THE KUKMIN DAILY

Volker Kauder (65·photo), the parliamentary group leader of the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Germany, advised the Korean churches to pray and make comprehensive preparations for reunification.

At a meeting with Rev. Oh Jung-hyun and 30 some members of Seoul Sarang Community Church, who visited the Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany, on March 9 (local time), Kauder talked about the reunification of Germany, the situation of the Korean peninsula, and the importance of mission.

Regarding the division of the Korean peninsula, Kauder said, “Currently North Korea’s situation is much more difficult than that of the former East Germany… And it is the country that oppresses Christianity most severely in the world… Let’s pray for our oppressed brothers in North Korea.” He also said, “Reunification doesn’t take place overnight. Constant preparations and efforts are necessary… Many hope for the reunification of the Korean peninsula, but it won’t take place as quickly as people wish… As in Germany, an unexpected breakthrough could also happen in Korea, but reunification still is a very challenging task.”

Kauder emphasized over and over that reunification is a realistic issue. He elaborated, “The first task after German reunification was the economy. Individual economic activities were limited in East Germany before reunification, and the East German government-run corporations collapsed after reunification. The unemployment rate in the former East German regions reached a high of 30%… As many young adults left for better jobs, many regions of former East Germany aged rapidly. Now the economy in the East continues to recover slowly, and the younger work forces are returning, but the gap between East and West is still serious.”

Kauder spoke about the Korean situation. “When Korea is reunited, the inheritance will include a very devastated land, for sure… That is because the economic situation of current North Korea is worse than that of former East Germany under the Communist government, and the current Communist dictatorship in North Korea is more severe than was East Germany’s… With unification, South Korea will face very serious economic challenges, and help from international society will be inevitable… Reunified Korea needs to expect changes and growth while enduring slow development on the Northern side.”

“25 years has passed since German reunification, but there are remains from the dictatorship yet to be cleared,” said Kauder, explaining how difficult it has been to resolve problems from past history. “There were persons who had enjoyed and abused their power during the Communist dictatorship, but it was impossible to imprison all of them. We put to justice some of the closest government collaborators, but in cases without an individual crime we incorporated them into the public system after reunification… Among the former East German population of 17 million persons, one million were public officers or were very active within the Communist Party. They still vote on the basis of leftist ideology. It is very probable that hundreds of thousands or millions of people after Korean reunification will continue to live with thoughts opposite to democracy or to the beliefs of current South Korea.”

Kauder also emphasized the importance of youth ministry. He explained, “The regions in the former East Germany developed economically after our reunification, but there are too many regions where the churches are weak and the name of Jesus is invisible… That is because the Communist regime shrank religion during its 40-year rule. It is just very difficult to teach and persuade young persons who haven’t had religious teaching at home, to believe in everlasting life after death.”

He added, “This is the reason that Germany is nearly as much a mission field as Africa. The young generation of Germany, in the middle of Europe, doesn’t know about Christianity. Because we’re called to mission, we should never stop our efforts to lead young persons to faith.”

Kauder, who visited Korea in 2012, said, “I plan to visit Korea again, thanks to the invitation of Sarang Church.”

Article and photo by reporter Paek Sang-hyun (100sh@kmib.co.kr) from Berlin, with Yeara Ahn-Park (yap@kmib.co.kr)


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