Visit to the Demilitarised zone

   Today I visited the Demilitarised zone, the border between South and North Korea with Pastor Kim. This isn't too far from Seoul and gave me more of an insight into the real tension between North and South Korea. We went on a bus tour to visit some of the sites. Firstly, we had to go through the gates where the South Korean military checked our identity. Then we drove to the furthest station point at South Korea, passing lots of farm land, but not many houses. We then went to the farthest point north of South Korea, and was able to see the zone between North and South. The line was established after the Korean War in 1953 and it was agreed that both parties would retreat 2 km from the line. There is a space that you can see through the high trees, into and an empty space. No humans, no buildings, just wildlife live there. In the distance you can see mountains, and buildings, into the unknown territory of North Korea. The area is 970 km long. It seemed strange peering into a country we can't go into.

   We then visited another place, watched a film, and went on a small shuttle train down into one of the tunnels that was made by the North Korean's for a surprise attack on South Korea. There are four tunnels in total that were discovered in the 1970's and then one in 1990. As we went into the tunnel, wearing hard hats, it was then that it hit me how very real all this was. These were made for the purpose of attacking the country I had spent time in. How very long these tunnels must be. We then walked deeper into the tunnel, and came to the end where we could see barbed wire, and a big metal door with a padlock. It felt strange to think behind that behind that door was North Korea. Not a pleasant feeling. We were that close, but yet so far away. It all felt quite strange, and slightly concerning. I feel I can understand a bit more now of that fear and tension that South Korea faces. Though in one respect I was glad to get out of the tunnel, I am glad I did it. I pray tensions will soon cease and this country can be unified once again, it must feel strange to know that North Korea could attack at any time. So I pray peace for this land.

More food, and conversations on preaching.

      Yes this post refers to more food! (I'm sure I am gaining weight). This time a Chinese meal, and a really good conversation about preaching. Yesterday I met up with Pastor Yoon, who is a friend of Pastor Abraham (pastor of Korean church that meets on the premises at WPBC) and he introduced me to another Korean Pastor; Pastor Kim. Pastor Kim is ministering in Seoul at a Presbyterian church. He is completing a years course in preaching, and is attending the classes two days a week. Now when I say a day, I mean 12 hour days! I was quite interested what this course was about. Pastor Kim explained to me this course gives him a tool to apply to preaching. One of those tools was a grid with 60 sentence structures, which helps to explain the main subject of a text to the congregation, rather than the secondary subject. For example a text  may be describing the life of Paul, but Paul isn't the main subject of the, text God is.  What is important is what God is doing through Paul. What God is doing in and through Paul needs to be emphasised when preaching, so that it can be applied to the congregation. He explained that this concept was particularly hard for Korean Pastors and so he was learning a technique to help him. I was quite intrigued by this; it hadn't occurred to me that God was not the main subject of the bible passage. I can recall now my tutors saying to me we always need to think about where is God for you in this passage, and where is God's good news for us? As we talked it seemed that Korean Pastors (at least when he studied 20 years ago) did not have this kind of training.

   We both agreed there is a challenge for ministers to make sure that God speaks to us first through the text, before even thinking about sharing it with the congregation. We also shared the need for confidence in the Word as transformative to people lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is good to be reminded of this, and the seriousness of preaching prep. Sometimes other demands seem to take priority but our first call as ministers is to preach and teach God's word and so we need to take this seriously; I think God might be trying to remind me something there.  Also good to remember
what a privilege and responsibility it is. These are very similar conversations to ones I had with Pastor Kong and Dr Dongwan Kim. I don't think this just an issue in Korea, but one for us in the UK as well. Perhaps there is a need for more learning together.

Cultural experience and a good lesson.

  Today I met up with another past student of Trinity college in Bristol who is now a pastor in Incheon (city near the airport). Pastor Han spent time in both Bristol and London. We were to meet at a central  place in Seoul next to a bus stop. My host had written down the bus stop name for me, and told me where it was, but I got a bit confused and ended up having to ask someone. There was only two others on the bus and they didn't speak English but pointed to me that I had missed the stop, and to go back. The problem was I wasn't sure by how many stops I had missed. So I got off and phoned Pastor Han. I tried to explain where I was and tried pronouncing the name of the bus stop but he didn't understand. So I made the suggestion that I text the name to him. He then phoned back and knew where I was and found me. What a relief when we finally met!

  I realised how difficult it is for me to pronounce the names properly not knowing where to put the emphasis in the words. How my accent might be preventing good communication, and also how traffic and other surrounding noises distract. All these things are out of my control, and it made me feel a little stressed and confused. I also realised how much easier things are when we write them down. It has made me realise how much do I assume I'm communicating well, especially to others when English is their second language, but really we are miscommunicating. How it is easier when we try to keep it simple. It was when we met that I explained it all to him and he understood what happened. I need to try and remember this lesson and to reassure people when they feel stressed and confused that we can sort it out.

