SPOTLIGHT 26/05/22 South Korean Catholic youth pray for peace at border

[성기화 요셉]

Pilgrimage was part of preparations for World Youth Day in Seoul in 2027

South Korean young Catholics gather for a pilgrimage for peace, reconciliation and ecological conservation in front of the Odusan Unification Observatory in Paju city on May 22. (Photo: Catholic Times)

By UCA News reporter

Published: May 27, 2026 08:33 AM GMT

Updated: May 27, 2026 09:06 AM GMT

About 100 people, mostly young South Korean Catholics, traveled to the border zone with North Korea to pray for peace, reconciliation and environmental conservation as part of preparations for World Youth Day (WYD), which will be held in Seoul next year.

The World Youth Day organizing committee of Uijeongbu Diocese organized the May 22-25 program, which drew about 80 Catholic youths to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separates the two Koreas. The participants are expected to take part in World Youth Day in Seoul on Aug. 2-8, 2027.

The pilgrims traveled about 60 kilometers (37 miles) along the border, praying and attending seminars in Paju and Yeoncheon County.

The youths visited ecological parks and historical sites and attended lectures and concerts organized by the committee.

At the end of each day, they split into small groups, sang hymns, prayed, and shared their reflections from the pilgrimage. They also received the Sacrament of Confession during the event.

The program ended with a Holy Mass led by Bishop Benedictus Son Hee-song of Uijeongbu on May 25.

Organizers said the program was intended to convey messages of reconciliation for the divided Korean Peninsula and environmental conservation of the border region as part of preparations for the diocesan phase of World Youth Day.

Father Francis Kim Seung-yeon, chair of the diocesan organizing committee, said the DMZ is a place where the “values of peace and ecology ... are exquisitely combined.”

“At next year’s diocesan convention, young pilgrims from around the world will gather here at the inter-Korean border to profess their faith and unite their hearts for ecology and peace,” Kim said during the opening Mass on May 22.

The first phase of World Youth Day, known as “Days in the Dioceses” and scheduled for July 29-Aug. 2, will be hosted across South Korea’s 15 dioceses before the main events begin in Seoul.

Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to attend the triennial global Catholic event introduced by late Pope John Paul II.

Joseph Lee Ki-woong, a participant from Seoul, said he hoped Catholic youths from around the world would learn about the division of Korea and ongoing efforts toward reconciliation during the event next year.

Japan colonized Korea in the early 20th century following the collapse of the Joseon Dynasty, which ruled from 1392 to 1910.

The Korean Peninsula was divided into North and South Korea after Japan’s surrender to Allied forces ended World War II in 1945.

South Korea aligned with the United States, while a communist regime backed by the Soviet Union took control in the North. Efforts to reunify the peninsula failed largely because of disagreements between Washington and Moscow, eventually leading to war.

The Korean War broke out in 1950 when North Korean forces invaded the South.

The conflict killed an estimated 4 million people and displaced about 10 million before U.N.-led forces intervened and pushed back the North Korean military.

The war ended with an armistice agreement, rather than a peace treaty, on July 27, 1953.

*This is a translated and edited version of the report published by the Catholic Times of Korea on May 26, 2026.