Principal’s Perspective: Emmanuel’s Korean Connection

It’s been an energizing and spiritually enriching visit to Korea, my birthplace. I have been here since May 21, and it has been gratifying to engage with past, present and prospective Emmanuel College students. Emmanuel has had an enduring relationship with Korea’s Christian community, and it is a pleasure to reconnect!

In visiting Hanshin University in Osan and the Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary in Seoul, I have had the privilege of delivering sermons to undergraduate and graduate theological students and meeting with students who were interested in studying at Emmanuel, as well as administrative leaders.

I was humbled to preach at Hanshin Graduate School of Theology in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Oo Chung Lee, the first Korean woman to study at Emmanuel College and the recipient of an honorary doctorate from Victoria University. She is remembered in Korea as a fearless advocate for human rights and a feminist theologian.

I was so pleased to meet with the dean of the theology department at Yonsei University, an esteemed institution that generously donated the pagoda at “Sang Chul Lee’s garden,” located at the intersection of Charles Street and Queen’s Park Crescent. These encounters have been truly inspiring.

^{The Korean pagoda at the corner of Charles Street and Queen's Park Crescent donated by Yonsei University. (Photo by Minh Truong)}

I am eagerly looking forward to presiding at the historic inaugural gathering of Emmanuel alumni/ae in Korea on June 8. My colleague Vice-Principal Pamela McCarroll will be joining me in presenting at the International Academy of Practical Theology’s biennial conference in Seoul. The conference’s primary focus revolves around practical theology and its relationship to climate change.

During our time in Seoul, we will be delivering public presentations about care, trauma and justice at Hanshin Graduate School of Theology. We also plan to meet with more Emmanuel College alumni, as well as prospective students and faculty affiliated with Hanshin.

Emmanuel College is truly connected!

— Principal HyeRan Kim-Cragg