The Catholic Church’s international aid efforts began in 1975 with the establishment of a human development committee headed by Bishop Ji Hak-soon (1921-1993) under the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea. (Image courtesy of Caritas Korea International)
SEOUL, Jan. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — Fifty years after beginning its international development cooperation efforts, the Catholic Church in South Korea has transformed from an aid recipient to a leading donor in Asia, highlighting the nation’s remarkable economic transformation.
According to Caritas Korea International, the Church’s international aid efforts began in 1975 with the establishment of a human development committee headed by Bishop Ji Hak-soon (1921-1993) under the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea. The organization was formed as international Catholic relief organizations, including U.S. Catholic Relief Services, prepared to withdraw from South Korea, recognizing the need for a coordinated domestic aid structure.
The evolution of South Korean Catholic aid reflects the country’s economic development. In 1993, when the church first began providing foreign assistance, annual aid totaled just over 1 billion won. By 2010, when Caritas Korea International was officially registered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, aid had increased to 2 billion won annually. The organization reached its peak in 2015, distributing 4.8 billion won in aid.
Despite a temporary decline to 2.4 billion won during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, aid levels recovered to around 4 billion won in 2021 and have maintained approximately 4.6 billion won annually from 2022 to 2024. Since 1993, the Korean Catholic Church has provided 77.5 billion won in support through 1,294 projects across 98 countries.
Recent initiatives include significant support for Sri Lanka, with approximately 210 million won allocated to both nutritional support for vulnerable children and educational assistance for impoverished children affected by conflict. The organization notes that just 570 won can provide one meal for a child in Sri Lanka, while 8,000 won supplies a day’s worth of nutritional packages for a poor household.
“Through the international Caritas network, Caritas Korea provides the largest emergency relief support in Asia,” said Shin Hye-young, head of international cooperation at Caritas Korea.
Bishop Cho Kyu-man, chairman of Caritas Korea, emphasized the significance of this evolution in his annual foreign aid message: “Having developed into an advanced nation through foreign assistance after the war, it is now our turn to help people in other struggling countries.”
The special collection taken at churches nationwide on January 26, marking the 33rd Foreign Aid Sunday, will continue supporting nations in need through Caritas Korea, maintaining the organization’s commitment to international development assistance.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
