This morning, I discovered Ham Sok Hon, also known as the Korean “Gandhi” (I’m not a big fan after reading his bio, but you don’t have to take my word for it either. Then again, I don’t really like Gandhi either — that’s another post). He wrote this poem in 1962 and it still resounds today, especially today. Ham was referring to the invasion and occupation by Japan, the brutal war between North and South, and the long struggle for democracy in the South. He wrote: “The Challenge of Korea,”

How long it was, the tedious winter night?
While I was waiting in the dark corner of the dressing room,
Many nations came and went without heeding me;
They trampled me under their feet, and pushed me aside.

While I think Ham was writing this for Korea as a whole nation, I think North Korea sees itself as the one who has been trampled and pushed.

While nations look to punish North Korea with sanctions in order to bring Kim Jong-Il to the discussion table, the dictator seems more perturbed than ever, considering such overtures for diplomacy “a declaration of war”. From my viewpoint, he is tired of the weight of a hungry and destitute nation and he is willing to hold his nation hostage with a big bomb in order to perpetuate the country. Surely, the irony cannot be missed.

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A close friend I have known since I was 11 years old now runs one of the finest fusion restaurants in Gainesville, Florida, named Dragonfly Sushi & Sake Company. When he started the restaurant in his mid-20s, it was a huge risk (and risk is such a small word for how great and terrifying it can feel) and the restaurant was of enormous personal and professional cost to him and his partner as he started it.

I don’t think we had much of a chance to speak for the first two years he had the restaurant. He was married to his work through that time working on every facet of food, ambience, management, seeking out capital — forsaking evenings, weekends, family vacations, personal relationships, literally everything it seemed. When we did get the chance to speak, my heart welled up with admiration for this friend, and I could tell that he was really becoming quite the savant when it came to the restaurant business, business in general, and in many ways, life.

When I told him of my concern for his life and the way the restaurant seemed to dictate every hour of every day, including holidays and most especially his evenings. He replied, “This may not last that long. Restaurants don’t usually tend to have a long life cycle — 7 years is usually the window of opportunity.”

“So you’re going to do this for 7 years?”

“We’ll see. We’ll see what happens, everything is just working out the way it is and if another opportunity opens, we’ll see when we get there, but we don’t ever want to assume we will last 7 years, most likely we will have to reinvent ourselves.”

Reinvention is not seen as a terrible thing to my friend, it is seen as an opportunity, whether driven by the market or his capabilities, it is an inevitability.

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I think I realized that “I wasn’t the only one” for the first time when I saw Henry Cho on the then fledgling Comedy Central channel when I was 12 years old. I don’t remember the rest of his bit, but he said something to the effect of not being good at math or some other thing, and sarcastically remarking, “but that’s OK, I’ve got the typical, lenient Asian parents.”

I laughed out loud — as a 12 year old. I don’t even think the audience got it, but living in the thick of my “discipline years”, lenient was not a word I could use on the same sentence, page, chapter, book regarding my parents. Compared to my American friends, everything seemed so tense in my house. Of course, it didn’t help that I was an only child where it was always my fault–it had to be, who else was there to blame? But I always thought it was just my parents, they were just quirky. Maybe they were a little obsessive and controlling, too fearful, amazingly capable of still being aloof and yet completely, utterly involved at the same time. Maybe it was just a Park thing…

Henry Cho let me know that it wasn’t just me. And apparently, it’s really not.

And check out these clips that I got from fellow Korean Xanga friend, choi_jinyoung.

Korean and American Parents’ Roles in Marriage and Divorce
Korean parents’ roles are different from American parents’ roles in their children’s marriage and divorce. Korean parents always involve[sic] their children’s decision about their marriage and divorce, because they believe that keeping family is the most important thing than any others. In contrast, American parents are not directly involved in their children’s decision about marriage and divorce. American parents think that the most important thing is individual happiness rather than sacrificing themselves for family. Also Korea is so family oriented that there are lots of family events. So Korean parents tend to have their children under their thumb.

“In Korea, authoritarian parental control is synonymous with parental love and interest; however, this is not the case in American families.” In many Korean-American families, for instance, the more parents exert control, the more their children experience feelings of rejection and hostility. Korean parents in the United States, therefore, may need to learn to parent differently.

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Here’s the story in today’s news of North Korea Threatens War Over Sanctions.

There are few instances when mentions of North Korea do not make me shake my head. But news about North Korea feels somewhat different to me than other countries run by megalomaniacs. Perhaps it’s because two of my uncles were kidnapped into North Korea as the country was divided after World War II. Perhaps it’s because my mother’s family hailed from PyongYang long before Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il’s faces were plastered all over the city. Perhaps it’s because when I had the chance in1995 to serve missionaries in Yanbian, China, I saw many North Koreans who found their way in China, escaping the desperate fate of their brothers just to the south of them. Sometimes I wonder, where would I be, what would I believe and who would I be if I were the son of my kidnapped uncle and not my free mother. Perhaps I am half-horrified at the possibility that I could be in utter poverty and that I would love the power of the bomb.

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The video “Me Church” (credit to Billy Park for finding it; if you like it so much and you just gotta have it) made me smile at first, then think mournfully about what it meant from the church’s perspective, and then later it percolated into a different sentiment altogether.

I know what they’re saying, there are people who think that the church revolves around them. They want a church to offer a program for their needs, when they want it, with an entertainment level that suits them, and parking perks. I understand the problem. They are not willing to listen to anything uncomfortable discipline-wise nor are they willing to sacrifice any of their personal time, money, or energy for the sake of the Gospel.

Or are they?

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This is a transcribed excerpt from a breakout session that Tim Keller gave in 2004 regarding contextualization of the gospel, which you can access the full audio version here, with regards to DJ Chuang. I highly recommend a full listen as this was only about a 4-minute excerpt (Keller talks fast!)

I can see why a blog like this, only focusing on Asian Americans and faith, might seem a little strange to people, perhaps even unnecessary. And it seems there’s a been a lot of fuss about contextualization lately(Piper vs. Driscoll anyone?). But I believe Keller articulates the need for contextualization well and describes precisely why there is tension about this issue. I’m not advocating that we create cultural enclaves through this blog, I’m only promoting the fact that we need to address culturally specific, contextualized questions and issues for Asian Americans. And with no further ado, I give you Tim Keller.

People get concerned about the idea about contextual theology: Isn’t there biblical theology? Why would there be Korean theology? Why would there be African American theology? Why would there be Latin American theology? Well there can be, here’s the reason why.

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