Jorge Mario Bergoglio, otherwise known as Pope Francis, finished his 5 day visit to Korea on August 19. This visit was the first of its kind in 25 years, and as a result, ‘Pope syndrome’ erupted across the nation.

▲ The pope parading through Gwanghwamun.

The purpose of his visit was to attend the 6th Asian Youth Day celebration, a gathering of about 2,000 Asian Catholic youth. During his trip, Pope Francis beatified 124 of Korea’s first Catholics in an open air mass in Gwanghwamun and attended a peace and reconciliation mass in Myeong-Dong at Korea’s oldest Catholic cathedral. However, the real purpose behind his trip was to meet those who are suffering and offer some sort of consolation.

After hearing of the suffering of the families of the Sewol Ferry incident and how they wanted to meet the Pope, he gladly accepted. He felt they were the
ones who were suffering the most in Korean society. Bereaved families of Sewol Ferry incident welcomed the Pope at Seongnam Seoul Airport on August 14. The Pope said, “My heart aches, I remember the victims”.

A crowd of one million gathered, showing their gratitude to the pope during the beatification event held in Gwanghwamun, marking the historic occasion.
He said he ‘remembers’ all the vulnerable people in society. The pope said “I am not able to maintain political neutrality in front of the pain of a human being” at a press conference held right before he left Korea.

Kissing the foreheads of children, encouraging young people, sending messages of reconciliation to all, and baptizing Lee Ho-jin, father of one of the victims of the Sewol Ferry incident, giving him the baptismal name Francis, demonstrating his
deep condolences for the bereaved families of this national tragedy, are just some of the ways that Pope Francis won the hearts of Koreans.

He also wore a yellow ribbon and took a cross that he received from families of the victims back with him to the Vatican. On a separate occasion, the Pope wore a yellow butterfly and greeted seven of the so-called ‘comfort women’ who attended his mass in the cathedral in Myeong-Dong. All of these are very exceptional acts and left a big impression on the minds of Koreans. He empowered Koreans of all backgrounds in many ways.

His visit signalled a closing and time to move on after the terrifying ferry incident. It helped people forget about customs and social norms even if it was just for few days. It also helped Koreans build a relationship and feel closer with the Pope. Moreover, it encouraged Koreans to express feelings they buried in their hearts for a very long time.

The Dankook Herald (DKH) interviewed Lim Ji-su (President of the Dankook University Catholic Students Union), to learn more about the Pope. He told us our society is now in a time where we need communicate and heal. Pope Francisco frequently stopped his vehicle to kiss the children and to hold the hands of the bereaved who were suffering from the Sewol ferry incident, reflecting sentiments
that most citizens hoped for.

The officials of the Catholic Students Union asked what was the message the Pope wanted delivered to us. The president answered, “His reflection starts from the weakest members of our society, giving up authority. This caused an awakening within us that we should band together with the neediest in our society and we should develop a human-centered culture and practice peace and
reconciliation” the core of Pope Francisco’s leadership comes from him assuming the role of the ‘Mediator of peace’.

As a result, he didn’t mention anything about domestic issues, such as North Korean human rights and didn’t criticize the assailants of the comfort women. So we asked the Catholic Students Union what they thought about this. The president answered, “A person asked a question about the role of a ‘Mediator’ after looking at the yellow ribbon on his left chest. To that question, the Pope answered, “We can’t remain neutral in front of human pain.” It is not that he has
not shown a big response to these critical issues, but rather he has clearly pointed out the wrong and suggested that we should take the path of forgiveness and reconciliation by prioritizing the weak and poor people. We know from past history that peace will collapse if the pope offers criticism like a judge. Instead, the pope is leading us along the path of forgiveness and reconciliation as a mediator of peace.”

Currently in Korea, compassionate leadership is a hot topic and Pope Francisco’s leadership received attention, so we asked what is the reason behind the popularity of the ‘compassionate leadership’. The president said, “When we are talking about leadership in our society, a leader is the someone taking responsibility. This is because when leadership is being mentioned in our society,
it is when problems occur. I think the origin of compassionate leadership is modesty. As a result, a leader is one with good leadership skills or has great intellect. However, compassionate leadership is leading by example, not putting a limit on one’s own work and modesty balanced with everyone. I think because we are all capable of entitling ourselves to the role of leader, compassionate leadership is now receiving attention in our current society.”

Like the answer from the Catholic Students Union suggested, the character of Pope Francisco encouraged and cheered up Koreans who were having a hard time in many areas. Pope Francisco stayed in Korea for five days. You could say that it is long, you also could say that is short. However, the influence of the messages that Pope Francis left us with was substantial. His trip to Korea gave Koreans a chance to reflect upon themselves, the disregarded and the forgotten.