by Pascale Rizk
Rome – Faith in Jesus can always arise from a real encounter, even in the age of artificial intelligence. This is the conviction of Germanus Kwak Jin-Sang, auxiliary bishop of the South Korean Diocese of Suwon. He also envisions fruitful encounters between young people who will take part in World Youth Day in Seoul in 2027 and the Korean families who will host them in their homes.
Born in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on December 20, 1964, Germanus Kwak Jin-Sang entered the seminary in 1983. After earning a licentiate in theology from the Catholic University of Suwon in 1993, he was ordained a priest on February 2, 1993. Following several parish assignments, he pursued advanced studies at the Institut Catholique de Paris, earning a licentiate in pastoral theology and catechetics in 1999 and a doctorate in systematic theology in 2005. He later served as a parish priest, a professor at the Major Seminary of the Catholic University of Suwon, and rector of the Catholic University of Suwon from 2018 to 2022. He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Suwon on December 20, 2025, and received episcopal ordination on February 11, 2026. He also holds responsibilities within the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea , including serving as President of the Bioethics Committee.
Fides News Agency interviewed Germanus Kwak in Rome, where the Korean bishop had arrived to take part in the formation course for new bishops organized by the Dicastery for Evangelization, which began on Wednesday, September 2, at the Pontifical College of St. Peter the Apostle.
Looking back at the origins of the Catholic Church in Korea, what does the early experience of a faith passed from person to person by laypeople teach us today? And how can the legacy of the martyrs, preserved despite centuries of persecution, still inspire the Church and contemporary society?
—At the dawn of Christianity in Korea, faith was passed on through personal encounter. In a deeply hierarchical society, shaped by Confucianism and a rigid division of social roles, this was profoundly innovative. The scholars and intellectuals who had discovered Christian texts began to welcome not only people of their own social rank, but also the poor, servants, and marginalized. To say to a servant, “You are not my servant; you are my brother,” or “you are my sister,” was truly revolutionary at the time. This conviction that all human beings belong to one family, regardless of their social status, remains highly relevant today. It invites us to reflect on our world, still marked by conflict, war, domination, and the desire to possess other people or their resources. Today, this issue takes on particular importance in the face of the development of artificial intelligence as well.
In what way?
—The Church rightly asks how to preserve what constitutes the irreplaceable value of the human person: freedom, concrete experience, the capacity to feel joy, sorrow, love, and suffering, and to build authentic relationships. Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool, but it must not lead us to confuse the virtual with the real, or to accept a distortion of human reality. Returning to the dignity of every person therefore means remembering that faith, like social life, always begins with an authentic encounter with another person.
In contemporary society, social media and their algorithms sometimes create the illusion of an encounter, while often encouraging fleeting contacts mediated by a screen. Can this illusion, in some way, also affect missionary work?
—The essence of an encounter with God is realized in a living relationship: in meeting another person, in the Blessed Sacrament, and in the concrete experience of everyday life. That is why the Church today finds herself at the center of a fruitful tension. On the one hand, she can and must use contemporary means of communication to reach people where they are, including on social media. These tools can draw attention, spark curiosity, and open a first door to faith. On the other hand, it is essential to preserve what must not be distorted or destroyed: the depth of spiritual experience, the reality of the encounter with Christ, and the irreplaceable character of the liturgy.
Indeed, the liturgy is a privileged place for handing down the faith. It is not only a moment when one hears teaching or celebrates a familiar tradition; it also makes it possible to see, live, and encounter the reality of Christ. This encounter can touch a person, transform that person inwardly, and then accompany that person beyond the walls of the church.
Short-form formats and social media can be useful for generating interest or recalling the importance of faith, but they cannot, for example, replace the liturgical experience. If a person moves directly from a short, spectacular video to a celebration whose depth and rhythm they do not understand, they may feel confused, or even disconnected. This transition must therefore be accompanied, showing that the liturgy offers a reality different from that of the screen.
In your view, how do you explain the success of certain ways of presenting Christianity that are typical of evangelical movements?
