24 Korean  Stories from 2005
English language version by Chris A. Foreman

Making a New Year's Resolution     return to top
January 8, 2005 / Number 148.

One of the traditions of the New Year celebration is to make a New Year s resolution. The start of the new year is a time to turn over a new leaf , as is commonly said. It s a time to draw a close on the dying past and welcome the unseen and new. But how can we welcome the new? We can do this by making a New Year resolution. Resolution means to promise , or to decide , or to determine . People can either write down their goals or just resolve in their minds how they will better themselves in the coming year. It s customary to make resolutions on New Year day.

Most of the time these resolutions involve some kind of self-improvement. Typical New Year s resolutions might be I resolve to lose 20 pounds in 2005 or I promise to treat my wife better .

I have made New Year s resolutions most of my life, but have kept very few. Sometimes the resolution lasts a month or so like promising to work out at the gym. Sometimes the resolution is broken within a few days of the New Year like promising myself not to eat sweets. The only New Year s resolution that I really kept was one I made to stop smoking cigarettes. On January first, 1984, I resolved not to smoke another cigarette. For some reason that resolution has lasted for 20 years and I remain a non-smoker.

When my two sons were in grade school, I discovered a formula to help our family make New Year s resolutions. I found this formula in the Gospel of Luke. Just like New Year s day follows Christmas day, these words follow the Christmas story. The formula refers to the baby Jesus growing up. The words goes like this: And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men .

Do you notice the four ways of improvement? We should improve in wisdom mentally. We should improve in stature physically. We should improve in favor with God spiritually, and we should improve in favor with other people socially. For several years in a row, my wife and I and our two sons sat down and wrote out how to improve in these four categories.

In the category of mental improvement, the two children wrote down doing homework and getting better grades. We two adults resolved to read books. In the category of physical improvement, the two children wrote about school sports. We two adults resolved to lose weight and go to the gym. As for spiritual improvement, we all wrote about going to church and reading our Bible more. Improving our social skills meant meeting and making friends with more people.

I think that our family tradition of writing down resolutions finally went extinct because we wrote down the exact same list year after year. We seemed to have mastered the ability to write down resolutions in January, only to forget about them for the rest of the year. And that s where I find myself on this New Year s day. What I said in 2004 sounds so good, let s just roll it over and use it again for 2005.

Two Wars a World Apart     return to top
January 22, 2005 / Number 149.

My wife and I don't go to the theater very often to see movies. Our lives are filled to overflowing with family, work, and church. And, with patience we can see worthwhile movies by waiting for their video release. I know that some people are in the habit of visiting the movie theater once a week: that's 52 movies a year. We only see maybe 5 or 6 movies a year. The last two movies that we viewed in a theater were remarkably similar although the action took place ten thousand miles apart.

Last October we saw the movie "TaeKuki". This movie wasn't playing in many theaters, so we made the effort to seek it out. TaeKuki was about Korea's national trauma; the terrible war that divided that nation into two halves. This war between the northern half and the southern half remains the defining event in the lives of most Koreans today. It lingers in the memories of older people and looms incomprehensible to younger people. The DMZ is a fact that no Korean can ignore. The situation is slowing changing, but for the half century the single fact that most people of the world knew about Korea was this: a tragic war took place that divided the nation in two. When a psychiatrist wants to uncover the psyche of an adult patient, he usually looks into traumatic episodes in childhood. If you want to understand the psyche of Korea, then look to the Korean War for guidance.

Last Saturday we saw the movie "Hotel Rwanda". This movie wasn't playing in many theaters, and we made an effort to seek it out. "Hotel Rwanda" was about Rwanda's national trauma; the terrible genocide the turned one tribe - the Hutu - against another tribe - the Tutsi. During this genocide, one-tenth of the population was murdered and another tenth was chased out. This national tragedy remains the defining event in the lives of most Rwandans today. For the past ten years, the single fact that most people of the world know about Rwanda is this: a tragic genocide took place in which 800,000 lost their lives. If you want to understand the Rwanda of today, then look back to the 1994 genocide for guidance.

Of course there are differences between these two national traumas. During the Korean war there was a geographical separation between the combatants. One side came from the North and the other from the South. Also, both sides had regular armies. In Rwanda, there were no borders. In the same small village, people of one tribe would use their machetes to hack to death neighbors from a different tribe. However, in both wars, it was brother against brother and sister against sister. In Korea, politics was the line of hatred. In Rwanda, tribe was the line of hatred.

I have been on four missionary trips to Rwanda. Each time I have ministered with a large group of Koreans. I have noticed that these Asians and these Africans connect at a heart level. Maybe it is because Koreans and Rwandese have experienced a similar national tragedy. The Rwandese offer Koreans hope that someday a badly divided nation will come together and heal. The Koreans offer Rwandese hope that someday a poor and struggling nation will prosper and grow into a nation that can send missionaries on to other continents.

Han from two sides    return to top
February 5, 2005 / Number 150.

My wife and I have two sons. We are proud of them both, but they are as different as night and day. Zachary is my older son. He is continually optimistic, sunny, and takes pleasure in the small things of life. Although he is extremely capable, he is not success oriented, at least not in the way that most people measure success. He seems to be content in abundance and in poverty. We find it difficult to motivate him. If he is surrounded by his friends and his books then all is right with the world.

Simon is my younger son. He is driven to succeed. Art is his passion. As an graduate student in New York City, his work ethic is incredible. Simon first gets a picture or concept in his head. His challenge is then to realize this concept in the material world. He can spend days obsessing about his art until he creates the exact object of his imagination. Simon s disposition matches his passion. He suffers for his art. I have found in my own life that my best poetry and my most creative moments come in the midst of sorrow.

In a Korean context we might call this sorrow, han . There is not a single American-word equivalent or even a 20-word definition that adequately defines this word. "Passion", "suppression of feelings", "revenge", and "fate" are English words that describe some aspect of Korean "han". Simon receives his han from both of his family lines. Of course his Korean mother provided him with a good dose of han, but my heritage also known its suffering and its art.

My family has its origins in Poland. Like Korea, Poland has had the misfortune to be surrounded by two powerful neighbors. In Poland s case, the neighbors were Germany and Russia. Yet, Poland has survived wars, partition, and genocide. Just a few weeks ago, many leaders of the world marked the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Death camp. This meeting took place near Krakow, Poland. The Polish people know how to suffer. This is reflected in their art. Wassily Kadinski is one of Simon s favorite painters and Czeslaw Milosz is one of his favorite poets.

Simon is near graduation in art school. His art is showing at a major exhibition next month. (You can view his art at simonforeman.com.) We are hoping and praying that Simon will succeed. There is a saying that if you can succeed in New York City, you can succeed anywhere . Yesterday my wife and I went for a walk. As we were walking and talking about Simon, our conversation was interrupted by three noisy crows. My wife heard a caw caw caw . She was waiting for a fourth caw but never heard it. She smiled and said. There must be good news about Simon. Three caws is good news but four is bad news. I was a skeptic.

When we arrived back at the house there was a message on our home phone. Simon announced that a writer for the New York Times had seen his art in a catalog and wanted to write an article about him and the upcoming exhibition. Maybe the han from both sides of his family is paying off in art success. But I just have one question How did the crows know?

Finch Abstract Expressionists    return to top
February 19, 2005 / Number 151.

Last week we visited my younger son in New York City. Simon is described in his Art School catalog as an emerging artist . I have to be honest and admit that I still don t get much modern art. Much of it just passes me by.

At his MFA Fine Arts Exhibition, we viewed Simon s latest work. This art is difficult to describe. It was a pillar stretched floor to ceiling, one meter square and about 6 meters tall. The surface of the pillar was made from the sod-side of wheat grass. This art was subtle and appealed to the eye, the touch, and even the smell. It was certainly unique among the 22 pieces on exhibition. All of his friends, teachers, and mentors raved about Simon s talent. I recognize my son s talent, but often I cannot appreciate it.

