zandd.com: As you have probably guessed already, this column deals with religion, especially issues pertaining to Korean Americans and their experience with religion. Now there are a lot of things I could say, but to keep it simple, I just want us to take a step back and examine how religion affects us in our lives. That's the point of this column. So, no use of big words, no funky lingo, and definitely no references to Korean dramas (I hate those). Let us just discuss and for this month, let's look at the typical Korean church.

Jumping right in then, picture this; you are a Korean American male or female. Which means basically your parents wanted you to attend Harvard, otherwise pronounced Ha-Ba-Du, become doctors whether you like it or not, and make so much money that you can buy North Korea, unite it with South Korea, and eventually win the Nobel Peace Prize. Also, your parents took you to a Korean church. And, interestingly, your church and the church every other Korean attends in this nation starts with either KCPC, KUPC, KPC, or something around there. Korean "Something" Presbyterian Church. It never fails.

Adding on, it is easy to see that the Korean church is quite different from any other church out there. Of course we sing praises, listen to messages, and give offering, but a lot more of our odd little characteristics seem to be incorporated in our church. For example, I know that most Korean churches serve Dunk'n Donuts, or ttuk, or gook-bap (the equivalent to mystery meat), after service. Also, if you look around the parking lot of the church, it almost seems like a Japanese car show. Honda Accords and Civics are so low, I tend to step on them, and Acura Integras have spoilers that poke people's eyes out fifteen feet away. What's even more interesting is the fact that about five people come out of these little cars.

How about the "dress code" you ask? A lot of my Japanese or Caucasian friends, when I ask them to join me at service, ask, "Hey how should I dress? Do I have to wear black or something?" (Funny guys.) But, to some extent, I can see why they would worry about clothes because people come in some fine garments. Personally, I think Banana Republic and the Limited started the Korean church to increase profits. Some people even go the next step and "express" themselves in Prada, Gucci, Armani, and clothes from all those other Italian stores where I personally couldn't even buy underwear from because it would mean sacrificing my tuition for a year.

And finally, who can attend the Korean church without their weekly dose of the Church Gossip? Oh yes, this is the Temptation Island of the Korean church where participants find out who likes who, who's taking who to the dance, where he/she was last weekend, and what he/she said about him/her. Delicious information for everyone. I learned that when you attend a Korean church, you will find out basically everything about everybody from everybody even without asking for the information. Most of the time the conversation goes like this,

"Hey Sam, how are you doing?"

"Silence naïve church participant!!! (gesturing me to whisper) Did you hear about..." (and so on).

Now, it might seem like I'm making a mockery of the Korean church, but really I'm not. I love the Korean church and think the things associated with it are somewhat humorous. That's why I think the Korean church is an experience of its own.

So, the question I want to bring up now is, amidst all these extracurricular activities, are we really focusing on the basic education we are supposed to be receiving by attending a church? I mean, basically there are lots of things going on that could technically lessen our true motive for being there, which is to worship God and bring Him glory, right?

When we are singing praise songs, are we singing to compare our voice to the person next to us? Are we singing just the words without really knowing what we are singing about?

During messages, are we focused and listening attentively or are we gossiping and checking out that girl in the one-piece dress? (maybe for the girls, that special guy in skin tight shirts?)

How about offering? Are we putting that dollar or two in the basket out of thanks or out of obligation?

I'm asking you to take a step back, look inside and see your true motive for attending church. I know that fast cars and pretty people are tempting to think about, but for that one or two hours at church, shouldn't we focus all of our attention on God? Because, worshipping God can be fun too. It doesn't always have to be dry messages about how you're going to hell if you don't believe in God. John Piper, a famous pastor, wrote, "We praise what we enjoy because the delight is incomplete unless it is expressed in praise." For example, when the new H.O.T. CD or the new Britney Spears CD comes out, don't you get excited and want to share that with everyone you know? Just like that, we should be excited about the gospel and what our pastors have to say about the Creator. What He has to say to us through our pastors is important for our daily lifestyle and something to be considered instead of ignored.

Maybe we should think about transferring some of that joy and energy from driving up in fancy cars or wearing that new shirt, to worship and praise. Not that those things are necessarily bad or anything, but it shouldn't be our prime focus on Sundays. We should not become entangled with all these other distractions when God asks for our time.

But, once again, let me clarify that I'm not here to criticize. I'm just a college student. I don't know any better than you. I'm just presenting issues that have come across throughout my experience with religion. All I'm saying is that it is hard sometimes to distinguish a Korean church from a Korean Student Organization, each have a different purposes, which should be obvious to distinguish. I merely presented an issue many Korean American Christians have brought up.

So, for this month, this is food for thought; you do the dishes.

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