(Get this design on a T-shirt!)
Free resources about the Korea Seoul Mission:
- Mission address and phone number
- Mission map
- Video interviews with returned missionaries
- Missionary blogs
- Facebook groups
- LDS Mission t-shirts and gifts
- List of past mission presidents
- Cultural articles written by returned missionaries
- Survey with RMs
*Other Mission Pages: Korea LDS Missions.
Korea Seoul Mission Address
Here’s a recent address for the Korea Seoul Mission. We try to keep this information up to date, but it’s a good idea to check the address with several sources, including your mission packet or the mission office.
Korea Seoul Mission
Jahamun-ro 152 1 dong
Jongno-gu,
Seoul-teukbyeolsi 03046
South Korea
Jahamun-ro 152 1 dong
Jongno-gu,
Seoul-teukbyeolsi 03046
South Korea
Phone Number: 82-2-734-3653
Mission President: President Brent J. Christensen
Mission President: President Brent J. Christensen
Korea Seoul Mission Map
Here’s a link to the mission map for the Korea Seoul Mission (LDS). To access the official, up-to-date LDS.org map for the Seoul Mission:
Videos with Korea Seoul RMs
Here are in-depth YouTube video interviews with returned missionaries from the Korea Seoul Mission. We interview hundreds of returned missionaries each year, so check back regularly to see new RM interviews.
LDS-Friendly Videos about South Korea
Here are LDS-friendly educational videos about South Korea. We scoured YouTube to find the best quality videos about South Korea, that are free from inappropriate music, immodesty and profanity.
Korea Seoul Missionary Blogs
Here’s a list of LDS missionary blogs for the Korea Seoul Mission. This list includes the missionary’s name, URL and when their blog was updated.
Korea Seoul Mission Groups
Here are Korea Seoul Mission Groups- for LDS missionary moms, returned missionaries, mission presidents and other alumni of the Seoul Mission.
- Korea Seoul LDS Mission Facebook Group (371 members)
- Korea Seoul Mission: 2002-2007 Facebook Group (197 members)
- Korea Mission (Busan, Daejeon, Seoul) Moms Group (42 members)
- Busan, Daejeon, Seoul and Seoul South Group (6 members)
- Seoul Mission- President Paull H. Shin (1988-91) Group (5 members)
- Korea Seoul Mission Alumni Group (3 members)
- Korea Seoul Mission – 1982-1988 Group (2 members)
Korea Seoul Mission T-Shirts
Here are T-shirts for the Korea Seoul Mission!
Shirt designs include Korea Seoul Mission logo/emblem shirts and Called to Serve shirts. The shirts make great gifts for pre-missionaries, returned missionaries and missionaries currently serving. LDS Mission shirts come in all sizes: Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large, up to 4XL. The mission designs are printed on white shirts and are shipped to you.
*Simply click on a shirt design to view the details and submit an order. The designs on mission t-shirts may also be printed on other LDS mission gifts, including: Korea Seoul missionary aprons, Christmas stockings, ties, pillow cases, teddy bears and Christmas ornaments.
*Click here to browse Seoul Mission gifts
Korea Seoul Mission Presidents
Here’s a list of current and past Mission Presidents of the Seoul LDS Mission.
- 2015-2018, R. Craig Sonksen
- 2012-2015, Brent J. Christensen
- 2009-2012, Lee Yong Hwan
- 2006-2009, Man Goo Cho
- 2003-2006, Brian K. Sellars
- 2000-2003, Rex O. Carlson
- 1997-2000, Daryl Harris
- 1994-1997, Jun Jong Chul
- 1991-1994, Michael E. Nicholas
- 1988-1991, Paull H. Shin
- 1985-1988, Lee Do Whan
- 1982-1985, David C. Butler
- 1980-1982, Brent Clement
- 1977-1980, F. Ray Hawkins
- 1974-1977, Eugene P. Till
- 1971-1974, L. Edward Brown
- 1968-1971, Robert H. Slover
- 1965-1968, Spencer J. Palmer
- 1962-1965, Gail E. Carr
South Korea LDS Statistics (2016)
- Church Membership: 87,296
- Missions: 4
- Temples: 1
- Congregations: 122
- Family History Centers: 24
Helpful Articles about South Korea
Korea Seoul Missionary Survey
Here are survey responses from Korea Seoul RMs, to give you a snapshot into what it’s like to live in the mission.