We made a point to seek out Koreans at this exhibition. We talked with two young women from Seoul who were attending the Parsons School of Design. We also met Haejin Yoon who cuts paper figures that look like monsters. We also visited the Heidi Cho Gallery in the Chelsea section of Manhattan where my son had one piece on exhibition. Korean people seemed to be well represented in New York Art.

We visited several galleries in Chelsea and saw some strange things. I don t wish to disparage anyone s art, but I personally would not pay one hundred thousand dollars for a piece of art that consisted of a basketball stuffed into the waistline of pantyhose.

We spent the night in Simon s Brooklyn apartment. To keep him company, he keeps a flock of nine finches. I say flock because these birds are loose and fly around the three small rooms. The finches spend most of their energetic lives perched on branches that are attached as decorations in the corners of rooms. I recognized these finches and branches as the kind of installation art that Simon appreciates. Below the branches are located old newspapers and shopping bags that catch the droppings of the active birds.

One of our last stops in Manhattan was at the newly opened Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). This is one of Simon s favorite places. We spent a few hours looking at five floors of art. Some of the art I understood and appreciated, but some of it seemed bizarre. One of the prized pieces in the MOMA collection is entitled One and was painted by Jackson Pollock in 1950.

The museum brochure says that One is a masterpiece of the drip, or pouring, technique, the radical method that Pollock contributed to Abstract Expressionism. Moving around an expanse of canvas laid on the floor, Pollock would fling and pour ropes of paint across the surface. After reading this comment, my mind raced back to the nine finches in Simon s room. I smiled as I remembered that they were using the drip technique on newspapers. I asked Simon if these little birds were abstract expressionists.

Bald Spots and Big Eyes    return to top
March 5, 2005 / Number 152.

Will North and South Korea ever be reunited? I do see some hope. Here are some recent developments in the North.

North Korea has launched an intensive media assault on its latest arch enemy - the wrong haircut. A campaign exhorting men to get a proper haircut has been aired by state-run Pyongyang television. The series is entitled Let us trim our hair in accordance with Socialist lifestyle . The Minju Choson argues that hair is a "very important issue that shows the people's cultural standards and mental and moral state The party newspaper, Nodong Sinmun says "People who wear other's style of dress and live in other's style will become fools and that nation will come to ruin."

My guess is that the Communist bureaucrats who are in charge of this haircut campaign are mostly older balding men. Am I a mind reader? No, I m not. There is an officially published exception to this short hair rule and here it is: men aged over 50 are allowed seven centimeters of upper hair to cover balding. This means that if I were a citizen of North Korea, I could have what is called in American vernacular a comb-over , which is sometimes referred to as a Giuliani , named in honor of the recent mayor of New York City.

Meanwhile, here is a recent development in the South. South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun had surgery to remove small parts of both of his upper eyelids to give him better vision. Roh had been suffering from sagging eyelids, which often obstructed his sight. The surgery was successfully completed at Seoul National University Hospital. Roh has made a swift recovery, however, he will refrain from appearing in public because his eyes are still swollen.

There seems to be an epidemic of this suffering from sagging eyelids going on in South Korea. Perhaps the World Health Organization should investigate this national catastrophe. Maybe there should be an international conference to deal with this problem. Every year thousands of suffering men and women visit their plastic surgeons seeking relief from this dreaded ailment.

I have heard reports that the sagging eyelids syndrome is often associated with the tiny nose syndrome . Many Koreans have trouble breathing through their small nostrils and seek medical relief by reforming their noses.

There is an eerie parallel between what is going on North and South. In the North it s Let us trim our hair in accordance with Socialist lifestyle . In the South it s Let us make our eyes in accordance with Western lifestyle . Newspapers in the North proclaim "People who do not conform will become fools and the nation will come to ruin." Newspapers in the South proclaim . Well, it s just the same message.

Fountains and Eternity    return to top
March 19, 2005 / Number 153.

A few months ago there was a clothing sale at Macy s. I accompanied my wife to the shopping mall, but because it was pleasant day, I decided to sit on an outside bench near a large fountain. I sat for several minutes gazing at the fountain. After a while, I began to question myself, why am I transfixed by the sight of water flowing down the side of rock? Since I had nothing better to do, I let my mind wander down that path of philosophical inquiry.

The first idea that I encountered along this path was that fire is very much like water. Like a water fountain, a camp fire can also capture my gaze. This idea was strange to me since fire and water are opposites. Water quenches a burning fire and fire under a water pot causes the water boil away. These two elements of water and fire are opposite symbols on the Korean flag. So why do both the sight of a water fountain and the sight of a camp fire capture and hold my attention?

As I contemplated this, I discovered that flowing water and burning fire share an attribute that attracts my gaze: they are both ever-changing yet they are always the same. The water in fountain splashes, sparkles, makes bubbles, and makes noise. Yet, for all this exuberant activity it accomplishes nothing. It stays the same. The flames in a fire burn, create light of different colors, make smoke, and popping sounds. Yet, after all this entertainment, nothing is accomplished. The only reason I lit the fire was to watch it burn into ashes.

Next, I thought about eternity. Maybe humans eyes are attracted to water fountains and camp fires, because we can see in them an aspect of the eternal: something that is ever-changing, yet always the same. At this point, I called a line of poetry written by Dante Alighieri in The Divine Comedy - Paradiso . Near the end of this story in Canto 31, Dante is parting company with the lovely Beatrice. He says, she so far away smiled as it seemed and looked once more at me, then unto the Eternal fountain turned .

The medieval Christian view held that souls in paradise would spend eternity caught up in a state of complete enjoyment gazing at the divine essence. They called this gaze the Beatific Vision of God . In The Divine Comedy , Dante portrays Beatrice as taking her eyes off of him and returning them to the Eternal Fountain an object that is always changing, yet ever staying the same.

As I sat further in thought, I looked away from the fountain and saw my wife walking toward me with a shopping bag of new clothes. My own Beatrice had enjoyed the last half hour and had a smile on her face. She asked me what I had been doing. I told her I was thinking about eternity . She said, I haven t been shipping that long only 30 minutes, not eternity. I laughed, returned my eyes to the eternal fountain, then walked away to enjoy the here-and-now.

Most Wired Society    return to top
April 2, 2005 / Number 154.

In 2002 a professor friend from Korea visited our home. She was staying at one of the best hotels in San Francisco. We asked her about her hotel room and she said that she liked it, but that there was one major problem. She brought along her laptop computer and this top-of-the-line hotel didn t even have a wireless computer connection.

This complaint surprised me. Did she really expect a hotel to provide a wireless internet connection? I suddenly felt out-of-date. My wife and I had two computers in our house and were still using a dial-up connection to access the internet. I was planning to upgrade to a DSL connection, but high-speed wireless was beyond my expectation.

At the time of my friend s visit to America, I did not realize that Korean was racing into the technology future at breathtaking speed. Yesterday I read a newspaper article entitled The Future is South Korea . The staff writer named Korea as the world s most wired society . In Korea 76% of households have a broadband connection and 75% of Koreans have a cell phone. This compare to the USA where only 30% of households have broadband and 60% have cell phones. The staff writer said that in comparison to Korea the US information highway is a bumpy, two-lane, highway .

As I read about these marvelous advances in Korea, I grew suspicious about the usefulness of all this technology. I carefully read thorough the article a second time and highlighted how this broadband technology is put into use. Here s what the article singled out as technology uses: 1. Koreans watch TV shows on cell phones. 2. Koreans send instant multimedia messages on cell phones. 3. Koreans broadcast over cell phones while driving cars. 4. Koreans play on-line games at 100,000 game parlors across the country, and 5. Koreans use cartoon avatars while playing games.

