YONGIN, Korea (UCAN) -- Young Christians from Asian countries affirmed at an ecumenical gathering their role as peacemakers.

About 90 young people joined the fourth Asia-Pacific Students and Youth Gathering (ASYG), held Aug. 25-31 at Yongin Youth Training Center in Yongin, 40 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The Ecumenical Asia-Pacific Students and Youth Network (EASY Net) organized the event.

Participants came from Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Timor Leste.

They shared the situation in their respective countries and discussed their role in bringing about peace, in line with the gathering's theme of "Youth across Boundaries -- Redefining the Culture of Peace."

In his keynote address on Aug. 26, Lesley Capus, from the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, told participants that to be peacemakers like Jesus, they must be aware of political developments in their countries. He encouraged them to link up with other youth and religious groups as well as women's and ecology groups, and also with the mass media.

Over the following two days, participants went on exposure trips in nine groups.

Some groups visited former "comfort women," who were forced to provide sexual services to Japanese troops during World War II (1939-1945), and poor people living in vinyl greenhouses in Seoul. A visit to a mosque and an interreligious dialogue with officials of the Korean Conference for Religion and Peace also were arranged.

Other groups visited the Demilitarized Zone, which has divided the Korean peninsula since the end of the Korean War (1950-1953). There, they saw the U.S. troop presence and eco-friendly farming villages. More than a million troops confront each other across the zone, considered the world's most fortified border.

After the trips, the young people gathered to share their exposure experiences and present their country reports. Afterward, they discussed various problem areas in Asia, such as North Korea, Sri Lanka and the southern Philippines.

On Aug. 30, they released their final statement. "We are longing for a harmonious society where different nations live together peacefully. We long for a world in which our similarities and differences are celebrated with equal joy," it says.

In their action plan, they decided to identify the root causes of poverty, migration, human trafficking, climate change and other social, cultural, economic and ecological problems, and to look for solutions. They also promised to actively overcome political, social, economic and ecological injustice through national and regional networking.

Sato Masashi, a Japanese participant, described the gathering as a good opportunity to get to know various issues affecting peace in the region, especially South Korea's relationship with North Korea. "Also, it was good to know many Christian friends from other Asian countries," he told UCA News on Aug. 29.

Hwang Jung-hwa, an official of the local organizing committee, told UCA News on Aug. 29, "The ASYG helps the youths understand incidents around them and how they can respond as Christians." She explained that EASY Net is a regional network of youths and students aimed at promoting ecumenical dialogue and cooperation at the grassroots level from a common action platform.

The network comprises six mostly regional organizations: World Student Christian Federation Asia-Pacific Region, Christian Conference of Asia, International Movement of Catholic Students (IMCS) Asia-Pacific, International Young Christian Students (IYCS) Asian Secretariat, Asia and Pacific Alliance of YMCAs (Young Men's Christian Associations), and World Young Women's Christian Association.

According to Adrian Anthony Pereira, IMCS Asia Pacific coordinator, the gathering gave participants "the opportunity to meet youths from different Christian organizations and to come together for a discussion on peace issues in the region." He added, "The discussion results can reach the grassroots level through national EASY Net gatherings and each organization's activities."

The AYSG, now held every four years, was first convened in 1993 in Bangalore. The second gathering took place in 2000, in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and the third in 2004 in Jakarta.

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