Korean Baptist Culture Observation Report

In my experience at first progressive Baptist Church I was very much out of my comfort zone because not only did I not feel as welcomed but it was a little awkward because of all the looks I was receiving. I felt I was not dressed as they were and felt as if I didn't fit in and right away I just didn't feel appropriate with my attire. While I was there I actually had people wanting to shake hands and asking me questions about me coming and there was one man who just stared at me and so it was uncomfortable and didn't know how to react. While I was there I started to notice that there is a little difference from the church I go to and the music was way different as well, everyone will talk back with amen or thank you Jesus. The difference

As the only white individual entering the church on Sunday I felt extremely out of place and very uncomfortable, at first. Upon entering the church, before I could even find a place to sit, the pastor came to welcome me and showed me a place to sit for the service. The pastor was very kind and so welcoming that my nervousness and worry started to vanish. Once I was seated and more people entered the church, I was treated as if I had always been there and was part of the group. Although I was the minority at the service I did feel very comfortable with my surroundings and with the people in attendance. The whole experience was very interesting and broadened my perspective on the African American culture.

On Monday, I went to the local Crossroads Baptist Church, located at 850 Edwards Ferry Rd NE, Leesburg, VA. This was my first time experience as I am Hindu and my parents never exposed me to any churches. Dr. Kenneth K. Baldwin was the pastor at the time I went. Luckily, I got the chance to speak with him after the service. After our brief conclusion, I realized that he had a great vision for his church and is leading it to success through his passion. I sensed his passion for preaching and religious beliefs as they were evident during the service. Despite this being my first visit to a church, I learned a lot of valuable things about churches and Christianity.

I am the minority of the usual church; typically I am one of four white people who attend the 8am service. I first went with a friend’s family after she had pass away. I was never nervous about going to a predominantly African American church. Everyone welcomed me. The family I went with had me stand up when they called for new people to the church. It then took me 30 extra minutes to get out of the church because everyone gave me a hug. Going into part two of this project I was actually very nervous about going to the Korean church. I think being by myself had a lot to do with it along with not know the language. I was very nervous about not understanding anything that was going on. Additionally I was worried they would not want me there.

A North Korean defector who started a prison camp church has revealed that they were taught how “addictive and destructive” Christianity was and that Christians kill people and suck their blood to be sold.

Among the population of Korean students studying in University of Virginia, around 60 students currently attend the Korean Community Church in Charlottesville (KCCIC). While the numbers of Asian American students including Korean students attend Grace Christian Fellowship in UVA, most of the students in KCCIC are Korean-Americans with citizenship, permanent residency or F-1 visa. It has been serving as a stable community nourishing both the cultural identity and spiritual life of the students with Korean heritage.

The country that my group and I our doing is North Korea, in Asia. In my part I am going to cover religion. In North Korea, there is a religion called Juche. This is the only region that is accepted. Juche also known as "Kimilsungism" after Kim llsung, is a religious, political, social and economic ideology of North Korea (The Juche Idea). Juche is a nonmaterial element. The idea was first introduced by Kim llsung in 1955 to distance North Korea from the Soviet Union, which at the time was undoing many of the Stalinist policies that Kim llsung liked. Overtime, Juche evolved borrowing from Marxism, Leninism, Stalinism, Maoism, and Confucianism. Whatever Kimllsung and Kim Jongil wanted, as well as their won ideas, and in 1972 replaced Marxism-Leninism

The goal of this project was to use CBPR methods to collaborate with partners in the Korean community to address oral health among particularly vulnerable Korean elderly adults in NYC. We worked with Korean Community Services of Metropolitan New York (KCS), to assess oral health needs among older Koreans, their community, and family caregivers, and use the information collected to develop a targeted oral health intervention(s). This research can potentially impact approximately 5000 Korean seniors through KCS. My responsibilities were the following: 1) Convened an Advisory Group of five members from the Korean Community: In order to gain familiarity with the Korean community in NYC, and gain insight into the oral health needs and challenges of the Korean senior population, I convened the Community Advisory Group of Korean stakeholders every three months; 2)

For last two decades, Korea accepted more than one million foreign workers mostly from China, South Asia countries, and Middle East. If some of those immigrant workers are evangelized, they will give significant influence on their homeland where is harsh atmosphere against Christianity and missionaries. With exception of immigrant workers, cities is mission field through relationship evangelism because most residents shows their life-needs and concerns and evangelists can pray for and help seekers in several ways.