   Pastor Han showed me around the city. We went to the Anglican Church (it was built in 1920's), we went to a large bookshop called  Kyobo, and then walked to Insadong. Insadong has a number of craft shops, and souvenirs, and is very popular with tourists. We had lunch there, and I had various types of dumplings, and it was really good food. It was also good to get his perspective on the differences
between Korea and England. So far people have said the generation gap is bigger in Korea then in
Britain; but he didn't seem to agree, and thought both countries have a generation gap. He felt Korean culture was quite Americanised and could learn lessons from British society as well. Lots more to think about and assimilate.

  Edit- one other interesting observation is how English speaking nations have the upper hand when they visit other places around the world. Most people's second language is English, but that isn't the
case for other countries like Korea. Of course I can only travel here because enough people and signs are in English. This has only been made possible because of a Western influence. Does that mean the West has the upper hand?

  Another interesting observation. When our mutual friend put us in touch with each other we didn't recognise each other's name but when we saw each other we remembered. When we were recalling students from our time at college it was people from our own culture we remembered. Was that because we kept mostly in our own cultural groups, and so we didn't have as much exposure to each other and therefore we were unable to remember?  Or was it our names were so familiar in our culture that we remembered them but couldn't remember them from a different culture because they were so different from our own. Is that why some people take on biblical names in church life when they are from different cultural so help find a common language? Yet I remember some Korean names, and is that only through constant rehearsal that we remember? Lots to think about!

Preaching at Woncheon Presbyterian Church

    Today I worshipped at Woncheon Presbyterian Church. The church is not that far from where I'm staying. The invitation to preach there came via Pastor Abraham Ahn. Pastor Abraham has close connections with this church. Woncheon Church is quite close to Yonsei University, which is a very good Christian University. The church holds five services on a Sunday, and I preached at the afternoon service for young people. I also attended the 11:30 service. The church has about 1,500 members and has three ministers.

    When I arrived Deacon Park (friend of Pastor Abraham who spent sometime at the Korean speaking church in Worcester Park Baptist) greeted me and showed me to a seat that had earphones so I could listen to a translation of the service. At about 11.15 the worship leader started leading some singing. Accompanying him was a robed choir of about 40 members, a stringed orchestra, guitar, piano, and drums. It was a wonderful, stirring sound. They sang hymns in a lively style. Hymns like All the way my Saviour leads me, and Standing on the promises of Christ my King. By the time it came to 11.30 everyone was singing along and clapping before the service started. At 11.30 one of the co-pastors opened the service with a hymn, and then a confession of faith. He then led us in prayer. We then had the bible reading from Acts 16: 6-10. After this the choir sang a piece, and then the offering was taken. We then watched a video about a mission that was taking place by the church, and it was very professionally made. There was then some more notices including a welcome from the senior pastor to me. The choir then sang one more piece before the senior minister spoke for about 30 mins on the passage in Acts 16:6-10. Through the translation I could tell that he was talking about the Holy Spirit's work in our lives, and the need to rely on it, just as Paul did through his missionary journey. We then sung another hymn and the service finished.

    Afterwards I had lunch at a Japanese restaurant. There was lots of dishes, including raw fish, it was very good. I then met the senior pastor, who was very friendly;  although he didn't speak much English, we were able to hold a little conversation. He couldn't get over how young I was! I then went to join the 100 young people at their afternoon service. A similar format of worship songs, prayers, welcome, notices, bible reading, and then I was invited to preach. I was asked to preach in English, but to speak slowly, and to have simple sentences. I was told about 70% would have understood, and the 30% who didn't speak English, a Korean American pastor summarised the sermon. It became clear to me that my English accent is something of a novelty, and some of the younger lads found it a bit amusing, I think they are used to American's. I don't think they are used to women either. However, it was good to share with them and I could tell some of them were with me in what I was saying. They seemed to be interested in the 'British style of preaching', don't think I've been aware of that I have a 'British style' before (but then again I am British!), but I was also told I was easy to understand which was good.

   I think I'm now getting used to the 'Korean' style of worship, and interestingly there isn't much difference between Baptist's, Presbyterian's and Methodists in terms of worship style; all seem to be broadly quite similar. The churches I have been in have been quite big, ready to welcome and guide me through, and especially help me with some of the language difficulties; and hospitable and generous. I think we have something to learn from the 'Korean style' in our ' British churches.'

   

Military service and another prayer mountain

    Today my hosts took me to a service marking the anniversary of the end of the Korean War for those in military service. Every young man in South Korea is called to do military service; most of them are about 21 years old when they are called up. They usually serve for just over two years. Although South Korea is not at war there is always the threat that North Korea could invade the country, and so the country is ready with young men on military service. This is an important part of Korean culture especially for the men. My hosts have been part of a church that supports events and services that are about sharing Jesus' love with these young men. The service we attended was at a prayer mountain.