The staff writer goes on to note that much of this Korean technology would not transfer well to America because Americans tend go home after work and don t visit game parlors and karaoke bars. Excuse me if I am not jealous of this broadband future in Korea. I am not panicked by US technology leaders who sound the alarm that America is falling dangerously behind Korea in digital technology. If the South Korean government wants to spend billions of won so that adolescents can play computer games and watch movies on cell phones, then that s their business. I am glad that my government is not doing that.

Now don t get me wrong. We now enjoy a broadband wireless connection in our house and our family of four has four cell phones. However, we strive hard to master the technology and not have the technology master us.

Are there really 100,000 game parlors in Korea? Why don t Koreans go home after dinner? Is all human interaction mediated through cell phone and computer game? Is this the future that I am looking forward to? After reading about Korea being the most wired society in the world, I have to ask the question, wired to accomplish what?

Thinking Styles    return to top
April 16, 2005 / Number 155.

Sometimes I just can't figure out how Korean people think. I was at a meeting the other day in which I was the only person not born in Korea. The meeting started very formally with the leader discussing old business from he previous meeting. Everyone politely nodded in agreement. Then people from around the table took turns speaking. Finally it was my turn to say something. And things went downhill fast.

I grew frustrated as I tried to explain my ideas to the dozen or so Koreans assembled around me. I was informal and relaxed. I tried to separate my emotions from thinking, but many of my Korean friends seemed to become agitated. I had difficulty following the process because several people began talking at once. What was going on? When my turn to speak ended, I left the room. Friends tell me that the atmosphere improved upon my departure. Wow! I didn't know I could be such a disruptive person.

The next day, the leader of the meeting handed me a paper entitled "Differences between Korean and American Cultures". I read this one-page paper with interest. At the top of the page were two headings: "American Culture / Individual centered" and "Korean Culture / Relationship Centered" The paper said that Americans were egalitarian in relationships while Koreans were hierarchical. Yes, I can see that. Americans value individual rights while Koreans value duties and responsibilities. American identity is tied up with ability and achievement while Koreans seek status in a group. Yes to both of these.

At the end of paper there was a listing of "thinking style". I guess I really do think differently than most Koreans. There were three points listed under this heading: Americans tend to be analytic and detail specific. Koreans tend to be global and impressionistic. I can see why communication is so difficult between and East and West. The first point was that Americans tend to separate the cognitive from the affective. That is a difficult thing for Koreans. They like to combine their thinking with their emotions. If they dislike a person greatly, it is difficult for them to say even the smallest thing positive about them. They love greatly, but they also hate greatly.

Point number two about "thinking style" said this: "Americans speak one at a time" and "Koreans speak spontaneously or simultaneous talking between people". This drives me crazy about Koreans. How can anyone plan or think, if everyone is speaking at once. Point number three was about teaching. Americans like me prefer loosely structured teaching and learning situations. Conversely, Koreans like structure in learning environments.

As I considered this Korean thinking style, I remembered experiencing all three of these thinking tendencies at the same time. A few months earlier I had attended a conference for Korean pastors. The prayers seemed to be thoughtful, yet very emotional. This is the cognitive and affective mix. The prayer leader would clap his hands together two times - Clap, clap. Then the room would grow silent. This is very structured. The leader would then say something like: "Let's pray for funding that we can achieve our goals". Then everyone would burst out in loud prayer -- all simultaneous yet individual. This loud sound would continue until the leader once again clapped his hands two times. This structured, yet spontaneous, "Unison Prayer" is nearly impossible for Americans to accomplish. We are not structured enough to follow the leader's hand claps in prayer. Next we are not spontaneous enough to all pray loudly at the same time. How could something so natural as "unison praying" for Koreans, be so awkward to Americas. It must be difference in "thinking style". It is one of those things that I can see and appreciate, but find it so hard to participate.

Is Uganda the next Korea?    return to top
April 30, 2005 / Number 156.

We are now planning our fifth mission trip to Africa. This year my 16-year old nephew will be a part of our team. I was on the telephone with him last week and he is motivated to participate. He asked me, "Uncle Chris, I was watching TV and saw a report about Africa. I was surprised to see a big church in Uganda with 15,000 members. Can we visit that church?" I told him that the reference was probably to the Miracle Center church in Kampala. I said, "yes, we will make a point to check it out while we are in the area."

After the phone call I remembered how similar this conversation was to one I had thirty years earlier. When I returned from Korea to America in 1974, my younger brother asked me if I had ever heard of a particular church in Korea. He read about it in the newspapers. He didn't remember much of the detail but was impressed that it had over 50,000 members. I responded, "you're probably referring to Paul Yongi Cho's church in Seoul". My brother thought that America had a monopoly on all the super-size churches.

In the early 1970s, most American Christians were unaware that the winds of Christianity were blowing in this small corner of Asia. When I first arrived in Korea and taught in a small countryside school, I didn't see much interest in my Christian faith. There was just one small mission church with a few dozen believers. I remember thinking how odd it was that the men sat on the right and the women sat to the left.

But then I made a visit to Seoul. By accident, I saw Billy Graham preach to an uncountable number on Yoedo Island. The giant asphalt plaza was so packed with people that I barely heard his voice or saw the stage on which he was standing. The Seoul Billy Graham Crusade of 1973 was the first meeting in history with over one million Christians. This spectacular meeting is often cited as the inaugural event of the Christian church explosion is Korea. Without realizing it, I was witness to a watershed event in the history of Korea.

Thirty-two years later, many Christians are not aware that the wind of Christianity is now blowing in East Africa. In countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda, Christian churches are growing exponentially. In 2001, I visited the "Transformation" church in Kampala, Uganda. My friend was an assistant pastor in this church of 2000 people. When I returned to Kampala in 2003, I asked about my friend. Someone told me that he was now the senior pastor at "Transformation Church Two" which was located a few miles down the road. During my visit to Kampala in 2004, I attended a service at "Transformation Church Three". The country of Uganda is being transformed by these Transformation churches.

There are signs all over East Africa of this Christianity transformation. I see churches packed to overflowing, young people on city buses reading bibles, and hotel TV's turned to the Trinity broadcasting station.

In 2005, the city of Kampala reports a higher percentage of regular church-goers than the city of Seoul. There is a scripture that says "The wind blows where it chooses. You hear its sound but you cannot tell where it is coming or where it is going". Has the wind of Christian faith blown from England across the Atlantic to America, then across the Pacific to Korea? Is the wind now blowing fervently in Uganda?

Bread upon Waters    return to top
May 14, 2005 / Number 157.

There are many sayings and proverbs that I grew up with and did not understand. One of them is this: "cast your bread upon the waters and after many days you shall find it again". This is the wisdom of Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes. But what does it mean? One popular interpretation says that we should be generous in our charitable giving. After a long time, the kindness of our charity may return to us. I think that my wife and I just encountered a "bread upon the water" experience.

About seventeen years ago we were new to the Bay Area and living in a rented house. We were doing all we could to save money to buy our own home. One strategy was to put money into a Korean savings club or "Key". Every month, dozens of participants put money into a common pool. One person is chosen by lottery to withdraw all the cash. This is a risky business and depends upon honesty and trust. This Korean-style bank works just fine if everyone stays involved and does not default after they have withdrawn their money. We were doing Keys about once a year. The first two worked just fine. We ended up withdrawing more money than we put in. However, on the third Key we lost big time. One of the Key ladies was a family friend from San Jose. She lost her business and could not pay what she owed us. We told her, "Look after business and pay us when you are able." Considering all three Keys as a group we came out even. We did buy our home in 1992.

In the meanwhile we have been involved in missionary work in Africa. One of the pastors we work with in Rwanda is Pastor Paul. He drives an old beat-up Toyota sedan to help the people of his church. The dirt roads in the African countryside constantly wear at his car. Dust chokes the filters and potholes break the tires. Just as we were leaving Rwanda in 2003, Pastor Paul's car finally stopped and would not start. The car was dead for a whole year.

