the phenomenon that the civilization’s dizzying speed is accompanied by spiritual impoverishment. COVID-19 has put the brakes on such speed. There will be injuries and pain, but I think this is an opportunity to move one step ahead. Churches also face realignment. What about going outside the space called ‘church’ and developing a faith-based worldview that lets everyone feel God’s creation in the flowers of the field?”
- What can young people gain through the arts?
“To discover oneself through the experience of beauty and thus receive comfort in the midst of the pains and difficulties of reality is precisely the power of art. It doesn’t have to be in a big gallery. I recommend escaping momentarily from civilization time and going on natural time. That’s because art ultimately is the work of extending the imagination with nature as the motif. Looking at a flower and closely examining the beauty of its form and color gives one a wonderful feeling of appreciation.”
Artist Kim is preparing for the “40 Years of Kim Byeong-jong” exhibition, to open this June 6 at Seoul SaRang Church (Rev. Oh Jeong-hyeon).
Full interview available in Korean at:
[갓플렉스] <8> ‘바보 예수’ 김병종 화백: “좋은 삶은 좋은 기억을 많이 가진 삶… 선한 영향력 전하세요”
Churches maintain principles, become virus-prevention models
“We can’t give up worship. But for the sake of our neighbors, the church must be a space that is safer than any other.” This core principle, maintained as the churches carried out simultaneous online and limited offline worship services, has produced a small miracle.
Seven hundred and eighty members of two churches in Incheon, Palbock Church (Rev. Lee Deok-hyeong) and Onsarang Church (Rev. Lee Gwang-sik), had to be tested for COVID-19 following mass infections at nightclubs in Itaewon, Seoul, amid concern about possible third-stage transmission. The testing was done because three students who had caught the virus from confirmed Itaewon club cases were found to have attended worship at one or the other of these churches around May 10.
But no incidence of mass infection took place at either of these churches. The tests showed no positive cases among their members. Palbock pastor Lee Deok-hyeong said, “The Korean churches have diligently followed the preventive measures, and should stay on the alert; I hope they can become good role models in the prevention of COVID-19 spread.”
Full report available in Korean at:
기본 지킨 교회, 코로나 방역 모범 됐다: 클럽 확진자에 감염 학생 출석 인천 팔복교회·온사랑교회 성도 780명 전원 음성 판정
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