    We arrived early and I looked around the prayer mountain site. The site is North of Seoul and is the largest and most famous prayer mountain established by Yonggi Cho of the Full Gospel church ( the biggest church in the world). It has a big auditorium, and my hosts say that during the 70's and 80's people came for events and they couldn't all sit but they would bring blankets to sit on and the services were relayed onto screens in the chapels. People would stay over night and sleep in heir cars as there was nowhere to sleep. People still flood here to pray and fast. There are small huts (a bit smaller than a beach hut) where you can pray. As I walked past today there were people praying, as they prayed they cried, and some were wailing. They were on their kneels fervently praying. I can now see why people say the heart of the Korean faith is based on prayer.

  After being quite amazed at what I was seeing, we then sat down for the service. I expected a formal  service, like you would have in the UK, but this was lively and energetic. To help you get the size and the feel of the service. Here is a picture.

The afternoon service was quite different from previous years. To help you get a perspective on this. The morning service was about an hour and half, the afternoon service was two hours, and the evening service was three hours. A lot of services! The afternoon service was more like a concert. Some famous Korean Christian artists sang, there was some messages from all kinds of people including MP's and famous singers sharing with them how important their faith was to them, and some who accepted Jesus when they were in the military. A special moment for me was when we all sang 'How great thou art' the energy and volume was quite spectacular. I felt I was at some big youth rally and now can imagine what some of the Billy Graham crusades must have felt like.

More cultural experiences

    I have had some more cultural experiences this week. Whilst up in the mountain region we drove to Samtan art mine in Jeongseon, and stayed over night. It was a disused coal mine that has now some wonderful art treasurers that has been collected from all over the world. It has been beautifully done keeping the original features of the mine as well as displaying the art. This is a picture of the outside. You can see the mountains in the distance.

Then we drove and saw the East Sea. The water was very blue and clear. The sand was also white and clean. We didn't have much time there but enough to see it and smell the fish. Korean's enjoy eating fish, and it was good to see the many fishing boats in the harbour ready to catch them. Here is a picture of the coast line.

Whilst travelling we stopped at one restaurant and had grey noodles, they were very cold, and quite refreshing; although quite strange to be eating something that is grey in colour! 

We returned back to Seoul on Wednesday evening. Had a bit quieter day Thursday and prepared for Sunday's preach. Then in the evening I went to a concert at the National Theatre of Korea to hear some traditional Korean music and singing. The style is quite different to Western music. It was similar to folk music in the way it told a story and the musicians join in with wails, but there the similarities end. The singer has a much more high pitched voice, and the notes were quite sharp, and she had a wonderful range to be able to sing like that. The instruments are more akin to the Indian drum and sitar.  They follow a strong beat. It is quite hard to describe it it in words, but it is something you feel and experience. They even dressed in traditional costume which was fun. She also sang some western music as well, one piece was from France, and she sang it so well. They then fused East and West together using piano, sax, guitars as well as traditional instruments it sounded wondeful 

Prayer Mountain

   On Tuesday I visited a prayer mountain that is located outside of Seoul. It was good to see some countryside, and an important part of Korean faith.

  In the valleys of the mountains are small farms and villages. The villages have mainly single storey houses, I guess we would call them Bunglows, with a mixture of older style and modern style houses. When I asked about the modern style of houses I was told that these houses are bought by people in Seoul who want either a weekend get away pad or want to rent it out for those wanting a weekend break to the country. Climbing the mountains are quite a popular pass time. Most of the mountains are covered with trees. The mountain we went to had quite a few houses and other buildings. As we drove up the mountain (I had in mind we were walking up there, but so glad we didn't as it was quite hot!) we passed a leadership centre which was established by Peter Wagner (a Pentecostal) from the US. At the very top stood this modern, impressive building.

   We went inside and watched a film that described the vision of this centre. The Pastor had a vision of creating provision for retired Korean missionaries who often had no where to go after finishing their time on the mission field. He also wanted to create a mission centre and chapel which encouraged people to come and pray. Another man had a vision from his Mother about also providing a place of prayer and mission, he was a business man, and decided to give money to this project. Then an architect also had a vision to create a church for prayer and mission. They came together and came up with a design of using cedar trees and natural light to create a beautiful space for people to come and pray. We then went up to the top of the building, and I don't think I was quite expecting what was waiting at the top of the building. You could smell the wonderful fragrance of the trees that acted like an incense. It was one of the most beautiful and awe inspiring places of worship I have been into.

Here are two pictures, although I don't think the photos do it justice.

I very much felt an inner peace and warmth of God's presence in this place, and spent sometime praying in this wonderful place. I felt God speak to me about this place being a place of prayer for all nations, and sensed God has something to say to us at WPBC of our new premises being a place of prayer and also of us, as the church being a people of prayer. I felt God had something for me personally as well as the church. This is something I need to spend time praying into a bit more. So glad I got the opportunity to go, and see an important part of Korean faith.   Thanks again to my hosts for taking me and explaining about it.

