Trip to Korea (September 2025)

After I left Tashkent, I went to Incheon, Korea for approximately two weeks. The primary purpose of this visit is to consummate several financial transactions with Hesed to swap investments. But there are always things to do and people to meet. 

The first meeting happened accidentally. I bumped into Mr. Ahn from Bishkek at the Almaty Airport. There, I was introduced to Herbert Hong from the U.S., who has since relocated back to Korea. He has been serving in Central Asia for the past 30-plus years. We agreed to meet again while we were all in Korea.

In the evening of the day I arrived at Incheon, I met with Agape friends. It was for the first time for us all five alumni together since we graduated. One of them, Jinbae Park, had recently resigned from Jeonju University as its President. We heard about the story around his resignation and the politics were disappointing. It was quite joyous to see old friends.

We had a meeting for the SHINE Alliance Task Force at the Incheon Airport. It was the seventh meeting and the last. I found the K-Culture Museum located at Terminal 1 quite interesting. 

I met with Mr. Kang, who was introduced by KS Lee in Delhi. His ministry was quite interesting, but I was unsure if I would be able to use the Befu Resort in Japan. Anyway, I made a small contribution to help him out.

BJ Kim made an arrangement for me to meet with Elder Sukha Kang. He is a businessman, but eager to serve missionaries in various ways. We liked each other well and we instantly agreed to join the Nestorian Forum in Bishkek in May 2026. He knew Caleb Choi in Bishkek. What a small world!

I made a trip to Sokcho along with my mother and my younger sister, Minsook. Jimin, my first younger sister, moved to Sokcho, and our visit was for the housewarming. We stayed at her apartment for two nights. It was so nice to be able to see the sea and Mt. Sorak at the same time. It was so relieving. We enjoyed our time together.

Uzbekistan snacks I brought

I am so thankful that Jimin and Minsook are close and getting along well. They visit our mom twice a month, and it takes a commitment to do so.

Except for one meal we ate at a restaurant, Jimin prepared all other meals. The food she prepared was far better than the one we ate at the restaurant. Disappointing.

We met up again with Elder Ahn and Herbert Hong, who came with Michael Cho. Cho is involved in several International Schools. After a meal at the ICN, we went to visit one of the international boarding schools in their network. I still do not fully understand how they work, but the network seems to be growing. 

I met up with Wonjin Choi and Steve Park near my place. This particular restaurant specializes in baby octopus cuisine. It was delicious. Our fellowship was useful and fruitful, as well.

On the way home, I took a Turkish Airlines flight that was passing through Istanbul. But, due to the weather, my flight from Incheon to Istanbul arrived late, thus missing the connecting flight. I had to take the following day's flight, and I stayed at a Mercure Hotel downtown Istanbul. The facility was a 5-star hotel. 

Turkish sweets

When I returned home on September 30, my two-month journey ended after 17 flights in total. I was thankful that I was kept safe and healthy. Praise the Lord! - Jeffrey

Trip to Tashkent, Uzbekistan (September 2025)

After the BAM Field Trip was over, I went back to Almaty from Bishkek by land: one hour by taxi to the border, and another 3.5 hours by taxi after the border crossing. At the Almaty Airport, I took Air Astana to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, my 106th country to visit. I arrived late in the evening and called a Yandex Go taxi to the hotel. As expected, the taxi fare was very inexpensive. 

Uzbekistan is one of the five "stan" nations in Central Asia, which used to be part of the Soviet Union. It is known for its mosques, mausoleums, and other sites linked to the Silk Road, such as Samarkand. Uzbekistan has a population of 36 million and a land size of 447,000 square meters, approximately 4.5 times the size of South Korea. Uzbekistan is at the center of Central Asia with Kazakhstan to the north, Kyrgyzstan to the east, Tajikistan to the southeast, Afghanistan to the south, and Turkmenistan to the west. 

The following morning, I met with a couple of Uzbek businessmen whom John Park of Delhi introduced to me. They were Nosir and Safar, and they were cousins. Safar spoke English and translated our conversation to and from Nosir. They were. in the healthcare equipment business. After a short introductory meeting at a coffee shop, they took me to a memorial park to walk around. It was well-groomed. 

After a little while, we walked over to the TV Tower. There was a restaurant in the middle of the tower, which circled around. You could see the city 360 degrees while dining.

The food they ordered was delicious. I had Mastava soup, which was excellent. Nosir explained about the Uzbek trio food: Samsa, Osh, and Shashlik. 

In the afternoon, I met with Mitchel from the U.S. and Wouter from the Netherlands. They were running an orchard. Mitchel told me that they were not successful with the apple orchard, and they are now trying to switch to a different fruit. We agreed to make a formal visit to their orchard next year.

The following day, I met with JJ or Jamshid, with whom I had a Zoom call, while I was in the U.S. He signed up to be a Kingdom Fellow on the SfK website. He studied business in Korea and theology in the U.S. He was working for a digital investment company, but he was going to join the Voices of Martyrs. I congratulated him on the move. The next job should be a lot more redemptive than the current one.

Later, we met with several members of JJ's church, including pastor Zohid. Zohid was operating a Korean language institute. Other brothers were engaged in microfinance, house repair, and an NGO ministry. The place we ate specialized in Osh or flavourful rice pilaf. We ate Osh along with some beef.  Both were delicious! 

In the afternoon, I met with Nulifar and her husband Khairos. I was introduced to Nulifar by Almaz of Bishkek. They were running a guesthouse (Family Village Guesthouse) and also a travel agency. We had a very good discussion. Their faith journey was moving. I was thinking of using their service next year when we come.

Late afternoon, I walked around the vicinity of the hotel, exploring a few places. I could not resist having a soft ice cream by a man-made lake. 

On Sunday, I found the only Korean church in Tashkent: Tashkent Korean Church. I called a Yandex Go taxi to get there. There were two worship services. It was a blessing to worship in Korean in a totally unknown country. The church seemed quite sizable. Over lunch, I met an elder, Sunghee Lee, who came to Uzbekistan some 30 years ago. We exchanged our contact information, and I will follow up to talk to him later. 

Sunghee Lee

I asked to see Jamshid and Johon because Johon was engaged in the microfinance business. He seems to be active in business, and I learned a glimpse of how the microfinance was run. The interest rate charged was quite high, around 25%. Yikes!

The following day, I was scheduled to leave Tashkent for Almaty and to continue the journey to Incheon, Korea. I learned about a massive Korean shopping district called Seoul Mun and a Seoul National Park, and I could not resist a visit. I called a Yandex Go taxi and explored both places early in the morning. Seoul Mun was a huge-scale development project on both sides of a refurbished canal. I guessed that several Korean businesses cooperated with the Uzbekistan developer based on the close economic, political, and cultural relationships between the two nations.   

The Seoul National Park was established as a gift from Korea to commemorate the sister-city relationship between Seoul and Tashkent. It was closed and I did not have time to explore. Next time.

 Although I stayed for 4 nights in Tashkent, several meetings and Sunday worship took away most of the time. Overall, I found Tashkent a very well-groomed city. The streets were straight and wide. The traffic was flowing in an orderly manner. They even have two subway lines. It was an interesting experience. - Jeffrey