To continue with my plan of interviewing some of my mission co-worker colleagues, today I am interviewing Rev. Yuki Nagao, who is working here in Korea as a mission co-worker from the United Church of Christ in Japan (UCCJ). Following her ordination in Japan in 2015, Yuki came to Korea to study in the SEST program at Hanshin University’s Graduate School of Theology (which is the seminary of the PROK), and has continued here ever since.
John: Can you explain what SEST is, and how does it relate to you becoming a mission co-worker?
Yuki: SEST means Studies in Ecumenism and Social Transformation. It is a two-year theological program for foreign students. When I came here I had classmates from Taiwan, Philippines, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Malawi, and Ghana. Also, we had short-term exchange students from USA and Hungary. Since I was already ordained, I was sent to the PROK as a mission co-worker. After my graduation from the program, the plan had been for me to return to Japan, but I requested to UCCJ to let me stay two more years as a mission co-worker so I could get more experience.
John: The question people always ask me is what is it that I actually do, which is always a difficult question for me to answer. So that is the question I’ll ask you: what is it that you do as a mission co-worker here in Korea?
Yuki: That’s a difficult question for me as well. First, what I do specifically is that I work in the PROK General Assembly office two days a week. I also work at Seoul Jeil Church, which is a PROK congregation. I am an assistant pastor, what they call “sokyo moksa,” an education pastor. I take care of the youth group at the Seoul Jeil Church.
But also, I help people communicate between Korea and Japan, not only between the UCCJ central office and the PROK central office, but there are also partnerships at the presbytery and congregational levels. UCCJ does not have presbyteries, but there are district councils that are like presbyteries. Also, some congregations have partnerships with each other. For example, the church where I am working, Seoul Jeil Church, has a 46-year relationship with Nishikata-machi Church of the UCCJ.
Since Japan and Korea are very close geographically, there are many churches that have partnerships, but sometimes the relationships are not that long, because it depends on the leadership of the pastor. If the pastor leaves, it might not continue. In the case of Seoul Jeil Church and Nishikata-machi Church, however, it does not depend on the pastor’s leadership: the congregation members themselves are very enthusiastic for the partnership.
John: How does the history of the relationship between Japan and Korea affect the partnership between the PROK and the UCCJ?
Yuki: Yes! Since coming to Korea, every day I feel responsibility for what Japan had done to Korea, especially during the 15-years-war. We call ourselves “mission co-workers,” but if we say “missionary,” it is a very colonialistic word. Japan colonized Korea from 1910 on, and during that time the Japanese people thought of Korea as part of Japan, and we sent missionaries from Japan to Korea to evangelize the Korean Peninsula. So not only the Japanese Empire, but also the Japanese church, has a big responsibility for the colonization of Korea. That’s one of my motivations as a mission co-worker here: to participate in reconciling the relationship between Korea and Japan. That’s my mission.
I think I have to tell you how the PROK and the UCCJ were able to make a partnership with each other. The war ended in 1945, but it was not until 1965 that we began to re-think what we had done, especially to the Asian countries, as Christians. We had to think about it, not only as a country but also as a church. The UCCJ supported the Japanese Empire and the war effort. We collected offerings for airplanes from congregation members. And as I said, we sent missionaries to Asian countries to evangelize the people there as part of the colonial effort. But in 1965, the moderator of the UCCJ, Isao Omura, attended the PROK General Assembly and offered an apology. He was there to bring greetings, but many of the attendees did not want him to speak to the assembly. I think it took two or three hours before the assembly agreed he be allowed to speak, and even then, it was by a margin of only one vote! But finally he was allowed to speak and he made an official apology to the Korean people. That was an important moment; the main reason why the two churches were able to make our partnership.
John: Tell me how this history affects your work as a mission co-worker here in Korea?
Yuki: Of course there is the history between the church in Japan and in Korea, but if we talk about the politics, the Japanese government has still not yet apologized to Korea or other Asian countries. It has been more than 70 years and we have not been able to make our government apologize. But we still have a responsibility for what we have done. As a Christian, and as a pastor, and as a mission co-worker, the reconciliation between Japan and Korea is my mission. I just do a little part, but the history really affects me, and what I do.
John: Tell me what has been your most memorable moment as a mission co-worker?
