Peace in Korea a Focus of Lutheran Peace Prize Forum

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (ELCA) -- It is the responsibility of every person to work for peace, according to Sung Chul Yang, the Republic of Korea's 18th ambassador to the United States. Yang spoke to more than 300 students attending the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize Forum here March 8-9 at Augustana College, one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
The forum's theme, "Striving for Peace: Who is Responsible?" focused on personal obligations toward peacemaking and on the possibility of peace and reunification of the Korean peninsula. Yang represented Kim Dae-jung, president of South Korea and recipient of the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize.
"Throughout their lives Kim Dae-jung and his wife, First Lady Lee Hee Ho, have surmounted treacherous trials and tribulations beyond anyone's comprehension," Yang said in a keynote presentation.
"Kim Dae-jung has braved the severest tests a human being can endure," Yang said. Dae-jung survived assassination attempts, an abduction, six years in prison, exile and house arrest. He was also "falsely accused of being a communist and insurrectionist," Yang said.
In 1997 Dae-jung was elected president of South Korea. He stabilized a volatile economy, became a leading spokesperson for democracy and instituted the "Sunshine Policy" to improve relations with North Korea, Yang said.
"Korea is now the world's 12th largest economy with a gross domestic product of $457 billion," Yang said. "Last year, amid a worldwide economic recession, Korea's economy managed to grow around three percent with the fifth largest foreign reserves in the world. For the first time, Korea has become a creditor nation with financial and monetary stability. Noteworthy also is the fact that Korea is now one of the world's leaders in information technology," he said.
Although dialogue between North and South Korea is stalled at the moment, Yang said "one lesson that South Korea has learned from more than 50 years of dealing with North Korea is that temporary setbacks and stalemates are not uncommon. Dealing with the North has taught us that only patience and perseverance will prevail in the end."
"After years of mutual hostility and confrontations, the Sunshine Policy engages the North through dialogue and diplomacy firmly based on deterrence and is the most practical approach to removing the last vestiges of the Cold War from the Korean peninsula," Yang told the students.
The Republic of Korea "supports the U.S.-led war against terrorism and against weapons of mass destruction," Yang said. "The events of Sept. 11 were unprecedented in American history. Perhaps they were more horrific than the Pearl Harbor attack and even more seismic than the fall of the Berlin Wall. The American psyche that the United States is invulnerable and impregnable has been visibly and invisibly shaken."
In addition to his keynote presentation, Yang served as a panelist when forum organizers convened an "impromptu" discussion on the forum's theme between students and diplomats March 8. Bad weather and canceled flights prevented David Halberstam, a journalist and social and political commentator, to address the forum that day. The panel discussion featured the Honorable Robert Flaten, former Ambassador to Rwanda and chair of the Peace Prize Forum committee; Olav Njolstad, research director on government, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.; the Rev. Mark N. Swanson, an ELCA pastor and associate professor of Islamic studies and director of the Islamic studies program at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn.; and Derek J. Mitchell, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, D.C.
Craig Kielburger, founder of Free the Children, addressed the forum March 9. In an interview, Kielburger said Lutheran students can "live the faith through action. There are so many challenges we [learn] about in the gospel."
He said young people "have so much power" through their "words and actions." Students can initiate letter-writing campaigns and petitions and volunteer their time. "No matter what action students choose, it is important to stand up and realize we have an important role to play in fighting injustice and poverty."
At the age of 12, Kielburger became a spokesperson for children's rights after he read about the murder of a boy from Pakistan, who was sold into bondage as a carpet weaver and murdered for speaking out about child labor. Now at 17, Kielburger has traveled to more than 30 countries visiting street and working children and speaking out in defense of children's rights. His book "Free the Children" outlines his journey from the suburbs of Toronto through the slums and sweatshops of South Asia. The book has been translated into seven languages.
Another highlight of the forum was a videotaped message from U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.). "Who is responsible for peace? That question is never more important in our lifetimes than today," Daschle said. He praised Dae-jung, who "shows what is possible when one brave individual makes peace and justice his responsibility."
In addition to addresses, the Peace Prize Forum featured 30 one-hour workshops on a variety of topics designed to address the conference theme. Other highlights of the forum included a town hall meeting on terrorism in America, a peace fair with exhibits by peacemaking organizations from around the world, and conversation sessions with the forum's keynote speakers.
The site of the forum rotates annually among five Midwestern colleges of the ELCA with Norwegian heritage: Augsburg College, Minneapolis; Augustana; Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn.; Luther College, Decorah, Iowa; and St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn.
Held in cooperation with the Norwegian Nobel Institute, this series of forums was created to offer an opportunity for Nobel Peace Prize laureates, diplomats, scholars, young people and the general public to come together in expression of their personal commitment to peace. -- -- -- An audio news story is available at http://media.elca.org/ramgen/audionews/020328.rm on the ELCA Web site.

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