My Mother's 94th Birthday Trip, Busan, Korea (May 2025)

 

My mother's birthday is May 1, in the lunar calendar. So it falls on different dates every year. This year, it fell on May 27. She became 94 years old. It has been our desire and plan to make a short trip to celebrate her birthday because it becomes uncertain to be able to celebrate her next birthday as she gets older.

This year, we agreed to make a trip to Busan mainly because it is easier to access from the train station. As she is getting older, her mobility is also getting weaker and worse every year. Jimin made all the arrangements this time. We were a group of four and the view from the condominium was panoramic.

When we checked into the condominium, however, we had to deal with a medical condition our mom faced. Her legs were swollen badly, and she felt very sick. We became busy taking care of her. Thankfully, she recovered significantly after a few hours. But we had to adjust our schedule significantly. 

In the afternoon, three of us, while our mom was resting at the condominium, came out to walk in the hiking trail by the river. We had a pleasant time together.

My sisters are in their sixties, but their hearts remain young, posing for a photo like this. 

We had a late lunch at a Japanese restaurant with sushi and sashimi dishes because our mom likes sushi and sashimi. We enjoyed the food and the joyous time together.

In the evening, we gave thanks to God who has kept her safe and healthy to this date, and celebrated her birthday with a Happy Birthday song. 

I am so thankful that my two sisters are so close to each other, and they are readily available to take care of our mom whenever needed. They agreed to visit Mom regularly, twice a month now. I am so relieved. They look gorgeous together, and I love them together.

We prayed that we would be able to celebrate her 95th birthday next year, which will fall on June 15, 2026. - Jeffrey

Visiting Places, Korea (May 2025)

Probably second to the joy of meeting up with people, I also enjoy visiting places of interest. Even if I travel alone, I try to find new places to visit. May is a good month for flowers. I found plenty of Royal Azaleas in the apartment complex where I stayed in Incheon. They are colorful and beautiful!

I made a trip to visit NamDaeMun Market. One of the places she wanted to visit was a street food cart-style restaurant. It was inexpensive but very crowded. We had to wait and eat in a squeezed seats. But it was fun!

I saw a structure of old Korean housing hanging up in the air at the Incheon International Airport Station. I thought it was cute and pretty.

I took a day trip to a nearby island in Incheon, a port city, where my rented housing is located. There I sat down at a bakery cafe, called Celeb Cafe, and found cakes that looked like charcoal for burning in the olden times. They were hilarious!

The place was quite crowded but I managed to take a seat and enjoy the sea breeze for a while.

The former island, called Yongyu-do, is now part of a bigger Young Jong Island, where Incheon International Airport is located. Apparently, the sunset is beautiful from the spot, but I did not stay that long there.

I also briefly visited Chinatown in front of Incheon Station. 

After a brief visit, I decided to visit the Korean Immigration History Museum. It was a short bus ride from the Incheon Station.

I found the Korean passports of the old Korea, and the one below was of JoongKeun Ahn, one of the Korean heroes who fought against the Japanese Empire. 

Korea's immigration history started with the first official immigration to Hawaii to work at the sugar cane plantation. The first group of immigrants was 102 and their life was portrayed in detail. Apparently, the U.S. abandoned the immigrants from China and instead started accepting Korean workers. A Methodist church in Incheon played a significant role in recruiting these first immigrants. 

I found one chart that summarized the statistics of Korean immigration. The immigration countries shifted over time, starting from China, Russia, Hawaii, Mexico, Cuba, to Japan, China, and to the U.S., Canada, and to South America, North America, Western Europe, Southeast Asia, Middle East. Koreans living overseas are now estimated to be seven million people, with two million of them living in the U.S. It was interesting.

Also, Korea started accepting the increasing number of migrants into its own territory and the following chart showed the statistical trend. Their numbers are now ar 2.5 million people.

I did not get to visit a lot of places this time, but it brings me joy all the time to visit new places. - Jeffrey
 

Meeting People, Korea (May 2025)

One of the greatest benefits of any travel is meeting new people and meeting up with old friends. This trip to Korea was not an exception.

The greatest joy was seeing my mom. She is 94 years old, but still cooks a meal for me. I have written a separate blog post regarding her birthday celebration. 

I met a Turkist professor now working in Jeju. I bumped into him at Seoul Station and had a short but interesting conversation while we were riding the Airport Train to Incheon International Airport. 

