Can you have confession heard by a priest who doesn't know your language well enough?

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foolishmortal

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I’m in S. Korea for a year and man, do I miss America! It is difficult to find a priest who can hear confessions. The best one in Gwangju for that was called to Rome (I think to stay) and the one who does the English Mass can mostly just read English (BTW Can you then hand him a paper with your sins on them, since that has to be how mute people and those with severe speech impediments do it). There is an Irish priest who comes to this parish church every 3rd Sunday, but he didn’t make it somehow.
Does anyone know that or is a priest or an apologist the one who had better answer this? I could try for Busan/Pusan or Seoul (where, oddly, you can even find Spanish Masses!), but I don’t know how adventurous I feel yet in travelling on my own in a foreign country. Still, if it’s feasible, I know it’s required to go once in Lent. Taxi rates aren’t that bad, but parish websites in this city are difficult to follow if your Korean is nill to weak. I wanted to go anyway.

Thanks for telling me anything you know or don’t know about this! .
 
I’m in S. Korea for a year and man, do I miss America! It is difficult to find a priest who can hear confessions. The best one in Gwangju for that was called to Rome (I think to stay) and the one who does the English Mass can mostly just read English (BTW Can you then hand him a paper with your sins on them, since that has to be how mute people and those with severe speech impediments do it). There is an Irish priest who comes to this parish church every 3rd Sunday, but he didn’t make it somehow.
Does anyone know that or is a priest or an apologist the one who had better answer this? I could try for Busan/Pusan or Seoul (where, oddly, you can even find Spanish Masses!), but I don’t know how adventurous I feel yet in travelling on my own in a foreign country. Still, if it’s feasible, I know it’s required to go once in Lent. Taxi rates aren’t that bad, but parish websites in this city are difficult to follow if your Korean is nill to weak. I wanted to go anyway.

Thanks for telling me anything you know or don’t know about this! .
 
foolishmortal said:
I’m in S. Korea for a year and man, do I miss America! It is difficult to find a priest who can hear confessions. The best one in Gwangju for that was called to Rome (I think to stay) and the one who does the English Mass can mostly just read English (BTW Can you then hand him a paper with your sins on them, since that has to be how mute people and those with severe speech impediments do it). There is an Irish priest who comes to this parish church every 3rd Sunday, but he didn’t make it somehow.
Does anyone know that or is a priest or an apologist the one who had better answer this? I could try for Busan/Pusan or Seoul (where, oddly, you can even find Spanish Masses!), but I don’t know how adventurous I feel yet in travelling on my own in a foreign country. Still, if it’s feasible, I know it’s required to go once in Lent. Taxi rates aren’t that bad, but parish websites in this city are difficult to follow if your Korean is nill to weak. I wanted to go anyway.

Thanks for telling me anything you know or don’t know about this! .
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You think Gwangju is bad, try finding a priest who speaks English in a Korean town with only 100,000 people!

From what I understand, you can confess to a priest who doesn’t speak English. What I’ve done is translate my sins into Korean, and read them in Korean to the priest so he understands me. My priest learned how to give me a penance in English and say the prayer of Absolution in English, but only after I started going to him for confession. It was VERY awkward at first (VERY!) for me and the priest, but we both do the best we can.

Do you have a English-Korean dictionary? If not, pick one up, or order one from What the Book?, an English bookstore in Seoul that ships to anywhere in Korea. (If you order three books or more than 18,000 won worth of merchandise, they ship for free!) You can use that to translate your sins into Korean, if that’s what you decide to do.

