Fri 4 Nov 2022, Day 53/61, 2/2. There are many reasons for the huge growth in Korean Christianity (1% in 1900) & I’m hoping this History by Sebastian & Kirsteen Kim can help me understand more. The Anglican Church remains comparatively small.

Fri 4 Nov 2022, Day 53/61, 1/2. Out of my window I can see 4 Christian churches, 2 of them quite large. In the suburbs there are churches wherever you look. The 2015 census showed around 20% of the population to be Protestant, 8% Catholic, with 16% Buddhist.

Fri 4 Nov 2022, Day 53/61, 3/3. Sungkonghoe University has its roots in St Michael’s Seminary, set up to train Anglican clergy in Korea in 1914. Over the years it expanded & became a University in 1994. It has a reputation for focusing on human rights & peace.

Fri 4 Nov 2022, Day 53/61, 2/3. I’m living this week on a corridor in the University set apart for seminarians. It includes this chapel, dedicated to Bishop Corfe, the first Anglican bishop in Korea.

Fri 4 Nov 2022, Day 53/61, 1/3. The seminarians I met with yesterday produced this poster to publicise services they put on this week for the rest of the university, giving an opportunity to mourn those lost in Itaewon at the weekend.

Thu 3 Nov 2022, Day 52/61. Very good to spend quite a lot of time this week with Fr David from Myanmar. He’s from the Jingpo ethnic group in Myanmar & the son of a retired Anglican bishop. I’ve learnt a lot about the country & am sure we’ll stay in touch.

Thu 3 Nov 2022, Day 52/61. I’ve spent the morning with Anglican seminarians (ordinands) here at the University. They wanted to ask questions about ordained ministry in England.

Wed 2 Nov 2022, Day 51/61. Meanwhile at the V & A, London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, their exhibition about the reach of popular Korean culture around the world – ‘Hallyu! The Korean Wave’ – continues until June 2023.

Wed 2 Nov 2022, Day 51/61. Back in London the Korean Film Festival opens tomorrow, just days after the arrival of the latest film by Park Chan-Wook, 박찬욱, ‘Decision to Leave’. And the latest edition of ‘Sight & Sound’ focuses on Korean cinema.

Wed 2 Nov 2022, Day 51/61. This is deliberately the quietest week of my time in Korea. I spent a few hours learning about the pronunciation of Korean vowels. Meanwhile outside my study walls, South & North Korea each landed missiles off each others coasts.