I served as a Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) through the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in South Korea from 2016–17. During my time there, one of the major eye-opening revelations was learning about the role of the United States during the Korean War and in maintaining the current North-South divide on the Korean Peninsula. No one taught me about this in my history classes.
Years ago, at a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) youth conference in East Texas, Kurt Esslinger felt the Spirit nudging him toward a ministry that reaches out to people who feel they don’t belong because of their differences.
Set in the backdrop of a historic thaw of tensions between North and South Korea, the 2018 Presbyterian Peacemaking Travel Study Seminar begins today in Seoul, as eight participants tour important sites and meet with Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) partners engaged in the peace process. Mission co-workers Hyeyoung Lee and Kurt Esslinger, along with Carl Horton, coordinator for mission with the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, will guide the group over 11 days as they continue to learn, experience, worship and reflect on continued peacemaking and reconciliation efforts on the peninsula.