To sum it up, I certainly hope you can confess your sins to a priest who doesn’t know your language well enough, because I’ve been doing that once a month for almost a year!
 
foolishmortal said:
I’m in S. Korea for a year and man, do I miss America! It is difficult to find a priest who can hear confessions. The best one in Gwangju for that was called to Rome (I think to stay) and the one who does the English Mass can mostly just read English (BTW Can you then hand him a paper with your sins on them, since that has to be how mute people and those with severe speech impediments do it). There is an Irish priest who comes to this parish church every 3rd Sunday, but he didn’t make it somehow.
Does anyone know that or is a priest or an apologist the one who had better answer this? I could try for Busan/Pusan or Seoul (where, oddly, you can even find Spanish Masses!), but I don’t know how adventurous I feel yet in travelling on my own in a foreign country. Still, if it’s feasible, I know it’s required to go once in Lent. Taxi rates aren’t that bad, but parish websites in this city are difficult to follow if your Korean is nill to weak. I wanted to go anyway.

Thanks for telling me anything you know or don’t know about this! .
Click to expand...
Also, don’t be afraid to travel in Korea. It’s a must during your time here. The intercity bus system is cheap, reliable, and very easy to use. Buy a copy of Lonely Planet which, while not infallible, will definitely come in handy. Gwangju also has trains, so you can take the train. But that will be more expensive, most likely. Learn the Korean alphabet. Even if you don’t learn the language, it will help you more than you think! I was very skeptical, but hangul is very easy to learn and it helps you A LOT when taking a bus. The hotels are also super cheap. You can stay in hostels in most major cities for 17,000 won to 30,000 won, and there is no shortage of supply of “love motels” which provide all the essentials for 50,000 won.

If you’re nervous, go with a friend, even another foreigner. It will make you feel a lot safer, and it’s easier to travel your first time on your own.

Trust me. The more traveling you do in Korea, the more you will enjoy your time here. So get a copy of Lonely Planet and start checking off things you’ve seen! 👍
 
I spent two weeks in Seoul on a business project.

I do recommend the Mass at the Cathedral. The have a very nice Latin NO on Sundays ( I think at 10:00).

I didn’t have any problems finding someone who spoke English there, though I didn’t attempt a confession ( I went just before the trip)

I would say that getting around Seoul was rather easy. The subway system is clean and efficent and signs are in both Korea and English. If if they don’t speak English, anyone can point to “Cathedral” (which is more than you can get in most American cities)
 
foolishmortal said:
I’m in S. Korea for a year and man, do I miss America! It is difficult to find a priest who can hear confessions. The best one in Gwangju for that was called to Rome (I think to stay) and the one who does the English Mass can mostly just read English (BTW Can you then hand him a paper with your sins on them, since that has to be how mute people and those with severe speech impediments do it). There is an Irish priest who comes to this parish church every 3rd Sunday, but he didn’t make it somehow.
Does anyone know that or is a priest or an apologist the one who had better answer this? I could try for Busan/Pusan or Seoul (where, oddly, you can even find Spanish Masses!), but I don’t know how adventurous I feel yet in travelling on my own in a foreign country. Still, if it’s feasible, I know it’s required to go once in Lent. Taxi rates aren’t that bad, but parish websites in this city are difficult to follow if your Korean is nill to weak. I wanted to go anyway.

Thanks for telling me anything you know or don’t know about this! .
Click to expand...
You can write down your sins and give it to him, however he may only be able to pronounce the words seen and not understand what they mean. You can use an interpreter who would be bound to the seal of the Sacrament. Take advantage of the English speaking priest whenever he is available.
 
Br.Rich_SFO said:
You can write down your sins and give it to him, however he may only be able to pronounce the words seen and not understand what they mean. You can use an interpreter who would be bound to the seal of the Sacrament. Take advantage of the English speaking priest whenever he is available.
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And if you get a chance to spend some time with the English speaking priest, have him write down the names of some common sins in Korean along with their English translations.

That way, if you really need to confess and the English speaking priest is unavailable, you can reference that sheet and provide the priest with a list he may understand.
 
When I lived in South Florida, used to happen all the time to me…
 
I recall reading years ago of an incident during the Korean War. Some U.S. soldiers, wishing to go to confession, encountered a priest who could only speak Korean. However, they had a Father Stedman Sunday Missal and he had a Korean translation.

