Snapshots of South Korea

Redcliffe Degree student Clare reflects on her time spent in South Korea as part of her second year block placement:

South Korea is known to many as a Christian country.  It has the biggest church in the world, Yoido Full Gospel Church, with 800,000 members, and the many strong evangelical churches send out missionaries to all corners of the globe.

So why go there on placement?  What could I bring as a native English speaker?  Well, exactly that... my English.

I spent seven weeks in Korea with Korean Campus Crusade for Christ teaching English and Bible study to staff and students in Seoul as well as visiting other cities and churches.

Koreans are ‘crying out’ to learn English for various reasons.  Some want the language for business, and some for travel, but many want to learn so they can serve in mission teams around the world.

I was struck by the welcome I received. People were so eager to speak with me, to invite me to their homes and share their culture.  As one Korean friend remarked, “in Korea, the guest is king!”  This was definitely my experience.

I was also deeply challenged by the zeal of the Korean Christians, their persistence in prayer, devotion to the Word of God and their heart to share the Gospel. Most churches have a Prayer Mountain, a place where people go to pray and pray until they get an answer.  They also pray faithfully for their nation.

Despite the strength of the evangelical church, the pressure of materialism is strong in Korea.  Image and fashion are very important especially to the younger generations.  Discovering how to reach out to people in a commercialised society is one of the challenges for mission in Korea, just as it is in the West.  That’s why teaching English can be a good way of establishing contacts, building relationships and maybe someone coming from a Western perspective can have a role in reaching these generations.