Yuki: My favourite program is the teen summer retreat between Seoul Presbytery and UCCJ Tokyo North District. Adults have their consultation once every two years, but for the teenagers we have a gathering every year. Most of the time the kids think about the history together. For adults, we know it is very important, but at the same time, it is very awkward. But for those kids, they are so sincere, they are dealing with very serious historical topics, but at the same time, they are able to make friends. That is so amazing! I am so happy to help the retreat. Of course the preparation is very, very hard, but I love the work, and being a part of the program.
In 2018 the main topic was the massacre of Korean people following the Great Kanto Earthquake in Tokyo on Sept. 1, 1923. After the earthquake, there was a rumour that went around that the Koreans in Tokyo had put poison in the drinking water. That of course was not true, but there was already hatred toward Koreans in the hearts of Japanese people, and many Korean people were killed. So we decided to pick that topic for the retreat. The kids visited the actual place where the massacre happened and we talked about it. Some Korean students remarked that before they met real Japanese people, they thought of Japanese people as evil, but they came out of it thinking, “Of course the history is very bad, but we can still be friends.” And the Japanese students changed a lot as well. In Japanese schools, we don’t teach students much about the history of the twentieth century, only old, old history. Through this retreat, the Japanese students learn what we did to our friends. For adults, when we understand the history, we hesitate to be friends with Korean people, because we feel so sorry. But the kids, they also think we should apologize, but that doesn’t stop them from forming friendships.
John: What challenges do you face as a mission co-worker?
Yuki: Many people in Japan are very conservative. The conservativism is not that bad, but there is xenophobia against Korean people, and I think it is getting stronger. When I was a kid, it was not that strong. In this society, most of the churches are trying to make a difference, but at the same time, the church is also within the society, so we are also affected by that society. Japanese mass media tends to give news that is based on the racist mindset, so it is really hard to get good information. I can say most church members in Japan love peace and reconciliation between Japan and Korea, but at the same time, they don’t know how much the information they get from the mass media is wrong. It is so frustrating. The information they have about Korea is so different from the Korea I know! The church members are good people, but even these good people do not know the reality of Korea that I know. This is why I try to tell people what I see and what I feel and what I experience.
John: Do you have any insights you would like to share with people in Canada?
Yuki: Actually, the United Church of Canada helped the PROK a lot during difficult years, and it helped the UCCJ as well, so we have good relationships with each other. But I think for people in Canada, they don’t see much of the relationship between Japan and Korea. They see the partnerships as separate. But because the relationship between Japan and Korea is complicated, it is good for Canadians to know the relationship between Japan and Korea, so they can understand both Japan and Korea more deeply. I hope we can have more opportunities to share these stories.
John: Does talking about these things give you any insights about God’s work in the world or about yourself and where God is calling you in the future?
Yuki: (Long pause) Actually, I did not become a pastor through Jesus Christ himself: I experience Jesus and God through other people. It was the people around me who gave me great affection who inspired me to be a Christian and to be a pastor. And I feel this even more since I came to Korea. Coming to Korea was not my will, actually. When I was ordained, I thought I would do my pastoral work only in Japan. But it suddenly changed. I said no the first time. Someone said to me, “Do you want to study in Korea?” I said “No. I’ve been a student for so long. Please, no more study!” But finally I said yes, and that was a great decision I made. The relationship between the Japanese government and the Korean government, and the atmosphere in each society, it usually brings me really down, but still, when I encounter the moment when one Japanese person and one Korean person become friends, that is so amazing! I can feel God’s spirit to bring reconciliation. That’s one of the miracles that God can make. I am so happy to be a mission co-worker.
And of course, after I go back to Japan, which might be soon, I will still be able to do what I am doing now in Korea, helping people to make these connections. That is my life-time mission.
 |
| Yuki translating for the tour guide at the Great Kanto earthquake field trip |
 |
| Group Photo 2018 Korea-Japan joint retreat for teens, co-hosted by PROK Seoul Presbytery and UCCJ North Subdistrict of Tokyo District |
 |
| Korean and Japanese young adults visiting the Statue of Peace in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul during their 2019 retreat |
If you missed my webinar hosted by the United Church on June 23, you can watch a recording of it on the United Church’s Community and Social Justice facebook page:
Comments
Post a Comment