In confession the soldier turned to the examination of conscience, pointed to the appropriate sin and indicated the number of times with his fingers. The priest found the equivalent sin in his copy, gave absolution, pointed to the appropriate prayers for penance and indicated the number with his fingers.
 
I just can’t get into this place. They really don’t have anything like samurai, Geisha or ninjas and I don’t like hot and spicy foods. I can’t get the vowel sounds down either. It really doesn’t have the resources I need, spiritually. It has a Catholic bookstore, but the books are in Korean and they don’t even have John Michael Talbot. The students’ overworked lives depress me and the music playing from the stores would make me hang myself if it weren’t painful and a mortal sin (I’m being silly here, but it does lack substance). There’s ads for shady places tossed out for kids to see as well as similar imagery in store windows.
Code: 
 The only thing going for it is the nuns abound and people dressing in more than yuppie backyard cook-out clothes (many Korean women wear veils even!).  Unfortunately, there's no adoration chapels.   The people are really nice and generous, but they drive me crazy when they start putting food they think I should have.
I miss my family a lot as well. I have a 2 yr old nephew who almost adores me (let’s leave adoration to God) and a 1 yr old niece who smiles at me----but I digress.

God bless you and thanks for the advice! I did have a paper with my sins, but I forgot to show the priest. I left out how many times I did something because it seems he wasn’t understanding what I was really saying. I think I got across I did it many hours, though.
I am blessed to be in a decently large city. I cant imagine Seoul. I get lost in Gwangju walking around! I will need addresses to show the cabbie if I go to Seoul.
 
Thank you all and God bless you! I think I may have double-posted my question so, sorry moderators. Sometimes the browser is slow and I’m trying to speed it up.

Is SFO Franciscan? St. Francis is probably my favorite saint. I don’t know if Saint Nicholas or Saint Philip Neri is my second-favorite. I should say St. “Nick” Nicholas as he is my Holy Confirmation patron saint, but I have to be truthful. They were all like how I wish I were all the time: wise and lighthearted. Actually, Brother Juniper would be my favorite, if he were a saint. Has anyone ever looked into his cause?

Sorry, I’m digressing again.
 
Well, I guess that sorry part might be a lie as I could have erased it. I am weak and wanted to ask it, but sorry for the inconvenience if it breaks a rule here to add a digressive topic after an on-topic response. How about this…just private message me with an answer and thus, digressions will be averted.
 
foolishmortal said:
Well, I guess that sorry part might be a lie as I could have erased it. I am weak and wanted to ask it, but sorry for the inconvenience if it breaks a rule here to add a digressive topic after an on-topic response. How about this…just private message me with an answer and thus, digressions will be averted.
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Don’t feel bad you can ask any question here and we will kindly direct you if we can.
I have no idea who Juniper is.
I have a suggestion also that if you can use a cassette player record your sin and take it to someone to translate to south Korean and even your act of contrition have translated to Korean and play it during confession.
 
Is there a U.S. military establishment nearby? They might have a Catholic Chaplain who could assist you.
 
foolishmortal said:
I just can’t get into this place. They really don’t have anything like samurai, Geisha or ninjas and I don’t like hot and spicy foods. I can’t get the vowel sounds down either. It really doesn’t have the resources I need, spiritually. It has a Catholic bookstore, but the books are in Korean and they don’t even have John Michael Talbot. The students’ overworked lives depress me and the music playing from the stores would make me hang myself if it weren’t painful and a mortal sin (I’m being silly here, but it does lack substance). There’s ads for shady places tossed out for kids to see as well as similar imagery in store windows.
Code: 
 The only thing going for it is the nuns abound and people dressing in more than yuppie backyard cook-out clothes (many Korean women wear veils even!).  Unfortunately, there's no adoration chapels.   The people are really nice and generous, but they drive me crazy when they start putting food they think I should have.
I miss my family a lot as well. I have a 2 yr old nephew who almost adores me (let’s leave adoration to God) and a 1 yr old niece who smiles at me----but I digress.

