Korean Prime Minister Park Tae Joon has awarded Seventh-day Adventist Pastor Philip Bohyun Yun Korea’s fourth highest award, the Prime Minister’s Medal . Citing Yun’s “tireless public work and health efforts” the Prime Minister made the presentation on April 7 to coincide with Korea’s National Day of Health. This is the first time an Adventist pastor has received this award.

Yun, who conducts health seminars throughout Korea and is a regular radio presenter, has served as a founding member of the Korean Association for Smoking and Health and spent five years on the board of the Korean Anti-Drug Association. For the last 25 years Yun has helped develop the Adventist Church’s health education program in Korea while also holding other church positions, from local church pastor to Investment and Stewardship director for the Korean Union Conference. In 1984 Yun organized a health marathon in Pusan city, which attracted 5,000 participants.

The Adventist NEWSTART(r) health program-a holistic approach to good health-enjoys widespread popularity in Korea, substantially due to the work of health educators such as Yun. The Korean Union Conference is currently operating a sanitarium promoting the NEWSTART health program in the southern part of the country and is building another sanitarium in the north for the same purpose.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Korea has 668 organized churches and 152,508 church members with many institutions, including schools, hospitals and food factories.