From our correspondent Michele Zanzucchi
Seoul, January 8, 2010It has begun, the journey of the President of the Focolare Movement, Maria Voce, to some Asian countries. Accompanying her is Co-President Giancarlo Faletti.

Brief stop in Beijing – photogallery
A brief stop was made first in Beijing, during which, notwithstanding the bad weather, it was possible to appreciate some glimpses of the beauty of the capital, including the Forbidden City and the art of Chinese acrobatics.

In the Land of the Morning Calm
Next the journey to Korea. The meeting with the community of the Movement in Korea – estimated to have a nucleus of 2,000 active participants and 25,000 adherents spread across all the Korean provinces – began with some official engagements.

The Korean society, as is happening for all or almost all of the nations of the Far East, is going through a time of enormous and rapid transformation brought on by the extraordinary technological progress, and from which the Korean industry is fully profiting. In this context, without ever forgetting the still open wound of the separation of the two Koreas, politics and religion must take into consideration the changing situation.

In Parliament/1
In the Korean parliament, consisting of only one chamber of representatives, Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti had a full and rewarding dialogue with some deputies of the Korean Political Movement for Unity, who, within a context of high conflict between the majority and the opposition, have been working hard for five years for a politics that is more respectful and more dedicated to the common good. Among other initiatives, they have promoted an action for the “purification of language in Parliament.”

First, however, there was a meeting with the vice-president of the Parliament, Hee-Sang Moon, who said with pleasure: “The Focolare tries to accentuate values, such as peace and universal fraternity, with which I am in complete agreement,” hoping that “it will spread well in Korea and give its great contribution to the human and spiritual development of the country.” For her part, Maria Voce underlined how in her travels she was able to “meet many Koreans who give their contribution to the development of the Movement in the world. There is, therefore, an obligation of gratitude in coming to greet the country that has given us such many treasures.”