Tea ceremonies promote unity in China, Japan, Korea

Members of the Korea Tea Culture Association demonstrate a Korean tea ceremony at the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat in Seoul, May 16. / Korea Times photos by Kim Se-jeong

By Kim Se-jeong

Tea ceremonies by China, Japan and Korea last week were a fresh reminder that no matter how divided political stances are, three countries have an element to unite them.

The Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS), an international organization, organized the tea ceremonies by the three countries as part of its open house event on May 16 in Seoul.

The organization opened in September 2011 to promote relations among the three countries as well as to facilitate dialogues among them.

Members of the Taetea demonstrate a Chinese tea ceremony.

There were variations in the size and design of tea pots and cups. So were the size of the tables, the way people sit around the tables and how the tea is served.

What were shared was the goal of serving others, socializing and to find the peace of mind that comes through the act of brewing tea and serving it.

The ceremony was performed by the Urasenke Seoul Branch, a school of Japanese tea ceremony, Taetea, a Chinese tea company, and the Korea Tea Culture Association.

Members of the Urasenke Seoul Branch demonstrate a Japanese tea ceremony.

Among the nearly 100 people who turned up for the event was Kim Yeon-sil, 25, a student majoring in Japanese language and food and nutrition.

Her interest in Japanese language brought her to the exhibition, she said.

She observed what an event like that could do to narrow the gap among the peoples of China, Japan and Korea.

The tea ceremony took place at a time when relations between these neighbors are at their lowest ebb. History remains the subject of contention amongst them.

Atrocities committed by the Imperial Japanese Army against people in Korea and China during World War II have become a source of collective hatred against Japan.

Japan mobilized and coerced young women to provide sex for Japanese soldiers in the frontline battlefields. And Japan’s response to the victims of these acts has attracted criticism.

The sticky territorial disputes have also not helped in improving relations between the neighbors.

Japan’s sovereignty claim over the Dokdo islets in the East Sea and Senkaku/Diayou Islands in the East China Sea are straining what’s already a precarious relation.

All these seem to have an impact on existing dialogues.

TCS Secretary General Shin Bon-kil said the annual trilateral summit which usually takes place in May has been postponed. Since 2008, leaders of three countries have met every year, in May.

A Korean diplomat who was at the tea ceremony didn’t say the recent deterioration in relations is the main reason for the holdup.

“There was a leadership change in all three countries recently. And they have agreed to take their time,” he said refusing to disclose his name for this article. He did not offer any clues about when this year’s summit will be held.

The annual summit is usually complemented by 18 ministerial meetings, with the most recent one being between three environment ministers where the issue of air pollution in China was the key agenda. It took place in Kitakyushu, Japan, between May 5 and 6.