Koreans mourn Pope Francis, look back on his Korea legacy

Korea Herald

22-04-2025

A man of disarming humility, serious about peace on Korean Peninsula, say believers and non-believers
A memorial for the late Pope Francis began Tuesday at Myeongdong Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of Seoul, where a space for paying tribute opened a day after the death of the Head of the Catholic Church.
'I feel at a complete loss, not as a Catholic but as a human being searching for the kind of decency the pope has always shown," said Jang Gil-ja, a lifelong Catholic who said she would pay respects as soon as the public mourning started in the afternoon. Catholic leaders paid homage in the morning, led by Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung and Seoul Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taick.
The 88-year-old pontiff had been an icon for the past 12 years, even to non-believers, said Hyun Myung-sook, an atheist.
The allure lies in the man himself, Hyun added, referring to the pope who was known for advocating for justice and his outreach to the marginalized.
Legacy to honor
One of the striking memories many Koreans have of the pope dates to his August 2014 visit to Korea, the first since Pope Saint John Paul II's second visit to Korea in 1989.
On Aug. 14, the first day of his five-day trip, Francis met with and consoled bereaved family members of the Sewol ferry disaster that occurred in April that year. He went on to meet with bereaved loved ones of Sewol victims on multiple occasions throughout his visit: upon landing at Seoul Air Base, the following day at the Mass of the Assumption of Mary celebrated at Daejeon World Cup Stadium in Daejeon, and on the third day during a car parade at Gwanghwamun Square.
Francis was in Korea to beatify 124 Korean Catholic martyrs in Seoul, including Paul Yun Ji-chung, and to officiate a Mass at the Sixth Asian Youth Day.
Koreans were also moved by the pope's words eight years later in 2022. He said a prayer for the victims of the Itaewon crowd crush in October that year, which killed 150 mostly young adults out to enjoy Halloween festivities.
"Young people tragically lost their lives. Let us pray for them," Francis said during a Mass at St. Peter's Square.
Francis was just as invested in his message of peace as he was in advancing solidarity. Reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula, where the two Koreas technically remain in a state of war, was a topic in which Francis took a deep interest. Though an armistice agreement ended the fighting of the 1950-53 Korean War, no peace treaty has been signed since.
'When they invite me — that is to say, please invite me — I won't say no,' Francis said of the possibility of visiting North Korea to help broker peace in a 2022 interview with local broadcaster KBS.
Then South Korean President Moon Jae-in had floated the idea each time he visited the Vatican — in 2018 and 2021.
Entreaties for a papal visit to North Korea, which never came to fruition, were made by a number of South Korean presidents. A devout Catholic, former President Kim Dae-jung sought the same intervention from Pope John Paul II when he visited the Vatican in March 2003, the first for a sitting Korean president.
The ripple effect of the pope's visit would translate to "influence and blessing unimaginable now," Kim said at the time, crediting the pontiff with potential breakthroughs in not just inter-Korean rapprochement but international peace.
John Paul, however, was more hesitant than Francis. "I don't yet have such plans but if that happens, that would be a miracle," John Paul said.
Korean Catholics' sorrow over Francis' death is deepened as the pope was expected to visit the country in 2027 to attend World Youth Day, a global event to be hosted in Seoul.
Korea is the second Asian country to host the event after the Philippines in 1995, a selection some Catholics say is a hint of Korea's growing foothold within the Roman Catholic Church.
"It's a shame that we don't get to see the pope in person," said Hwang Jeong-cheol, who plans on taking part in the event, which is expected to be attended by some 800,000 Catholics from around the world.