THE KUKMIN DAILY

“All the military troops are prepared for any possible circumstance, and though they are in a situation of high tension, there is absolutely no sense of distraction. The chaplains are staying on the bases with the soldiers, and doing their best to offer solace and prayers.”

So said Kim Tae-shik, head of the Korea Army Chaplains Group, about the atmosphere on the frontlines and the activities of base chaplains, in a telephone conversation with Kukmin Daily on August 24. This was the third day of inter-Korea high-level meetings being held to avoid military conflict, following the explosion of several wooden-box landmines and the exchange of open fire on the western side of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

Kim said, “All the churches on the military bases are praying earnestly that North Korea’s provocations will not be repeated, and that this crisis ends peacefully… God must be listening to our prayers and to the prayers of all believers in the Korean churches, behind the scenes.”

On August 23, while tensions between South and North remained elevated, the churches on the military bases and civilian churches in the region near the cease-fire line calmly held their regular Sunday services. Rev. Park Yeong-cheol (60) of Yangchon Church in Cheolwon-gun, Gangwon-do, which is close to the civilian control zone just south of the DMZ, said, “There was no particular disturbance. We just prayed more earnestly and longer for peace on the Korean peninsula.”

*The photo, taken in July, shows the 22nd Division in Goseong, Gangwon-do, with Chaplain Park Chung-hwan and soldiers praying for peace on the Korean peninsula. (Kukmin Daily DB)

Reporters Pyeong Seon Jeon, Choi Ki-young, Yang Minkyeong, and A-young Kim (junbs@kmib.co.kr), with Yeara Ahn-Park (yap@kmib.co.kr)


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