Praying and more eating

   This morning I attended a prayer meeting with my hosts it included an update from Korean missionaries in India who run a college in Bangalore. There were about twenty people who were there at the meeting, and they meet regularly dedicating themselves to pray for missionaries. The meeting started with singing, and praying, and reading a passage of scripture. We prayed for the hosts of the house where the prayer meeting took place, praying Korean style which means everyone all at once all at the same time, until the leader says Amen. I would have to say Korean's are very fervent in their  praying. If there is a person who is leading the praying there is a lot of 'Amen's' and indeed sometimes the leader may raise their voice slightly in order to express their passion. There was updates on the college,  and then a time when the members of the group gave updates to answered prayer in their own life. It was quite difficult to concentrate as it was all in Korean, and it reminded me how much we rely on language to give meaning and expression in our lives.

   After the meeting I had lunch with a Korean pastor, Kyoung Lee, who was a student at the same time as me in Trinity college Bristol. We haven't seen or been in touch with each other for seven years, and thanks to a mutual friend we were able to make contact. We had lunch together and shared perspectives on Korean and British churches. Kyoung Lee is probably the first pastor who has spent time in the UK that I have met so far who isn't too pessimistic about the UK church; which was quite refreshing. We talked about Korean cultural influences on the church, and the powerful prayer base of  Korean faith ( this theme is coming out more and more). We then looked around the Foreign missionaries cemetery and museum. A couple of things struck me; how many missionaries were sent to Korea, how fervent their faith was even under difficult circumstances many of whom lost children or wives, and how the missionaries set up hospitals and schools and thus modernised Korea. I think you can see the seeds of that within the churches a link between modernisation and faith, and the ferventancy of faith and prayer.

   So eating and praying seem to be important features in Korean faith.

Preaching at Daerim Methodist Church

   Today I went with Dr Donghwan Kim to Daerim Methodist Church; the church that he is a member of in Seoul. We had lunch at the church (rice, soup, fish, and of course Kimchee) and met a number of the elders who were very welcoming, and a number of them spoke English. I then met the Senior Pastor who was again very welcoming, he was very interested in what I thought about Korea he has been there for over 30 years. He gave me some gifts and welcomed me to his church. Here is a picture of us in his office.

I then was introduced to the youth minister, and with Donghwan we went to the young people's service. The service started with singing; I recognised Strength will rise, but couldn't make out the other songs we sang. Then I was welcomed forward to the platform. Where I changed my shoes to a pair of very big flip flops, and was welcomed to sit on a big chair at the front of the church. The youth pastor welcomed me to the service. Then Donghwan introduced me further (they couldn't quite believe how old I was and that I was the minister of a church!) before I preached on Romans 11. I said a line or two and then Donghwan translated it. There was a couple of Amen's and Hallalujah's so I think it was well received. I was then thanked, there was a couple of notices, before a closing song and prayer. Afterwards people thanked me and a couple of people have even invited me for dinner. Donghwan has now taken the role of social secretary for my diary working out for me which one's to accept, because I do need a translator with me! It was a great experience, and wonderful to have the opportunity. I am very thankful to the church, the senior pastor, the youth minister, and especially to Donghwan.

Here is a picture with the youth pastor, Donghwan and myself in the church.

Meeting up with some friends of WPBC

   Today I had lunch and spent the afternoon with Lee and Hankie;both of whom are students and have worshipped with us on a Sunday morning at WPBC. They have returned to Korea for the summer and hoping to both back with us in September. Hankie will be going into his third year at Roehampton to study a TEFL course and Lee hopes to be studying Systematic Theology at Kings College London. Here is a photo with us together in a cafe in Seoul.

We shared together this Korean meal at a traditional Korean Restaurant. The three main dishes were; Korean pancake with seafood and leek, Noddles, and Bimbin Bap. The smaller dishes included Kimchee, radishes, sauces, soup, and very small fish. It was really tasty. Here is a picture.

They then showed me around a Korean market and tasted some more food! Including a rice drink, rice cake, and a kind of noodle snack. It was also good to share with them their experiences of the U.K, how they see the differences in culture between Korean's and British, and their impressions of the church. It was also good to see some familiar faces here in Korea as well.  

Reflections on culture difference and my own reactions

   Here are some of my thoughts regarding my own reactions to my cultural experiences in Korea. Indeed even though some of these are quite uncomfortable revelations about myself I'm glad I'm having them as I think this helps me to understand others better.

1. Language - it is quite disorientating not being able to understand even one letter of the Korean language. Helpfully all the important signs are in both English ( well American English!) and Korean. Not knowing many words means that I am being very careful about the shops I am going into. I am avoiding shops that have no computerised till, indeed I found myself today making a subconscious decision to go into a restaurant purely because I could read the sign and menu in English. This is understandable as I do want to be understood and understand when ordering food or buying items. However, I am glad when someone else can guide me so that I can go into shops and restaurants that are Korean. On my own I am restricted to a small subculture, so to get a full picture I need a guide to help me, and I am so grateful to those who are willing to be that guide.

