COMMUNITY 1 8 TUESDAY JUNE 2, 2009 By Robin Seila GUMI, North Gyeongsang Province — On May 30, touch rugby teams from around the country traveled to Gumi for the third of seven tournaments in the Spire Korea Touch Champion- ship. The tournament was hosted by Waegook Cook. The Gumi tour- nament is known for being the largest and one of the most an tic- ipated tournaments of the year. Fourteen teams played this year, up from eight last year. The teams came from all over Korea — Seoul, Daegu, Ulsan and Busan. The teams ranged from teams with experienced players such as t he Scoregasms and the Dutch Rudders, to a team that was formed on the day of the tournament day. Their team name was the Barbarians, and they represent- ed seven countries, speaking 13 languages between them. Rich Buck summed up his team by saying, “We didn’t know the rules and we were phenomenal- ly unorganized, but we had a great day learning how to play.” The Barbarians did not make the playoffs, but another new team, th e Scoreg asms, mana ged to come in second place overall. The Scoreg asms star ted prac- ticing together about a month ago when they learned of the tournament. They traveled to Gumi from Masan, which is about 50 minutes from Busan. The entire team is from New Zealand. “In New Zealand, touch is taken very seriously; everyone plays it. It’ s not just a warm up game for contact rugby, the way it is viewed in other countries,” said Loren Aberhart. Jemma Moreland, from the Scoregasms said, “I’ve had a fantastic time and I encourage everyone, regardless of age and skill level, to come out and play because it is a great day.” Moreland and the other play- ers on the Sco regasms said they are looking forward to partici- pating in the rest of the tourna- ments this year. The Dutch Rudders, a team comprised of players from New Zealand’s souther n-most island, remained undefeated, winning their third tournament of the year. The Exiles had a strong showi ng, as usual, with a fourth place finish. The Ajummas, a new team that made its debut at the Ansan tournament last month, improved dramatically to come in third overall. “It was an awesome day. The atmosphere and the weather were great . We couldn’ t ha ve wished for anything better and I’m looking forward to a great after par ty, ” said Derrick Smith, owner of Waegook Cook. The after party took place at the Waegook Cook restaurant (www.waegookcook.com), where each team received a pitcher of beer. Awards in the form of bar ta bs were given for the best try of the day, the blooper moment of the day, and to the top four teams: the Exiles, the Ajummas, the Scoregasms and the Dutch Rudders. For more information about touch, visit www.toucharugby.- blogspot.com. Find the Korea Touch Association on Facebook, or em ail k oreatouch@gmail.com. Practice takes place every Saturday from 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. on the Jamwon rugby pitch in Seoul (south r iverside between Hanna m and Dongho bridges). (robin.seila@ gmail.com) This is th e last part in a series looking into religion in Korea. The objective is to give expatri- ates a springboard from which to develop spiritually by provid- ing the contact information. Feature articles have examined Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Isl am, and Judaism. — Ed. By Matthew Lamers It’s a major world religion with more than 5 million follow- ers. There are no priests. A Local Spiritual Assembly is elected. It is practiced in 127,400 locations — including Korea — in 802 languages. It emphasizes the unity of the ma- jor world religions. When they gather they dis- cuss how as individuals and as a co mmunity they can contribute to building a better world as their legacy. The Baha’I faith co unt s itself as anoth er of the world’ s reli- gions with followers in Korea. Firaydun Mithaq, a member of the Baha’I community, says that there are believers throughout the country, includ- ing in Seoul, Songnam, Anyang, Cheongju, Daegu, Gwangju, Daejeo n and Busan. “Although the number of the Baha’Is in Korea is not over 200 active believers, the Korean Baha’I community is composed of vibrant and dynamic mem- bers that are committed to serve the Korean society primarily in the field of ed- ucation,” Mithaq said. “They re- spect and cherish the Korean cul- ture and exalt their religious beliefs.” Mithaq, an Australian with 18 years of experience in Korea, holds a doctorate in education and is a profe ssor at Kyung Hee University in Seoul. He explained that Baha’ Is in Korea worship daily at their homes and often regularly hold prayer gatherings in their ad- ministrative centers — in Seoul, located at Huam-dong. There are elected bodies or counsels in each city, town or village that organize and ad- minister community religious affairs and activities. There are no rituals; in t he Baha’I faith prayers are offered voluntarily by individuals in the gather- ings. The faith is a relatively new one, having been founded only about 150 years ago by Baha’u’ llah in the m iddle of 19th century in Persia. (Baha’u’llah is a title given to the founder and is made up of two words: “Baha,” meanin g glory and “Allah,” meaning God. Putting t he two words together , you get “the Glory of God.”) One of the more unique thin gs about Baha’I is its