When did you serve?
- 2013-2015 (Brandon)
- 2014-2015 (Alex)
- 2011-2013 (Mike)
- 2010-2012 (Reggie)
- 2010-2012 (Aleks)
- 2010-2012 (Edward)
- 2013-2015 (Sam)
- 2003-2005 (Eric)
What areas did you serve in?
- Hwayang, Sindang, Imun, and Dongdaemun. (Alex)
- Uiejeoungbu, Bong Chun, Kang Dong, and Man Su. (Mike)
- 서울시 (신촌, 개봉, 동대문), 파주시 (금촌), 강원도 (강릉, 동해), 인천시 (답동). (Reggie)
- 수지, 동작, 산본, 원당, 금촌, 부천. (Aleks)
- I served in Seocho that covers the entire Seocho district in Seoul followed by Dongdaemun then my third was in Uijeongbu, a different city and my biggest area. Then I went to Geumchon in the city of Paju and my last area is Bucheon. (Edward)
- 속초, 고양시 (원당 와드), 중랑구, 태백. (Sam)
- 동대문, 원주, 화양. (Eric)
What were some favorite foods?
- I love the Kimchi stew (kimchi jjigae)! It is so good! A lot of the food is spicy, but so good! There are some non-spicy foods like bulgogi (often called Korean BBQ) which is so good! A more accurate version of BBQ though is karbi (but that is pretty expensive–I only had it a few times). (Brandon)
- Kimchi stew, noodles with black bean sauce, dumpling soup, meat buffets with all kinds of meat, mixed rice, chicken rib mixed rice, kimchi, rib soup, spicy beef soup, lots of good things over there. (Alex)
- Kim chi soup, Kim chi Bulgogi, and Buday soup. (Mike)
- 닭갈비, 김치찜, 탕수륙, 자짱면, 참치주먹밥. (Reggie)
- 감자탕, 부대찌개, 김치침. (Aleks)
- They have this thing in Korea called budae jjigae, soup that was actually came out during the Korean war. It is made of kimchi, spam, noodles and some veggies. I also love their rice roll or kimbap in korean. Korean ramen is good too! Well some people from different missions had gained weight but it did not happen to me because Koreans eat a lot of veggies even when they eat meat, they always eat it or wrap it in lettuce. They eat rice but not that so I lost some weight and it is a good thing for me. Samgyeopsal is great and shabu shabu. (Edward)
- 비빔빕, 삼계탕, 김치찌개, 육회 비빔밥, 생선구이. (Sam)
- Solong Tang, Kar Gook Soo, Soon Dubu Chigay. (Eric)
What was a funny experience?
- See below about a language mistake I made in the MTC! (Brandon)
- We once looked through the window next to a door we were going to knock and saw a chicken strutting around in their kitchen. Not a common sight. (Alex)
- A lot of my funny experiences happened when I was training. I told my greenie (new missionary companion) that we were going to have gome taang, which is a beef soup. However, gome in Korean is also bear. I let my companion believe he was eating bear soup ^^. (Mike)
- Well, long story short, I got called to white wash and train in an area that had just reopened in my third transfer. However, the house was inhospitable due to mold so we had to live with the zone leaders in their area. The problem with this was that this transfer Zone Leader Council was to be held the morning after transfers and so we couldn’t travel to the house until the next day because we had no key and no idea where to go. Being stranded in 동대문, we did some proselyting before dinner whereupon we picked a restaurant to eat. Being so very green myself, all I knew about eating in Korea was you pick a place and ate. This restaurant, however, was a 쭈꾸미 식당, and so my companion’s very first real meal in Korea consisted of one of the three spiciest Korean foods! I’ll let you imagine what happened next! (Reggie)
- When I first got my second greenie (as a trainer), we went to the middle of Seoul for a proselyting activity and the first thing my companion testified was “I know that I am Jesus Christ.” (Aleks)
- We were doing some street contacting at night and there was these two old drunk men and we passed them by and they told us how are we so good looking, and telling us, “Hey foreigners, you are handsome.” One of them gave me a wet kiss on my cheeks and my companion was looking and dying. Korean men get nicer when they are drunk. (Edward)
- We had an alcoholic man who lived across the street from the church who was the self-designated 관리 for the church. He loves the missionaries and made life miserable for the teenagers who tried to hop the fence into the church parking lot for a smoke. (Sam)
- My junior companion thought it would be funny to use the dry ice we got from Baskin Robbins and make a dry ice bomb. He proceeded to throw it out a 16-story window… It was juvenile but comical… I was speechless. (Eric)
What was a crazy/dangerous experience?
