New Korean community melds cultural, Catholic traditions

About 21 families meet twice a month for Mass and a potluck meal

Published: June 19, 2010

By Dwain Hebda
Little Rock Correspondent

The Arkansas Korean Catholic Community first met March 9, 2009, at Immaculate Conception Church in North Little Rock for Mass with Father James West.

The Arkansas Korean Catholic Community first met March 9, 2009, at Immaculate Conception Church in North Little Rock for Mass with Father James West.

It's not many 35-member congregations who meet the definition of "global," but the Arkansas Korean Catholic Community is every measure of the term. Though still fledgling in numbers, the group serves its members in matters cultural, social and ecumenical.

"The church is like a home," said Jinho Zyung, resident manager of St. John Manor, the retirement home for diocesan priests in Little Rock. "Many of the church members are closer to each other than their relatives. They all come from their own parishes, but when they come to the Korean Mass, many of them feel like brothers and sisters."

The group, which numbers about 21 families, gathers twice monthly at Immaculate Conception Church in North Little Rock to attend Mass in their native Korean, celebrate the sacraments and enjoy each others' company. The group is an important conduit of things secular as well as sacred in the lives of its members as Zyung, who immigrated to the United States in 1976 and came to Little Rock in 1995, knows firsthand.

"Our members go to church not just to worship God, but to share information," he said. "This is Arkansas, Koreans come and go. They are looking for people who will help them out and help them settle down here."

Zyung said when he got to Arkansas from Chicago, he noticed local Protestant churches were far more aggressive in reaching out to the Korean community and as a result were building up Korean congregations. By contrast, the Arkansas Korean Catholic Community was in its fourth year as a rosary recitation group, which had all but folded because of a lack of leadership and direction. Given his organizational and communications work with a Korean Catholic church in Illinois, Zyung became a driving force in the group's revival.

"Initially, we met in people's houses," he said. "We'd sing a hymn, pray the rosary, read and share thoughts on the Gospel and then have a potluck meal."

Humble though that may sound, the group's activities mirrored those of the earliest Korean Catholics. According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Church first arrived in Korea in 1784 and over the next 100 years endured brutal persecutions. Three of these, occurring in 1839, 1846, and 1867, resulted in the wholesale martyrdom of foreign missionaries and priests as well as local clergy and church hierarchy, including the nation's first native-born priest, St. Andrew Kim.

But most of the Korean Martyrs -- numbering 8,000 to 10,000, 103 of whom were canonized en masse by Pope John Paul II in 1984 -- were simple lay people who risked their lives to keep the faith moving forward. Modern times brought new challenges to the Catholic faith, including occupation by the Japanese for the first half of the 20th century, the outbreak of the Korean War and the division of the country in the 1950s as well as the ever-present spectre of communist China and an oppressive North Korean dictatorship.

"The Church in Korea is different from anywhere else in the world," said Father James West, pastor of Immaculate Conception. "It's deeply ingrained in the people who, despite enduring horrible persecution throughout its history, are extremely proud of their Catholic faith. They are so devout that anyone who sees it can't help but be moved by it."

Father West has a unique perspective on Korean Catholicism, having spent his early teen years in Korea. At such an impressionable age, the country, the culture and most of all, the language made a lasting impact on him. However, it never dawned on him that his time there would eventually intersect with Zyung and the small group of people who have become a mission within his midst.

"I was at a diocesan meeting and we broke for lunch when I found myself behind Bishop Taylor in the lunch line," Father West said. "I overheard him talking with someone else about this group and how they were requesting Mass in Korean and where would they find a priest who could do it. At first I just kind of said, 'Well, good luck with that,' but later I told him that I might be able to help him out with the project. He gave me the membership list on the spot."

Shortly thereafter in January 2009, Father West got a call from Sister Cecilia Chun, a Korean and prioress of the Carmel of St. Teresa of Jesus in Little Rock, asking if he would consider saying Mass in Korean for the group. When he discovered Sister Cecilia had called him independent of his encounter with the bishop, he felt a new sense of urgency.

"I figured I had better start taking this seriously," he said. "It was starting to sound like this was coming from an independent source -- the ultimate independent source to be exact."

The addition of Father West as a celebrant paved the way for the group to celebrate its first Mass in their native Korean March 9, 2009, an event attended by Bishop Taylor. Father West, with the help of Sister Cecilia, spent weeks brushing up on his Korean in anticipation of that first Mass. He's continued to develop, to the approval of his congregants.

"I'm proud of the time Father West has spent for the Korean community," Zyung said. "When he first started he read so slowly, but I'm really proud of him for learning Korean that fast."

For his part, Father West said celebrating Mass in Korean isn't particularly difficult, partly because of the phonetic nature of the language and the fact the text changes very little from service to service.

"I feel very privileged (and) so very happy to be involved," he said. "I love them. I really do."

Korean Mass is celebrated twice a month at Immaculate Conception Church in North Little Rock. The Saturday liturgy starts at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday liturgy starts at 1:30 p.m. A potluck meal follows. Because the dates of the Masses change month to month, those interested in attending should contact the church office at (501) 835-4323 or Zyung at (501) 258-5887.