Stories from Korea: Building Relationships for a More ‘Glocal’ World
Hersheyth Aggarwal traveled to South Korea to attended the URI Korea Youth Peace Camp alongside URI young leaders from around the world. Hersheyth invites us into his experience by sharing his reflects below.
The URI Youth Peace Camp in Korea was an amazing experience. The focus of the camp was to discuss the concept of global citizenship and learn about Korean culture. The first couple of days in the camp we went to the Sea of Japan and saw Naksana Temple, the border, and a Korean War Memorial museum. Then we returned to Seoul where we visited the Korean National Museum, a Won Buddhist Temple, a Mormon Temple, and a Cathedral. Almost every day we also broke up into discussion groups in the evening and each discussion group made a presentation to show on the final day.
The goal of the presentations was to describe how, as future leaders, we can promote peace and global citizenship. In my group, we created a movie to illustrate simple ways we can make our society more peaceful. In the first clip, two people are having an argument in a store but they cannot understand one another because they speak different languages. To resolve the conflict, someone who knows both languages clears up the misunderstanding. In another clip, at a party, one person is trying to force his Muslim friend to drink alcohol and does not understand the reason he refuses. So, a hero comes and explains that, in general, most Muslims consider alcohol as taboo. I wanted to highlight how knowledge of different languages, cultures, and customs are crucial to clear up misunderstandings and promote peace.
The Youth Camp, in general, did an excellent job at exposing me to Korean Culture. It was great to observe many important Korean historical sites. Also, I learned a lot about the different religious traditions in Korea by visiting many main sites of worship in Seoul. I was impressed at how the four main religions of Korea: Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, and Won Buddhism seem to coexist without much religious conflict.
My favorite part of the trip was meeting a lot of new people. I liked how there was some free time to engage with everyone in the camp outside of formal activities. I got to make many new contacts in Korea and with members of Cooperation Circles abroad. For example, I hope to establish a relationship with an Environmental Cooperation Circle based in India. The moto of the camp was to “Think globally but act locally. So think ‘glocally.'” This experience of learning about new cultures and making several new international friends will help me, and the URI, to be “glocal.”
I would like to sincerely thank Venerable Jinwol and his staff for making me feel comfortable, welcome, and organizing an amazing experience! I hope we can keep sending representatives from North America every year.
This Buddhist statue is from Naksana Temple, a Korean Buddhist temple. The statue is of the Bodhisatva of Mercy. Seeing this amazing piece of art first hand was one of the highlights of the trip for me. The fact that the sculpture is so large speaks to the great importance people give the Buddhist tradition and the concept of mercy. If everyone gave such importance to kindness, tranquility, and mercy I’m sure the world would be a much better place.
This is a picture of the Inner Sanctum of the Naksana Temple. The artwork was really beautiful but what struck me was how peaceful and tranquil the room seemed. It was also nice to see people of many different ethnicities meditating and praying in the same place.
This picture is from inside the Catholic Cathedral in Seoul. The cathedral features great artwork and a crypt as well. I learned that in addition to Buddhism Catholicism, Protestanism and Mormonism are major faith traditions in Korea. The fact that the Cathedral is large and splendid tells me that Catholicism is an important and significant faith tradition in Korea. It is great to see multiple faiths being significant and Korea making it a great place for Interfaith dialogue.
This picture is of the Cheondogyo temple in Seoul. Cheondogyo is an indigenous religion based on Confucianism in Korea. In most places, it seems that indigenous traditions seem to die off in the favor of other religions. It was nice to see that the tradition was still playing a significant role in Korean culture.
This is a picture I took at the Korean War Museum in the DMZ or Demilitarized Zone, which surrounds the border between the two Koreas. In the whole museum I felt this image captures the conflict between the two Koreas. Only a tiny wall separates both North and South Korea; however the living conditions, governments, are so different. North Korea lack modern resources, technology, and freedom while South Korea is becoming one of the world’s best economies. Yet, the only thing that separates them is a tiny wall. Seeing the border and this museum was quite special for me since in U.S history the Korean War is known as the forgotten war nudged between WWII and the Vietnam War. It was moving to see and remember how many lives were lost to bring freedom to half of the peninsula.
Here is a picture of everyone at a Won Buddhist Temple. In the background you can see the circle which is the most important symbol in Won Buddhism. Won Buddhism is a new form of Buddhism that was created in Korea which stresses the importance of meditation and prayer practices during your daily routine instead of just at a secluded temple. That is why this temple was built in the heart of the city where people can come before work or during breaks to meditate and pray.
Here is a picture of my favorite traditional Korean meal: soft tofu in a hot pot. In Korea, food really brings the table together because everyone is getting food from the same pot and side dishes. I also figured out that one of the reasons people use chopsticks is because then the food still stays sanitary. Everyone just grabs a piece with their chopsticks and there is no contamination.
