November 6, 2025- Return to Korea, Jamaica Emergency Relief Meeting
Hello. Today marks the end of my visit to Bhutan and my return to Korea.
Sunim departed from Bangkok airport at 10:20 PM last night, traveled through the night, and arrived at Incheon Airport at 6:00 AM. Upon exiting the airport, he headed straight to the Seoul Jungto Social and Cultural Center.
At 9:00 AM, he held a meeting with JTS activists in the 10th-floor conference room to discuss emergency relief measures for Jamaica. Jamaica was devastated last week by Hurricane Melissa, a powerful Category 5 hurricane that struck Caribbean island nations one after another, destroying most major infrastructure and housing. Electricity, water, communications, roads, and accommodation facilities have been largely crippled. Upon hearing about the disaster, Sunim called this meeting immediately upon his return.
The JTS representative and secretary-general were present in the conference room, with the U.S. JTS secretary-general and the Korean Embassy in Jamaica also joining online.
First, Sunim summarized the currently reported situation and discussed plans for Jamaica emergency relief activities.
“Jamaica has suffered tremendous damage from this Category 5 hurricane. Today, first, we must decide whether or not to provide support, and second, if we do provide support, we need to determine the scope and method of our assistance.
Jamaica Emergency Relief: Why One Month Later Is Actually More Critical
Since nearly a week has passed since the hurricane struck, the ‘Phase 1 Emergency Response’ period has already ended. During this time, prices skyrocket, and international relief organizations rush in competitively, creating chaos on the ground, making it inappropriate for small organizations like JTS to enter. Typically, in such disasters, after about a month, transportation and conditions stabilize somewhat, and gaps emerge where relief doesn’t reach. This can be called ‘Phase 2,’ and it’s more realistic for us to prepare with this timeframe in mind.
Locally, supplies are difficult to obtain, and even when available, prices are 3-4 times higher with uncertain inventory. Since the entire country has been affected, we’ll ultimately need to purchase and ship supplies from the United States. Rather than leaving distribution to the government, the safest approach is to collaborate with local NGOs, churches, convents, etc., to secure lists and directly oversee distribution. The free meal center operated by Korean nuns knows the local situation well and could serve as a distribution point, though prior investigation is needed.
Rushing to send supplies now could actually result in losses, so we shouldn’t hurry. First, it’s important to accurately assess the situation on the ground. With cooperation from the Korean Embassy, we should first conduct field research, and based on those results, Representative Park Ji-na should visit the site to confirm the actual conditions before finalizing the scope and items. That would be best.
Today is about setting the general direction for emergency relief. Since immediate deployment is difficult, how about preparing with Phase 2 support as our goal?”
After hearing Sunim’s presentation, participants shared the field situations and opinions they had gathered from their respective positions.
Min Deok-hong, U.S. JTS secretary-general, said that this support effort should prompt JTS to consider long-term engagement with Latin America.
“Jamaica will likely face repeated damage not only this year but in the future due to climate change. I think this support shouldn’t be a one-time effort, but could be the first step toward Latin American engagement. Rather than emergency deployment now, seeing the field directly and understanding the situation should be our priority. It would be realistic to first confirm what is needed and where, then create a system to purchase and ship supplies from the United States.”
The Korean Embassy in Jamaica provided a detailed report on Jamaica’s current situation, explaining the chaos and safety issues on the ground.
“The damage in Jamaica is extremely severe. It’s not just some areas—the entire country has collapsed. Electricity, water, and communications are cut off, and vehicle movement is difficult due to fuel shortages. Most hotels are closed, leaving almost no accommodation for outsiders. In some areas, looting has occurred, making security unstable.
Customs authorities won’t allow individuals to bring in large quantities of goods. To prevent abuse, items must be brought in through official organizations. Currently, customs and consumption taxes on relief supplies are waived until the end of the year, with possible extension if needed.
Two Korean nuns have been operating a free meal center. It’s an important space visited by about 100 people twice a week. While the building was destroyed, the nuns know the area best and could potentially serve as a distribution point.