—In the Korean context, Protestant evangelical movements know how to reach people in a direct and sensitive way. They deeply touch emotions: joy, sorrow, need, and comfort. Koreans are generally very receptive to this affective and expressive dimension. Some people, after attending evangelical communities for some time, then distance themselves from them or occasionally return to the Catholic Church. Others, however, sometimes consider Catholic celebrations too “quiet,” too traditional, or even “boring” compared with more expressive and dynamic forms of worship. This perception should not be ignored, but above all it invites reflection on the deeper meaning of the liturgy and of faith.
My course of study in France initially led me to rediscover the importance of reason in relation to faith. This stage was essential: faith is not opposed to reason, nor does it require giving up reflection. On the contrary, it embraces reason and brings it to fulfillment, while opening us to a broader reality: the mystery of God, the human person, and life.
This conviction shaped my priestly ministry, especially when I served in a parish in the Seopangyo neighborhood, an area where many doctors, engineers, academics, and professionals lived who were strongly attached to a rational approach to things. In my homilies, I tried to begin with their questions, their way of reasoning, and the concrete issues that reality raised for them. It was not a matter of presenting faith as an abstract idea or as an answer that disregarded intelligence, but of showing that reason itself sometimes leads to questions that remain open and cannot be answered exhaustively.
In the underlying Korean culture, which largely shapes the norms of social coexistence, distinctions between social classes and generations are emphasized. In the testimonies gathered among Korean missionaries and the Korean diaspora, intergenerational relations have had a strong impact on whether faith is passed on—or not. In your view, how can parishes and dioceses help young people live out this communion with other generations in concrete ways?
—As a son of the Church in South Korea, I would like to emphasize a fundamental priority: the intergenerational dimension of preparations for World Youth Day. This event should not be seen as an initiative reserved for young people.
WYD concerns the whole Church and can become an opportunity to renew the faith of every generation. Young people, including those coming from abroad, will bring their enthusiasm, their culture, their way of praying, and their witness; older people, for their part, can offer their homes. Regular meetings are currently being held to explain to families how they can contribute. Older people are concerned about the age gap or their limited knowledge of foreign languages. But I keep telling them: “Offer a room, a place of welcome, and the young people will communicate with you through translation apps.”
One of the most important aspects of this preparation is family hosting, or homestays, especially for the diocesan phase of the event. Cultural events, K-pop, concerts, and initiatives connected with Korean culture can be very attractive, but the deepest experience will not arise from those activities alone. It will come above all from time spent in a home, within a family, in a simple and authentic daily relationship.
What matters most is to open one’s door and offer the essentials: a room, a bed, sheets, a blanket, and a welcoming presence. In Korean culture, hospitality is a great virtue, but it can sometimes become a source of anxiety because people think they need to clean everything, cook abundantly, and prepare many dishes, such as rice, japchae , or bulgogi . Yet simple hospitality is enough.
This invitation is all the more meaningful in a society that has become highly individualistic. In Korea, where many people live in secured apartment complexes, access to buildings and homes is often protected by codes, locked doors, and multiple security checks. It has become less natural to enter a neighbor’s home or to spontaneously welcome someone into one’s own. WYD can therefore be an opportunity to symbolically reopen doors, overcome the fear of the unknown, and rediscover the meaning of hospitality. This does not mean denying the necessary precautions, but daring to trust.
Statistics indicate that younger generations are less favorable to reconciliation with North Korea and instead speak of the economic well-being achieved by South Korea, which they do not want to share with the North. What does this attitude reveal?
—There are already many initiatives in Korea in favor of reconciliation, unity, and peace. However, beyond official structures and events, the Korean War and its consequences are not part of the direct experience of many young people. Unlike their parents’ or grandparents’ generation, they have not necessarily known people in their own surroundings who went missing, families that were separated, or direct victims of the conflict. Reconciliation with North Korea may therefore seem distant, abstract, or unrelated in any obvious way to their everyday lives. This is not a lack of sensitivity, but a generational gap.
That is why it is necessary to rethink the language and paths of reconciliation starting with this new generation. Peace should not be presented only as an inheritance from the past, nor as an exclusively political or economic issue. In a society where individualism, competition, and economic concerns occupy an important place, the challenge is to recall that human life cannot be reduced to material success or immediate interests.
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