austraLasia #2570
 
Ten years on - KOR's growing migrant ministry

SEOUL: 7th January 2009 --  Given the constantly growing migrant worker population in Korea, now estimated at more than 1 million, Vietnamese workers make up around 80,000 of that number at the moment (some 40% of whom are illegal). The Catholic Migrant Ministry in Korea began in September 2000, with one lay person, a Mr. Nguyen Van Dien, in charge.
    Following the arrival of Fr. Pham SDB in 2003 (as the result of the 50th anniversary of Salesians in VIE), the migrant mission gained more by way of dynamics, structure and life. Some of the current growth indicators:
    - 2003, April: Sunday Mass offered in the Bo Mun Dong center
    - 2006 December:  Sr. Le Thi Bach Thuet - a Holy Cross Sister began working with the mission, the first Sister to do so
    - 2008 arrival of Fr. Tran - successor to Fr. Pham - who went for a period of renewal in Vietnam and Manila
        Vietnamese Catholics make up around 7% of the migrant worker community, almost the same percentage as Vietnamese Catholics back home.
    There are now regular Sunday Catholic services in 5 major cities in Korea. Due to the zeal and active participation of its members coming from 7 different Viet dioceses the Vietnamese community seems be the best organised of the groups (other groups include Chinese, Filipino, Bangladeshi, Thai and Mongolian, not to mention the other very significant group from North Korea).
       The migrant counseling centre activities cover some 200 interventions annually to do with medical care, salary, studying the Korean language (free courses offered), pensions, change of work place, work accidents, international marriages...
    Fr. Pham, reflecting on the period he has known and been so closely involved with,  feels very happy with the growing community, especially after the new Vietnamese community centre near the Labor building was rented in 2007. For larger gatherings the SDB new provincial house is also used - for Christmas 2009 there were some 750 migrant workers at Midnight Mass.
    Fr. Hung, provincial of VIE, on his return from his canonical visitation of Mongolia, has also recently included a visit to both his 'missionaries' in Seoul as well.

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Title: australasia 2570
Subject and key words: EAO Provinces KOR, VIE
Date (year): 2009
ID: 2000-2099|2570