- Driving in Korea is pretty interesting! The road rules are pretty much the same as America, but there are a lot more cars on the road and the roads are a lot more narrow. In my mission only the office elders or assistants to the president drove a car. (Brandon)
- Had a drunk man that wouldn’t let go of my arm. I didn’t understand what he was saying so my companion did all of the talking, especially all of the refusals to drink together. He then grabbed my arm and said just the two of us would drink together then. (Alex)
- One of the craziest experiences that I had was when the Socho Chapel had a mudslide. Our mission president directed us to go help clean out the church. The missionaries needed up in the basement in chest-deep mud scooping barrels out. (Mike)
- Any taxi ride, especially in 강원도. (Reggie)
- When a crazy long time investigator came to our apartment with a knife threatening to kill me, luckily we were at the church teaching English. We both got emergency transferred and I didn’t tell my family until I go home from my mission, don’t want to freak your mom out! (Aleks)
- I remember when we are trying to find a less-active member’s house we walked in this sketchy street. We were both kind of creep in this little narrow street so we walked by. We saw this house and at first it was just nothing but then, there was a smoke coming out form the window and I never ever had that kind of smell so my companion told me we have to get out. We found later that that house has an illegal drug laboratory. After the stake conference in my 1st area, our ward mission leader offered us a drive back to our apartment. So while we were on the road, we got hit by a car behind us but it was not that bad but we were got dizzied because of the impact. (Edward)
- My companion and I needed to get to an investigator and the only way to do so was to scale some tall walls into the slums of our area. (Sam)
- I got blisters on my feet from wearing shoes that were too small. Those blisters popped one day while playing soccer at a 제육 대회. A few weeks later my foot got so swollen that I had to go to the hospital in Shin-Chon. Turns out that I got cellulitis and had to be put on bed rest for one week while my foot healed. (Eric)
What was a spiritual experience?
- For me, one of the most spiritual experiences was when we would invite people to be baptized! It was really cool! I remember the first time I invited someone to be baptized. We had just watched the video about the Restoration and the Spirit was really strong. I asked him what he thought about it. After he responded, I asked him if he would be baptized and he agreed! It was so cool! It was awesome! (Brandon)
- I baptized a man who’s wife wanted nothing to do with the church. Over a year later, and after being transferred, I was able to go back for her baptism at the hands of her husband. (Alex)
- One of the most spiritual experiences I had was with a less-active member. We spent the whole afternoon searching for this ladie’s house, and we could not find it. My companion were about to give up, and call it a day, when we pulled off the main street to say a prayer to ask for help finding this ladie’s apartment. We said our prayer, and almost immediately we turned the corner and found her street. We then knocked on her door, and were able to invite her to come back to church. It was a great feeling to know the Lord used is as his instrument. (Mike)
- One of our converts, that we had the pleasure of teaching, was actually a refugee from North Korea. At her baptism, she shared her story and her path to conversion and it was by far the most heartbreaking and inspiring story I have ever heard. She decided to flee, she said, because she was always hungry and thought “if I can eat and be full just once, then I will be happy.” Upon arriving, though, she realized that food didn’t equal happiness; family did. After several years, she ended up being reunited with her elder sister who had sneaked across several years before and whom our investigator thought had died. Her sister had converted and introduced her to the gospel which she eventually accepted. Her final words of that testimony were, “I now realize that the Lord is my light and He led me here.” (Reggie)