When we returned to Africa in 2004, Pastor Paul's Toyota was running again. It had been working for just a few weeks. Paul told us that some master mechanic in Kigali was finally able to repair it for him. I joked and said, "Let's call this car Lazarus, since it was raised from the dead". Pastor Paul laughed. (According to the Gospel of John, Lazarus is the man that Jesus raised from the dead.) After we returned to America, the car broke down once again. This time Lazarus does not appear to be repairable. Last September, I boldly told Paul in an e-mail that I would begin a "Lazarus Fund" to replace his car. Our fund-raising goal was $5000.

Life as a pastor in Africa or in America is not a money-making venture. Our own financial situation has been tight lately. Airline tickets have become more expensive and donations are down. A few weeks ago, I finally emailed Pastor Paul in Rwanda and told him the bad news: we will not be able to help him buy a replacement car for Lazarus.

Two days after this disappointing email, we received a letter in the mail. It was from the business lady in San Jose. We had not heard from her in years. She told us that her finances were finally in order. She enclosed check for $6825.50. "Cast your bread upon the waters and after many days you shall find it". Sometimes you find it just in time. Pastor Paul, go pick out a replacement car!

Treasures Old and New    return to top
May 28, 2005 / Number 158.

Last Thursday I attended the San Francisco International Arts Festival 2005. The festival is being held at the beautiful Palace of the Fine Arts from May 18 to June 5. The venue for last Thursday evening was called "Korean Musical Ceremony". There were two parts to this evening of art: something traditional performed with gayageum and changgo; and something modern involving one woman dancing, a five-person ensemble, and a multimedia presentation.

The traditional first half was performed by Byung Ki Hwang on the gayageum and Woong Sik Kim on the changgo. The four pieces they performed were strange to my hearing. In the program I read the description about the first piece "Sounds of the Night". I listened intently as the gayageum and changgo spoke to each other. It was difficult for my untrained American ear to catch what the program described as "fast tempo and slow tempo", "strong wind sounds", and "plaintive melodies".

When I listen to Western classical composers like Mozart and Bach, I have no problem relating to their sensibilities. I know intuitively how to follow their musical path and I am able to anticipate where the music is heading. I must admit that when I listened to this traditional Korean music I was lost. I could not tell where I was coming from and where I was going musically.

After intermission, the art changed from old to new - from traditional to modern. A single piece called "Ritual Three" took center stage for the entire second half of the evening.. This piece paraphrased a shamanist ceremony with Aeju Lee as the choreographer/ dancer. The subject of her dance was transfiguration and rebirth which follows the seasons: Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring. The composer of this piece, Hi Kyung Kim, sought to express the joy of rebirth through narration of the soul's journey after death and the subsequent transfiguration as metaphorically seen in the continuous seasonal renewal. The shaman dance contained traditional movement, but was arranged in a contemporary style. This collaborative effort was supported musically by the Ensemble Parallele with violin, cello, clarinet and precession.

To me the most entertaining aspect of "Ritual Three" was the multimedia contribution. Fantastic images were projected on a large screen behind the dancer. My eyes continued to move from dancer, to ensemble, then to image. But I must admit that my eyes lingered longest on the multimedia images. I saw beautiful presentations of flying geese, moving clouds, and flowing water. At times a synchronized image of the dancer would appear on screen. For moments the dancer would interact with images of the four seasons. The interactive technology also allowed for a technique of delayed imaging. In these instances, the movements of the dancer across the stage appeared in delayed-time action on the screen. When absorbed in the performance, it appeared as if the dancer herself was moving like a magical shaman in a delayed-time space. My favorite part of "Ritual Three" was near the conclusion when the dancer appeared to unfurl in the center of a huge flower blossom.

It is the nature of Christian pastor to see everything through the lens of the Gospel. In the first Gospel, Jesus tells is that those who speak in parables are like "the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old". Biblical parables were a blend of continuity and discontinuity with the old. This saying came to mind as I pondered the "Korean Musical Ceremony" - treasures old and treasures new. This blend honors the tradition of Korea's past, yet recognizes the excitement of Korea's future.

The Dance of Marriage    return to top
June 11, 2005 / Number 159.

The ancient Greek sage Socrates considered marriage to be a winning proposition for any man. Once he was asked if it was good for a man to marry. Socrates responded, "By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher."

Since Socrates rates as the greatest philosopher in Western history, then his wife, Xanthippe, must rate as the world's worst wife. There is an interesting story about this husband and wife. One day Socrates sat under a tree talking with his followers. Xanthippe became angry at him because he constantly ignored her needs. She shouted and cursed at Socrates, but he just smiled at her and continued speaking to his followers. In a burst of anger she poured a vessel full of water on Socrates. He ignored her and quipped to his followers, "After thunder, it rains". Socrates and Xanthippe are an example of an unhappy married couple.

But what does a good married couple look like? Is a good couple like a team of oxen, two people working diligently side by side? Is a good couple like fine wine, getting better as the years pass? Is a good couple like a single organism, something that cannot be cut in half without each half dying? I think that a great married couple is best likened to a pair of great dancers. And when I think of dancers, my mind moves to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It is a pleasure to watch black and white images of these two people dancing with exuberance and grace. In a movie like Top Hat, their two bodies move together in perfect union and harmony.

So these days when I teach about marriage, I use the dancing analogy. First, I teach that God must be the source of your music. He is the one who must call the tune and stage the choreography. Without His music your dance serves no purpose and your steps are devoid of meaning.

Second I teach that there is a give and take by both partners. Sometimes the man moves forward and the woman retreats. Other times the roles reverse. On occasion the woman takes center stage and twirls in the spotlight. Sometimes the man performs a few steps alone, giving the woman a chance to catch her breath. It is the man's job to make the woman look good and the woman's job to show off the talents of her partner. This is the way of a good marriage.

Third I teach that there must be a leader in this two-person dance and that this leadership role falls to the man. I recognize that this is controversial teaching, but have you ever seen two dance partners each trying to lead the other? It is a painful thing to watch. When you each go in a stubborn direction, you end up stepping on the other's toes. But here is the interesting point. As the man and woman perfect their dance together, the more subtle and unnoticed the man's leadership becomes. To an outside observer, it is difficult to tell who is leading and who is following. This is the way it should be.

Finally, your dancing gets better with discipline and practice. Don't expect results overnight. If both partners in a marriage remain committed to life-long learning, then every married couple can dance like Fred and Ginger. It all takes practice, patience, and an attitude of never giving up.

But let's get back to Socrates. Since I am a married man, you might ask me if I am happy or I am a philosopher? This is a fair question. I can't deny my philosophical tendencies. (After all, I am writing now about a famous philosopher). But then I can't deny my own happiness either. I must conclude that I am a "happy philosopher". And of course I attribute this blessing to my loving Music-Maker and to my faithful dance partner.

Medical dream today / Medical nightmare tomorrow    return to top
June 25, 2005 / Number 160.

The whole world watches in amazement as the small nation of Korea leads the world in stem cell research and cloning. Most Koreans are proud of these first-class medical breakthroughs, but I have great reservations about the direction that medical research is taking in Korea. There are two trends in modern Korea culture that cause me this concern. Let me ask my readers two questions that frame my concern.

First, how many of you have undergone elective cosmetic surgery? Don t be reluctant. Raise your hands. How many of you have had your eyes enlarged, your nose reduced, your breasts enhanced, your face lifted, or your hair transplanted? Of all the nations in the world, Korea must rank near the top in these elective surgeries. Along with these common medical procedures, I have also heard of Koreans getting leg-bone implants to make boys taller and tongue clippings to help them speak better English.

