By UCA News reporter
SOUTH KOREA – Most Catholics in South Korea fast and abstain from meat during the Fridays of Lent, but at least one-fourth don’t care about it, according to a recent survey.
The survey among Catholics showed that 65 percent of Korean Catholics abstain from meat during the seven-week-long Lent period and try to fast on Fridays.
Conversely, a significant number (17%) were aware of the tradition of abstaining from meat on Fridays but chose not to observe it.
Additionally, some people (6%) did not even know about the practice of abstaining from meat on Fridays. A few (2%) thought they didn’t have to care about it because they were vegetarians.
The poll was conducted between Mar 6 – 21 among 1,027 Catholics.
The poll, titled “What do you think about abstinence from meat and fasting,” was carried out jointly by the Catholic Times newspaper and Good News, the news portal of Seoul archdiocese.
Nearly half of Korean Catholics (47%) fasted on Ash Wednesday, which fell on March 5 this year, marking the beginning of Lent.
About one-third (30%) believe that abstinence and fasting help deepen their faith and are acts similar to prayer.
Similar acts practiced during Lent are helping needy neighbors (19%) and engaging in activities to nurture and protect the environment (19%).
The reasons for not abstaining from meat included the inconvenience of following a dietary restriction due to work (16%). Some Catholics (10%) stated that abstaining did not align with modern society, while a few (6%) said that abstaining from meat is akin to vegetarianism.
A sizable group (41%) considered fasting similar to prayer, while nearly one in five (18%) viewed it as a form of asceticism to be practiced occasionally.
However, some (10%) do it out of a sense of obligation, and smaller groups (8%) fast because it is good for health. But a few (4%) said it does not fit with modern society.
However, most respondents said they plan to fast and abstain from meat this Good Friday, which this year falls on April 18.
The majority (63%) would fast and abstain from meat on Good Friday, and others (21%) said they would abstain from meat, though fasting would be challenging.
At least some people (13%) said they would participate in special prayers, sacrifices, and charity activities on Good Friday, even if they could not abstain from meat.
A small group (3%) said they would not fast or abstain from meat on Good Friday, the day Christians commemorate Christ’s passion and death.
About 11 percent of Koreans, or about 5.9 million, are Catholics, and they are spread over 15 dioceses, including three archdioceses — Seoul, Daegu, and Gwangju — and a military ordinariate. – UCA News
