Korea Dispatch

Rice paddies

An article in the July 18th JoonAng Daily profiles a pastor-turned environmentalist.

Heo Byung-seob is a 68-year old former pastor from Seoul. In the early 1970s Heo served in one of Seoul’s poorest neighborhoods, Daldongnae, preaching the Gospel and administering to the poor. In 1988 Heo left his position in the church to embark on what would be a journey towards environmentalism. 

“I want to serve people,” Heo told the JoongAng, “not as a pastor, but as one individual helping another.”

In 1996 Heo left Seoul to pursue farming in the southern province of Jeolla-do. There he employed traditional agricultural techniques that proved both effective and environmentally friendly. In his rice paddies Heo used ducks and freshwater snails instead of pesticides to keep bugs and other pests away. 

On July 13th Pastor Heo, as he’s still called, announced he would be donating his entire estate, valued at over three hundred thousand US dollars, to National Nature Trust, an organization established for the purpose of advancing environmental causes in Korea.

Jeon Jae-gyung is a board member of National Nature Trust. He says the trust was modeled after the gye, a traditional Korean system in which each member of the community contributes to a local fund from which others can borrow.

“When my father died he urged me to use the land to help people,” recounted Heo. “He said that when my time came I could not take the land with me, so why not put it to a good cause.”

Heo’s donation is the largest received by the National Nature Trust, which has received major donations from other high-profile individuals, including a former presidential candidate and high-ranking politician.

The organization says Heo’s land, which lies beneath the foothills of one of South Korea’s major mountain ranges, will be used to help promote environmentally friendly businesses that will also benefit local residents. The project is part of a larger program aimed at establishing an eco-village in the area. 

Park Kyung-mi is a 39-year old mother who, for financial reasons, left the city to return to her rural hometown. “After a while I lost all hope here,” she says, referring to the lack of jobs and resources in many of Korea’s rural communities. “This trust has brought new hope to the people here,” she says.

In a speech to local residents Heo said, “My hope is this land will help the local community here while also creating a cleaner and more harmonious environment.”

Filed under: Environment, Korean Society, religion | Tagged: church, Environment, religion