All of this suggests to me that many Korean people are unhappy with the way that God formed their bodies. Many are willing to resort to medical science to improve their physical appearance. This casual embrace of science to improve appearance concerns me. Please don t get me wrong reconstructive surgery is a medical gift to the world. My own son was the victim of a burn injury to his foot. Talented surgeons grafted skin from his hip onto his ankle to replace the ruined skin, but my son s surgery was born of necessity and not of vanity.

Here is my second question and it is a personal one. How many of you married couples have no children? How many of you have one or two children? How many of you have experienced an abortion or have paid for an abortion? Don t be reluctant. Raise your hands. A recent report showed some astounding birth statistics from South Korea. That country may now have the lowest birth rate in the world as new figures suggest the average South Korean woman has less than 1.2 children -- well below the 2.1 level needed to maintain a stable population.

It appears that South Koreans are not reluctant to interfere with the natural reproductive process. Contraception preventing pregnancy and abortion ending pregnancy -- are both widely accepted among Koreans.

But what happens when we add the two trends of human enhancement and reproductive interference to the amazing medical cloning science we now witness in Korea? What do you predict will emerge from Korea in the next hundred years? What will happen in a society where people commonly resort to medical science to enhance and improve the physical nature of a human being? What will happen when people show little moral concern about interfering with the human reproductive process; where so many people accept contraception, abortion, sex-selection, and in vitro fertilization?

Suppose a Korean couple in the future desires to produce only one child, a son of course. Can this couple resist societal pressure to produce an improved boy with long legs and big eyes? Will they raise moral objections to doctors manipulating DNA or an embryo to achieve an improved boy? Look to Korea first. The vanity to improve appearance is there, the casual attitude toward reproductive processes is there, and now the cutting-edge medical science is there. Will this dream of medical success today become a medical nightmare tomorrow? Please raise your hand if you are concerned about this future.

Herding Cats in Africa    return to top
August 6, 2005 / Number 161.

We have just completed our fifth mission to East Africa. Before this journey, we formed our own missionary organization called Come and See Africa . During the month of July, six of us traveled and ministered together in Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi. Our team consisted of me and my wife, my nephew Josiah, along with Tina, Lynda, and Velma.

This all-American team stands in contrast to mission teams of the past when most of our fellow-travelers were Korean-born. Americans are so independent! Each possessed an individual agenda, an individual outlook, and a desire to experience Africa on their own terms. It was a real challenge to get the six of us to eat together, sing together and play together. This experience was so unlike previous mission trips. If leading Koreans is like herding sheep, leading Americans is like herding cats. Each cat strays in his own direction.

I was reminded of this difference in team cooperation when we visited a Korean missionary in Bujumbura, Burundi. Mr. Ahn and his wife were hosting ten university students from Korea. When I entered Missionary Ahn s home, I saw all ten of these Korean young people seated around a large table. In front of each student was a small pile of uncooked rice. The students were laughing and talking as they were separating individual rice grains from the piles. I asked Missionary Ahn if the group was being punished. It seemed to me that were counting each grain of rice to determine how much was in the sack of rice. He laughed and told me that they were working as a team to make sure that all the small stones were removed from this African rice.

I could never imagine my six-member team cooperating in such a way. I asked if the group could sing a song for us. Of course, the ten team members stood up and sang in unison a few Christian songs in the Burundi language. Again, this group song memorization and group singing is something that would be difficult for an American team to accomplish.

But if working as a team was a challenge for the six of us, working independently was easy. Unlike Korean missions of the past, we did not spend much time in small groups socializing and eating kimchi. The seminars that we presented were excellent due to individual effort and original thinking. If our team effort struggled, our individual effort exceeded past mission trips.

On the return flight from Entebbe to London, I sat next to my wife watching the little TV on the back of the seat. We watched a special segment about an American man who traveled to Korea to learn about tekwando. For an hour, the report showed this man traveling to groups of tekwando experts at training schools, at universities and in the military. It was then that I had a moment of insight. The man was a single American on an independent adventure. He was the only American that we saw, although I am sure there were American sound recorders, cameramen, and managers. In contrast, the Koreans never appeared alone, but always appeared in teams. Koreans seem to be team oriented and must be coxed to work independently. Americans are individual-oriented and must coaxed to work as a team. When you want an effective team, look to Korea. When you want individual effort, turn to America.

Special Seat Cushion    return to top
August 20, 2005 / Number 162.

I have learned that there are three major reasons why married couples break up. The first reason is sexual. If one of the mates has a different sexual interest or if interest strays to another, then trouble lies ahead. The second reason for marital break-up is in-laws. In the Western tradition, wife and husband are the basic family unit. If a father-in-law or mother-in-law steps between a married couple, then trouble lies ahead. The third reason for marital break-up is finances. Some experts claim that disputes over money cause more divorce than either marital infidelity or in-laws.

It should come as no surprise that my wife and I sometimes have differences over money: how to earn it, how to invest it, and especially how to spend it. We have adopted a "hundred dollar rule". Neither of us can spend over $100 without consulting the other first. Recently that rule has slipped toward $200, but we are not big spenders. Most of my $100 items turn out to be electronics or computer items. Most of her $100 items turn out to be clothing. Marital bargaining becomes intense when it comes time to buy a new car.

I was a part of this intensity last year. When it came time to replace tires on my wife's 1997 Oldsmobile, she suggested that maybe it was time for us to buy a new car instead. I counter-suggested that maybe we should buy the new tires and wait another year for the new car. I could see that she was not happy, but we bought the new tires.

The next day, she picked me up at my work place driving her Oldsmobile. We were heading to San Jose together. As she got out of the car and walked ahead of me, I said, "did you know that there is a small rip in the back of your pants?" She groaned and felt the tiny hole in her pants. "It's that stupid car seat", she said. "There's a piece of metal sticking out that cuts my clothes". Of course she tied her torn pants back to my insistence that we keep the car for another year. And so there was an argument. Most of time the two of us get along really well, but this was a heated discussion.

I said things like, "There's nothing wrong with your car. We can wait another year. What do you think, that we are sitting on a pile of money?" She said things like, "I can't stand this. Let's buy a new car today. We can find the money if we try." And then she left for her meeting still angry. I had her Oldsmobile for an hour-long wait. I was upset about our argument.

Since we were in the Korean section of San Jose, I decided to do some shopping. I went to a large store and put a few food items in my grocery cart. Then I noticed something that we absolutely needed, something that might soothe the feelings of my upset wife. I saw a large display of seat cushions. They were only five dollars each. I looked through dozens of cushions of different colors and designs. Finally I bought one with Chinese and Korean writing on it. I couldn't read the words, but it was nice looking.

When I picked up my wife after her meeting, I stepped out of the car to show her the new seat cushion that would protect her from the poking metal. As soon as she saw the cushion her mood changed from heaviness to lightness. She laughed and said "do you know what's written on this seat cushion"? I confessed that I didn't have a clue. She said kindly, "we shouldn't argue about money". And then she explained to me the meaning of "Don Bong Seok".

Police Story or Daytime Drama    return to top
September 3, 2005 / Number 163.

My first conscience thought of the day is usually, here comes the newspapers . Some time between the hours of five and six in the morning, I wake up to the engine noise of an old car that rushes past our house. I then hear the crash of newspapers hitting the pavement. Two newspapers arrive at our steps simultaneously: the Korea Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. Sometime around seven o clock I stroll outside in my slippers to fetch the papers. On the morning of August sixteenth, my wife and I were reading our morning newspapers in silence. I must confess that this is one our secret pleasures in life.

Suddenly the silence was broken. I asked my wife, did you read about this man that was shot dead by police in Dublin, California? She answered, sure, it s on the font page . Then she turned to the first page of the Korea Times and showed me a picture of several people standing in a hospital room. The headline read, bullet that entered Mister Kim on the fourteenth finally kills him . Since, I had just read the Chronicle version of the story, I asked my wife about how the Korea Times reported the deadly incident. As she described what she read, I was surprised at the differences in how the same story was reported. First, the story appeared in the B section of the Chronicle while it was on the front page of the A section of the Times. This explains why my wife had already completed the story and I was just finishing it. Second, the Chronicle story was written by a man named Demian Bulwa, not a Korean speaker, while the Times story was written by a Mister Han Bum Chong.