- Oh man it’s a long one that should be in an ensign. It doesn’t have to do with teaching a lesson or anything with proselyting. So I was a new missionary and my companion and I went home at the end of the day and go to sleep, just a regular night. We usually didn’t lock our door because Korea is a relatively safe place, unlike some parts of America. So we were sure we left the door unlocked because that’s what we always did. At around 2 am we hear a rustling at the door, and it’s getting louder. Someone’s trying to get in. My companion wakes up first and wakes me up frantically saying “elder, someone’s trying to get in!” I wake up for a bit, mumble something, and go back to sleep. But anyways, my companion gets out of his yo and goes to the door to lock it because the person is still trying to get in. Then, he turns the bolt and the door swings open! In the hallway there is a drunk man that belligerently turns back to our door, obviously drunk. My companion freaks out and closes the door and locks it. He stays up for a while then finally gets back to sleep. We recap the previous nights event that morning and I ask him what happened. He’s like “there was someone trying to get in and I went to lock it and the door opened, saw the guy, yelled at him, closed it, locked it.” Then I think that through and I’m like “wait, we never lock the door, how did it open when you tried to lock it?” That’s when it hit us both. Sometime between 10 and 2 something or someone locked our door. That day I came to know that Heavenly Father protects righteous people, especially his missionaries. I remember that moment so vividly it’s crazy! (Aleks)
- Spiritual experiences are part of being a missionary. I will never forget my first teaching appointment with my trainor. We had this investigator named Lee HeeSook. She investigates the church for a while so when I came there, the missionaries taught up to the second lesson. On my first Sunday, me and my trainer taught her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ with our ward mission leader. When it was my time to teach her about faith, I know my Korean was really bad at that time but I was trying to explain to her about faith in my broken Korean. So I looked to my companion to help me put then when he talked, Sister Lee told him to shut his mouth and let me to talk more because she felt something on what I said. Then my trainer told me to share my testimony so i shared a really simple testimony about faith. At night, he told me about what happened at the lesson because I was confuse and didn’t understand what she was saying. I felt that assurance that the Lord will help me to learn the language to be able to teach the Koreans about the restored gospel. That is one of my spiritual experience. (Edward)
- I constantly felt that the Lord was using me as a source for good. (Sam)
- My companion and I were asked to give a blessing to a man with cancer. I just remember feeling overwhelmed at the idea but I felt comforted in our preparation and the blessing went well. (Eric)
What are some interesting facts about the Seoul Mission?
- When the mission split into the Seoul and Seoul South Missions, the Seoul Mission was left with, I think, less than 100 missionaries. When the next wave of missionaries came in, there were 30 new missionaries! Then when my group came in (the next wave) there were 30 more! So just about everyone was training! Our mission grew so much in size! When I left, we had about 200 missionaries! It was awesome! (The change was due to the influx of missionaries after the age change!) It is awesome! In my mission, there were six or more (often more) missionaries per ward or branch. You make up a much bigger percentage of the membership than the missionaries do in America! The members are always looking out for the missionaries! In my first area, I had a couple of members give me scarves to make sure I was warm! (Brandon)
- On the streets you don’t start conversations with the opposite sex, it’s not culturally ok. Some areas it’s cheaper to eat out every meal than ever eat at home. 2 of the top three universities are located in the boundaries. (Alex)
- Missionary service in Korea began during the Korean War. It was dedicated for the preaching of the gospel after the war. In Seoul, sometimes you can go see the border of North Korea. It is one of four mission in Korea. (Mike)
- It’s the greatest mission in the world. (Reggie)
- We go to the temple every transfer, which is not common around the world. You can find all different walks of life, from poor to rich. (Aleks)
- When I came to the mission, the Seoul mission covers the entire northern part of South Korea down to the cities of Anyang, Incheon, Siheung, Bucheon, etc. The mission also covers the DMZ or demilitarized zone and my two areas are actually bordering the two Koreas. When I was there, we have 10 zones and stakes like Incheon, Kangseo, Seoul nam etc. Seoul is divided by the Han River. There are more attractions in Northern Seoul than in the southern part. But the south is where the Gangnam is located which is now in different mission, the Seoul South. I had 2 areas there. The Seoul temple is located in the northern part, in Sinchon. The oldest church building in Korea is located in Dongdaemun which happened to be my second area. Seoul itself is a massive city which is not that new to me. I lived in big cities like Manila and Los Angeles so it was not that new to me. The city also is mostly hilly. (Edward)
- I served in just three areas: 동대문 (Dongdaemoon), 원주 (Wonju), 화양 (Hwayang). (Eric)
What was the weather like?
