In collaboration with Sahmyook University, several MENA regions have hosted Korean Culture Fairs.
Expect extraordinary opportunities when you place yourself and your ordinary life in the hands of a creative God who can move mountains and multiply bread.
First, a little background: on the heels of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, South Korea looked for new growth sectors beyond heavy manufacturing and, noticing that exports of music, TV dramas, and films were not only profitable, but also boosted the country’s image abroad, the government began to actively fund cultural projects and set up cultural export agencies to market Korean content abroad.
This investment was right on time for the growing worldwide fascination with South Korean culture and growing fan base for television, music, food, and beauty/fashion trends so that by the mid-2010s, Hallyu (the Korean wave) had evolved into a deliberate soft power tool.
Enter: Korean Seventh-day Adventists passionate about serving God’s children and making him known in new places. Recognizing that simply by being Korean, they were experts about things that people were interested in–and that this could be used to foster conversations and friendship.
In collaboration with Sahmyook University, several MENA regions have hosted Korean Culture Fairs with food sampling, language lessons, photo ops in Korean traditional dress, etc. Now, in one location, Korean language classes have paved the way for weekly Bible studies in a special, unexpected location.
Let us pray: God, who formed me in my mother’s womb, please reveal the ordinary and innate aspects of myself and my life that can be a connecting point for someone in my sphere of influence so that I can make a difference for you.