The Buchman Adventure – South KoreaIn September 2014, Imad Karam, John Parker Rees and Kelly Burks went to India, Japan and South Korea to film for a documentary about the life and legacy of Dr. Frank Buchman, the Founder of Initiatives of Change. This was a follow-up to filming in the United Kingdom, Europe, South America and the United States.

In the last of four features about their journey, Kelly Burks describes their visit to South Korea.

‘I call on the Korean people to be the conscience-keepers of the world.’ - Frank Buchman, 1917 -

The team and Yeon-yuk Jeong interview Rev. Boo-ki Min

Our flight from Tokyo to Seoul was only two hours, with no time change – a big relief. But we were all tired so I extended my charm when we checked in, promptly mistaking the Japanese woman at the Korean Airways desk for a Korean – OK, it wasn’t a great start – but this gave me the opportunity to make amends, and we ended up with seats by the emergency wing exit where we could really stretch out.

I suddenly realised I left my hat in the taxi. I had left the same hat in Pennsylvania on our American leg of the Buchman film two years earlier; it followed me home thanks

to the kindness of our hosts in Pennsburg. Imad emailed Megumi, and received a prompt reply: ‘I’ve got the hat’.

The stewardesses going about their business after the flight took off were extraordinarily graceful. Each had the gentlest imaginable countenance and it was something akin to watching a ballet as they moved about performing their tasks with joyful ease…while they each emanated a palpable sense of inner beauty and harmony. It was like observing undiluted happiness.

We were all mesmerised by these sentient beings who served us

for the duration of our flight. I understood here Frank Buchman’s words about the Koreans being the conscience-keepers of the world. We had no problems at customs at Gimpo International Airport and were met by Seung-jae Baek, who took us to see Dr Kwang-sun Cha, Chairman of MRA/Initiatives of Change – Korea at his offices in the International Youth Centre in Seoul. He welcomed us to Korea, and told us about a young people’s event he was running in a nature area the next morning to clear litter and raise awareness about the environment. At Imad’s request, heagreed to let us film it.

Our drive to the IofC Community House took us along the banks of the River Han. Although Seoul is very close to the East China Sea, the city, with its stunning contemporary architecture and historical monuments, is bedded in the mountains and hills. Min-hui Na and her young daughter welcomed us and took us to a local restaurant. It was an adventure to try each of the dishes and some were very spicy! When we returned to the House, Yeon-yuk arrived with Ji-sun Jung, and welcomed us a second time.

Next morning Yeon-yuk drove us into the Acha-san hills, where we joined Dr Cha and a large group of young people. We had the opportunity to interview one of the boys who had come to participate, as well as Dr Cha and Yeon-yuk, and then returned to Seoul past a towering statue of the 16th century Admiral Yi Sun-sin, Korea’s Nelson, who led his forces to victory, against seemingly insurmountable odds, in 23 naval battles.

A little further down the road we passed the astonishing Gyeongbokgung Palace, built in

1395 in the Joseon Dynasty. Although much of it was destroyed by Imperial Japan in the early 20th Century, it is being lovingly restored.

That afternoon we interviewed Rev. Boo-ki Min, with Yeon-yuk translating, using the same process Megumi did in Japan. We asked Rev Min about his trip to Mackinac in 1957 when he met Frank Buchman and how it affected him on his return to Korea. He also talked about Korea’s challenging history,

Japan’s apology to Korea and MRA’s impact on the country.

That evening ‘Beyond Forgiving’ was screened at the Franciscus Centre in Jung Dong, to a sizeable audience including people from the MRA and IofC Board who had come together to watch the film – it was the first time they had attended a public event together for some time, due to transformational changes, and Imad was particularly pleased that it should happen at the screening of his film. The screening was followed by a lively question and answer session with Imad, and Yeon-yuk translating.

After dinner with a large group from the screening, Yeon-yuk took Imad and I to central Seoul where we spent time at a religion and culture festival in an open mall area – a curious mix of traditional dance, young men performing street dance to recorded music (including ‘Let it Be’ by the Beatles!) and a saucy performance by a girl group singing pop music while Buddhist monks, ordinary people, nuns, the Korean media and your faithful film-makers looked on.

Dr Kwang-sun Cha in Seoul

Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul

The next morning we interviewed Peter Pyen, who told us how his father had brought MRA to Korea, and spoke of his own visits to Caux and Mackinac and his experience of reconciliation with the Japanese. Peter reflected:

‘They say Korea is a shrimp in the field of a whale’s battleground. In the east there’s Japan, to the north there is China and also Russia and they all competed to rule, to have influence in Korea, because Korea was the gateway to the outside world from the point of Russia and China. Korean people have this sense of being victims by these three big neighbours and they never had a sense of independence.

Korean people needed MRA kind of ideology rather than way of life in the 1960s and 70s and that’s why MRA was able to exercise its influence in all fields of social national life, politics, economics and education. MRA was accepted readily because its idea coincides with Confucius’ idea that you first rule yourself then you’ll be able to rule your household, then you can rule the nation and the world.’

After he had left we had our final interview with Yeon-yuk, where he spoke about his personal transformation in relation to the Japanese, the potential reunification of North and South Korea, the challenges for MRA and IofC in Korea, and his personal work.

It was a wrap on the interviews for the trip – what a relief!

Yeon-yuk drove us up to Yun-dong Ju Hill so we could film Seoul from

a high perspective. A large stone sits stoically there with a poem by Yun-dong Ju carved into it, the Korean hero who died at a young age in a Japanese prison:

‘Wishing not to have so much as a hint of shame toward heaven until the day I died, I suffered, even when the wind stirred the leaves.’

Back in Seoul we visited Gyeongbokgung Palace and met with Tae-hwan Lee, who had been moved by the screening the night before. Hochole Song, a young Korean lawyer who works in Tokyo, appeared with my hat which faithful Megumi had sent with him on a flight that morning. After a farewell dinner with new friends and old, much laughter and good will, Yeon-yuk took us up to the Bukak Skyway in the mountains above Seoul where we could see the city lit up, as if floating, between the dark shadows of other hills within the city.

Yeon-yuk was a tremendous friend and support to us in our time in Seoul and an inspiration to be with.

Hill of Yun-dong Ju at Buam-dong

Interview with Peter Pyen

The next morning we boarded our BA flight at Incheon International Airport. In contrast with our flight to Seoul, our BA stewardess rather resembled a rugby player, but we were on our way home carrying so many memories and kindnesses from others.

As our long flight eked its way across the steppes of Mongolia and Siberia, the vast grey northern expanse, dissected by unknown mountain ranges, already dusted with snow, seemed to extend forever. I watched the distant outposts slip beneath; Ulan Bator,

Photographs by Kelly Burks and Imad Karam

Imad above Seoul

Irkutsk, Bratsk, Kansk, Novo-birsk, Omsk… each appearing as a small cluster of humanity in the immense reaches of Mother Earth and I felt a longing to know each of those human beings.