Kyung Hyang Presbyterian Church

Please forgive me if I've not been very good with answering e-mails or commenting lately. I have waited for a few days in the hopes of being in a better frame of mind before writing a new entry here. Hopefully the "raindrops have stopped falling on my head", at least for the time being.

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Thanks to English subtitles, I've recently begun watching several television shows at night on the Korean language station. The shows span the centuries, one being called "The Iron Empress" set in year 920 AD-ish to the "Jolly Widows", a current Korean drama about two women who became widows at the same time.

"The Iron Empress" is the granddaughter of Wang Gun, the first emperor of Goryeo (Korea). She has inherited her grandfather´s vision as well as his Great Spirit. The empress fights against the enemies trying to collapse Goryeo, and as "The Iron Empress", she gets rid of her brother, son, and even her lover, for the good of the empire.

Of course, the need for a Korean language television channel is driven by the large number of Koreans that have settled in the Lansdale area over recent years. In fact, I think there are at least five Korean Churches near my office. The one directly across the street from the office I work is one, the Kyung Hyang Presbyterian Church.

Kyunghyang is a national daily South Korean newspaper. Kyung Hyang also seems to be a very common name in Korea.

Kyung means "Soul" and I believe Hyang means "Homeland". Poetically, the phrase might mean "the butterfly must go to the flower."

In any event, the Church building was recently bought by a Korean congregation and they have spent a lot of time cleaning, painting, landscaping and in other ways making their Church building a very inviting place.


Notice there is an English language service at 13:00 hours or 1:00 PM for those of you that "don't do military time."


The fresh paint was really a vivid addition to my out the window visual scenery.


In the earlier days of the church it was understood that a soldier could not pursue an enemy that had entered through the red doors of a church.

The red doors were a symbol of refuge and sanctuary for all people who entered. To all concerned the red on the doors signified the blood of Christ that had been shed so that all who came to him could be saved. Anyone who passed through those doors was safe as long as they stayed behind them.


The color white is very special to Koreans. It symbolizes purity and cleanliness. Koreans have traditionally worn white both as little babies and as old folks ready to die.

The color blue symbolizes integrity and it also denotes gentleness and peace.


Connected to the back of the original church is the classroom wing.

Diversity often leads to social tension as do cultural differences.

Having watched a few Korean television shows, being mindful that television is not reality, I can readily appreciate the Korean culture and their pride in it. From a warlord / agrarian society beset by Mongolians, Chinese, and the Japanese, these people have over the centuries, forged themselves into a proud and honorable society.

Having watched them enthusiastically volunteer to maintain their new Church building; I welcome these folks to Lansdale and hope their new home is blessed with peace and integrity for many years to come.