Third and most critically, it was obvious that the two articles came from two different perspectives. Most of the information for the Chronicle story came from a police spokesman named Glenn Moon. He explained how two police officers arrived at the Dublin home on Thursday night and confronted a Korean man with a large knife. The man lunged at the two police officers and they shot him dead with several bullets. Only later did the police discover that another man behind a locked door was also shot. This man, identified as Richard Kim, died in hospital three days later. There was only one short quote from Mister Kim s wife, Jee Kim, who said, I m not in any condition to talk about it right now . The story in the Chronicle ended with a long quote by the president of the Sheriffs Association who represents the Dublin officers. The union spokesman said how the two officers did the best they could and how unfortunate the situation was. If you saw this incident portrayed on TV it would be as Police Story .

The Korea Times focused on the tragedy of the story from the perspective of the wife, Jee Kim. Although the main story line was the same, the details were so different. Michael Kim became Kim Jee Yong. There were details about his life and how the wife s brother came from Korea to visit the two of them. There was a big discussion about how miscommunication played a part in this tragedy. Mr. Lee was from Korea and spoke very little English. He had too much to drink and did not respond to the police commands in English. If you saw this incident portrayed on Korean Television it would be as a personal drama.

After I discussed this situation with my wife, I read more news in the Chronicle. I read about American military deaths in Iraq. I wondered how much of this Iraq news is interpreted by English-speaking military spokesmen. I also had a new insight about inter-cultural news. I can understand how Iraqis, who read their news in Arabic, may receive an entirely different story than we who read the news in English.

A Home They Never Knew    return to top
September 18, 2005 / Number 164.

The first time that I returned to America from Korea I was young and poor. I discovered that the most economic way to cross the Pacific Ocean was to chaperone the export of Korean orphans. From April to August, 1974, I was on a waiting list with Holt Adoption Agency. Finally my orphan flight date was confirmed for September 10th.

I remember waiting with my luggage at Holt Adoption Agency in Seoul. Several foster mothers showed up. They were sorrowful to part with the children that they has fostered for several months. In all, our group consisted of five escorts, eight infants all girls , a two year-old boy and a four-year old boy. We were allotted the back section of an un-crowded jetliner. I was placed in charge of this orphan flight. It was a hectic flight across the ocean. I remember changing diapers, walking infants up and down aisles, and putting up with constant crying. My new wife with two baby girls left the flight in Seattle. Next we stopped in Chicago and one escort with two babies left the jet. Finally I traveled on to New York City with two other escorts and six children.

On September 11, thirty-one years ago, our Northwest Airliner touched down at JFK. I left the jet with a fat baby girl in my arms. I read off her name tag: Matthews . Young parents from Boston shrieked for joy as I handed over to them their new child in a pink dress. It was an exhilarating conclusion to a long exhausting flight. I lingered for a while in the afterglow talking with parents. Then I left my orphan responsibilities behind.

These memories were recently brought to the surface after reading a newspaper article entitled, Korean-born in U.S. Return to a Home They Never Knew . This story detailed the lives of several Korean-born orphans, just like the ones that I transported to America in 1974. The orphans in the story didn t remain in America, but all returned to Korea in search of their roots.

Since 1950, about 150,000 Korean children have been adopted outside of Korea. This number is still increasing at about 2,000 children per year. Most of these orphans found new homes in America. And now many of them are returning the place of their birth. These Korean-Americans, mostly in their 20s and 30s, want to reclaim their birthright. They are returning to immerse themselves in their ancestral culture or reunite with their birth families. Some are trying to end international adoption from Korea.

In Seoul, a community of 200 adoptees meets weekly as a support group. They help one another find jobs, find apartments, and locate long-lost parents. Many participate in on-line discussions and publish newsletters. Some of the adoptees do more than socialize. They organize politically and publicize their needs. Adoptees have won the right to stay in Korea indefinitely with F-4 visas. Adoptees can now buy land and open businesses.

Many who return to a home they never knew are asking questions. Why is a wealthy nation like Korea still exporting orphans to foreign countries? Why can t 2000 babies a year find loving homes in Korea? Then I think about the fat little baby girl that I escorted to New York City 31 years ago. Is she happy and adjusted in America? Or does she regret that I transported her from sorrowful arms in Korea into joyful arms in America?

Things I learned about General Macarthur    return to top
October 1, 2005 / Number 165.

I first heard the name Douglas Macarthur as a little boy. In grade school I saw pictures of him as a tall soldier with a big pipe clenched between his teeth. Here are three things that I learned about Macarthur going through school: (1) He said the famous words I shall return when the Japanese forced him out of the Philippines (2) He accepted the surrender of Japan at the end of WWII, and (3) He commanded American troops in Korea.

When I first traveled to Korea, my acquaintance with Macarthur expanded. Although he was a neglected hero in America, in Korea his name was still venerated. Fellow teachers in the teachers-room talked of him in hushed tones and with deep respect. His ghost was everywhere.

A teacher might mention the name Pak Chung-hee , and if no one was looking another teacher would say a bad word about him. One teacher might enter a conversation about President Richard Nixon and soon there would be a debate about Watergate. But there was no debate about General Douglas Macarthur. They would all utter Macu-ah-tuah with a big smile and two thumbs up. This American general was held in the same regard as Sejong, the great king of Korea. Macarthur was the great savior of South Korea.

How times have changed! A group of 100 Korean citizens recently tried to topple the memorial statue of Douglas Macarthur at Incheon. These protestors claim that Macarthur was a colonizing influence and his statue is an obstacle to unification with the north. One thousand local citizens from Incheon and members from veterans groups vow to protect the brass Macarthur at all costs. In English we might say the Macarthur as gone from from Hero to Zero .

But is it true that the largest brass statue in the world can be viewed in Pyongyang and is of Macarthur s rival Kim Il Song? Is it also true that so many brass statues of Kim Il Song were created in North Korea that common people had to go without brass spoons and pots? I believe in bi-lateral disarmament. When the North begins toppling the statues of the great leader, then the south should be prepared to remove the great general.

I thought that President Roh s comments were on target when he said "MacArthur's Incheon Landing, the U.S. military's Incheon Landing and the MacArthur statue are part of our history. We should leave the statue as it is and respect it as history, and remember the bad as bad and the good as good."

I forgot to mention, there was also a fourth thing that I learned about Macarthur in high school. These were the famous closing lines of his retirement speech given at West Point in 1951. Macarthur said, Old soldiers never die. They just fade away . I am hoping that the same is true concerning the Macarthur memorial in Incheon. As long as the peninsula is divided this controversy will never die, but perhaps upon unification it will just fade away.

Three View on Shoes    return to top
October 15, 2005 / Number 166.

In eastern Congo, along the border with Rwanda, there is a small island on Lake Kivu called Idjwi. The thousand Congolese who inhabit this island live in the most primitive condition imaginable. The island-dwellers have no electricity, no plumbing, and no medicine. When my Korean missionary friends visited Idjwi a few years ago, they identified lack of footwear as a major problem. This was surprising to me.

Then I looked at pictures of shoeless boys, shoeless girls, shoeless mothers and shoeless fathers. I saw close-up photos of swollen and battered feet. I agreed. Lack of shoes was a problem. To assist the islanders, Koreans purchased a thousand pairs of plastic sandals and dropped them off on the island. Just after that time, hostilities broke out between Rwanda and Congo, and I never heard anything more about the shoeless of Idjwi.