2. Race- I find myself subconsciously being drawn to people who are white and they are drawn to me as well; most of these people are actually American. Indeed I've had some Amercian's stop me in the street to ask me if I am American, and they seemed surprised to find out I'm from the UK. A white American child pointed to me in he street to her Mum saying 'look she's white too.' I now know why a minority race sticks together, it is though subsciously we feel more relaxed when we around people of the same race. It takes conscious effort on our part not to feel this, I think this especially so when I''m on my own, I don't feel this so much when I'm with others.

3. The shaping power of rules. When I am walking down the street and there is a woman or man trying to sell something be that fruit or veg in a cart my immediate reaction is to walk by quickly. There is something in my British mindset that says these people are breaking the rules and shouldn't be trying to sell things here. The rules of course are different in Korea but I can't seem to get that warning signal out of my mind.

4. The power of history that gives meaning. This became apparent to me when I was talking about the differences between Presbyterian's and Baptist's. Pastor  Kong was saying in Korea he didn't see much difference between the two denominations; one Baptised believers the other infants. I was quite  puzzled by this, and then he asked me what I thought. I then went into the whole history of UK Baptist's and the essence of church membership as the believers church, and it is the members that discerned the mind of Christ. It became apparent this is the history of Eureopean Baptist's but this is not the same for all Baptist's. What gives meaning for me by the language of being Baptist is not the same for all and it showed me how a particular history gives a particular meaning.


On the positive side here are some things I have warmed to quite quickly.

1. Sharing food- I like that aspect of Korean culture. There is food on the table and we share amongst ourselves, everything is much more community orientated and it does build relationships quickly when you are sharing food together. It seems pretty biblical as well.

2. Respect for one another and elders- bowing to each other when you meet someone for the first time especially someone in a position or older than yourself. This respect seems to be going now from British society, but there is something about showing respect and honour to one another which seems a good thing. I remember as a child my grandparents would talk to me about Mrs whoever, because as a child they felt I should show respect to my elders. Indeed I was taught to always listen and respect older people.

3. Hospitality- people in the church seem very warm and generous to strangers; giving them food or gifts. They seem to have taken very seriously the need to welcome strangers as though it was Christ himself. It has made me think about how other cultures might well see British people as a bit mean in comparison!


So lots to think about from this new cultural experience.

Food: a sample of a few items I've been eating

    You may have been wondering what kind of food I've been eating. The best way of describing it is a fusion between East and West. It seems I'm eating more Western food this week!

Here are some new things I've been trying. This is a drink made of some kind of bean that is like an alternative to drinking milk or juice at breakfast.

The bread they have seems sweeter to me and on the package it says particularly for toasting.

I'm also quite liking dumplings with vegetables inside, here is a frozen pack of them.

Korean's don't really go in for sweet things or puddings but one thing I do appreciate as an occasional snack is their chocopie.

Visit to Cheonan

    Yesterday I went outside of Seoul and took the train to Cheonan. Cheonan is about one hour away from Seoul. Cheonan is a small city and the main employment is through various universities, Samsung and LG have offices there, and there are some small agriculture farms as well. It was good to see another place apart from Seoul.

   Pastor Kyusuk Kong (who I met on Monday) showed me around the Baekseok University campus. Baekseok Univeristy is a Christian University established in the 1970's.

It has many departments including Theology; the undergraduate divinity school is in Cheonan and the post-graduate at Seoul. Alongside this is Baekseok Church which is a Presbyterian church with about 1,000 worshippers who are mostly  students or staff, but about 30% are not part of the Univeristy but just residents of   Cheonan. Pastor Kong is the senior pastor and there are four full time associate ministers, and three part-time student ministers. There is one associate minister who is charge of worship, one for mission, one for the seniors, and one for the children's and youth ministry. There is also four admin staff: a burser, one for media and communications, one for general office work, and one who is his personal assistant. So quite a set up!

Here is the building where their offices are.

After showing me around and describing the church I had dinner with him and one of his daughters who is studying Psychology at Chester University. She spent about 10 years of her schooling in the UK and so decided to go back to the UK for further study. It was great to hear her perspectives as a young person who is Korean  growing up in the UK. 

We then went to the student worship service; it was exam period so not so many students were around, however there was still a good 100 undergraduate students there. I was really encouraged by their passion. There was a lively worship group with musicians and eight singers; ranging from 18-22 yrs old. We sung familiar songs like The Splendour of the King, and Praise is rising. I would say the worship was lively and heartfelt. Then we were led in prayer (I didn't know what she was saying but again it sounded quite emotional). One of the associate ministers read from 1 Kings 19, and spoke of Elijah's heavy heart and how God spoke to him. I didn't know what it was he was saying but through some hand gestures and the way he spoke I could tell he was passionate and full of conviction. He then invited everyone to allow God to speak to them also. I would say the service was quite modern and lively. 

