I did not want to be a preacher. In my twenties I wanted to be a high official in South Korean government. I never wanted to be a preacher. I pursued my dream to be a high officer in Korean government. I passed the very competitive exam, but I failed at the final interview because I believed in democracy under the dictatorial system in 1985.
God called me to be a preacher while I was praying on a mountain. That was not my happy moment. But I surrendered myself to God and registered in the Presbyterian Seminary in Korea. However, after three months I had to drop out of the school because there was no class due to the demonstration against the Dean of the Seminary. I worked for the power company for seven years. But I couldn’t resist the call to be a preacher anymore.
I am the last one to come to the U.S.A. in my family. My mother and all my brothers and sisters were already in the U.S.A. Second, my younger brother, who was a second year student at Duke Divinity School, invited me to study at Duke instead of in South Korea.
We have been so blessed with wonderful friends and church families wherever we served. Mee Young and I have been in ministry for twenty-six years.
Mee Young and I have been married for 33 years. We have two children and one grandchild.
I went to Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in South Korea for my Bachelor’s Degree, Duke Divinity School for Master of Divinity, then Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. for Doctor of Ministry.