Additionally, there’s a logistics company in Montego Bay operated by an honorary Korean consul, making customs clearance assistance possible. For communications, Starlink is providing free internet to affected areas, so it can be used on-site with just the reception equipment.”
Sunim agreed that after visiting the site and comprehensively assessing transportation, security, logistics, reception capabilities, etc., they could make detailed plans. Representative Park Ji-na also emphasized that rushing to send supplies was risky and that site confirmation was the priority.
“Right now, rushing to send supplies risks them disappearing or going to the wrong places. In developing countries, the more valuable the goods, the more often they’re hidden or diverted along the way—this actually happens frequently. We must first accurately assess the situation on the ground. And to distribute directly, we need cooperation with local police and volunteers. It would be good to check what roles the convent and churches can play. Most importantly, we should visit the site, understand what approach is feasible, and then decide on supplies.”
As the meeting concluded, Sunim offered closing remarks.
“First, Representative Park Ji-na will set a flight schedule within 2-3 days to visit the site. The working team should wait for the field report while preparing follow-up measures.”
They agreed to continue discussing countermeasures promptly and concluded the meeting.
After a quick lunch, Sunim immediately departed Seoul and headed to the Dubuk Training Center.
On the way to the Dubuk Training Center, he stopped by Gyeongju to see what changes had occurred during the 2025 APEC Summit. In the deepening autumn, the fall foliage was beautifully colored, and traces of the APEC Summit remained throughout.
After passing through Gyeongju downtown, he arrived at Dubuk Training Center at 5 PM.
After sunset, in the evening, he finished the day by proofreading manuscripts and handling various tasks.
Tomorrow, he plans to leave Dubuk Training Center early in the morning and return to Seoul, then attend the opening ceremony of the Youth Festa starting at 1:00 PM. Afterward, he plans to participate in the two-night, three-day event and have direct conversations with young people.
Since there was no dharma talk today, we will conclude this article by sharing a conversation between Sunim and a questioner at an impromptu Q&A session held in Paris, France, last September.
The More You Try to Help, The Harder It Gets: What Is the Wise Way to Help?
“First, you should help when the other person requests it. If you step forward when they haven’t asked, it can become meddling. Second, just because someone asks for help doesn’t mean you should be too directive with ‘do this, do that’—you might hurt their pride. In such cases, it’s better to say something like, ‘I don’t know well either, but if I were you, I would do this.’ When I answer people’s questions, I don’t directly say ‘do this, do that.’ I just shared my own story, saying, ‘I had this kind of experience.’ Through that, I help the other person gain hope.
Help necessarily has side effects. Just because you help doesn’t mean you only hear good things. For example, if someone asks to borrow money and you lend it, there’s not just the risk of losing the money. Word spreads that ‘if you go to that person, they might lend you money,’ and requests pour in from everywhere. You can’t grant them all, so eventually you receive criticism like ‘they gave to this person but not that person.’ There’s an old saying: ‘If you do good deeds and receive criticism, you’ll live long.’ You must do it with the mindset that ‘this work is worth doing even if I’m criticized.’ Sometimes you save someone from drowning, and they demand you return their bag. But you can’t turn away. Even if you have to pay for the bag, you must save the person. If you do good deeds with this mindset, there are no side effects. If you do good deeds hoping for praise, you’ll eventually be betrayed. You help wholeheartedly and end up just getting cursed at.
I’m running schools in poor villages in India, and if I hadn’t built schools in the first place, I wouldn’t have become enemies with those villagers. When you send them to elementary school, they’re grateful at first, but after graduation, they want middle school. If you don’t send them to middle school, they curse you, and if you do send them, next they want high school, then college. After finishing high school, they don’t just curse—they sometimes cause harm. Because with that level of education, they’ve gained the ability to cause harm. At this point, you can’t think, ‘how ungrateful.’ You have to think positively: ‘Well, at least by educating them, they’ve gained the capacity to cause harm.’ Look at the people disrupting Korean society now. Generally, it’s capable and educated people who do bad things.
So when you help, the outcome is somewhat predetermined. Most people expect to be praised, but I would rather prepare thinking ‘there will be much criticism’ and ‘enemies will be made.’ Nevertheless, if you’re convinced that children must be taught, there’s no problem.
