I send you good wishes, as our Korea begins its summer. This month of May contains many special days, some national holidays, some just special days – May 1, Labour Day, May 5, Children’s Day, May 6, Buddha’s birthday, May 11, Parents’ Day, May 15, Teachers Day. We honour those who have imparted life and wisdom to us, we honour all those who labour, we remember the love we have for our children, and we honour the faith of our neighbours. In this edition of the newsletter NCCK shares the congratulations we shared with the Buddhist community on the occasion of Buddha’s birthday.   For this past month the nation of Korea has been in agony over the death of over 300 in the Sewol Ferry disaster, 260 of them high school students. As a nation, we are examining ourselves, and grieving the selfishness that led to such a horrible tragedy. The NCCK has been studying the accident, and asking ourselves how we can respond. First of all, we seek forgiveness for our neglect as Christians. We have failed to establish ourselves as salt and light in society, and so we failed the victims, and apologize deeply to them and to their parents.   Secondly, we have deep disappointment in the institutions of our society and those who should be able to trust. The captain and most of the crew failed in their expected duties, we question the failure to rescue more people in the time line of the ship’s sinking. Our society must know the genuine reality of the disaster, and we ask the government to investigate thoroughly.   Thirdly, our whole system of customer and employee security must be resolved and reformed, so that such an event will not happen again. And finally, we give thanks to so many of our partners around the world for their prayers and ask that you will pray that we may carry out the necessary reform within our society.   As General Secretary of NCCK I look forward to traveling to Geneva in June for the Justice & Peace Consultation and Korea Ecumenical Forum. We are honoured and grateful that our partners from the KCF will be in attendance. We look forward to the successfully achievement of reunification after the resolution was accepted by the WCC and the global church. The recommendations are that economic sanctions by the U.N. be lifted, that a treaty be negotiated between the South and North, for which the participation of the U.S. and China will be necessary, that foreign military be withdrawn from the Peninsula; and that a new generation of young adults be prepared for the work of reunification.   As the summer days lengthen, the Korean mountains are bathed in early green and our air scented with flowers we give thanks for God’s gift of life and recommit ourselves to God’s justice and peace. Our best wishes to our partners.