Rev. Dr. Walter Chung, CRC, NCP, LPC,
Assistant Professor,
Graduate Counseling Department,
Eastern University
E-mail:
WChung@eastern.edu
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Abstract
Attitudes of 1.5 Generation Korean-American Christian
Adults
Toward Missions to North Korea
Purpose
The current population of Koreans in the U.S. is about one million and there are
more than 3,000 Korean American churches. Many Korean Americans are known as 1.5
generation, referring to those who migrated to the U.S. when they were young and
grew up under the influence of both Korean and American cultures. Having
successfully thrived in the diverse cultural environment, they may be good
missionary candidates. Therefore the purpose of this research was to examine
their attitudes toward missions to North Korea. The research also explored what
factors (i.e., church support, social support, faith maturity, age, number of
years in the US, short-term mission experience, gender, educational level, and
marital status) may affect their willingness to be involved in missions to North
Korea.
Method
A hundred-and-one 1.5 generation Korean-American Christian adults were recruited
from a metropolitan city. Participants were asked to complete a survey
questionnaire.
Results
Participants agree that missions to North Korea are important and Korean
American churches should be actively involved. They believe that involving in
North Korea missions will bring spiritual and cultural benefits to the Korean
American church and personal life. But most of them do not know about existing
mission organizations (84%), mission opportunities (89%), and the situations of
North Korea churches (81%). Participants are reluctant to be long-term
missionaries. They are more willing to be involved in prayer, financial
contribution and short-term missions, but the intensity of willingness is not
strong. Among the nine factors that may affect their willingness to be involved
in missions to North Korea, only two (i.e., church support and social support)
are found to be significant. Implications of these findings for churches and
mission organizations are discussed.