Several Korean American United Methodist leaders and advocates for peace and reunification in Korea welcomed the historic summit between the leaders of North and South Korea on June 13 to 15.

The meeting between South Korea's President Kim Dae Jung and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il opened the way for economic and cultural exchanges and the reunion of families separated since the Korean War (1950-1953).

"I'm very delighted and excited about the meeting of the two heads of state. It's been 50 years since the Korean War. I feel like we're celebrating a Jubilee now that peace and reconciliation is finally coming," said Bishop Hae-Jong Kim of the New York West Area. "In the short run, there will be cooperation between North and South Korea. In the long run, there are hopeful signs of a possible reunification of the Korean peninsula."

According to the Rev. Dr. S. Michael Hahm, the meeting of the two leaders was a tremendous emotional lift for many Koreans. In 1950, as a young man, Hahm left his home in North Korea to join the South Korean marines. He was separated from his family for 37 years. "Just like the rest of the separated families, for so many years I didn't know if they were living or dead. Then in 1987, North Korea started opening its door. I went back to North Korea as a part of an NCC [National Council of Churches] delegation. There I met my sister. She's 14 years younger than I am, with six children and a husband. We all got together and had a family reunion." Hahm said he was very fortunate. "There are many people who have not had that opportunity," he added. Unfortunately, Hahm's father passed away before Hahm made it back to North Korea. His mother died when he was still a teenager living with his family.

Hahm hailed the meeting of the Korean leaders as a uniting of efforts toward self-determination. "In all these years, Korea was controlled by the superpowers the Soviet Union and the United States. It seems to me that for the first time the two Korean leaders [are able] to get together to try to direct their energy to creating self-determination," Hahm said.

But beyond the political implications of the historic meeting, Hahm stressed the immense impact on Koreans of finally being able to come together. "We Koreans have a strong affinity for each other. We are just discovering again and again that when North and South Koreans get together, we have a spontaneous, positive response to each other," added Hahm, who is the executive secretary for human rights and racial justice of the General Board of Global Ministries.

As the accord ushers in an era of reconciliation, Reuters reported the switching off of loudspeakers that for years blasted insults and propaganda across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the border between North and South Korea.

On June 19, the United States eased economic sanctions against North Korea. This will allow North Korea to export raw materials and goods to the United States, and open both air and shipping lanes between the two countries. On the same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly offered diplomatic help to South Korean President Kim Dae Jung. Red Cross organizations in both North and South Korea are discussing the reuniting of separated families around August 15, when both countries celebrate the end of Japan's occupation of the Korean peninsula at the close of World War II.

"It is indeed a day of new beginnings!" commented Ms. Jane Hull Harvey, a former short-term missionary to South Korea, quoting from a hymn in the United Methodist Hymnal. Ms. Harvey, assistant general secretary for the ministry of God's human community of the General Board of Church and Society, said she and her husband, the Rev. Pharis Harvey, sent a congratulatory letter to President Kim Dae Jung and his wife, Lee Hee Ho, who are their personal friends. Lee Hee Ho is a 1958 graduate, with Jane Hull Harvey, of the former Scarritt College in Nashville, Tennessee.

The General Conference held in Cleveland, Ohio, last May passed a resolution, "Peace, Justice and Reunification of Korea," which says in part: "All members of the body of Christ, but especially Christians in the United States, have a special responsibility to support the Korean people in their attempts to build democracy, reduce tension, create trust on the Korean peninsula, heal the divisions and reunite their country."

June 21, 2000

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