Pastor Jan Paulsen, president of the Seventh-day Adventist world church, concluded a six-day visit to South Korea Nov. 12, saying that the Adventist Church there is "full of life" and focused on mission.
Pastor Jan Paulsen, president of the Seventh-day Adventist world church, concluded a six-day visit to South Korea Nov. 12, saying that the Adventist Church there is “full of life” and focused on mission.
During his visit, Paulsen met with church members, and spent time with leaders of the church in the Northern Asia-Pacific region, who had gathered in Seoul for year-end meetings. He also visited staff at several Adventist institutions in Seoul, including a publishing house, Seoul Adventist Hospital, the headquarters of the church in Korea, and Sahmyook University.
The Adventist Church in South Korea is renowned for its network of 33 English language schools, which serve as the church’s most effective way of sharing the Adventist faith in the country’s urban areas. More than 47 percent of South Korea’s population lives in cities, where church leaders say that traditional methods of outreach are largely ineffective. But many Koreans—especially young people—do have an interest in learning English as a second language.
During his visit Nov. 11 to the administrative headquarters of Korea’s Adventist language institutes, Paulsen was told that so far this year, 250,000 students from across South Korea have enrolled in these language schools. According to administrators, many students become interested in learning more about Christianity. Last year, more than 800 were baptized.
Earlier in his visit to South Korea, Paulsen visited the military demarcation line that marks the border with North Korea—a country which since 1953 has effectively been shut off from the rest of the world. When North Korea closed its borders, the Adventist Church had a community of some 800 believers. Since that time, however, there has been little word on how the Adventist group has fared under North Korea’s communist regime. According to international human rights organizations, the government of North Korea tightly controls religious expression, and the majority of church groups that existed before partition have since been dispersed.
But church leaders in South Korea say that now, more than ever, there are signs of a political thaw between north and south, and they hope that one day soon they will be reunited with fellow Adventists in North Korea.
While visiting the demarcation zone Nov. 8, Paulsen commented on the humanitarian assistance the Adventist Church has been able to provide North Korea—a country that’s suffering desperate shortages of food, medical supplies, and other basics of everyday life. “The Bible says that when Christ looked on the crowds, He had compassion,” said Paulsen. “And we as His followers must do same for the people of North Korea.”
In August, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency opened a bakery in Pyongyang, the capital, and every day the facility is providing bread for more than 25,000 hungry children. Paulsen also noted that a heart surgery team from the church’s Loma Linda Medical Center, United States, has visited North Korea a number of times over recent years to perform urgently needed surgery, and help train local medical staff.
There are nearly 170,000 Adventist church members in South Korea, a number that is growing by more than 6,000 new believers each year. Korean Adventists are already making plans for celebrations in 2004, which will mark 100 years of church work in the country.