I asked whether Sunday morning worship was similar; and was told it wasn't quite so lively but still modern and passionate. I haven't had much experience of Presbyterian churches; only in North Wales as in England we have the URC, but that little experience made me think it was quite a traditional church with a dieing congregation.  I was encouraged to see a different side to Presbyterianism in Korea. I also realised the differences of the generations and the type of worship services that they engage with within the Korean context. 

After staying overnight with Pastor Kong and his family; I went along to 5.30 am prayer service. Again the style was quite different. It started with a time of silent prayer, we then sang a hymn (it wasn't a familiar one to me), said the Lord's Prayer together, and then one of he ministers read from 1 Kings 1:5-11 and spoke on the passage. We then had a time of prayer when people prayed individually quite quietly but you could hear them speaking and calling out to God. Some you could hear crying, some speaking in tongues, but again quite passionate and heart-felt. The meeting ended at 6.30, and then I had a little more time to sleep after that before breakfast and returning back to Seoul.

Helpful and stimulating conversation

   This afternoon I had coffee with one of the contacts I have made through Gina Ha-Gorlin, Dr Kyusuk Kong, who is a Professor of Old Testament at Baekesok University and is the Senior Minister at Baekesok Church in Cheonan city. He has ministered in the UK at a Korean speaking church in Sheffield for ten years and so understands both UK and Korean perspective. We had a great conversation.

   Through our conversation I came to appreciate more about the Korean Presbyterian churches.  How some Korean Christian's are concerned that the Christian church in the UK is dieing, and the need as they see it to send missionaries to the UK to help restore the churches. The key he felt to Korean churches and their growth is a real commitment to prayer. He spoke about the challenge within Presbyterian churches in Korea that have no formal process of recognising and accrediting ministers, and the challenge of the decline of young people within the church. I shared my experiences of formal recognition of ministry within the church, the challenge and opportunity of postmodernity, and my own testimony. We both recognised the need and the challenge to form multi cultural, and multi generational churches. We considered Galations 3:28 as a model to show us that in Christ we come together as one and yet we also remain distinctive. There is a difference between male and female, Jew and Gentile, slave and free, but all have a place in Christ. It has got me thinking more about what that might mean and again the issue of Jesus coming to bring a new culture. I think I need to do some more study and thinking around this idea. I have arranged to visit his church and carry on this really stimulating conversation, so much to think through and consider.

Worshipping at a Korean Baptist church

   Yesterday I experiencing something of how busy Korean Christian's are! I went with my hosts to Kangnam Joongang Baptist church. The first service we went to was at 10 am; one of the many morning services that the church holds. I was greeted at the door and introduced to one of the stewards who gave me a notice sheet, however it was all in Korean language so I couldn't really appreciate it fully. The sanctuary has rows of pews, the front had a high pulpit, communion table, and to one side pews where the robe choir sat. To the right hand side sat the elders of the church; all older men in black suits. There must have been a good 700 people at the service, maybe more, I'm not very good at guessing numbers!

  The service started with one of the seven assistant ministers welcoming us to the service and then an introit was sung by the choir. The congregation stood as we prayed and sung our first hymn together, it was Jesus the name high over all. Unfortunately I couldn't recall all the words in English, it is very hard when everyone else is singing a different language. As it has been translated into Korean the tune has been slightly tweaked to fit the words- some of the notes seemed a bit longer than what I remember. We then said the Lord's Prayer together. Then came the notices, and one of the ministers who spoke English kindly gave me an ear piece and someone was speaking into it translating the service into English for me. This was a great help; although it wasn't perfect English it was a great help in understanding the overview of the service. The notices consisted of some of the many activities and special services. I was also welcomed by them as a minister from the UK. We then prayed together and the choir sang a piece, before the senior minister then stood up to read the bible passage from Romans 5. He then spent about 30 mins preaching. The best way I could describe his style would be academic, traditional, Calvinistic (what I could make out was that he was saying that those who hold a general theology of salvation are not real Christian's but the translation might have been wrong).  Possibly a style you still might find at Spurgeon's church; Metropolitan Tabernacle in London. The service was closed with a hymn and blessing. The service was just shy of an hour. Everyone then quickly filed out as the next service was about to start and we went down stairs for tea and coffee. It was then that I was ushered into the back offices to the Senior Ministers office. What a room! It was filled with books, a long table, a mounted wall hanging of one of Spurgeon's sermons, and coffee, and fruit laid out on the table. I was invited to sit while the senior minister hosted me. He gave me an enormous amount of food to try, and then talked to me about his visit to Spurgeon's college, and asked whether we were still facing persecution as Baptist's like Spurgeon did in his day; he obviously had read about the history of UK Baptist churches but had not kept update! Then I was quickly ushered out as he got ready for the next service. I was also ushered along to the English service.

