Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (March 2018)

Kristin and I toured several key cities of Vietnam through Gate 1. The tour began in Ho Chi Minh City and to Hoi An, Da Nang, Hue, Ha Long Bay and ended in Hanoi, the capital city. After the tour with Gate 1, we flew to Dalat for our own travel for three nights. Then we returned to Ho Chi Minh City to minister to BAMers in the city.

Vietnam is a Southeast Asian nation, a member of ASEAN. Its population was 93 million in 2016. Its traditional commerce was agriculture but has been industrializing at a fast rate in the recent decades. Its currency is Vietnamese Dong or VND and its exchange rate to USD is approximately USD 1.00 = VND22,500.

Ho Chi Minh City is the largest and most bustling city of Vietnam. It used to be called Saigon before the North Vietnam unified the country after the Vietnam War in 1975. Despite the official name change, however, Saigon is still used as the airport code (SGN) and many other business names keep the name Saigon.

The city was named after Ho Chi Minh who was the first president of Vietnam after the country was liberated from the World War II. He died in 1969 even before the Vietnam was unified. But there are his portraits all over the city buildings and structures. He must have been a remarkable person.

He lived approximately 30 years overseas, including two years in Hong Kong, three years in Thailand, six years in France, six years in Russia and several years in the U.S. As a result, he spoke six languages. He returned to Vietnam in 1941 at 51 years of age. He served as president of Vietnam for 24 years. No wonder he is revered as Uncle Ho.

In Hanoi, there is HCM Square and his memorial tomb, namely HCM Mausoleum, still receives a long line of visitors who want to pay respect to him.

His statue in front of the city hall sends greetings to the citizens of his city.

One of the most prominent buildings in Ho Chi Minh City is the Skydeck or Bitexco Financial Tower as officially called. It was designed to look like lotus flower, a symbol for Buddhism. It is overlooking the Saigon River. You could see the entire city from the observation deck of the building.

Right in front of the hotel we stayed, there was a pedestrian plaza and when we visited Ao Djai Festival was taking place. This festival takes place on a quarterly basis and it was the first of its kind at the location. A lot of Vietnamese women gathered all in colorful Ao Djai dress.

The city hall building is located at the end of the pedestrian plaza with the statue of Ho Chi Minh in its front. The overall scenery was tranquil.

We took the guided tour in the afternoon. We paid a visit to Opera House, Reunificiation Palace, Central Post Office, Former CIA Building, Notre Dame Cathedral, Laquerware Factory and Ben Thanh Market.

I walked over to War Remnants Museum. On the way, there were wall paintings that depict the life styles of the Vietnamese people.

War Remnant Museum displayed contents of the Vietnam War entirely from the viewpoint of the victorious Vietnam. So it could be a bit offensive to some, particularly Americans who lost the war. Some photo shots were exhibiting the severity of the war.

One exhibition was quite disturbing. It is about US using chemical agent called Agent Orange. The side effect has been births of many deformed children. Now they can get married, but they are not allowed to give birth to their children. They are indeed cursed generations. It is ironic that America is now condemning Syria for using chemical weapons. President Obama came to visit Vietnam in 2015 and apparently made a gesture to bring the bitterness and resentment to close.

After the tour with Gate 1 and our visit to Dalat, Kristin and I traveled back to Ho Chi Minh City to minister to Koreans living in the city. Seon Jae Lee, a missionary focusing on teaching Korean at a Vietnamese university and also running a Korean language institute, has organized the gatherings. He is leading an informal gathering of BAM Ho Chi Minh City, consisting of Korean BAMers for fellowship and peer learning. Elder Byung Suk Kim is leading the CMBC Ho Chi Minh City and I had separate fellowship with these two gentlemen with great joy.

Also, I had a meeting with Sung Ok Cho who is planning to set up a HR consulting firm in Ho Chi Minh City as a BAM. We met in Chiang Mai a few years ago and we have maintained the relationship. We agreed to explore the possibility of collaboration.

I shared a message at the CBMC Ho Chi Minh monthly gathering and had fellowship over breakfast and coffee. CBMC members are all Christian businessmen who desire to follow biblical principles in their business practices. Elder Byung Suk Kim is leading this group at present. We had a wonderful time together.

I had a gathering with Korean BAMers in Ho Chi Minh City. We exchanged thoughts about effective management of BAM and were mutually encouraged.

Later, I worshiped at a Korean church with Elder BS Kim and there I ran into Pastor Tae Jong Lee, whom I know from the time of OMC in Los Angeles. It is a small world indeed.

In the afternoon, I shared a message at a prayer gathering of Koreans along with my life testimony. This gathering is led by Sung Kyu Kim, a Korean missionary who used to be an executive at E Land. His business acumen was sharp and impressive.

Ho Chi Minh City is one of the metropolitan cities with many tall buildings and a lot of traffic. But it was a memorable visit to this city that will no doubt play a growing important role in the regional economy. As far as BAM is concerned, it is a place that can produce a spark among Korean BAMers. - Jeffrey

Trip to Bangkok, Thailand (February 2018)

On the way back from Philippines to Chiang Mai, I stopped over in Bangkok to spend time with Peter Lee for Sky Bay Thailand.

I had a meeting with the new CPA, David Nam and Sky & Alliances, to discuss about the pending issue with the tax authority due to the previous accountant's incorrect filing of the data. I felt a lot more comfortable about his competency handling this issue and also handling accounting matters going forward.

