Young people are helping to tend the democratic flame in South Korea
Two faith leaders, including the Rev. Kurt Esslinger, appear on the most recent ‘A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast’
LOUISVILLE — As the most recent guests on the “A Matter of Faith” podcast described the events that led to this spring’s impeachment of former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, the comparison to politics in the United States was readily apparent.
Podcast hosts the Rev. Lee Catoe and Simon Doong welcomed the Rev. Kurt Esslinger, Global Ecumenical Liaison in the Interim Unified Agency, and Eunjae Lee, team director for the Korean-based Your Voice Christian Center. Listen to the 53-minute conversation, recorded a month before South Korea’s Constitutional Court affirmed Yoon’s impeachment in a unanimous decision, by going here.
Yoon’s political problems reached a tipping point in December when he declared martial law. That action sparked daily protests outside the National Assembly building, protests that Lee herself witnessed.
On the night of Dec. 3, 2024, Lee was present outside the National Assembly when Yoon declared martial law. “People were gathering outside to stop the military from entering,” she told Doong and Catoe. “People took photos and posted them on social media.”
“I couldn’t believe how many people were already there, and more and more people kept arriving,” she said. “We didn’t need to call each other. We just showed up.”
Lee began livestreaming events as they unfolded. Just a few hours into the crisis, lawmakers passed a resolution to end martial law. Lee said Yoon had implemented martial law “as a warning to the opposition.”
Catoe said he saw in those protests “echoes of what’s happening across the United States.”
Lee described an ecumenical prayer gathering held the day after Yoon declared martial law. “People from many denominations and faith traditions came, almost 1,000 of us,” she said. “Together we called for the impeachment of President Yoon and then joined the citizens who were protesting on the streets. People were clearly saying martial law is a threat to democracy and President Yoon should be impeached.”
On their second attempt, lawmakers did impeach the president, on Dec. 14. Last month, the Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment, clearing the way for new elections.
Lee described the peaceful gatherings held ahead of the impeachment vote. Young people with light sticks in their hands braved cold temperatures to dance to K-pop music “in joy and courage,” she said. People who couldn’t attend in person sent coffee and food to nourish those who could. According to Lee, rainbow flags flew next to labor union flags. People made flags to support other causes too, including cats, dogs, introverts and more.
“In the Square, people introduced themselves not by their job title, but by sharing their pain and calling for solidarity. At that moment, who you are didn’t matter. What mattered is that you were there,” Lee said. “The memory of that solidarity still gives us hope.”
Doong asked: What do U.S. residents need to know about the Korean situation going forward?
“Definitely some of those echoes are interesting,” Esslinger said. Allegations of a stolen election formed part of the reasoning to impose martial law, and Yoon’s supporters were seen wearing red “Make Korea Great Again” caps and holding “Stop the Steal” signs.
Esslinger traced much of the division back to policies the United States put in place following World War II and reinforced by the Korean War — conflict “not only between North Korea and South Korea, but between groups in South Korea,” he said.
If current polling holds, the party opposed to the former president is likely to win the next election, Esslinger said, which will mean “the policy toward North Korea will shift back to one of dialogue and trying to solve the conflict through peaceful means. It’ll be interesting to see if progressive people in the U.S. stand in solidarity with progressive Koreans who want that dialogue” and who support summits similar to those held in 2018 and 2019 before Covid brought talks to a halt.
“Will they be willing to re-evaluate some of those assumptions we’ve been taught over the decades” about trust levels between South and North, Esslinger asked. Also, “do we trust the current U.S. president to look after Korean interests, North and South?”
Then Doong asked: What’s the mood among South Korea’s young people?
“They believe it’s not just about impeaching President Yoon — it’s about rebuilding society,” Lee said. “We are dreaming of a world without discrimination, a world where workers are respected, where disabled people have rights and dignity. We are not just reacting — we are imagining something new together.”
“I think that’s something the church can get better at too,” Catoe said, asking Lee, “What role do you see the church playing?”
Some church members expect their leaders not to venture into the political realm, but “the church should stand for welcome and love,” especially for LGBTQ members, Lee said. Whether church-goers supported impeachment of not, “they should be able to come to church and experience God’s love. I hope the church becomes a place for healing and reconciliation, not deep division and hate.”
Last winter, partners including a Franciscan monastery opened their doors to support young protestors, she said. “That is what I hope the Korean church can become — a church that opens its doors and welcomes people in love.”
Esslinger said that councils and ecumenical groups “have to tread carefully” and “figure out to what extent we can raise our voice and be an example.”
“In the early days, Protestantism gave Korea hope and vision,” Lee said. “Many young people are hoping for antidiscrimination laws to pass because they believe it’s a basic step toward justice.”
Catoe noted that level of passion is not seen as often in the United States. “I hope that’s contagious for people,” he said.
“We haven’t seen that here since the civil rights movement,” Doong noted. “It’s something we can learn from our siblings in Korea.”
The hosts expressed appreciation to Esslinger and Lee for “being with us and sharing the work that you’re doing.”
New editions of “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast” drop every Thursday. Find them here.
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