November 10, 2003 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -

For the last half of October and the first couple of days in November I was on a preaching trip to Korea. I have long wanted to visit this nation, but this was my first opportunity, apart from stops at the airport in transit to other places.

Seoul is a large, never-resting, industrious, modern city. It is very clean and efficient. Though it offers plenty of wickedness in its night spots, there is a conservativism in the dress and music in the public places that gives a different flavor than that of many large cities today. There is not as much rock music playing in stores and public places, for example. You hear more of the classical and easy listening, even in the subway system, which is refreshing. A large percentage of men wear coats and ties. Many of the women wear dresses. There is very little of the punk fashion evident.

The traffic is terrible, as bad as I have seen anywhere, but the subway system is extensive and very efficient and cheap and is an excellent way to get around in this city.

This is a very high tech place. Everyone and his dog has a cell phone. Of the 50 some million South Koreans, 33 million have a cell phone. I visited the largest technology mall in Asia, the Yongsan Electronics Market. It is composed of 7,000 shops in 20 buildings. Another massive technology mall is the Techno Mart, which is a 10 story building with shops on each floor selling electronic goods.

VISIT TO THE DMZ

I went on a tour to the DMZ, and it was sobering. The Korean conflict lasted from 1950 to 1953 and it is still formally going on. It was not actually settled, but an uneasy ceasefire was called. There are a million troops massed on both sides of the DMZ. I say that the ceasefire is “uneasy,” because about 5,000 people have been killed in various incidents since 1953. For example, when some U.S. soldiers tried to cut some limbs off a tree a few years ago near the DMZ two of the officers were killed by axe wielding North Koreans. In response, the U.S. side went on full alert, put bombers into the sky, and cut the tree down! The border between South and North Korea was closed in 1953 at the conclusion of the war and the families and friends have been shut off from their counterparts on either side for 50 years. No communication whatsoever, by phone, mail, or anything. Three years ago the North allowed some of the families to meet but only for three days, after which they were herded back to their communist prison nation. Up at the border, the communists play propaganda music from their side 24 hours a day. It is weird to hear that music wafting across the 2 kilometer DMZ zone. We visited one of the four military tunnels that the North has built and that the South has discovered and shut off. They are about 6 feet wide and a little less than 6 feet tall, big enough for North Korean troops to come through at a rate of thousands per hour, it has been estimated. To view Tunnel #3, the South has dug a connecting tunnel down to it and put a little train on a track to shuttle tourists up and down. The tunnel leading down is very steep, probably about 45 degrees, and it is 300 meters long, so it takes a long time to go up and down. It is a strange feeling to get down there and walk through part of that military tunnel. The North put coal dust on the walls, so that they could pretend that they were looking for coal instead of building a military tunnel! They also pretended that the tunnels were actually built by the South, but it is merely another of the steady dose of lies that they propagate. The other highlight was a visit to Freedom Bridge, the bridge that was used to bring the POWs home a couple of years after the conflict ended.

THE WORLD’S LARGEST CHURCH

On my first Sunday morning in Korea I visited “the largest church in the world,” the Yoido Full Gospel Church. They claim that they have 850,000 members, but I believe that is a vast exaggeration. They have 7 services on Sunday, and the auditorium seats about 14,000. It was full the two services I attended, but even so, that is not anything like 850,000 -- even adding the other places where they have services. It is a charismatic church and they have a lot of false doctrine, which is very sad, considering the vast number of people that they are leading astray. The pastor, David Yonggi Cho, is very popular around the world. He teaches that God promises healing and prosperity for every believer. In fact, he considers this as part of the gospel. The church’s web site presents a “five fold gospel” -- the gospel of regeneration, the gospel of the fullness of the Holy Spirit, the gospel of divine healing, the gospel of blessing, and the gospel of the advent. The Yoido Church web site says, “Full Gospel faith not only accepts the Gospel of salvation which Christ made complete as He was resurrected from the dead, but also believes in the release from physical illness and salvation for the cursed life.” By adding to the one true gospel of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, these churches are preaching a false gospel. In 1 Cor. 15:1-4, Paul clearly stated the gospel that he preached, and it is the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ for our sins. Period. Paul warned that if someone adds to or changes this gospel, they are cursed of God (Galatians 1). These are fearful words.

The promise of health and prosperity is one reason, of course, why that church is so popular.

The Yoido Full Gospel Church’s web site says that 279 of the 527 pastors are women. This is in direct disobedience to 1 Timothy 2.

