Meet KNU's Lee, Hoe Neung

HT: What makes KNU special?
A: KNU is focused on helping people with special needs. For example, we have 382 students with disabilities. We help them to find wholeness through therapy, through spiritual formation, and through building relationships.

HT: Explain how you manage being chaplain to so many students?
A: In my office, I have two other ordained ministers who help me. I plan and coordinate the chapels for a year, and then share the responsibilities with others.

HT: Do you feel a spiritual burden for those students?
A: Yes. About 55 percent are Christian. Daily, I pray for those other 45 percent to be born again with water and with the Holy Spirit.

HT: How many students attend KNU?
A: Approximately 5,500.

HT: Share about the religious life at KNU.
A: We have regular chapel services nine times a week, and two early morning prayer meetings. Then we have a Wednesday night service for a total of 12 meeting times during the week. Students are required to attend at least one of the nine regular chapels during the week and both early morning prayer times.

HT: You brought a number of students to the Church of the Nazarene's 2009 General Assembly in Florida including KNU's Taekwondo team. Why Taekwondo?
A: We like to share the special abilities that God gives us. Taekwondo, a martial art, is our national sport. Through Taekwondo, we look at how we can evangelize in other countries and spread the Word of God.


From the World Taekwondo Federation: Taekwondo is one of the most systematic and scientific Korean traditional martial arts, that teaches more than physical fighting skills. It is a discipline that shows ways of enhancing our spirit and life through training our body and mind. Today, it has become a global sport that has gained an international reputation, and stands among the official games in the Olympics.

South Korea Country Facts

Population: 48,508,972.
Location: Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea.

Religions:
Protestant--20 percent.
Roman Catholic--7 percent.
Buddhist--23 percent.
Other or unknown--1 percent.
No religion--49 percent.

Languages:
Korean| English widely taught in schools.

Source: CIA World Factbook

Church of the Nazarene in South Korea

Region: Asia-Pacific.
District: South Korea National.
Members: 20,534.
Churches: 216.

Holiness Today, 2010

Please note: This article was originally published in 2010. All facts, figures, and titles were accurate to the best of our knowledge at that time but may have since changed.