- The weather depends on the season. It has very intense hot summers (because of the high humidity) and very cold winters! But don’t let that discourage you! You can do it! Just be sure to pack for both types of weather! (Brandon)
- Very humid with temperatures in the high 90s in the summer down to the teens in the winter. (Alex)
- Hot and muggy in the summer, and cold and snowy in the winter. (Mike)
- Hottest summers in the world, winters cold enough to freeze the snot in your nose so that it stabs you every time you try to breathe, but Korea has amazingly beautiful springs and falls. (Reggie)
- Very humid. Summer is hot and winter is piercing cold! (Aleks)
- I am from Philippines, so the weather is totally new. They have four seasons like in Utah; spring, summer, fall and winter. Fall is absolutely my favorite in Korea. It is always sunny, the skies are blue which is totally a perfect combination to the trees with different colors. Their winter is freezing cold. I remember when I came to Korea and it was January. When we went outside with my Mission President, well at first they told me to prepare for it and kinda ignored it so we went outside and I remember the wind blew so cold and it feels cutting through your bones. I have been in America before but I never felt that kind of cold. Spring is beautiful. Flowers are my favorite during spring especially their cherry blossom trees. Summer is so hot and humid. Yup, I know it is hot in the Philippines but the difference is the summer in us has breeze but not in Korea. Somtimes it gets so wet because of monsoon or Jangma. I forgot that during spring, they have this thing called hwangsa. It is a yellow dust coming from China and I heard that it is pollutant and toxic. (Edward)
- Hot and humid. Cold and wet. (Sam)
- I arrived in June and it was really hot and humid. In August it seemed to rain constantly and the winters were really cold. (Eric)
Any things you really like about the area/people?
- I love the Korean people! They are so nice! Of course some people won’t really want to talk to you, but there are lots of people who will be willing to talk for a few moments! The members especially are awesome! They love the missionaries so much! They think of you almost as their own kids and will take care of you! They are so awesome! (Brandon)
- Very culturally diverse. Very family and culturally centered. Very passionate especially about themselves and their food. When they form relationships they’re hard to break. (Alex)
- The people of Korea are wonderful. Take time to meet with the members to search for referrals, and most of all serve with all your heart. Don’t come home wishing you worked harder. (Mike)
- They truly care about you. When the 2011 earthquake hit Japan, there were a lot of fears of acid rain. That day happened to be Sunday and the members immediately covered us with blankets and drove us home with instructions to not leave so that we wouldn’t die. We did leave to proselyte, of course, but it was really funny and touching how concerned they were for us. (Reggie)
- Korea is awesome! The food is great. The people are hard to get through to but once you do, they are the warmest souls around! It can be hard to be patient with them but you gotta just love them! (Aleks)
- I love all of my areas and my companions. I like how my mission gradually changed me. Even the members and my companions helped me to strengthen my faith and testimony of this gospel. (Edward)
- I love Koreans’ work ethic and patriotism. (Sam)
- Culture. Koreans are very cultural and very proud of their heritage. It makes them unique and lovable. (Eric)
Any packing/clothing advice?