decen- tralized structure. Each center, wheth er in Da egu, New York or London, has an elected adminis- trative counsel that provi des in- formation, study materials and systematic study programs for inquires into the Baha’I Faith and the needs of the Baha’I com- munity. “The Baha’I commun ity is open to everyone and welcomes people from any religion to par- ticipate in its study gatherings, prayer meetings and important festivals. The community meets regu- larly to socialize with everyone “in their gatherings with spirit of respect love and unity,” ex- plains Mithaq. They also study the Baha’I Writings and plan programs to serve the outer community in child education, junio r youth empowe rment and humanitarian community ser- vices aimed at spiritual, social and educational development. In an e-mail interview, Kamran Eshraghian gave some important background informa- tion on Baha’ Is. He said that hu- manity has entered a new era of enlightenment whereby the earth’ s inhabitants are now challenged to draw on their col- lective inheritance to take up, consciously and systematically, the responsibility for the design of their future. “Baha’I teachings highlight that appearance of religion can- not be seen as a series of inde- pendent and random events, but rather as a single endless process, that is called ‘religion’ with a common source and a common purpose as the catalyst for education and advancement of humanity,” he said. Inter estingly, the Baha ’ I per- spective says that the appear- ance of religion is progressive and proportional to an increas- ing spiritual capacity of humans as we advance. “Over time, spiritual truth is distorted, human virtues such as truthfulness, compassion, jus- tice, disappear. It is at this point of time a where humanity be- comes in need of spiritual re- newal that new religion emerges to facilitate hum anity’s advance- ment,” explained Eshraghian. Eshraghian lives in Cheongju City, Chungcheongbuk- do. He received his Ph.D., MEngSc., and BTech., degrees from the University of Adelaide, Australia. In 2004 he received a Doctorate of Engineering from the University of Ulm, Germany, for his research in the integra- tion of nanoelectronics with that of light wave t echnolog y . He cur- rently serves as chairman of the board of directors of four hi-tech companies, holds an adjunct chair at UKM in Malaysia, and is a visiting scholar at University of Adelaide. Eshraghian was a member of the au xiliary board of the Baha’I faith in Australia from 1974 to 1985. “Baha’u’l lah compar ed the world community to that of the human body be ing highly inter- connected. Therefore Baha ’ I communities in t heir gatherings consult and exchange ideas on issues pertaining to values, edu- cation, developments in the ar t of consultation, enrichment and empowerment of children and the youth through developing their understanding of virtues such as trustworthiness, truth- fulness, compassion, sense of justice and practical measures that can advance the prospects for peaceful develo pment of all peoples.” Members of democratically- elected Local Spiritual Assemblies look after the affairs of the community and can come from all strata of society such as housewives through to engi- neers, doctors and university professors — all serving the community for a one year t erm. The assembly operates on a consultative basis and decisions are arrived at through majority vote. The assembly addresses the needs of the community, for ex- ample education of children, scheduling of devotional meet- ings, needs of elderly, and the kind of service they can offer within a neighborhood. The elected should, in Ba ha’u’ llah’s view, consider themselves re- sponsible for the welfar e of all of humankind. What does the Bah a’I c ommu- nity strives for? “The well-being of mankind, its peace and securi- ty, are unattain- able unless and until its unity is firmly estab- lished,” Eshrag- hian quoted Baha’u’ llah as saying. “This is what the Baha’I com- munity strives for as they gath- er together in devotional meet- ings at homes, at Baha’I center such in Seoul or at houses of worships in several of the conti- nents. These gatherings are open to everyone no matter what religious background they may have. Holy writings from major religions are read by individuals. “To participate effectively in the struggle to bring material well-being to humanity, the reli- gious spirit must find ... new spiritual concepts and principles relevant to an age that seeks to establish unity and justice in hu- man affairs. As the consequence, the Ba ha’I co mmun ity is closely knit in thoughts — and work to- gether to developing their under- standin g of principles of the Baha’I teaching that revolves around such issues as equality of women and men, h armony of sci- ence and religion, elimination of all forms of prejudice, universal education and elimination of ex- tremes of wealth and poverty.” (mattlam ers@heraldm .com) For more information on the Baha’ I faith, contact Kamran Eshraghian by e-mail at k.eshragh ian@e labs.com.au or Firaydun Mithaq at mithaq99- @gmail. com PHOTO CHAL LENGE WINN ER — Now located at the Gwacheon National Science Museum, early Korean astronomers used this map of the sky to track constellations.To participate,go to flickr.com/gro