Good deeds always come with both praise and criticism. For example, suppose someone says ‘Just help me with 1 million won a month,’ and you provide support. They’re happy the first month, but after about a year, the gratitude diminishes. After about three years, instead of gratitude, resentment arises. They complain, ‘Prices have gone up, and it’s still just 1 million won?’ Because expectations change. It’s the same with married couples. When they marry, they say they like each other because they’re different, but after about five years, now they say they can’t live together because they don’t match. By this point, the good qualities have become taken for granted, and only the bad things keep showing. But what happens after they separate? They forget the bad and only the good memories remain, so they regret separating for no reason.
Good deeds are better than bad ones, but work done expecting praise isn’t truly good deeds. You should do it thinking it’s worth doing even if you’re criticized. If you received praise, you’ve already received full payment, and if you were criticized, you haven’t received payment yet. Christians believe they receive that payment in heaven. They think it’s better to receive 10,000 won in heaven than 100 won here. In practical terms, this is the same as saying ‘don’t expect payment.’ They expect payment, but expect to receive it in heaven, not in this life, so the effect in this life is similar to selfless giving. But it’s difficult for ordinary people to have no expectations at all. If they don’t receive it today, they want to receive it even after death. So even changing perspective this way prevents side effects. Just quietly help those in need and don’t put yourself forward too much.”
“While listening to you, I became curious about something. You don’t even believe in heaven, so what is the driving force that keeps you doing good deeds while accepting criticism?”
“Because they’re hungry, I give them food; because they’re thirsty, I give them water. There’s no separate driving force. You ask questions, so I answer; if there are no questions, I just sleep. I’ve been helping North Korean compatriots for nearly 30 years. If you directly see the bodies of North Korean residents who drowned in rivers trying to cross into China to find food floating in the water, and skeletal children hiding in cornfields begging, no one can ignore it. You just don’t feel it because you don’t see it with your own eyes. When you hear from afar about bombing in Gaza, you say ‘how tragic’ and that’s it, but if you see it on site, anyone would take action.
Syria was a restricted-entry country until the year before last. It’s a place our country hasn’t even established diplomatic relations with. I went to Türkiye to support earthquake victims, and Türkiye was receiving overseas support at the national level. However, Syria was divided into the Assad government, Kurdish government, and rebel government—essentially, state functions were paralyzed, and they weren’t receiving any support. So I initially helped Türkiye, then requested the governor, ‘I want to help Syria too,’ entered Syria, and built a large school attended by 4,000 students. But about three months after building the school, the rebels won the war and now form the core of the Syrian government. Recently, when Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs established diplomatic relations with the Syrian government, the Syrian government sent a thank-you message to Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying, ‘A Korean civilian organization built a large school, which was a great help in overcoming difficulties.’ This is civilian diplomacy.
What’s criticized in the world sometimes gets evaluated as good work over time, and what was praised sometimes gets revealed as bad. Recently, in Korea, there was trouble when a religious organization’s lobbying to receive benefits by colluding with the government became an issue. It’s better not to do such things. But sometimes religion must do what the government cannot. Even to places like Gaza, where the government says don’t go, religious organizations must go if needed.
Criticism always varies with circumstances. You must accept it to some extent—if you’re only swayed by public opinion, it becomes difficult to help the most challenging places. The regions JTS supports are mostly places that can’t receive KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency) funding. Mindanao in the Philippines is in a very difficult situation, but the Korean government doesn’t allow entry because it’s a dangerous region. Same with Afghanistan and Syria. However, the places that actually need help most are precisely these conflict zones.
I say that children should ideally be cared for directly by their mothers until age three if possible. So I receive a lot of criticism from working mothers. They say, ‘Have you ever raised a child?’ However, when you make any claim or represent someone, criticism naturally follows. Children naturally want their mother’s care; they don’t want to be raised by someone else. Representing North Korean residents is the same. Since North Korean residents can’t speak about their difficulties directly, if you speak for them, you can’t help but be criticized.”
“Thank you. I understand well.”