Last summer I visited a rural orphanage in Rwanda. About fifty boys between the ages of 10 and 16 lived within the walls of this simple compound. There was a courtyard, an outdoor kitchen and toilet, a small office, and a large structure filled with mats on which the boys slept. We saw plenty of need. One of my Korean companions noted that the boys ran in the courtyard dirt with bare feet. He suggested that we purchase shoes for the fifty boys. This suggestion sounded acceptable to me and I asked the guardian about buying shoes. He was grateful, but suggested that the orphanage had greater needs. I asked him about mats. The ragged mats they slept on were all dirty and worn. He was still hesitating.

Through my interpreter I asked him what he really needed. He answered beans and rice . He added that the boys have never worn shoes and don t miss them. He said that sleeping inside on old mats was adequate and a great improvement from sleeping on the street. But often the boys go to bed hungry. So the next day, we spent a few hundred dollars and purchased large bags of rice and beans for the orphanage. The boys were delighted.

One morning last week I stepped outside the house the fetch the morning newspaper. I walked barefoot down the sidewalk because I couldn t find shoes by the front door. As I was walking back into the house, my wife gave my feet a disapproving look. It was then that I figured out the three views of shoes.

View One is that you never need shoes. Many people in tropical climates have never owned shoes. Bottoms of feet harden up and shoes are the last thing that they desire. These are the shoeless outdoors/shoeless indoors people. View Two is that you always wear shoes. This is the way that I was raised. I wore my shoes outdoors then walked inside wearing the same shoes. If I had mud on my shoes I would remove them, but most of the time I entered homes with shoes on my feet. My family was a shoe outdoors/shoe indoors people. View Three is that you always wear shoes outside, but never inside. This is the Korean / Japanese view. This practice has both a practical and symbolic significance. The outside ground is common and requires footwear, while inside the home is sacred space and footwear is offensive. View Three is mostly enforced in our house now, although we are flexible with American friends.

I can now see what was happening on the island of Idjwi. Korean people with View Three encountered African people with View One. More than electricity or plumbing, civilization required that shoes be worn outdoors, then removed indoors. If the people of Idjwi wished to become civilized, they would have to own shoes and follow this custom. Now I can identify the thought behind the disapproving look from my wife. How uncivilized to venture outside without shoes!

Soju    return to top
October 29, 2005 / Number 167.

One of the words that I learned upon arrival in Korea was "soju". On this same vocabulary list of Korean words were "Makoli", "Mekju" and "Porteju". We were taught that makoli was a low class drink for farmers, soju was a drink that accompanied fine dining, while mekju and porteju provided Koreans with a foreign taste. My personal acquaintance with these drinks is minimal, because I have always avoided alcohol.

The other day as I was listening to public radio, I heard one of my Korean vocabulary words. The word "soju" jumped out and caught my ear. As I focused on the story, I learned that soju is fast becoming a very popular drink in Los Angeles. The reason is a strange one.

I learned that for a restaurant owner in Los Angeles a "beer and wine license" costs two hundred dollars a year, but a "hard liquor license" costs ten thousand dollars a year. It turns out that soju is classified as a kind of wine rather than a hard liquor, at least in Los Angeles. This classification was promoted by Korean business owners. They convinced their local liquor board that soju is a traditional Korean drink that is consumed like wine during social occasions; this in spite of the fact that soju contains as much alcohol as many hard liquors.

Of course restaurant owners in Koreatown are happy with this classification of soju. They can serve soju to Korean customers with only a $200 license. And for a while soju drinkers in Los Angeles were confined to Korean-owned establishments. But it didn't take long for the wider community to discover the merits of this soju exception. Now throughout LA county restaurant owners with an inexpensive license are serving up soju. Nowadays many beer and wine restaurants offer a variety soju cocktails, substituting this Korean beverage for the typical vodka, gin, rum or tequila. I am told that soju is highly versatile and blends extremely well with fruit juices, soft drinks, and traditional bar mIxers.

Of course vodka producers are unhappy with this soju exception. They are trying to get the liquor classification reversed. Who can blame them? Vodka is made in Russia with potatoes and Soju is now made in Korea with sweet potatoes.

I think that the traditional translation of "Soju" as "rice wine" is at the root of this alcoholic confusion. The ability to name objects is such a powerful force. Once soju is named "rice wine", it is understandable that restaurants with a beer and wine license could serve it to customers. But a warning to all of you who think that sipping soju is like sipping wine. It has a 24% alcohol percentage, though some traditional, expensive brands can reach 45%. It is definitely as hard as its Russian cousin vodka.

We have a saying in America, "If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it's a duck". If soju looks like a hard liquor, tastes like a hard liquor, and causes drunkenness like a hard liquor, then surely it is a hard liquor. Only a politician in Los Angeles might think otherwise.

A Return to Missions    return to top
November 10, 2005 / Number 168.

There are some phrases that I can still speak very clearly in the Korean language. These are phrases that were drilled into my head during my first months in Korea. One phrase is I came to Korea on November 27, 1972. Another phrase is I am a Peace Corps volunteer. As I speak to young Koreans these days, many of them looked puzzled at this second phrase. Then I pronounce the words slowly Peace Corps Volunteer . They understand the words, but the words lack a context. That s a shame.

The U.S. Peace Corps was started in 1961 by President Kennedy. The first director was Sargent Shriver (father-in-law to California s governor). The Peace Corps challenged young people to serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries. Three simple goals comprise the Peace Corps' mission: 1. Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their needs for trained men and women. 2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served. 3. Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of all Americans.

In its 44 years, 178000 Peace Corps Volunteers have served in 138 countries. At this moment, 7755 volunteers are serving in 72 countries. The Peace Corps entered Korea in 1966. My particular group was designated K-25 : the K was for Korea and our group of about 30 volunteers was the 25th to enter Korea. Volunteers worked in three areas: Universities, Middle School/High School, and Rural clinics. I was a middle school teacher, but I had friends working in all three areas. By 1975, Korea no longer viewed itself as a developing country and invited the Peace Corps to leave. I believe that for the nine years Peace Corps was in Korea, we accomplished a lot. Many older Koreans still have fond memories of us bright-eyed idealists who worked in their country in the cause of peace. (Maybe you are one of them.)

The normal tenure for a volunteer was two years, but I volunteered for only one and one-half years. When I met and married the love of my life, the Peace Corps said it was not a good image for an American young man to live together with a Korean school teacher in a small town. I resigned from the Peace Corps. She was fired from her job. We both moved to Seoul, came to America, and the rest is history.

I bring all this up because in a way it seems like I am returning to my youth. We used to speak of Peace Corps Volunteers as secular missionaries . We were evangelists of the American way of life, young ambassadors for the USA. Now I am returning to Africa to set up a campus ministry in Rwanda. I am an evangelist of the Gospel, and an ambassador for Christ. I look at the three goals of the Peace Corps mission and see parallels in the Christian mission that lays ahead for me. 1. We plan to help Africans in meeting their physical and spiritual needs. 2. We plan to accompany volunteers to Rwanda in order to proclaim the Gospel and help Rwandese to grow. 3. We plan to help Americans grow by exposing them to the rich culture of Africa.

I see the trajectory of my life as an arc, returning to missions. I began my working life as a secular missionary and now I am completing my life as the real thing.

Tell me a Story    return to top
November 26, 2005 / Number 169.

Everybody likes to listen to a good story. This is one of the things that I keep in mind as I prepare my Sunday sermon. I always include a story a personal story if possible.

There is a reason for my inclusion of stories. I once read that logical argument and story-telling activate different halves of the human brain. We store these memories in different places. When we listen to a logical argument, the left side of our brain is more engaged, but when listening to a story, it s our right brain that s more active. This makes sense to me. After a long sermon, many people can only recall the imbedded stories of faith and not the reasons for faith. I like to give full-brain sermons weaving together both reason and story.

Everybody has a story to tell, and most people are better at telling compelling stories than providing compelling arguments. Story telling seems a more natural human exercise. Although story-telling has been around as long as human language, there are some new ways to tell a story. One of the new ways is called digital story telling .