One of the meet-ups I do not want to miss is with Barnbas Moon. He is an ordained pastor and a missionary serving migrants. His WiThee Mission specializes in serving ministers for migrants by providing training and consultation. SfK Korea collaborates with WiThee Mission in many areas.

I taught a class for WiThee Mission's Advanced Training Programs and in the class, I found a sister, Mina, who is a missionary serving in the United Kingdom. She attended one of SfK's BCT sessions held in Chiang Mai in 2017 and is now in Korea to receive medical treatment for her brain illness. We had a meeting together with another attendee in the training, who is a retired professor. We had an interesting conversation while providing coaching for Mini. 

We had a gathering with several alumni of the Agape Club where I served during my college years. All of them are now retired, except my friend, Yoon Duk Suh, who still runs his own business. It was a pleasant reunion.

Mary Yoo who is a Methodist pastor and missionary to India, and I made a visit to a cafe owned and operated by a pastor who started this cafe in order to provide jobs for elderly ladies. I ended up providing him with advice on accounting issues he was struggling with. 

We had a gathering for SfK MB Connect members to visit the Jungwon Community in Young Jong Island, Incheon-si.  This urban community is ministering to people through a church, an early education institute, and a logistics business. 

Separately, we also had another MB Connect gathering around Gimpo International Airport. The photo is at the top of this blog post. Several people met for the first time. 

I had a lunch get-together with two of my college friends who are also believers. It is always encouraging to spend time discussing how God is working in and through their lives. 

I also met up with Heeju Lee, who is now serving in Honduras. We met each other while we were all living and serving in Rwanda. She is not part of a missionary agency, which makes her status a bit awkward. We exchanged opinions on interesting issues of mutual interest.

 

I met up with Jun Kim, one of my former colleagues, while I was working in Colorado. He is now running a sand business, which he inherited from his father. He seems to be lonely and unhappy whenever I meet up with him. He is not a believer and I pray for an opportunity to lead him to Jesus.

I had a gathering with three of my high school friends. They are friends whom I meet up with pretty regularly. The seafood dish we shared is also a regular meal we have when we meet, and I love it!

Elder Kyoung Sup Kwon is one of my regular contacts whenever possible. He started one of the most famous sound systems companies in Korea and he is now almost retired. In his eighties, he is still active. He has been an exemplary Christian businessman to many people, particularly in the Korean BAM ecosystem. I have a lot of respect for him as well.

Once a month, SfK holds an MB Connect session, and I attend this online event regularly. Seeing them online cannot replace the joy of seeing them in person, but the joy is tremendous to see them regularly. I attended this online gathering in May in Korea.

I was invited to Jihyun Choi's home to have dinner with two other families. Jihyun is a member of Shalom Bible Study (SBS) who served in Rwanda with KOICA about 10 years ago. She has been coordinating meetings with other SBS members, but this time, we had a gathering with two other couples. One couple was Hyun Jeon and his family. He is a member of SfK and is now serving with GMTC, a missionary training institute. He also served in Rwanda and is now serving as Editor of the Korean edition of the SfK Newsletter. The other couple was a dentist family who had been active in serving patients in the mission fields. We had a great time of fellowship with all their children over delicious seafood that Jihyun prepared. She is a food stylist, now working for CJ.

Jihyun and Howoo

Dentist Lee and his wife

Hyun and his wife

Once in a while, I bump into someone at a totally unexpected place. I bumped into Missionary Suh at Incheon International Airport, who is serving in Chiang Mai at a coffee shop, and by offering coffee-making experiences for tourists. He attended one of the Boot Camp Training (BCT) sessions held in Chiang Mai several years ago. It was quite joyous, but we had to part ways because of other arrangements.

I had another gathering with different high school friends. I saw a friend for the first time in more than 50 years since 1973. He is a retired pastor. 

One of the steadfast meetings I don't want to miss is with Rev. Dongho Kim. I briefed him on the new path that SfK is planning to walk on going forward. It is always joyful to converse with him. He said the sentiment is the same with him.

 

The last meet-up was with Fernando Choi, who is now running an airport ground service provider business. He has ventured into this business with a godly purpose, leaving a comfortable Incheon Airport Manager for Aero Mexico. 

 It is surely a blessing to have people to meet up with joyfully once in a while. Thank you, Lord! - Jeffrey