austraLasia #3129
Korea
takes up John Lee for national
branding
SEOUL 6 September
2012 -- One often hears the word 'brand',
'branding'
in Salesian circles these days, or corporate image or
whatever, and the
steps we need to take in a world that regards 'brand' very
highly.
Considering that Catholics only make up a tiny percentage on
the Korean
religious spectrum, it has been extraordinary to note the way
the life
and death of Salesian missionary Fr John Lee has become a
national
symbol. Some of this has been very much as the Salesians would
want,
some of it not. These things can attract people and groups who
eventually distort the true picture of who this man was and
what he
stood for, along with his Salesian community.
So it has been good to see this latest effort which came at
the request
of the Presidential National Branding Council of Korea. Bro
Hilario Seo
SDB, who is in charge of Social Communication for the KOR
Province,
wrote the text and the translation was done professionally
under the
auspices of the Presidential Council. It has currently been
translated
into English and Japanese and the Chinese version is due
shortly.
Significantly this presentation of John Lee goes well beyond
the usual
'social-worker' aspect that has sometimes been the case.
through text
and image, it becomes clear that John Lee was the 'Don Bosco'
of Tonj,
that he worked with other missionaries, Salesian and other.
You can click on either of the above images to follow the text
in the
language of your choosing (so long as it is Korean, English or
Japanese!). Or go directly from here:
http://www.koreabrand.net/net/kr/book.do?kbmtSeq=2085
This
effort is a very good reminder too, for the Salesian 143rd mission
expedition that has just begun its month of preparation in Rome.
Interestingly enough, of the 45 participants, 23 are either from or
coming to the EAO Region in a missionary capacity. That's 50%! One of
these is from KOR Province, currently working in PNG-SI.