   The English service was a very different style, was that because it was in English and they wanted to follow our culture, or was it because the minister leading was younger? According to my host it was probably the latter. We sung modern English songs, prayed using images from the PowerPoint presentation, and the style of the preaching was much more familiar to me. After the service they gave me lots of food including Sushi, donuts, and coffee. They were so interested in asking me questions; they had met American's but not English people. They wanted to know was the UK church Calvinist or Arminian, how many people attended, what are the challenges we face, and how did I become a sole minister of a church being both young and a woman. I wanted to stay longer and talk but my hosts were keen to go to a prayer meeting for North Korea and we had to go and have some lunch before the meeting.

   So next was lunch at the church in a big canteen; the lunch consisted of Kimchee, rice, bean sprouts, and green beans. After this we went to the prayer meeting about North Korea. Unfortunately I didn't understand most of it, but the missionary who was talking had been working in China with people from North Korea and he established a school where he shared about Jesus with the children.

  We then drove out of Seoul to another town to have a meal with friends of my host. There was about 10 people there, and it was good to spend sometime out of Seoul. It was so cool and the air seemed much cleaner. We arrived back after 10 pm after quite a full day. As you can see lots to think about regarding the differences between Korean Christian's and ourselves.

Update and being a tourist

   On Friday I visited Pastor Abraham Ahn's friend Pastor Joshua Yoon who is involved in children's education both in school and within church. We shared some perspectives from both cultures. It seems that both countries are experiencing decline with children and young people. He feels education is quite key to that. He is going to be setting up some meetings next week for me when Pastor Abraham arrives so I can meet with other ministers.

   On Saturday I was a tourist, and went on the Seoul city bus tour. I stopped at the national museum of Korea. Here is a picture of the building.

There are lots of exhibitions; it is quite similar to the British museum in London. Here is one particular wall hanging that has a very Eastern look to it.

I also visited one of the Palaces built in 1483 called Changgyeonggung Palace. Most of the palace was destroyed by the Japanese invasion, but it was rebuilt in 1987. Here is a picture.

Today I will be worshipping at a Baptist church so watch this space for some of my thoughts on that experience!

Meeting students at the Methodist Theological University

     Yesterday was a long day, so I didn't manage to write a blog post so I am writing it on Friday evening. I went to the Methodist college where Dr Donghwan Kim is a lecturer. He came to Worcester Park Baptist in the summer and his wife has been attending the church. Here is a picture of me with him and some of his students outside the university.

The young man to the right of me, as you look at the photo, spoke good English and is wanting to become a Methodist Minister in South Korea. The woman next to Dr Kim is doing a PhD in John Wesley, and is learning English. It was good to talk to them, as students in their late twenties, and to see their understanding of the Korean church and culture. It is quite different from the older generation. I am finding there is a quite a gap between the generations in terms of their thinking and understanding of faith. Although the Korean churches are quite large they are loosing the young generation. Partly they believe this is because faith is not deeply embedded within the people so when struggles and hardships come they are just looking for God to bless them rather than having a faith that endures. They are just into a faith that is all about getting a blessing. 

After enjoying an Italian meal; I was then interviewed by Dongwan , and the students asked questions. Here is a picture of the students that went to the seminar.

 They wanted to know the work we do in the church for children and families, how the churches in the UK are responding to ethical issues, and how to disciple young people. It came obvious through our time together that the issues they face are not that dissimilar to the issues we encounter. I was drawn to say to them that the UK have not got all the answers to these issues. We don't have the  formula to apply, but rather we all need to recognise that neither country has it all sorted and recognise we face these issues together, as equal partners. From conversations I have had so far I feel quite passionate that we need to come together as Christians from different cultures around Jesus. Jesus came to transform us and bring about a new culture; the culture of God. That is what we are called to do, and unite around that. 

Initial reflections

I have only been in Seoul for two days, but I want to write down some initial reflections. I went to a class at the church this morning the subject was learning about coffee from around the world; it is a course that my hosts are going to and so they invited me to come along. I learnt a bit, but it was in Korean so it was hard to fully understand it; although my hosts tried to translate some of it. However it was just the experience of meeting other women that interested me. Firstly, a young woman who knew a bit of English, said it was good to meet me and asked me straight away my age. Now I have been told before that this is important in the Korean language to know whether the person you are speaking to is older or younger, but I was still surprised by this. It just goes to show how ingrained cultural assumptions are within me, I was embarrassed to be asked this by someone I had just met. I guess also my host had already said I was a Pastor and they looked quite surprised ; I think they thought I was young, so perhaps it was my own sensitivity to this that made me more embarrassed by the question of my age. Then she was embarrassed when my host explained that this would be quite rude in my culture; so we ended up being both embarrassed! I explained it was ok, my mistake not hers. Perhaps this is something to think about further how much this is cultural embarrassment especially for women, and how much this is my own personal reactions when people ask me my age.

