In South Korea, the experience of a deacon’s wife
By: Christine Krumpen
In South Korea, there are no permanent deacons, with the exception of Edgar, my husband. He is the leader of the German-speaking Catholic parish based in Seoul, the country’s capital. The German community is part of the International Parish. There are French speakers, Italian speakers, Spanish speakers, Portuguese speakers, English speakers, and Koreans. Every community has its own priest – except us.
It was lay people who founded the Catholic Church in the late 18th century. Yi Seung-hun (baptismal name: Peter) had been baptised in China and brought texts and his faith back to his homeland. In 1845, Kim Tae-geon (baptismal name: Andrew) was ordained as the first priest. He died a martyr in 1846. The period of persecution of Christians did not end until 1876. From then on, the way was open for missionaries and the Church was able to grow. At present, just over 11% of the population are Catholics, with women in the majority.
Incidentally, just over half the population describe themselves as non-denominational.
My husband and I arrived here at the end of 2022, having got to know the parish during a brief visit a year earlier. The parish comprises German-speaking expats and Koreans with a connection to the German language. Some have studied or lived in Germany, some have a German spouse, and some are learning German with a view to emigrating to Germany later.
All the sacraments are offered. Mass is celebrated on Sunday when a German-speaking priest is available and joins us to celebrate the Eucharist. That is the day when I, as the deacon’s wife, am most visible. Sometimes, when there is no priest present, it is a religious service – the celebration of the Word in the absence of priests -, that includes the distribution of Holy Communion.
During the week, Edgar conducts pastoral visits, writes various texts, plans, represents the German-speaking church externally, and so on, whilst I remain in the background in this regard. That is absolutely fine by me! We all have different personalities, and I don’t particularly like being in the spotlight. However, I do have my responsibilities here: I am in charge of First Communion preparation, and I also prepare the Taizé services and accompany the singing on the guitar. Time and again, I source or make something that Edgar needs to bring his ideas to life.
The parishioners notice me as the one who prepares everything for the church coffee every Sunday. Yet people also recognise and point out to me that much of what happens is ‘behind the scenes’. It was interesting in the early days that Koreans, in particular, didn’t dare to ring Edgar directly. Korean society is hierarchically structured. So they turned to me instead. That has changed in the meantime.
We want to be an oasis here in this stressful, competitive society, where strict rules of politeness make life more difficult than in Europe.
author: Christine Krumpen and her husband, Deacon Edgar, live in Seoul, South Korea, where Edgar leads the German-speaking Catholic parish.