Presbyterian World mission partners with the Presbyterian Church of Korea, the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, and the National Council of Churches in Korea in working in the country. Two mission co-workers live and work in Korea, and two regional liaisons serve in Korea as well.
We join Korea’s Christian community in a ministry that includes higher education and youth ministries, theological education, health ministries, women’s and children’s ministries, and peace education, reconciliation and reunification work.
Hyeyoung Lee and Kurt Esslinger
Kurt Esslinger and Hyeyoung Lee each have two roles as mission co-workers in South Korea. First, they both serve as Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) site coordinators for the Daejeon, Korea, site. The YAV site in South Korea is hosted on the campus of Presbyterian-related Hannam University. U.S. young adults live in Daejeon for a year at a time as YAVs and work with agencies such as children’s centers and soup kitchens to support the struggle against poverty, hunger, and homelessness. They share a YAV house together and reflect on what it means to live in an intentional community, in the midst of another culture, and on who God calls us to be, engaging the world around us.
Hyeyoung’s other role is working with Hannam University’s Global Multicultural Leadership Program, which connects Hannam students as well as the YAVs with agencies working with immigrant populations in Daejeon. Kurt also works with the National Council of Churches in Korea and their Reconciliation and Unification Department, which maintains a relationship with the Korean Christian Federation of North Korea and advocates for the respectful and peaceful reconciliation of the ongoing Korean conflict.
Find out more about their work on their profile page here.
Write to Kurt at kurt.esslinger@pcusa.org
Write to Hyeyoung at hyeyoung.lee@pcusa.org
Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK)
Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK)
South Korea Partner Organizations
Christian Literature Society
Hanil University and Theological Seminary
Hankuk Theological Seminary
Hannam University(Link this to the YAV/YAV Exchange Program)
Honam Theological Seminary
Keimyung University
Kwangju Christian Hospital
Margaret Pritchard School of Nursing
National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK)
Presbyterian Medical Center
Soongsil University
Yonsei University
