Fr Thomas Seungwon Nam in front of Shenyang Cathedral. Photo: Fr Thomas Seungwon Nam
Due to COVID-19, I have not been able to visit the border between China and North Korea since 2015. Fortunately, I finally got the opportunity to visit Shenyang and Dandong together with some priests from the Bishops Committee for National Reconciliation. After a two-hour flight from Incheon International Airport, I arrived in Shenyang, had lunch in the West Pagoda area, and then travelled to Dandong, which took five hours. Shenyang is a city that is signified by a single Chinese character in Korean. It is in the heart of Dongdei region where both heavy industry and military industries are quite developed and is a strategic point connecting Dongbei and the Korean peninsula. Many Chinese-North Korean citizens from the provinces of Pyongan and Kyongsang live in Shenyang and its surrounding cities. There are many stores and restaurants in the West Tower area but North Korean restaurants refuse to accept South Korean customers.
North Koreans who were working in restaurants and factories in major Chinese cities were unable to return home when the border was closed during the pandemic. North Korea has recently opened its airspace and is bringing back expatriates and citizens.
The Boxer Rebellion was a movement against foreign powers in the provinces of Shandong and North China towards the end of the Qing Dynasty that lasted from the 2nd of November 1899 until September 7th 1901.
It is said that more than 150 believers, monks, priests and bishops were killed in front of Shenyang Cathedral. The first two bishops of the diocese are buried underneath the central isle of the Cathedral. Unfortunately, all the historical records were destroyed during the cultural revolution and the Shenyang diocese regrets that all they have is very faint historical evidence about those who were martyred. A Qing Dynasty-style statue of the Virgin Mary is a good representation of Qing Dynasty culture.
Shenyang is where the portrait of Crown Prince Sohyeon from the Joseon Dynasty is also located. King Injo surrendered to Qing Taizong the Qing Emperor in 1637. After the conclusion of the Peace Treaty the Qing Dynasty demanded hostages so on April 10th in 1637 Prince Sohyeon, together with his wife Kang Xiao travelled to Shenyang where they were detained together with the ministers of the main office. During his 8 years of detention, Sohyeon is said to have been introduced to Western civilization by Adam Schall a Catholic missionary he met in Beijing. Sohyeon gathered the captive Koreans together and sought to make a living by cultivating the land, hoarding grain and trading.
Qing Dynasty-style statue of the Virgin and Child. Photo: Fr Thomas Seungwon Nam
Dandong is a five-hour drive from Shenyang and is a border city in the province of Liaoning, bordering Sinuiju North Pyongan Province, the Yalu River and the Yellow Sea. South Koreans who specialize in North Korean affairs frequently visit Dandong for research purposes. By checking the trucks and trains that leave Dandong bound for North Korea they can indirectly determine what and how much trade that takes place between China and North Korea and thus gauge the economic situation in North Korea. Reporters frequently visit Dandong whenever some event of note takes place in North Korea.
From the living room of the apartment that the priests stationed in Beijing and Dandong use, we could see the city of Shinuiju which is situated between the Yalu River and the North Korean province of North Pyongan. There we celebrated a mass for peace on the Korean peninsula as we looked across at the island of Wihwa. While it is important to read about the situation of the divided North and South Korea, it is also important to visit the border area and see it with one’s own eyes.
As a border city Dandong is a military area and due to the anti-espionage law enacted by the Chinese government one is only allowed to stop one’s car at designated tourist stations but it is forbidden to stop on any other part of the journey along the way. Attempting to take photographs is dangerous.
With the resumption of high-level exchanges between China and North Korea, attention has turned to the possibility of the Yalu Bridge which connects Dandong to North Xinjiang province opening this fall or early next year. The bridge was closed due to the coronavirus, causing economic losses for both China and North Korea.
On the Chinese side of the Yalu River, we were able to ride a boat which gave us the chance to look directly into North Korea. There is an hour’s difference in the time between the Chinese side and the North Korean side of the Yalu River. Even though both North and South Korea are in the same time zone and are both part of the Korean peninsula the situation on the peninsula remains unstable. We continue to live at a time when our prayers for peace are urgently needed. May the peace of Christ reign in our hearts, for it is for this that you were called together as parts of one body. (Col 3:15)
Columban Fr Thomas Seungwon Nam lives and works in Seoul, South Korea.
Related links
- Read more from the current Columban eBulletin
