I’ve visited Adventist churches in Turkey, Argentina, Israel, Hungary, France, Portugal, Barcelona, and the Netherlands. Of all the churches I’ve been to, my experience in Korea has been the most different. Adventist churches in Korea differ mostly due to Korean customs and traditions. I attend a church in a rural town; certain customs – taking off your shoes or eating on a traditional Korean low-lying dining table – may differ in bigger cities.

Arriving to Church

Upon arriving to church on Sabbath morning, members and visitors must take off their shoes and place it on a shelf by the entrance door. When they enter the sanctuary, slippers are provided by one of the greeters or they can take a pair off the slippers shelf inside. Some of the older members prefer to stay with just their socks; slippers can feel bulky.

As you enter the sanctuary, if there are greeters beside the door, you slightly bow forward, using your head and upper body, keeping both hands on your side, and say hello anneyeong haseyo 안녕하세요. There may be more than one person there. If there are many people standing together, I usually would try to make eye contact with them, then bow once towards all the people in that area.

Sabbath School

One difference I noticed was in prayer. I presided for Sabbath School prayer one morning. The person praying has to kneel on a special mat on the floor and pray, speaking into a microphone about the height of a kneeling person. Sabbath school begins at 10:00am – 10:30am, then everyone break off into groups to review the Sabbath School lesson until 11:00am. At this time I usually assist the missionary and the Pastor’s wife with the children class, most of which is taught in English.

Divine Service

When someone presides on stage, said person must bow at podium first. Then the audience would bow their heads in response, to welcome the speaker, so he or she can proceed. Beside this, the service is very similar to most Adventist churches except hymnals songs are sung in Korean. I always feel at home whenever I hear the congregation saying amen during an exciting moment in the Pastor’s sermon or during a prayer. Every church is different and some are quieter than others because of their own customs and norms. I’m used to a lively, outspoken congregation at my home church in Brooklyn. Praise and worship (singing) in the Haitian community uses more instruments while people sing meaningfully. Some may wave their hands or their bodies slightly. In Korea, most churches use just a piano (one church I visit in Seoul uses violins, cellos and flutes as well), people also singing meaningfully as they stand, with little to no body movement. Divine service usually ends between 12:15pm and 12:30pm.

Tithes and Offerings

Here is where I noticed the biggest difference. When I asked the Pastor Moksanim 목사님 for the reason behind their style of collecting tithes and offering, he explained it was due to lack of space and time constraints. When I started attending, I wondered why baskets weren’t passed around during tithes and offering. Then I finally asked the Pastor’s wife Samonim 사모님 and she explained it to me. 

Each member has three different envelopes with their names on it. The red envelope (at the bottom) is for offering. The cream envelope (the first one) is for tithes. The green envelop (in the middle) is for a special offerings. There are two types: offering for church missions and the less fortunate. When you enter the church you’d go to the area where the envelopes are kept; each person has their own section or cubby, which is labeled by name. They’re kept at the back of the church. There is a month and week chart inside every envelope. The donor writes the amount of money he or she wishes to give in the box that corresponds with the current month and week number. When they’re finished, they’ll take the envelop(s) and put it inside the left side or the right side of the collection box. The left side is for sabbath school offering and the right side is for divine service offering.

When it’s time for the collection during divine service, the designated collector already collected all the envelopes from the box and placed them in a basket. Then he or she will walk down the aisle as the collection music plays. The congregation is standing then the person presiding will pray over the collection.The envelopes are returned to its cubby after every service. I realized this style of collecting is a great way to keep a visible record of donations and it keeps donors somewhat anonymous.

After Church

This is my favorite part, greeting everyone. We shake hands using our right hand and bowing at the same time. The left hand is placed somewhere against our right forearm. In other words, we wouldn’t shake hands with someone using only our right hand. Both hands are engaged. Usually I’d hear people saying thank you at the end of church service, gamsa hamnida 감사합니다 or you can say hello anneyeong haseyo 안녕하세요 again.

Sabbath Lunch

Before entering the dining area, members and visitors also have to take off their shoes. The dining area is a short walk from the church. Slippers are kept on shelves by the entrance door, similar to the one inside the church. You could wear slippers or just stay with socks.

Sabbath lunch or potluck in Korea is very similar to most churches I’ve visited: everyone sits on chairs around a table. Food is usually served from a tray by an elder, church member and sometimes the Pastor. There are gifted members or deaconesses in the kitchen who prepares delicious food for the members and visitors. In some Korean churches, food is self served and everyone sits on the floor to eat around a traditional Korean low-lying dining table. After the Pastor prays over the food, everyone begins eating. What I really like is that at some point someone makes an announcement for everyone to thank the person who cooked, and we’d all clap.