- Make sure that you bring clothes for both warm weather and cold weather! Also, bring a few ties, but you don’t need to bring a lot! There is an awesome place in Seoul where you can buy ties for $1-$5! It is awesome! Many missionaries come back with tons of ties! (They aren’t bad quality either!) That same place also has cheap suits and you can get a tailored suit in a place outside of Seoul for about $100! You will want to have two suits, probably (we wore suits every day during the winter), but if you end up serving inside Seoul, you can get a one there (if you want–you will just have to schedule it for Preparation Day with your companion). (Brandon)
- If you’re towards the larger end in America you’ll have a hard time finding things that fit for clothing and shoes. Medium to average will have no problem. American toothpaste is hard to find as well as deodorant; Korean toothpaste exists but deodorant doesn’t. (Alex)
- During the summer, it was hot and muggy. I strongly suggest having money to buy summer suit pants in Korea. They have excellent tailors, who are generally cheaper than the US. In the winter, bring a good scarf, a warm and waterproof jacket (it can and will snow a ton of you are in Seoul), gloves, and potentially earmuffs/beanie. (Mike)
- Fit everything you can in two suitcases. Transfers involve you lugging everything around the subway or bus systems yourself or paying to mail your suitcases to your next area. So to save space, don’t buy souvenirs until the end of your mission if you can help it. You usually have a day at the end of the transfer to visit old areas with other returning missionaries and that is the best time to buy souvenirs. Also, ties are super cheap there so don’t worry about bringing too many, just go crazy when you get there. Have a nice winter coat, a nice rain coat, and bring a two year supply of toothpaste and deodorant if you can! (Reggie)
- Forget buying suits in America, buy them in Korea for way cheaper. Not to mention they are way more stylish there. Buy your winter jacket there too. Dongdaemun usually has good deals on everything, compared to America. Or you can find suits at random places on the street or at train stations. Bring a ton of deodorant and toothpaste because it’s really hard to find American toiletries over there. Bring a family photo album, Koreans love that stuff! (Aleks)
- Be sure that your shoes can last longer because Seoul Mission is a proselyting mission so you walk there every single day. In winter, you need some good jackets to wear because the temperature drops up to -15 celcius. Summer is hot so short sleeves will work well but make it sure they are breathable. You will sweat a lot because of humidity and gets soaking wet during the monsoon. (Edward)
- Take and umbrella for 장마철. (Sam)
- Bring a two year supply of American toiletries. I’d also recommend a multi-layer overcoat. One that you can shed or add layers if needed. (Eric)
What blessings did you receive from serving a mission?
- The biggest blessing I received from my mission is starting to understand that the Gospel is real. I had a testimony that it was true when I left, but I started to come to understand what that means on my mission. It is something that I am still coming to learn and understand! The Gospel really is the most important thing in the world! (Brandon)
- My testimony is embedded more than it was. I gained new insights about the scriptures. The Spirit is more familiar to me and I made my God my personal God, not just the all-powerful being we have to obey. (Alex)
- A strong work ethic, Patience, Leadership skills, Happiness, and Peace. (Mike)
- Name a blessing that I have and I can say it comes from my mission. I would never have been in the right place to meet my wife and thus never have met my daughter. Some of my best friends are old companions. I never grew up without very strong relationships with my family, and through serving my love for them grew and now I can say that I love them. (Reggie)
- I developed a love for the gospel and sharing it with everyone! You can’t be shameful when you are a missionary. Although on paper it may not have seemed like I did a ton of work, I am assured in my mind that I did. That’s between me and God.the feeling when you know you did all you can is so satisfying. Heavenly Father doesn’t ask for much, he just wants us to have a willing heart and mind. Some temporal blessings I recieved from serving my mission are getting back into the Air Force Academy and eventually graduating. It helped me become even more close with my family, especially my siblings. (Aleks)
- Greater testimony. Greater sense of purpose. Eternal friends. Closer relationship with God and my Savior. (Sam)
- The blessings are countless. It helped me cultivate my testimony by sharing it. I learned to listen to the spirit and act on promptings. I was blessed to overcome temptations and choose the right. And even today there are blessings in my life because it chose to serve the Lord. (Eric)
What are some skills you gained?
- I learned about working with other people and living with others. I also learned about patience. There were a lot of things that were hard, of course, but it helped me learn and made all the awesome experiences so much more great! So, I guess I learned about patience and about the purpose and blessings that come from trials. (Brandon)
- I know the Korean language, can eat any food you could ever try to offer me, have a much better understanding of big city life including public transportation, and I know how to stay busy preaching the Gospel. (Alex)
- Leadership, I learned how to teach, and how to talk to people. (Mike)
- Korean language, good study habits, time management, PATIENCE with difficult people, and money management. (Reggie)
- I learned Korean, which helped me get admitted into an Air Force language program that pays more money in addition to my base pay. I learned patience! Koreans are very indecisive at times and you have to know when to wait. I learned how to talk to people that you have never met in your life. It can be an awkward thing but there are a few things that are common in all people, and finding those things out are the building blocks for a relationship. (Aleks)
- Korean. Study skills. Teaching skills. Organizational skills. Leadership skills. (Sam)
- Learned how to plan, communicate, budget, organize, delegate, lead, build relationships, counsel, listen, work and focus on achieving my personal goals. (Eric)
What do you wish you knew/did at the beginning of your mission?