FIRST PREACHING MEETING

On that Sunday afternoon, October 19, I took a train to a town near one of the military bases south of Seoul for a meeting that night. The church was started a little over five years ago by Bruce Rosko and is doing well, though it faces the same difficulty that every military work faces, which is the rapid turnover of personnel. Bruce is a graduate of Trinity Baptist College in Jacksonville, Florida. He is married to a gracious Korean lady that he met when he was in the military here years ago, and they have a fine family. Of their three girls, one is married to a man who is called to preach, while two are teenagers and are still at home. Mrs. Rosko grew up in an animistic home without the Bible, and at school she was impressed with one of the other schoolgirls who always had a kind demeanor. She finally asked the girl if she could go to church with her and she was eventually saved. Her father became very angry because of her faith in Christ and threatened to kill her, but years later, after she was married, he came to Jesus Christ as well. The church has a meeting place right outside the main gate at Camp Humphreys, and they have a serviceman’s center so that military personnel can come there and play games and have Bible studies and such during the week. I enjoyed the meeting. I preached on “Warnings about Contemporary Worship Music,” and it was well received. Some of the men use my Bible Encyclopedia and get the Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailings. I was invited back and I look forward to another visit. The Roskos took me out for a Korean food feast after the service. We had bulgogi and kimchi, among many other things. Bulgogi is beef that is cooked at your table. It is cut into nice little pieces and you wrap it in lettuce, dip it in spicy sauces, throw a couple of pieces of garlic on it, and pop it into your mouth; and as the old song goes your eyes light up and your stomach says howdy! Having lived so many years in Asia, I love spicy food and was able to enjoy the Korean fare with no learning curve. After that feast they took me to the train station and put me on the train back to Seoul.

One day I saw a small riot over near the American Embassy. Some group was protesting the Korean government’s decision to send troops to Iraq as per President George Bush’s request. They set fire to some things and a bunch of riot police rushed them with their riot shields and batons. They had probably 100 police stationed around the U.S. embassy in case of trouble. In spite of what America has done for South Korea (there is no doubt that they owe their liberty and prosperity to America), a mood of misguided anti-Americanism is increasing among Koreans, especially the youth.

PREACHING CONFERENCE AT KOREAN CHURCHES

The conference at the Korea Blessed Hope Baptist Church ran from Wednesday to Sunday, October 22-26, and it was a great blessing. The meeting on Wednesday was a joint one with the Blessed Hope Baptist Church and Seoul First Baptist Church and was held in the latter’s auditorium. These are two of the independent Baptist churches founded and pastored by Korean men, and they are strong Bible-based congregations. It was a blessing to meet Pastor David Young of Seoul First Baptist, and we are thankful that he opened his church for one night of the conference. I am looking forward to more fellowship with this man of God.

The conference from Thursday to Saturday was held in the Blessed Hope Baptist Church auditorium and was well attended. There were over 100 each night, which packed to overflowing the small meeting hall. The people were very enthusiastic. They sang out with vigor and added many hearty “amens” during the prayer and preaching. I love the Korean custom whereby the congregation reacts eagerly and responsively during the prayer times, saying loud “amens” as the one praying makes the various points.

I preached on Issues Facing Fundamental Baptist Churches, and my sermon topics were “Warnings about Contemporary Worship Music,” “The Dangers of New Evangelicalism,” “Why We Hold to the King James Bible,” “The Woman’s Role in the Lord’s Work,” “Calvinism,” “Knowing God’s Will,” and “Child Training.”

I was fortunate to have Dr. Dongsoo Jung as my translator from Thursday to Saturday. He is the translator of the Korean Bible that is based on the KJV and the Received Text and is also a professor of mechanical engineering at Inha University. The other messages were translated by Dr. Jun Seung Lee, pastor of Blessed Hope. Both men did a great job. Some traveled as many as five hours to attend. Leo Dutton, who has been an independent Baptist missionary in Korea for 26 years, attended one evening, and it was a blessing to meet him and to learn more about the history of the Lord’s work in this land. It was also a blessing to meet missionary Adam Wirick at the meetings. Many of the Koreans had been using our materials. Some use the Way of Life Bible Encyclopedia. One Korean member of Blessed Hope had all of my sermons from Sermonaudio.com on his mp3 player.

The Blessed Hope Baptist Church congregation treated me royally from beginning to end, and it was a great encouragement to fellowship with Pastor Lee. He has a couple of degrees from Landmark Baptist College and Seminary in Haines City, Florida, and he has even visited my hometown of Lakeland, Florida. I found him to be likeminded on all issues of importance. The Blessed Hope Baptist Church publishes a bimonthly magazine called the Calvary Contender (not to be confused with Jerry Huffman’s Calvary Contender in English), in which they stand for the faith in Korea. I believe it is the only fundamental Baptist publication in Korean, though I may be wrong about that. They also publish many books in the Korean language, and I gave them permission to use any of my books. They are planning to start a Bible school next year to train Korean brethren for the Lord’s service and I gave them permission to translate and use the Way of Life Advanced Bible Courses. I am looking forward to another visit to this church in 2005, the Lord willing.

FINAL PREACHING CONFERENCE

The final meeting, which was at Yongsan Baptist Church, ran from Wednesday to Sunday, October 29 - November 2. This is a military church, reaching out to the large U.S. base in Seoul. There are two American missionaries working with this church, Brother David Lewis, who is currently in the States on leave, and Brother Jim Justice. I enjoyed the fellowship with Brother Justice and his family. I also enjoyed fellowship with a number of the church members, including a brother from Singapore who lives in Korea because of his job with the large Merck corporation. We have many mutual acquaintances in Singapore. It is such a blessing to meet likeminded brethren. Among other things, I preached on “In the Steps of Bible Translators.” This is a presentation on our research trip to England, Wales, and Europe in March. Yongsan Baptist Church is a work that is likeminded with us in doctrine and practice and that has an important ministry to that fruitful mission field, the U.S. military.

I praise the Lord for His manifold blessing on this trip and I would ask you to join me in praying for Korea, especially for the Lord’s blessing on and multiplication of the Bible-believing churches in the South and for freedom in the North so that the gospel can be freely preached there.