I spent sufficient time with Peter Lee to discuss Sky Bay's 2018 business plan and a few strategic issues. One of the new business line was a licensing business and merchandising business in conjunction with a character called "Pangah." We will give a try to this merchandising effort in 2018. We had a meeting with a doll manufacturer to explore the possibility of join venture.

Also, I spent time with Peter Lee and his daughter, Daeun and later his son, Sungmin. They all have grown up well.

I had a get together with the graduates of SfK MBA Bangkok 2016 and Chiang Mai 2017, who are based in Bangkok. They all were making progress in one form or another. I sincerely pray that their efforts will bear fruit and produce significant transformation impact in the lives of people they serve.

Overall, my short stopover was necessary and useful. - Jeffrey 

Trip to Manila and Baguio, Philippines (January/February 2018)

I had a chance to minister in the Philippines through K-BAM Philippines from January 28 - February 3. K-BAM is a network of people who are or desire to be engaged in BAM ministries. It has changed its name now to KBM Global.

KBM Global is now led by Jae Jung Jang, an elder of a church and the chairman of Uni Group, Ltd., a group of businesses primarily in shipping and finance. He wanted to hold this conference in Philippines, where he lives. Many came from Korea and I was also invited.

We held one-day seminar in Baguio and another one-day seminar in Manila.

Baguio
Baguio is called the summer capital of the Philippines because people travel to Baguio during the summer season seeking the mild climate due to its 1,500 meter altitude. It is located approximately 250 km north of Manila. It takes more than four hours to drive to Baguio from Manila because of winding roads on the mountain sides.

The entrance was decorated by a giant lion statue established by the local Lions Club. The road was winding along with the streams and rivers that stretched between mountains.

Once you enter the mountain region, you can smell and sense the fresh air.

Baguio was originally designed to accommodate a population of up to 35,000 people, but the population has far outgrown the design and reached more than 500,000. Naturally, the roads are narrow and usually packed with cars. The result: traffic jam.

A team of five drove up from Manila to Baguio and stayed at Bell Academy, a dormitory style school established by a Korean missionary. They were Rev. Dongho Kim, Jae Jung Jang, Harry Kim, Chang Sun Moon and myself.

We left Manila at 6:00am and arrived in Baguio around 11:00am, a bit earlier than the lunch scheduled with the leadership team of Bell Academy. JJ Jang took us to walk on an eco trail surrounded by straight-grown tall pine trees. The air was fresh and it was wonderful to stroll with friends. On the trail, JJ made a proposal that we five make a promise to be brothers. All agreed and we took a photo shot signifying the brotherhood among five of us. The order was established with Rev. Dongho Kim to be the oldest, followed by JJ Jang, myself, Harry Kim and Chang Sun Moon.

The lunch was with Elder Soo Yong Kim, his wife and a missionary couple who are leading the Korean Missionary Association in Baguio.

After lunch, we ended up playing golf at John Hay Golf Course that used to be part of the John Hay Military Camp of the U.S. It was not long, but pretty challenging due to narrow fairways and hilly terrain. But the real challenge was the rain that got only worse as the rounding progressed. We had to quit after 12 holes. It rained pretty bad.

There were only male caddies because of the hilly and touch terrain. One caddie was 64 years old and has been working at the course for 40 years. But he was not the oldest, he said. The oldest caddie was 76 years old. Whoa!!!

We had dinner with the leadership team of the Korean Missionary Association in Baguio.

The seminar took place at Bell Academy from 8:00am. Approximately 40 people, consisting mostly of Korean missionaries, attended.  JJ mced the event and Harry Kim talked about Understanding BAM, Dongho Kim BAM and Spirituality, myself BAM Cases and Chang Sun Moon BAM and Diaspora.

After the seminar, we drove back to Manila. Manila has a pretty bad traffic jam during rush hours. Fortunately, we were able to beat the traffic jam

Manila
Elder JJ Jang, Rev. Dongho Kim and I played golf at a course where JJ arranged for Rev. Dongho Kim to play golf for a couple of months. The weather was fine and we enjoyed the golf.

The following day, KBM Global hosted a one-day seminar for missionaries and businessmen in Manila. The same speakers give lectures and two additional speakers flew in from Korea and also shared their perspectives and their stories: Law as Mission and Funding as Mission.

After the seminar, there was a Book Cert where Harry Kim's books were introduced after a bariton singer's concert.

The following day was set aside for a free day. I met up with Jackie of Partners Worldwide, who is Asia Regional Director, together with Caleb Yoon who ministers to the Philippinos working in Korea. His humble and pleasant personality was impressive.

After that, we had lunch at a Chinese restaurant at Shangri-lah Hotel. The foods were very good, but the discussion about K-BAM issues was even better. Actually, K-BAM was changed to KBM Global at this discussion session.

After lunch, a few of us were invited to provide consulting for Jinsu Kim, CEO of IT Corea, an IT-based finance company. 

In the evening, we had dinner at a seafood restaurant in the Dampa Area. If you order certain foods, the restaurant will send someone to buy fresh seafood and cook them for you. A total of nine people ate fresh and delicious seafood sufficiently and the total cost came out to be approximately $150. What a deal! I thoroughly enjoyed the food.

Four people left for the airport to return to Korea and I stayed one more night for an early departure.

JJ Jang's connections were fully unitized for mobilization and his organization skills shined in making arrangements for all events. Overall, our trip to Philippines was fruitful on our side. I hope it was also fruitful to people in the country. Only time will tell. - Jeffrey