DaeHwa Park
Hometown: Born in HongSeong and grew up in Yesan, in the western part of the Korean peninsula
My Story: I am the third son of K.W. Park and Y.J. Kwac (54th generation of the Park of ChoongJoo). I attended college and graduate study in theology in Seoul, the capital city of South Korea. In the 1980s, I served as an intern, youth minister and young adult minister at Mokyang Korean Methodist Church (Suji, Korea). I had three years of military service as an officer for the Korean Air Forces in the early 1990s. I came to the U.S. in 1995 and attended Wesley Theological Seminary, graduating with a dual degree of M. Div. and Master of Theological Studies, with an emphasis on Biblical Theology, in May 2000. I worked as an educational consultant for college preps in the Greater Washington area for 3 years. Meanwhile, I also served as young adult pastor for ChunSung (Heavenly Kingdom) Korean Methodist Church, in Fairfax Station, Virginia, and as a youth pastor at Washington Korean Mission in Gaithersburg, Maryland, before my pastoral appointment at Mowatt Memorial United Methodist Church in Greenbelt, Maryland, in 2000. I was appointed associate pastor at Oakdale Emory United Methodist Church in July 2005. Here at OE, I have pastoral responsibilities for the areas of worship, discipleship and service.
Family: My wife, YoungHoon, and sons Gideon, 9, Jeremy, 7, and Theodore, 5 months.
My Passion: Establishing God’s Kingdom and His righteousness among people on this planet.
Favorite Pastime: I spend my free time with family. I love gardening, listening and playing music, traveling, jigsaw puzzle, etc.