More than a century ago, missionaries from the West ventured to Korea and launched a Methodist movement that would grow into a vital presence in the global church.
Now Korean Methodists who immigrated to the United States say they hope to repay a lifelong debt by reinvigorating the American church with the same fervor its missionaries gave them years ago.
They have found one symbol of that hope in Rev. Hee-Soo Jung, of Appleton, Wis., who on Wednesday begins his term as the first Korean bishop to lead 125,000 United Methodists in northern Illinois. Many Koreans in the church believe Jung's election will help unify liberals and conservatives and revive a missionary spirit that will unite all ethnicities.
"I always believed in the passionate spirituality of the Korean community and at the same time its passion for mission and outreach," Jung said Tuesday. "At the same time, as a young church on American soil it has a lot of potential to strengthen for the future. Our main denomination is kind of aging, but young immigrant churches are fresh in many ways."
Jung, who succeeds retiring Bishop C. Joseph Sprague, will shoulder a dual responsibility as the new presiding bishop: serving the predominantly white mainline denomination while addressing concerns specific to its Korean members.
Of the 400 churches represented by the Northern Illinois Conference, more than 20 are Korean congregations that share the traditions and piety that appealed to Jung as a convert in South Korea. Jung, 49, was baptized into the Korean Methodist Church when he was 16.
"Any bishop of ethnic background has huge challenges before them," said Rev. Jeney Park-Hearn, who co-pastors an English-language ministry with her husband at Korean United Methodist Church of South Suburban Chicago in Flossmoor. "How do you bring forth the unique gifts and graces that communities can offer the greater church while at the same time fostering communities with such diverse ethnic backgrounds?"
The Korean presence in the United Methodist church is relatively new. Closed to Christian missionaries under the Yi Dynasty, Korea opened up at the end of the 19th Century when it came under Japanese rule. Methodist and Presbyterian evangelists entered the country to open schools, improve public health and preach the Gospel.
In 1903, a group of Korean immigrants, more than half of them Methodists, sailed from Korea to Hawaii to labor on sugarcane plantations. With the help of American Methodist missionaries, they ministered to other immigrants. Since then, about 420 Korean United Methodist churches have been founded across the United States.
"Because the history of people in the Korean Peninsula is very unique--they've been under colonialism, North and South, Korean War, all kinds of suffering--religion became a [way] to create collective hope for the future," Jung said.
For today's immigrants to the U.S., the church offers that same security, he added.
"I think that's why probably it is really strong and popular," he said. "Church constantly offers hope within lots of hardworking young immigrants. . . . Church offers them a place to belong and a place to learn and to reaffirm together."
New members of the Flossmoor church often come seeking fellowship with other Koreans rather than with other Christians. Pastor Sung Sang Park teaches a five-week Bible study course for newcomers every Sunday after worship.
For first-generation immigrants, services are conducted in Korean to convey the tone and nuance of the sermon and Scripture readings. An English language ministry is offered for the younger generations.
"As time goes by, it's clear to us the most important thing is to spread the good news in whatever language is most convenient," said Kang Yong Yang, an elder at the Flossmoor church.
In 2000, the U.S. church launched the Korean American National Plan, a strategy to reach out to new immigrants as well as sustain subsequent generations and develop leaders. Jung serves on the council in charge of implementing the plan.
Jung said the "silent exodus" of young people is not an issue exclusive to the Korean church but touches the entire United Methodist denomination. It can be solved, he said, by empowering them.
Most Korean Methodists put a strong emphasis on prayer. In the wee hours of morning, members gather daily in sanctuaries to pray. When pastors make house calls, as many Korean Methodist clergy still do, they pray before conversations.
Such practices, the Koreans believe, can help the larger church heal the political divide between liberals and conservatives that has opened in recent years and bring ethnic congregations out of the margins.
"Since the announcement of his appointment, many Korean members feel that they have become a real member of United Methodist," said Dong Yoon Kim, a member of First Korean United Methodist Church in Highland Park. "I expect Bishop Jung would contribute a lot to unite all member of United Methodist and to make big progress in every aspect of Christian ministry."
Rev. Soon Chang Jang, pastor of Vision Church in Mundelein, said that by emphasizing spirituality, Jung would also be better able to mediate disputes, such as his congregation's fight with the village of Long Grove to build a new church. The Northern Illinois Conference is a party in the church's lawsuit.
Prayer has reached many Koreans in times of hardship, he said.
"We spread the Gospel and transform the people in a spiritual way," Jang said. "God elected him through the people. Let's see what happens through him, what happens through the Korean church. Let's see."