- I wish I had studied Preach My Gospel more before I had left. I also wish that I had started learning Korean before I left, because that would have helped a lot in the MTC and in the field. (Brandon)
- How good the restaurants are, we never ate out at first. (Alex)
- Your mission may not be the best two years of your life, but it will be the best two years for your life. (Mike)
- Language is not anywhere near as important as righteous living and the Spirit. I knew a missionary who could not speak Korean to save his life, but he touched more people and saw more success than any other missionary I ever met. (Reggie)
- Had a routine for studying Korean rather than playing it by ear. Don’t worry about the language too much. Yes, study, but don’t stress! (Aleks)
- I wish I’d loved the people more genuinely. (Sam)
- I wish I knew the scriptures better and had studied Korean culture and history more thoroughly as it would have helped me relate to the people better. (Eric)
Any advice/testimony for pre-missionaries going to Seoul?
- It is awesome! It really was the best two years! You are going to love Korea! Sure there will be some hard times, but those happen in any mission. Don’t be discouraged! A scripture that helped me when I was feeling discouraged is Moroni 7:33. The Lord really can help you do what you need to do if you rely on Him! Don’t be discouraged by the language or by the numbers. It is worth it! Remember the true definition of success (see Preach My Gospel Chapter One). You can do it and you will love it! Korea is awesome! You are so blessed to be going there! (Brandon)
- Only two things can hold you back from being the best missionary you can be. (1) Worthiness issues, and (2) not having a testimony. Worthiness issues can be repented of and forgiven. Not having a testimony requires work. If you don’t know, please read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. I know that if you read and pray with a sincere heart wanting to know the truth, the Lord will bless you with the knowledge that the church is true. (Mike)
- Try every food at least once. Strive to meet everyone in your area. Befriend the young men and women, Korea is a really hard country on the youth and they need role models. (Reggie)
- Don’t go through your mission, let the mission go through you! Love your companions even if you think they don’t love you. Serve everyone! The time I felt most like a missionary was when I did a random act of service for another person. For example, one day we were walking down the street and saw an old man carrying a few big bags of rice. He was struggling and we helped him take it up the hill to where he lived. The feeling of knowing you were there at that moment in that place to help another, lift their burden, made me feel most like a missionary. (Aleks)
- You have been called in the greatest mission in the world that will totally change your life. Korea is great! You will learn to love the people and the culture if you are diligent in doing the work. The people are amazing, the food and culture is great. Learning Korean can be tough but the Lord will provide a way to help you to accomplish His work. I know that the Lord will bless you in your service. I know that you can see miracles if you work hard and being obedient. I know that the Savior loves the Korean people and He wants them to come back in His presence. I know that through the gospel of Jesus Christ, you will help to change people’s lives and convert yourself too. I love Korea. (Edward)
- Love the Korean people and speak their language. (Sam)
What was a funny language mistake?
- In the MTC we tried to share a verse with our teacher (when we were practicing teaching) about the Holy Ghost (Galatians 5:22-23), but I couldn’t remember what the verse was. I only had my Korean scriptures with me, so I had to try to guess what the verse was. The scripture I ended up showing him was 1 Timothy 5:23. Good thing we weren’t trying to teach him the Word of Wisdom right away! But it worked out ok because afterwards (as he read it, I could tell from his expression it wasn’t the right verse) we just bore our testimony about the Holy Ghost. The Lord makes those things work out! (Brandon)
- I tried to say “that was a joke” but actually said “that was a farm.” (Alex)
- Saja in Korean means messenger, and lion. A lot of times when a new investigator reads The Book of Mormon introduction, where Joseph Smith talks about seeing a messenger referring to Moroni, they think a lion appears to him. (Mike)
- Nothing that I can really think of, actually. It is a super funny language, though, so have fun with it! (Reggie)