As the name implies, digital stories are composed on a computer and normally contain the narrator s voice, a musical soundtrack, accompanied by pictures or video. Good digital stories usually tell about a transformational event. They may be a tribute to a loved one. They may describe a moment of epiphany or accomplishment. Digital stories may involve a place you love or a personal passion of life. The best stories answer the question, what story of my life provides insight into who I am?

Digital stories are a brief and uncluttered affair, like Korean Sijo or Japanese Haiku. The entire story is only two to three minutes in duration and is best limited to 250 words and ten images. This limitation provides discipline and focus. I believe that I am blessed with a gift for story-telling. The newspaper article that you are reading is number 169 for me. Every two weeks, I write an article intertwining reason, irony, and story. To find out more about digital story telling check out www.storycenter.org.

I have been to one seminar on digital story-telling, but I haven t yet produced my own computer product. I am considering three possibilities. One story involves a head of lettuce and a head of cabbage. When I was ten years old, my mother sent me to the grocery store with twenty-five cents. She told me to buy lettuce, but I returned with cabbage. How she reacted is a tribute to her and provides insight into who I am today.

A second story is about the summer of 1972. I had just graduated from college and my fate was blowing in the wind. Would I be drafted into the army? Would I find a job teaching school? Or would fate pull me along an unpredictable course? I had no clue. A third story describes how I gained the confidence to become a preacher and not just a teacher. In Africa, I was asked to preach in front of a large audience. I asked God for a sign. He sent me a sign in the shape of sheep and goats. And I have this sign on video tape. Now I m a full-time preacher.

Is there a transformational story in your life? What event could you dramatize in 250 words that would provide insight into the person that you are today?

African Standards    return to top
December 10, 2005 / Number 170.

I am in Africa now and renting a house to serve our Christian ministry. This is a challenge for me. Standards in Rwanda are different than standards in America. It is an all-day chore to accomplish things that would only take a few minutes in America. We especially had problems starting up our electricity, telephone, and plumbing.

In this part of the world, electricity is shut off city-wide part of the day to conserve energy. A few weeks ago while the power was off, I noticed two people walk through the front gate. A man opened the electricity box as an assistant took notes. I thought that they were just checking and writing down the current number of electric use. But, the power was off all that day, all that night, then the next day. I thought to myself, This is surely a long time for the city to turn off the power . Then I asked my neighbor (a young lady from Canada). She told me that her electricity was on. Then I realized that the visiting couple actually turned off the power. The power was off on Monday, I didn t realize it until Tuesday, and on Wednesday the local electric company didn t work because it was a holiday. Fortunately, my assistant knew someone in at the mayor s office and power was restored by Wednesday evening. I told my assistant, We have a higher standard in America.

The telephone was another story. The previous renter didn t pay his bill in full. The phone company wouldn t connect us to the line until the bill of about $30 was paid. We talked to the owner of the house. He said he would talk with the previous renter. After a few days we decided to pay the back telephone bill and deduct it from a future rent payment. We finally got our telephone working. I told my assistant again, We have a higher standard in America.

Then there s the plumbing. For some reason our water pressure is extremely high. One evening our housekeeper turned on the kitchen faucet and it wouldn t turn off. Water kept gushing out. We tried to turn off the outside connection, but it was old and wouldn t turn. The water ran like a fountain all night long. Finally on the next morning we located the owner, who contacted a plumber, who replaced the cheap faucet with a higher quality one. I told the owner, We have a higher standard in America.

The poor quality of Rwandan plumbing reminded me of my one semester teaching at Dan Gook University at the Cheon An campus. I was living in a brand new dormitory and on my first day I had to use the urinal. Apparently these porcelain appliances were just installed and nobody did a quality check. As I stood and filled the urinal, I noticed the yellow liquid flow down the drain pipe, leak to the floor, then because the floor was slanted down from the wall flow back to my bare feet. Needless to say, I got my feet wet only one time. During subsequent visits, I used the sitting toilet. I m sure that standards have improved in Korea over the past 20 years.

But back to Rwanda and their different standards. Last summer we contracted with a young lady to be director of our Christian Fellowship House. Sarah was single, but had a boyfriend. She married just one week before my arrival in Rwanda. I was sorry to miss her special occasion. After my arrival in Africa, I met her new husband. I was very happy with her work. Then one morning Sarah asked to speak in private with me, my Rwandan assistant, and our Rwandan pastor friend. With tears in her eyes she confessed to us that she was four months pregnant. She asked for forgiveness. We prayed together and of course I forgave her. She had not yet told her own pastor, but when she did tell him, she expected some kind of church discipline . Maybe she would step down from her position as Sunday School teacher. Sarah wanted to know what her future was as director of our house.

I discussed the situation with trusted pastors and women leaders. I wanted to balance conviction with compassion. They each said that in the Rwandan Christian community, it would be difficult for her to continue as a Christian leader. People would not visit our house if her own church sanctioned her. After some prayer, I asked her to resign at the first of the year. I told her to look upon this as a six month maternity leave. In the summer she could continue with us in some other capacity. Sarah seemed to accept the decision. I talked at length with my assistant about Sarah and her situation. I said, Something like this would never happen in America. Most American churches would accept her kind of pre-marital sexual activity as part of the modern world, especially since she is now married to the father of the child . Then my assistant said to me, Yes, Pastor Foreman, but in Rwanda we have a higher standard .

The Lawyer's Question    return to top
December 24, 2005 / Number 171.

We have now established a ministry in Rwanda called Come and See Africa . We are inviting our friends and neighbors to come and see Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi as part of a structured missionary experience. (If you have an interest in East Africa, then you are invited to join us.) During every mission I preach nine or ten sermons. Once in a while I read an old familiar scripture and a new insight jumps out at me.

I can remember anticipating my first trip to Rwanda. What are these people like? Are they monsters? How can I teach killers to love one another? On that first mission trip I decided to preach about the Good Samaritan. In Rwanda where one tribe of people murdered nearly one million people from another tribe, teaching about the Good Samaritan seemed like a natural thing to do. (If you are unfamiliar with the story, it s found in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 10).

When I finally met the people of Rwanda, I was surprised to find kindness and love. The Rwandese proved to be so gentle and kind. They greeted each other with smiles and hugs. What could I, as an outsider from America, possibly teach these loving people about love? They seemed to be more comfortable with expressions of love than I could ever be. Still, year after year, I taught the story of the Good Samaritan to the people of Rwanda. Then, this year I finally discovered the power of this parable. It is found in the lawyer s question that leads up to the story.

The lawyer first asks Jesus, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus replies, what do you think? The lawyer being fully knowledgeable about the law of Moses says: Love God and love your neighbor as yourself . Jesus says, You are right . Just like this Jewish lawyer, we already possess the answer in ourselves. The answer is love, always has been and always will be. The people of Rwanda also know this answer within themselves. But notice the lawyer s follow-up question. Is it about defining love or explaining love? Not at all. The lawyer already knows about love. His question is, And who is my neighbor?

Jesus answers this question with the famous story and then with a question: Who was a neighbor to the man beaten and robbed? The lawyer s answer is again correct: The one who showed pity . When we ask Who is my neighbor? we are asking the wrong question. The right question is this: how can I be a neighbor to every person that I meet along my path of life? . And we learn that the right answer is: show compassion to all people even those of a despised group . This parable is not about increasing love but about increasing the circle of neighbors.

So I am not going to preach about abstract love as much as I used to. Just like the Rwandese, most people instinctively know about love. Love is what goes on between mother and child and between two best friends. Our struggle is with the lawyers question: and who is my neighbor? How about that Mexican woman next door? Are those Japanese really my neighbors? The question that I bring to Rwanda and to all people of the world is the lawyer s question. And I am like all people trying my best for a Christ-like response.