  Secondly the subject matter would not be something I would think about taking a class in. How to make filtered coffee and to understand all about coffee; wouldn't be something I would choose to learn about, yet these women wanted to understand better. They weren't all from the church but it was though the church was acting as a place to go and learn new skills; a bit like a college. I also think they probably wanted to learn with other people; to be part of a community was important to them. Our learning is probably more individualistic, and I like the idea they see the importance of being part of a community and to learn and have fun together.

 Thirdly the women giggled when I spoke a little Korean. Partly it was intonation that seemed funny to them, but according to my host it is more than that, they wouldn't expect me to learn Korean, the expectation would be they learn English. We are seen as the advanced country that Korean's want to emulate and not the other way around. People seem quite surprised that I would want to come and learn about Korean culture and church life. I guess that is one of the legacies that the West has, but I think we have lots to learn from them.

  Tomorrow will be quite different as I will go to the Methodist Theological University and meet students training to be ministers. Looking forward to hearing their perspectives.

Arrival in Seoul

I landed safely in Seoul yesterday afternoon after a 10 hour flight. The weather at the moment is in the mid twenties so I can cope with that, although it is quite warm at night. I am of course still trying to get over the jet lag; Korea is eight hours ahead of the U.K. My hosts live outside of the main city centre but it still feels busy to me! From the window I can see many apartment blocks and down into the main shopping area. Here is a picture from the apartment block.

It is about a 15 mins walk to the tube station. Today, Tuesday, I have been trying to understand the tube network. I went to the South side of the city with my hosts. You have probably heard of Gangnam district. It is a very popular place to go shopping, but expensive! We just went to look, and then went for some lunch. I was surprised to see how busy it was. I also went into the local church where my hosts go to the early morning service at 6am. I didn't join them for the service today as I was still asleep! However I went into the Sanctuary: it is very big and probably holds about 1,000 people. They have a multi site church with classes taking place during the day including an art class this afternoon. The church is very much a community place. My initial impressions of Seoul is that it reminds me of America: busy, big tower blocks, and even the cars look American, but yet the city is surrounded by hills and mountains. I am very pleased that at the back of the apartment where I am staying there is some trees.

Here is a picture of the back of the apartment.

 The people seem friendly, and polite especially the older generation. The children in the street kept looking at me perhaps they haven't seen a white person before! There is quite a bit to take in, and I am glad I had a taste of Korean food before so I am little familiar with some of the food. However when we went shopping it did feel quite a lot to take in, the supermarket was on two levels and you can even try some of the food before you buy which was a great help in working out if I would like some of the food.

Guide to Korea

  Yesterday I wrote about background reading about church life, today I will share some things that might be interest regarding the culture. Here is one of the books I've been reading.

A couple of interesting facts about the country

1. The peninsula is about the size of the U.K.

2. Over 70% of Korea's landmass is mountains

3. Over 80% of Koreans live in cities.

4. Government has an elected president who serves a five year term. The President is assisted by an appointed prime minister.

Background Reading

    I have now had an opportunity to do some background reading about Korea. This has included: tourist books that recommend sites to see, and give a glimpse of the culture; and two other books produced by the World Council of Churches. One of the books gives a general introduction to Korean society and history, and the other, particularly looks at Protestant Christianity. Thanks to friends who have let me borrow these books.

 Couple of interesting facts regarding Protestant Christianity:

1. Christianity came to South Korea one hundred and thirty years ago.

2.  John Ross a Scottish Missionary to China translated the Bible, with some Korean traders, into the Korean language in 1887.

3. The two major Protestant denominations within South Korea are Presbyterianism & Methodism - and the churches have been highly influenced by American missionaries.

4. The church contributed to class levelling and medical benefits within the country prior to 1945.


Here are some further reflections from my reading.

  After the Korean war in 1953 the government gave a big push to restart the industry, as much of the industry has been destroyed during the war. Churches also had been effected: many had burnt down, and also many church leaders had been killed or imprisoned. Industry boomed within a couple of decades due to a number of factors; low-cost labour force, favourable international political climate (seen in troops being sent to help S. Koreans in the Korean war), technological innovations, and new markets. Close on the heels of this new industrialised economy was the church; strategically planting into these growing urban areas.

  The church offered solidarity and community, which was much needed within a fast paced industrialised society.  People had moved into the cities, which alienated them from their strong family connections, and due to the fast paced culture change; many experienced feelings of anxiety. The booklet suggests that many Korean people turned to religious activities to find a place of solace and peace.

   It will be interesting to see whether this seems to be so in practice within the churches. I guess a question might be: do folk in South Korea see church bringing comfort or challenge to their lives? How does the church help in bringing about places of community and solidarity within the society at large? It seems to me this is a similar question that the UK church faces.

   Since 1995 church attendance has declined. The booklet suggests this could be due to loss of spiritual power, and qualitative growth. I wonder what this might look like in practice? We need to bear in mind here what we mean by decline: South Korea has some of the biggest churches in the world. How do you measure spiritual power of churches? Could there be other reasons for the decline in church attendance?

   Well, some food for thought as I start to prepare for my travels.