On the 27th June - 8th July, I had the wonderful opportunity to go to South Korea!!! It all started when my Korean friend, Jonathan Son asked me early this year to follow him to Korea for a Christian Summer Conference for students. I was excited when I heard about it and decided to go for it as my internship finishes on the 24th June.
This is like a wonderful dream come true as I always long to go to Korea to experience what is Korean culture like. The rise of K-Pop (Girls Generation, Wonder Girls, 2PM, Super Junior) and the Korean Dramas have also fueled my interest in going Korea.
So on the 27th, me, Jonathan and Sejun(another Malaysian friend who decided to tag along) arrived at the Incheon International Airport. We were picked up by one of Jonathan's church member who lives in Seoul. He was very kind to us and his family treated us to a sumptuous supper and let us stay in his small but cosy apartment. He loves to collect classical music and he has an antique radio that was used during WWII. He also told me about his experience where he and his wife traveled around Europe for 1year+ after they got married. His baby is so cute!!!
The next day, we went on the subway before taking a bus to the conference. The subway is very complicated and it has 13 subway lines! (=.=) The students on the bus treated me and Sejun warmly and most of them are quite shy to speak to us except for a few guys who are more fluent in English. The conference was held in Honam University in Gwangju. It was summer so it feels kinda like Malaysia minus the humidity. The weather is quite cooling as one can feel a gentle breeze blowing (something like Cameron Highland). After a short time of welcoming and worship, we were broken up into smaller groups. There were about 300-350 students in this conference. The theme of the conference is "Real Gospel, Real Life!" and it lasted for 5 days.
The schedule for the conference was packed with activities. Morning we had Quite Time as a group before breakfast. After breakfast, we had discussion on Bible study before going to a lecture. After lunch, we had worship and Bible Expositions. After dinner, we had worship again before the main lecture starts. After the main lecture there will be a time for praying. One thing about this conference: its all in Korean! Me and Sejun had a difficult time listening to the lectures as our command of Korean language is very very weak. Thankfully, some of our group members who are more fluent in English was able to translate for us.
During the conference, we learned about the book of Daniel and the book of Galatians. Daniel was a very familiar book to me as I have heard of its story since young in Sunday School. (E.g. Daniel and the Lion's Den is a famous story). I was once again convicted to be like Daniel, a man of strong faith and courage who dared to defy a king. His faith was so strong that even the King acknowledge his God. Galations focused on the true gospel and reminded the Christians in Galatia not to be led astray by false gospels/teachings.
Despite the busy schedule, one thing unique about this conference is the praying partner concept. In our group, we will take turns to pray for one another by having a prayer partner. We can share almost anything and then we prayed for each other's personal needs. The Korean Christians are very open and friendly and they are always full of joy.
On the 4th day of the conference, we had one special afternoon for sports activity and it was really fun! ^_^ I was happy that I came as I made some new friends. I had a good time of fellowship with the Korean Christians. It is one unique conference that I will never forget. When the conference ended, we took a bus back to Seoul.
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