{"id":5187,"date":"2026-03-16T11:24:54","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T11:24:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/consolataafrica.org\/en\/?p=5187"},"modified":"2026-03-19T19:39:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T19:39:33","slug":"south-korea-prayer-and-march-for-a-nuclear-free-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/consolataafrica.org\/en\/south-korea-prayer-and-march-for-a-nuclear-free-world\/","title":{"rendered":"South Korea: Prayer and March for a Nuclear-Free World"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Holy Mass presided over by Msgr. Kang Woo-il, former bishop of the diocese of Jeju. Photos: Kyoung Ho Han<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Fifteen years have passed since the Fukushima disaster. It was March 11, 2011, when a magnitude 9.0 earthquake caused one of the most severe nuclear disasters ever recorded at the Japanese power plant, after the Chernobyl accident. The earthquake, with its epicenter offshore, generated a tsunami that struck the northern part of the Asian country. The quake was one of the strongest in Japan’s history.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

By Kyoung Ho Han *<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the 15th anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Catholics in Korea gathered at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul to celebrate a Eucharistic Mass and to raise their voice for the protection of creation and for a nuclear-free society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mass was presided over by Bishop Kang Woo-il, former bishop of the Diocese of Jeju and a well-known advocate for ecological justice in the Korean Church. Many priests, religious, and lay faithful participated in the celebration, united in prayer and solidarity for the protection of our common home. The Consolata missionaries also participated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Following the Mass, participants held a peace march and and signed an anti-nuclear declaration. A total of 3,110 people signed the declaration, expressing their opposition to the construction of new nuclear power plants and SMR (Small Modular Reactors).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the Consolata Missionaries, participation in this event was a concrete expression of the JPIC spirituality (Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JPIC is not an optional activity for mission. It is an essential dimension of evangelization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To proclaim the Gospel means not only preaching with words, but also defending life, walking with the poor, and caring for the world that God has entrusted to humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Saint Joseph Allamano, founder of the Consolata Missionary Family, reminded his missionaries: \u201cFirst saints, then missionaries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

True missionary life begins with love for God and naturally leads to responsibility for humanity and for creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Fukushima disaster continues to raise a profound question for our time: Does technological progress truly protect life, or does it sometimes endanger the future of humanity and the Earth?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fifteen years later, the wounds of the disaster are still present in the sea, the land, and in the lives of many people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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During the Eucharistic celebration, participants prayed for the healing of creation wounded by human greed and for a deep ecological conversion of hearts, so that future generations may live in a safer and more peaceful world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspired by the message of Pope Francis in Laudato Si\u2019 – \u201cEverything is connected\u201d – the gathering reminded us that caring for creation is an essential part of living the Gospel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prayer and the march in Gwanghwamun became a sign of hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even when voices are small, the call to protect life and the integrity of creation will continue to echo in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Consolata Missionaries, we continue to pray: \u201cOur Lady Consolata, Mother of Hope, make us missionaries of life and peace in a suffering world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* Father Kyoung Ho Han, IMC, member of the National Reconciliation Commission.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fifteen years have passed since the Fukushima disaster. It was March 11, 2011, when a magnitude 9.0 earthquake caused one of the most severe nuclear disasters ever recorded at the Japanese power plant, after the Chernobyl accident. The earthquake, with its epicenter offshore, generated a tsunami that struck the northern part of the Asian country. The quake was one of the strongest in Japan’s history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5188,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,250,153,6,8,20,4,16],"tags":[366,367,212],"class_list":["post-5187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia","category-church","category-consolata-missionaries","category-featured","category-featured-news","category-mission","category-news","category-spirituality","tag-fukushima-disaster","tag-nuclear-free-world","tag-south-korea"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/consolataafrica.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/consolataafrica.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/consolataafrica.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consolataafrica.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consolataafrica.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5187"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/consolataafrica.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5193,"href":"https:\/\/consolataafrica.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5187\/revisions\/5193"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consolataafrica.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/consolataafrica.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consolataafrica.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consolataafrica.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}