Seoul (Korea). On 23 September 2023, the eve of World Day of Climate Action, more than 500 South Korean environmental organizations, including Laudato Si’ Movement, organized the 923 Climate Justice March in downtown Seoul. Among the participants there were also the FMA of the JPIC (Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation) Province group, and other FMA of the Morning Star Province (KOR) together with the young people of VIDES.
Shortly before the march, on a street near Seoul station, a Holy Mass was celebrated presided over by the auxiliary bishop Msgr. Timothy Yu Gyoung-Chon, responsible for Social Pastoral care of the Archdiocese of Seoul. The priests wore red stoles, symbolizing “the Earth on fire due to the climate crisis” and the faithful also wore clothes and accessories with the color red.
In his homily, Bishop Timothy Yu said, “The main cause of the climate crisis is carbon dioxide emissions. We are one of the top ten economies in the world, yet we are the seventh largest carbon emitting country in the world, and we must hold ourselves accountable. Because of us, the good lands where God sows and cultivates are gradually disappearing. We must remember that, as stewards of creation, our responsibility is to cultivate and preserve the world according to the will of the Lord. As Christians, we should follow Christ and, as apostles of ecology, we must not be tempted by the world. We must continue to pray, study, and pursue a lifestyle that gives life. We invite others to live a life like this, so that the world changes.”
After the Mass on the street, the group composed of JPIC members of the Union of Major Superiors and Superiors General of Korea led the march in front of the Seoul Municipality, the location of the gathering.
At the end of the demonstration, the participants divided into two groups, one headed towards Gwanghwamun, the seat of the government, and the other towards the President’s office in Yongsan. They also created a performance called “die-in”, with several people lying in the street as if they were dead, representing the possibility of an upheaval of ordinary life leading to extinction caused by the climate crisis.
The Seoul Climate Justice March was a call to action, a reminder that the fight against climate change is urgent and requires not only individual efforts, but also systemic changes. Taking to the streets to demonstrate for justice and the future, citizens and organizations that participated in the March urged the government to abandon fossil fuels and switch to public renewable energy, calling for immediate action to tackle the climate crisis that threatens the planet and its inhabitants.