This may also sound discriminatory, but I found it noticeable how young-looking the new female deacon was and how many female Consistory members there were on the board in general. While this church’s leadership consisted of approximately seventy percent females, there are no women on my home church’s board at all. One thing that this church does have in common with my home church that I have not witnessed anywhere else since coming to Iowa is that the pastor stood beside the door at the end of the service and greeted each person as they were leaving. I found it slightly awkward that the pastor was giving big hugs to everybody, but when I approached, he just shook my hand and said “thank you for coming” in English first and then again in

At the door, we were greeted by a friendly Korean lady, with a long skirt and a bright smile. She looked at us rather confusedly, and attempted to point us in the direction of the English service. But we told her our reasons, she handed us a bulletin, and then proceeded to find us a seat in the sanctuary. Once we were settled in, she left us. I looked around at the congregation, who at this time were listening to the robed choir members perform a hymn. There seemed to be a mixture of ages, but there weren’t any children present (they had their own Sunday School groups). Everyone was dressed in refined winter clothes, and everyone had a Bible in their laps (or on their iPads). The congregation rose for each of the songs. The music was accompanied by a pianist and electric organist, and had a definite Asian flavor. Beautiful harmonies filled the sanctuary. There were several responsive readings, and the pastor delivered his message from the pulpit with an iPad by his side. Korean culture

The early Korean Methodist church had the small group service three times a week in reception room for males and main room for female. There was also bible study and prayer meeting in every Wednesdays and Fridays. Once they started to gather more people, it leads to purchase a two bedroom house and had separated meetings by gender.

Korean Drama is a television series, ranging from 16 to 30 episodes depending on its broadcasting network. Each episode usually lasts an hour and is aired once or twice a week. One of the popular terms incorporated with the advent of Korean Dramas is the term “Hallyu wave”. Hallyu wave refers to “a surge in the international visibility of Korean culture” (Ravina, 2009, p.3). “Korean Wave refers to the cultural phenomenon in which people in the world are willing to adopt and consume Korean popular culture” (Jung, 2006). The Korean wave usually encompasses Korean music, drama, trends, and others. It is usually through the Korean wave that there has been a steady increase in the tourism in South Korea.

Asian cultures vary in a variety of ways, not just when compared to western cultures, but also when compared amongst themselves. The Angelo State University campus gets to sample what the culture in South Korea is actually like due to the numerous exchange students. Through working as a Resident Assistant, opportunities to learn bits and pieces of their culture consistently presented themselves. In W.S.’s (1969) research depicts respect as the major factor of any, if not all, Korean relationships. This is due to the large reliance of hierarchy taught and passed down generation after generation, and is commonly known as ‘saving face.’ There are few limitations on the efforts and pressure to keep honor in their family name, bringing little to no disrespect in any endeavors. So in times of hardship, it is common to see students avoid eye contact and stare downwards as a sign of respect; this also relates to the feeling that they are unworthy of making eye contact with the person in authority.

I was the “funny guy” in my clique of high school friends. Ever since I learned to read English, I enjoyed reading and collecting joke books. I exhausted every single joke book from the small community library in town. Riddles, jokes about animals and wildlife, reasons why I didn’t do my homework, lawyer jokes, and later on, ethnic jokes. I knew they were funny, but I wanted more. Perhaps it was my lack of physical achievements that made me obsess with a need to entertain my peers.