[INTERVIEW] Yoido Full Gospel Church presents spiritual vision for future

Yoido Full Gospel Church Senior Pastor Lee Young-hoon speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the church's office in southern Seoul's Yeongdeungpo District last September. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

By Park Han-sol

For Yoido Full Gospel Church, the largest Protestant house of worship in Korea, the year 2023 marks a crucial moment in more ways than one.

Not only does the megachurch, which started out in 1958 by holding services under a makeshift tent in northwestern Seoul, celebrate its 65th anniversary on May 18, it will also commemorate the 120th anniversary of the 1903 Great Spiritual Revival that took place in Wonsan in present-day North Korea in August.

"Starting from the end of last year, many Christian institutions across Korea and around the world, including our church, are witnessing a new wave of spiritual revival," Rev. Lee Young-hoon, the senior pastor at the church, remarked during an interview with The Korea Times. "It feels like we are coming out of a long winter and welcoming spring, where everything is radiating with life."

Throughout the country's tumultuous modern history, under the leadership of late founder Rev. Cho Yong-gi and Rev. Lee, Yoido Full Gospel Church has been the spiritual foundation for many Protestant believers here and has made it its central mission to serve the needy and downtrodden through a number of relief efforts.

And according to the pastor, the church is ready to greet its 65th birthday with a more concrete vision toward its future role in Korean society than ever.

Below is an excerpt of The Korea Times' interview with Rev. Lee. It has been edited for clarity and readability.

A history dedicated to helping those in need

2023-05-15 17:01 | People & Events

Yoido Full Gospel Church to celebrate 65th anniversary

2023-05-15 17:01 | People & Events

Rev. Cho Yong-gi, left, the late founder and pastor emeritus of Yoido Full Gospel Church, and the church's Senior Pastor Lee Young-hoon smile together in this Feb. 24, 2011 photo. Courtesy of Yoido Full Gospel Church

Q. What role has Yoido Full Gospel Church played over its more than half-century in Korea?

A. Following the 1950-53 Korean War that plunged the whole nation into despair, Yoido Full Gospel Church has continued to spread the positive message with a can-do spirit, thus instilling courage and hope within countless people. Such a message of absolute positivity espoused by Rev. Cho suited the public's needs at the time as the country underwent rapid development. And I am certain that its power remains relevant to this day to heal our wounds and overcome myriad crises.

Q. How do you recall the time when you were elected the church's second senior pastor in 2008, and the years since then?

A. The past 15 years have truly been a time of grace and gratitude, but at the same time, I couldn't let go of the tension for a moment. While Rev. Cho was alive, I was determined to do my best to play my role as a curate by his side. There were times when I had to push ahead despite other's misunderstanding and disapproval. At other times, I needed to humble myself so as not to be carried away by people's praise and cheers. I will continue to try to lead the church toward our new revival in accordance with founder Rev. Cho's teachings.

Q. Under your leadership, the church has organized a series of relief efforts to help those who were hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters. Why has it been important for the church to help those in need?

A. When I was in college, I volunteered for a week to help a community of evicted people living in shanties on Nanji Island (which at the time, was a massive landfill site in Seoul.) Children there resorted to pickpocketing if they did not shine shoes or go ragpicking, while adults would gravel the road to earn a pittance. I was shocked to discover that there were people living like this under the same Seoul sky. That's when I realized that the church must help and serve the marginalized, the neglected and the sick.

Yoido Full Gospel Church has striven for years to fulfill this mission. Since 2010, the church has been spending around 35 to 40 billion won, or one-third of its annual budget, for relief and missionary efforts. Moreover, last year, additional cash handouts worth 16 billion won were distributed to those struggling with the pandemic. And every year, we deliver some 30,000 boxes with basic living necessities to underprivileged families.

Q. In recent decades, the churches here have been in a state of stagnation and the pandemic has made many Koreans lose faith in them. What must the houses of worship do to overcome this crisis?

A. At one point during the pandemic, all Korean Christian churches have been the subject of criticism as they were grouped with the pseudo-religious Shincheonji Church of Jesus (which was accused of spreading the virus early on in the pandemic by hosting maskless worship gatherings.) But the public's growing dissatisfaction with the churches also stemmed from the institutions' failures to fulfill their original mission as they became prone to power struggles, materialism and obsession with external growth. Only when we humbly accept criticism and strive to reform ourselves to meet social expectations can we hope for a true spiritual revival.

A rendering of the eight-story cardiac hospital that has been under construction in Pyongyang since December 2007 / Courtesy of Yoido Full Gospel Church

Q. You said that young people of today are in a spiritual void. What should be the role played by the church to embrace them?

A. Nowadays, young people in general seem to be averse to organized religion, including Christianity. Religion should transform into something that can actually help them find value in life. Christian faith, in its essence, espouses positive values such as love, justice, peace, patience, courage and hope. We must reach out to the youth and be ready to provide supportive answers to their problems at home, school and at work, thus letting them find their future in the church.

Q. What should Korean churches do to contribute to promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula?

A. My family is originally from North Korea. In June 1948, after Korea was liberated from the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule, my grandfather, with his family of eight, crossed the border to the South to seek religious freedom. Although I grew up with an anti-communist mindset, I believe that from a humanitarian perspective, we in the South should help our suffering northern neighbors.

Since 2007, Yoido Full Gospel Church has been proceeding with a project to establish a cardiovascular treatment hospital in Pyongyang. Unfortunately, the construction has been on hold as inter-Korean relations have soured in recent years. We are still praying for its completion. In addition, to serve the North Korean defectors, the church is running the "unification diocese," and many of them are leading new lives in the South with faith. I think the Korean churches should play a role as a bridge for unification through such efforts.

Congregants of Pentecostal denominations from over 150 countries around the globe pray during the "DMZ Crusade" at the Pyeonghwa Nuri Park in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Oct. 14, 2022. The crusade marked the highlight of the 26th PWC. Courtesy of Yoido Full Gospel Church

Q. What spiritual vision do you have for the future of Yoido Full Gospel Church?

A. Through the efforts made by Rev. Cho, our church underwent unprecedented growth in a short period of time. Moreover, when other Korean churches were struggling with leadership succession, our church elected the second senior pastor through a democratic voting system. In the future, more than anything else, I hope that our church can go beyond Korea and become a leading light within the Pentecostal movement around the world. I also hope it will not get stuck in its glorious past, but constantly strive to move forward.

Q. What message of hope would you like to share with fellow Koreans and global citizens?

A. Earth is currently experiencing an unprecedented number of climate change-induced disasters such as typhoons, droughts and wildfires. We are also witnessing the tragedy brought by the war that continues to claim innocent lives. But even amid this despair, we must overcome our sense of defeat and move forward with our dreams and hopes for the peace-filled future to come. We, Christians, will stand and care for political and climate refugees, as well as our neighbors suffering from socio-economic hardships. After all, this is the reason why Yoido Full Gospel Church exists.