In Korea (II) After Departure from Chiang Mai (November 2020)

During the second week, I made a trip out of Chungju to visit several places: traveled to Seoul for a lecture and stayed in Ilsan for one night, in Osan for two nights, and at Hongdae for three nights. 

The lecture was for a dozen pastors and Christian scholars from Ethiopia, Uganda, Ivory Coast, and Naga Land, India. It was part of Global South Leadership Forum led by Dr. Andrew Kim. They showed authentic interest in learning more about BAM and I wonder where the Lord is taking this new found relationship.  

After the seminar, I went to Ilsan and stayed a night at Bongrae Lee's house. It was a joyous gathering with his family and our time spent together was delightful. Mr. Lee is a wonderful blessing to me personally and to the BAM ecosystem. 

I spent two nights at my mother's place in Osan and it was truly joyous to spend time with her and two sisters. I am deeply grateful for my mom's graceful aging, gracious heart, and good health. 

In the meantime, Amanda ended up giving birth to her first son Eli Jihoon about two weeks before the scheduled delivery date. He is my first grandchild! What a delightful blessing to welcome him to this world!

While I was staying at Holiday Inn Express, I took the physical exam at E-land clinic, primarily because of a tumor near my stomach. It seems to be not growing. 

After the exam, I ate some Korean Kimbab, Ddeokbokki and Odeng at a metro station. All three favorite foods in one shot.

met with Agape friends, 

met with Christine Kang, and Hyunsoo Kim's couple, after meeting an elder Yoo from Sarang Church about SaGA or Sarang Global Academy with Sam Cho.

processed the corporate administration work to renew the officership and directorship with SfK Korea. saw Joseph Choi, 

had a meeting with Rev. Jae Chul Chung and Mr. Shin at their new office in Mapo

had a gathering with the SBS Seoul group, 

had breakfast with KBM Global people,

met with Rev. Dongho Song at NOW Mission to sign an MOI for collaboration going forward. Afterward, we had lunch with Professors Yoo and Shin couple.

One of the major events for my visit to Korea this time was to hold the in-person board meeting with SfK Korea at Cconma's community room. Minyoung was a special guest, Sungsoo and Donghoon were new addition to SfK Korea's board. We also held the shareholders' meeting to elect Sungho Kim as the standing auditor to replace Chanjung Kim who desires to retire next March.

While I was staying at the Cconma's dormitory, Donghoon's mom prepared a few meals for my dinner. Her hospitality was greatly appreciated.

I had to take the KTX from Osong to Seoul, and an Airport Rail to Incheon Airport to stay overnight at a guest house to catch the morning flight to Dallas the following day.

During a rather short stay of two weeks, not counting the quarantine period, I was able to take care of a lot of matters, thanks to God's grace. - Jeffrey

In Korea (I) After Departure from Chiang Mai, Thailand (October/November)

I left Chiang Mai on October 16 for Korea before I would leave for Dallas, because of the 14-day self-quarantine requirement in Korea before I can move around freely. I had some issues to take of in Korea before I would travel to the U.S. Kristin departed on October 30 directly to Dallas, TX. 

My 14-day quarantine was at an Airbnb studio in Chungju-city, Korea. I was able to see an idyllic town through the window. To get there, however, I had to take an exclusive bus for travelers from overseas to Kwang Myung KTX station, an exclusive train only for those who returned to Korea, and an exclusive shuttle bus from Osong Station to Chungju city clinic for the COVID-19 test.

After the test, I had to stay at a designated facility overnight until the test result came out. After being confirmed to be negative, I was allowed to go into a self-quarantine place. There I stayed for 14 days. It was quite an experience to read, reflect, rest, and recoup. But, I received a warm welcome and hospitality from various sources. 

First, the city sent me a big box full of emergency relief stuff. It contained various instant food items, masks, an umbrella (I wonder why?), and even face cleaning gel. How kind!

The landlord was also very hospitable with a few emergency food items and 15 or so books to read. The son offered to buy grocery stuff at a supermarket for me and his mom served me with a couple of warm meals. I was able to peruse all the books and some were quite interesting. Fantastic!

Furthermore, my younger sister sent me a couple of boxes of relief food items. They were ample and I lacked nothing.

One day before the quarantine period, the city clinic sent an ambulance to take me to the clinic for the second test. The following day, I was informed of the negative result and relieved from the quarantine. 

Meanwhile, Kristin departed Chiang Mai directly to Dallas, Texas. Tae Hyeong Kim's couple gave her the ride to the airport.

After the self-quarantine period, I spent two weeks in the Cconma's dormitory. While I was in Chungju, Joonhan and Chulsung's couple came to get together and I was grateful for their visit.

During the first week after the quarantine period, we held the SfK Network 5th Anniversary Celebration worship online in English and Korean. It took us a lot of time and energy to prepare for the events, but thankfully both events went smoothly although the overall participation could have been better. Nonetheless, I was grateful. Below is the Korean version of the 5th anniversary celebration video clip.

The English version is below.

While I was staying at Cconma's dormitory, Viche Coffee was the place I was hanging out for breakfast and also for meeting people.

At this place, I met with Mr. Yeonhwan Kim and his wife, who are now serving in Laos. They wanted to be part of SfK and I look forward to witnessing what the Lord has in mind. They have commercialized health-conscious pillow and are promoting it. 

Also, I met with Mr. Joy Lim and his son, who are processing dried nuts and fruits. Caleb Ji made an introduction. 

In November, Korea was decorated with colorful leaves all over the places. Nearby Cconma, I could easily find colorful trees and leaves.

 

Cconma was established initially to promote the bean paste made from Manchuria. Not to lose the initial heart, Cconma maintains a bunch of Korean jars which are used to ferment bean paste. The scenery makes people nostalgic about the olden times.