God bless you and thanks for the advice! I did have a paper with my sins, but I forgot to show the priest. I left out how many times I did something because it seems he wasn’t understanding what I was really saying. I think I got across I did it many hours, though.
I am blessed to be in a decently large city. I cant imagine Seoul. I get lost in Gwangju walking around! I will need addresses to show the cabbie if I go to Seoul.
Click to expand...
I feel your pain, I really do. But part of being in Korea is learning to live without. Yeah, I know, it’s not a very inspiring place to be in, the kids are working themselves into an early grave, and I’m going to shoot someone if I have to hear “I’m so sorry but I love you” one more time. I’ve done my share of complaining about Korea.

However,
1 As for food, try the barbecue. It’s not spicy, unless you put it in sauce. And very yummy.

2 There are no Adoration chapels, but the churches are open so you can go and sit before the Tabernacle. Jesus is still there.

3 Order the spiritual books you need from What the Book? Just Google it.

4 Pray a lot. God brought you here, He will help you survive your year here, and maybe help you have more fun than you thought possible.
 
I apologize for all the rants about S. Korea. All the crosses are nice to see and they are generally more conservative than Western Catholics, but they need a sheriff to clean up the town of sexually immodest images (I don’t know about saunas and such (unless you are gay and get excited in them), but the sexual depictions should be removed. The education system needs reforming. What’s happening is child abuse, I believe. I don’t think Confucius was for that kind of stress on education. I think a rebellion or reform would not be out of the picture when these kids become old enough adults to run things. After their student protests of 1980 for democracy against a brutal regime, I’m surprised they let this stuff go on.
 
I’ve been in Korea for four years going on five, and yeah, I have to agree with you about some things. The culture is nothing like “Asian” (Japanese) on TV back home, and the education system is something terrible. Of course, if their education system were more humane, we wouldn’t have jobs, would we?

The saunas are perfectly respectable, but the business cards with pictures of half-naked ladies on them are really over the top. And the people I meet all figure that because I’m a white woman, my life must be straight out of Sex and the City, changing bed partners every week. Once, I was handed a business card for a “helpline for sex workers” by a well-meaning Korean lady - and I was wearing a suit!

I can read and write Korean (and speak it) well enough to get by, so if there are some things you need, like a card saying “please show me the way to ___” I’d be happy to help you out. Just PM me, and I’ll write it out in Korean, take a photo of it, and send you the photo. 👍 My parents came here and didn’t speak a word of Korean, and took a three-day road trip based on hand-written notes!

It’s really not hard to get around in Korea, even if you don’t speak the language. If you have your Korean coworkers write out a couple of sentences explaining where you’re going, you can just hand them to a bus driver or train ticket agent and be on your way. Public transportation here is amazing, especially in Seoul. I’ve never been to the Cathedral here in Seoul, but I’ve been to the Filipino Church, which has adoration and is lovely - of course, I don’t speak Filipino and I’m the only white person there. I’m not Catholic yet and I go with my Filipino boyfriend, but that’s another story.

I second the recommendation to at least learn to read the Korean alphabet. It’s so useful, even if it takes you half a year to get the vowels down. And if you’re not totally broke (many teachers here are), get an electronic dictionary - they tend to have more specialized language (like the names of sins and stuff) than the paper dictionaries. Also, 99% of Koreans are more comfortable trying to speak English if they know you have a dictionary to bail them out of trouble when you don’t understand. (Of course, that leads to situations when the dictionary mistranslates and the priest is pointing to the word “ubiquitous” and insisting that it’s your penance!)
 
This is the last thing I’ll say about Korea, since I don’t want to completely derail the thread, but the saunas are awesome! I’ll miss them so much when I go home. And just wondering is right. As much as we complain about the child abuse that is the Korean education system, we’re really biting the hands that feed us in complaining about it.
 
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