4 days in korea

The place i stayed is the family who printed the Japanese 1858 Great Controversy for me in 2001, and is mostly known for printing SDA literature including the “Study Bible” with the Ellen White quotes at the bottom of the pages. They are doing a great work, with a worldwide impact. Their current project is working together with the General Conference to print 2 million sets of 10 pocket-sized Spirit of Prophecy books.

Incheon airport is very nice, and in waiting for my bus, i thot back over the first time i came to Korea in 1988 – people wearing old-fashioned clothes carrying humongous bags with lots of tape and rope, and the ever-present smell of kimchi – all replaced by people wearing fashionably black clothes pulling fashionable small suitcases rolling along, and the smell replaced by cigarette smoke and Avanti perfume.

But this is still Korea, and things don’t work like in Japan – for better and for worse. The ticket for my bus says to go to 8B stop, but in going there, the driver tells me to go to 8A. My 4:20 bus i’m told will not come, so have to wait for the 4:50 bus. But everything is of much higher quality than i remember it, and soon i’m sped off to KINTEX where my friend comes to pick me up. He shows me his family’s publishing office, and i’m duly impressed. It’s one of the greatest things probably i’ve ever seen to tell the truth, except for the huge presses i’ve seen at a SDA publishing house before, and when i saw books i have ordered being printed.

I’m quite surprised at the house, as it is in the city, because the 2 times i have met them before, they lived out in the countryside. But it is very near their office, which is just next door to the printer they use, so it is very convenient in printing the books and literature. The office is large, and has around 5 or 6 computers and space for workers, with a very large area for displaying books or holding meetings etc.

Sabbath we went to the Northern Asian Pacific Division Headquarter’s English-speaking church. It was amazing to me that the president of the Division in his sermon quoted Ellen White extensively. Yes, Lord, please increase our faith. Several people were very friendly to me, and i could give a short testimony to a very small group in the Sabbath-school lesson time.

In the afternoon we walked up a hill behind the house, and were rewarded with a view extending way-out over the Han river, clear over into North Korea. It was my first time to see North Korea, and it was interesting to notice some of the contrasts with the South – no satellite dishes, no trees, no visible cars, smaller buildings etc. May God help the persecuted Christians there. It made me feel so strange to be able to worship God freely, knowing that just around 5km away, the people did not have that privilege. It was also strange to ride on the expressways seeing the high barbwire fence on the side to keep out anyone trying to infiltrate South Korea.

The family had a mini family-reunion, so there were lots of people, but my friend kindly gave me his bed and he slept on a futon on the floor. The house was very modern, and the food and everything was very good. The best thing, is that Korean houses usually have warmed floors – very nice! The Japanese could learn something there.

Sunday was mostly a computer day, but the highlight, and the highlight of the whole trip here, was in studying carefully chapter 30 of the 1858 Great Controversy with my friend. He was deeply affected, and it affected me too, giving me more energy to want to spread this wonderful book and its tremendous truths to others.

The friend and his father gave encouragement to go ahead with the 1858gc movie, giving me a heart-boost. I heard that the Korean 1858gc that was printed several years ago has gotten out to a few people, but the main translator is now in the Philippines, so i didn’t learn much about the results of spreading the book here in Korea.