Sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sport and the Tourism of Republic of the Korea government, URI Korea had held an annual international, interfaith and intercultural youth camp in Seoul, Chungnam and Gyeonggi Provinces, August 3-7, 2015, with the theme: Leadership for Equality and Compassion.

Participants were 14 Koreans and 14 foreigners from 10 different countries of 6 continents. We invited one participant from each of six different regions including: Asia, Europe, Africa, Pacific, North and the South Americas. We invited the participants from India, Spain, Nigeria, United States, Ecuador, and Australia, although the one from Ecuador could not join because of a Visa problem.

They visited several different religious and cultural sites of cities and countrysides of Korea, to learn and experience the various spiritual and cultural traditions including Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Confucianism and indigenous traditions. They also met various religious and cultural people, including priests and exports of the tradition, and had some lectures and talks about the tradition and culture. They visited museums and palaces as well as practiced archery and made pottery.

Participants formed four groups comprised of people with different backgrounds, and had group discussion and activities for promoting team spirit and the group presentation on the theme, as well as learning and sharing their knowledge and experiencing each other.

They had a time for meditation, walking around the forest, and appreciating the natural and cultural environment. Eventually, they visited the DMZ and looked at the result of the Korean War, which is still continued and should be healed in terms of the physical and mental aspects of Koreans of both the North and South regions. We had prayed for victims of the wars not only in Korea but around the world, including World War II, as well as praying for world peace for the future.              

The camp was originally planned to be held in July, but had to be postponed one month because of the MERS situation. Therefore, it was hard to change the bookings, since changes caused more cost in the limited budget. However, we have managed the events and feel good finishing the camp without any big trouble. For the next year, we should plan and prepare the events earlier with considering reasonable invitation conditions.

 - Dr. Jinwol Lee, URI Asia's Regional Coordinator for Korea