|
By SUE RYAN
News staff writer
August 2, 2008
Kevin Kim began
his trek in May as a walk across America to talk about religious diversity
and pluralism.
He isn’t
filling lecture halls but meandering from person to person as he explores
what faith means to people across the United States. He reached Cascade
Locks this week and is headed east.
“I’m a
Christian who has a deep interest in Buddhism,” he said.
His heritage is
partly what drew him to do the walk here. His mother is Korean but his
father is Caucasian and an American. Kim said he wanted to explore his
homeland and a long-held interest in religious dialogue.
Kim, 38, has
been teaching French and English at
Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul, South Korea, for the past eight
years. He had lived in the States before when he attended Georgetown
University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in French with a minor in
theology; and later, Catholic University in Washington, D.C., where he
earned a Master of Arts in religion and culture.
He has created
a blog of his journey, but
his ultimate goal is to write a book about his travels and the
conversations he has with people across the country about religion.
He has been interviewing people with a list of 10 questions, listed
on his blog (see sidebar) but also follows the conversation wherever
it happens to go.
He explained
that dialogue involves some of the
typical issues in inter-religious dialogue; one question would be the
contrast between how everyone says they want to get along but in the
details of doing so that the goal becomes more difficult.
“So with the
very basic nature of God, already we have problems,” he said.
“It brings up
the question ‘Are we praying to the same God or not?’”
Kim flew to
British Columbia to begin his journey because he knows a friend from
college living there. After his friend dropped him off at White Rock,
British Columbia, Kim entered the United States at Blaine, Wash. He
quickly found he had to take a route on the back roads of the state as the
law didn’t allow him to walk on the
freeway.
But in one
state alone, he has so far encountered people from many different
religious traditions. Those include a Unitarian Church, a Sikh gurdwara,
two Zen centers, a Benedictine abbey, two Soka Gakkai Buddhist residences
and a Methodist “peace house” where residents live in communal harmony.
“It’s been an
amazing journey thus far and it’s barely begun,” he said.
“My original
idea was that I would go to a church and they would refer me to a
synagogue, which would then send me to a Buddhist center. It hasn’t quite
worked out that way but has taken a different direction.”
Kim has already
met some interesting people without encountering them face-to-face. Those
meetings have happened electronically through his blog and includes Alan
Cook, of Texas, who has been helping Kim plot his itinerary.
“He helped me
set up a profile on
couchsurfing.com, which connects people who need a place to stay for a
night with those who have rooms to offer,” he said.
Kim’s next two
stops will be Viento State Park and The Dalles.
More
information:
Kevin's Walk Blog.
|
