Pope Francis his first Mass in South Korea on Friday (August 15) on the second day of his five-day trip to the country.<br/> <br />About 50,000 people gathered in Daejeon World Cup Stadium, about 180km (111 miles) south of Seoul.<br/> <br />Francis was greeted at the stadium by a festive crowd, with many in attendance wearing cardboard hats with the words "Viva il Papa, Francesco!" and an image of the pope.<br/> <br />Rapid economic growth has driven South Korea from the poverty of the aftermath of the 1950-1953 Korean war into the ranks of the world's richest nations, but deepened inequalities. Today, nearly half of the country's elderly are still impoverished.<br/> <br />Francis has made caring for the poor a central theme of his pontificate.
