New Visions from East Asia

A Letter from Unzu Lee, mission co-worker serving in East Asia

Fall 2024

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Dear companions,

I pray that you are all staying healthy and safe wherever you are. As the ancient philosopher reminds us, seasons have turned, and Korea is at the end of summer. I am listening to “Turn, Turn, and Turn” by Pete Sieger, and I just heard Judy Collins singing, “A time to refrain from embracing.” While it may be a time to refrain from embracing because it is too hot and humid, it is a time for all greens to soak up the energy from the sun and grow. It is the time for grains and fruits to ripen. May their yield be bountiful enough so that no one goes hungry.

Listening to Dr. Wai Ching Angela Wong, a retired professor

To everything, there is a season. In February, I completed my first term as a mission co-worker and started my second term. I am responsible for liaising between PC(USA) and its partners in Hong Kong, South Korea and North Korea. During my first term, connecting with our official partners and learning from them had been my priority. My activities were unfortunately constrained by the global COVID pandemic.

My two colleagues, Jieun Han and Martin Han also started their second term. Together we serve as regional liaisons for East Asia. As we started our second term, we decided to make a collective effort to build a shared knowledge base about East Asia, an area that is undergoing rapid changes geopolitically. We wanted to know how these changes were affecting the church and society in East Asia. We decided to hear diverse voices of the people who make their home in East Asia. Therefore, on June 19, the three of us left for Hong Kong hoping that, by hearing, we would be able to appreciate mission more critically so that we might help PC(USA) develop more contextually appropriate mission strategies for East Asia.

When you hear the word ‘mission,’ what comes to mind? Planting churches? Sending missionaries to foreign lands? Evangelizing those who don’t know Jesus? What else? Recently, I came across a writing by Enoch Wan, a missiologist, who writes that our traditional approach to mission has been characterized by farming analogy (i.e., church planting and church growth), territorialization (i.e., home vs. foreign missions, sending and receiving) and dichotomization (social gospel vs. evangelism). While Wan’s depiction is accurate historically, PC(USA)’s approach to mission is no longer so dichotomized. PC(USA) thinks of mission as God’s initiative instead of its own, and the key word that defines PC(USA)’s understanding of mission these days is partnership.

Myung Han, Unzu Lee, and Jieun Kim Han with Dr. Wong (in the center)

Missionary legacies are a mixed bag according to one Hong Kongese Christian leader whom we met. One of these legacies is felt strongly in the educational system of Hong Kong. Although Christians make up only 17 percent of the Hong Kong population, an overwhelming majority of children in Hong Kong are educated in Christian schools run by Protestant and Catholic churches. A child’s educational journey may involve a Catholic elementary school, an Anglican junior high school and a Lutheran senior high school. In fact, I experienced a lot of openness among the Christians I met during our recent visit, and I tend to think that this type of educational experience in formative years has played a pivotal role.

Indeed, crossing the boundaries seems to be woven into the social fabric of Hong Kong. One told me that young people in Hong Kong do not think of themselves in terms of national identity and that our approaches to mission in Hong Kong must be global and promote cross-border understanding. This point was supported by another person who told us about how young people of Hong Kong have been leading a successful campaign against the government’s attempts to nationalize education. It appears that this characteristic that makes the people of Hong Kong unique, however, is proving to be a challenge to China to which Hong Kong was returned in 1997.

Picture taken inside the Kowloon Union Church with Ms. Jessica Tso of the Hong Kong Christian Council

One said that a lot of international programs used to happen in Hong Kong before 2019, but that it is no longer the case. So, what happened in 2019? In short, massive protests led mostly by youth broke out against a bill that was introduced by the Hong Kong government. The bill had to do with extradition. In 2020 Beijing imposed the National Security Law for Hong Kong. People in Hong Kong are responding to the changing situation in a variety of ways. Some do not see any hope in the current situation; some choose to migrate; Christians of older generations have responded by going back to traditional theologies; young people dream of new initiatives that can give them hope. One stated very clearly, “What looms large over Hong Kong is the China-U.S. problem.” As a U.S. church, how do we hear this statement? If the U.S. media is stoking fear about China, how are we to respond? How does this inform our sense of mission?

One person brought to my attention that people in China are young and that people in China are changing. Several mentioned that one thing that the PC(USA) and other ecumenical bodies can do for Asia is to offer the youth in Asia opportunities to meet each other, learn from each other, and work together to address issues of common concern. In October, I will be taking another trip to Hong Kong at the invitation of the Hong Kong Christian Council (HKCC) to participate in its Thanksgiving Service on its 70^th anniversary. I will continue to reflect on all that I heard from many wise Christian leaders of Hong Kong in June and listen more in October to discern more partnership opportunities.

In March and April 2025, I will be in the U.S. to share my experiences with Presbyterians. I hope you will ask either your congregation or presbytery to host me during my time in the U.S. How can you invite me? You can email mission.live@pcusa.org in the World Mission office, mary.nebelsick@pcusa.org or myself directly. My email address is unzu.lee@pcusa.org. The hosting presbytery or congregation typically absorbs the travel and hosting costs of a visiting mission co-worker. For more information about hosting a mission co-worker, contact Mary Nebeliskc at mary.nebelsick@pcusa.org or 800-728-7228, ext. 5075.

Thank you so much for accompanying me on this journey. I am so looking forward to being with you early next year!

Unzu