ups/seoulp hotoclub Shawn Parker Expat Living has scoured the inter- net and called dozens of people to compile the most comprehensive list of community groups in Korea. Whether you’re after a pool league in Itaewon, a debate club in Busan or a friendship club in Daegu, everything you need to be happy in Korea is here. To add your social group to this list, e-mail the group’s name, your name, phone number and the group’s contact information to Matthew Lamers at [email protected]. If you see this list anywhere else, it was copied from Expat Living! — Ed. Adoptee Solidarity Korea www.adopteesolidarity.org African Women’s Group (02) 536-0453 or (02) 797-2767 Animals (Animal Rescue Korea) www.animalrescuekorea.org Association for Teachers http://atek.or.kr Association des Francophones www.afc-online.org American Women’s Club of Korea www.awckorea.org Australian and N.Z.group www.anzakorea.com Baseball (Daegu softball league) [email protected] Basketball (this organizatio n organizes weekly games) www.kena.kr Baseball (Seoul,softball) Starts in June. E-mail [email protected] Bible study (In Seoul) 011-359-1317 3 p.m. Saturday afternoons British Association of Seoul www.britishseoul.com Buddhism (Seoul International Zen Center) www.seoulzen.org Busan community information http://pusanweb.com Busan Foundation for International Activities www.bfia.or.kr Busan International Women’s Association www.biwakorea.com Busan Photo Club www.flickr.com/groups/535889@N22 Book club Search “Mokpo Book Club, South Korea” on Facebook Canadian Women’s Club [email protected] Chinese Women’s Club http://ocwckr.spaces.live.com Cigar Seoul Cigar Aficionado Society http://seoulcigaraficionadosociety.blog spot.com Cricket shane_kennedy_nz@hotmail. com Club Italia www.clubitalia.or.kr Cycling www.mtbk-adventure.com Czech Club [email protected] Darts (Seoul Dart League) www.seouldarts.net Debate (Busan Socrates Cafe) [email protected] Democrats Abroad Korea www.democratsabroadkorea. blogspot.com Daegu Artists [email protected] Daegu International Women’s Association www.diwakorea.com Daegu Friendship Club [email protected] http://www.daegupockets.com Daegu Photography Club [email protected] English Ministry Minister’s Association http://emmainternational.tripod. com Europe Korea Foundation www.ekf.or.kr Football (America n, KNFL) www.kafa.org Fencing www.seoulfencing.com French speaking expatriates and Korean women www.cerclefrancocoreen.org Global Overseas Adoptees’Link www.goal.or.kr Gaelic Football (sport) www.seoulgaels.com German Club www.deutscherclubseoul.de Hiking (Seoul Hiking Group) www.meetup.com/seoul-hikers Hinduism (The Vedic Center) www.krishnakorea.com Helping Others Prosper through English (HOPE) www.alwayshope.or.kr Hockey (ball hockey) www.cbhk.org Hockey (ice,for kids) www.jrkingskorea.com Islam (Muslim Federation) www.koreaislam.org Indian Women’s Club Annapurna [email protected] International Friendship Club http://ifckorea.com International spouses group www.iskakorea.com Irish Association of Korea www.iak.co.kr Jewish Community of Korea www.jewishkorea.com Korea TESOL www.kotesol.org Korea Toastmasters http://khtoastmasters.ning.com Korean American Adoptee Adoptive Family Network www.kaanet.com Language Exchange www.iaminkorea.com Lacrosse www.lacrosse.or.kr Migrants in Korea www.migrantsinkorea.net Networking (Korean English Networking Agency) www.kena.kr Non-denomin ational Book Club elizabeth@elizabethpatchinsoutter. com The Nordic Women’s Club Seoul www.kolumbus.fi/hannu.ruhala/nwc/a bout.html Pool (Itaewon Pool League) www.itaewonpool.org Pride Korea http://kqcf.org Republicans Abroad Korea www.gopkorea.blogs.com Royal Asiatic Society www.raskb.com Russian Community in Korea www.russiankorea.com Rugby (touch) http://touchtagrugby.blogspot.com Sailing (Busan Expat Sailing Association) www.busansailing.com Seoul Art Collective http://seoulartcollective.tk Seoul International Women’s Association http://www.siwapage.com Seoul Players (theater group) www.seoulplayers.com Seoul Photo Club www.flickr.com/ groups/seoulphotoclub Seoul Stitch N Bitch http://seoulsnb.blogspot.com Seoul Tennis Club http://seoultennis.com Soccer (SSFL) www.ssflkorea.com St. Andrews Society of Seou l [email protected] Surfing club seoulboardriders@hotmail. com, Search “Seoul Boardriders” on Facebook Swedish Women’s Educational Association www.swea.org/seoul The Join Together Society (volunteer) www.jtsint.org Touch ruby,Seoul www.touchtagrugby.blogspot.com Ultimate Frisbee www.koreaultimate.net Vegetarian (Seoul Vegetarian Club) seoulveggieclub.wordpress.com Volunteer (PLUR volunteer group) [email protected] Search “Volunteer for PLUR!” on Facebook Wine and Women Korea http://www.ekf.or.kr complete community group list t Li i Expat Living is a section dedicated to the daily living of expatriates. It is printed on Tuesday, Wednesda y and Friday. To share stories about your life abroad, send stories or story ideas to Matthew Lamers at [email protected] Submissions may be edited for length or clarity. Small but vibrant: Baha’Is in Korea In Gumi, a tr y fo r perf ection T he Baha’I persp ec tive s ays th at t h e appearance of re li gi on is progress ive and proportiona l to an inc reasin g spi ritua l c apa ci ty of humans as we a dvance.