'Testimony of an Action Hero Who Appeared in Around 200 Movies such as Shaolin VS. Terminator'

Elder Choon Jo (1-6 Parish)

"I have a dream. I want to preach the gospel to actors and produce Christian dramas with them. I will try my best to evangelize neglected neighbors, the imprisoned and released prisoners. I give all thanks and glory to God who has led me all the time."


"~ Before my daddy goes to work, I give him a kiss on his cheek. Po Po Po.~"
This is the theme song of MBC TV programming for kids, 'Po Po Po' on which I appeared a long time ago. With the help of my elder sisters I became an actor at the age of 25. All my five sisters had high profiles as actresses of the Korea Women's National Musical Company. In particular, my fourth sister, Mrs. Geumaeng Jo, is recognized as the last living Grand Master of the Korea Women's National Musical.


I met the Lord through the voice saying "hold My hands" in a car accident

In 1973, I started to receive attention from people when I appeared with a shaven head in the movie called 'General in Red Armor'. Afterwards, I played as an extra and became a supporting actor. Because I held black belts in judo, taekwondo, and hapkido, and won the second place in a body building competition, I was responsible for teaching actors martial arts and even performed in action scenes.
I appeared playing mainly action scenes in about 200 movies including 'Shaolin VS. Terminator' and 'Super Hong Kil-Dong.' I also won popularity from people through my comical acting in programs like 'Po Po Po' of MBV TV and 'Young-Gu! Young-Gu!'
In January, 1987 when it snowed heavily, I met the Lord. I was driving with my daughter to drop her off at school where she would take the practical performance test for college entrance. At the very moment when I turned my car on the icy road to pass a toll gate toward Gyeonggi Do, a car behind mine strongly ran into my car. I felt my car bounce and move beyond the safety fence. At the moment, I heard a voice saying "hold my hands" and saw white hands coming to me all of sudden. I was so surprised. As soon as I held them, the car stopped. It was such a frightening moment because there was the 5m vertical drop beyond the safety fence.


My spiritual eyes opened and the fire of the Holy Spirit came upon me

I came to attend church after the accident. However, I still had greed for worldly things as an actor. I faced several more car accidents because I would not keep the Sabbath holy and could not be under the protection of God, either. Afterwards, I tried my best to attend Sunday worship services. Nevertheless, I could not choose a church where I would keep attending.
I was very happy when I did volunteer works in many kinds of volunteer organizations like the Disabled Association. Meantime, in May 2010, led by an acquaintance, I came to visit Manmin Central Church. I can never forget the day when I attended the service of the church for the first time. God opened my spiritual eyes and allowed me to experience His grace. On that day, Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee on the altar looked 1.9 meters tall to me and strong light came from him. Moreover, I was so astounded when Dr. Jaerock Lee introduced me to the believers, because I saw tens of thousands of the congregation there.
After the service, I was amazed again seeing Dr. Lee from up close. He is almost 70, but he looked much younger than he is. His upright, dignified, modest, and gentle attitude touched my heart all the more. After talking to him, I could not help but to kneel down before him and ask him to lay his hands on me and pray. At the moment of prayer, the fire of the Holy Spirit came into me.


I became a born-again Christian in Manmin Central Church

I came to long for the following Lord's Day. During the service, Dr. Lee talked about what Jesus wrote on the ground when He forgave a woman caught in adultery and the spiritual meaning embedded in the incident. I was filled with amazement listening to the spiritual message such that I had never heard during my 23-year Christian life.
I decided to put down roots in Manmin Central Church for the rest of my life. I registered as a member of the church in May 23rd, 2010. I realized that we Christians have to place priority on accomplishing the heart of the Lord. Since I came to know the importance of prayer, I have attended Daniel Prayer Meeting held in the church every night. How grateful I am for it! I pray with tears of repentance and gratefulness while looking back on my past life.
After registering as a member of Manmin Central Church, I have experienced the love of the Lord very often. During the 2010 Summer Retreat, I tasted the existence of the spiritual realm through dragonflies. They sat on my head and hands as well as on those of brothers and sisters. They did not even depart from us. Thanks to the dragonflies which God sent us, I could not see any mosquitoes or moths in the place. They were very blissful moments.


My wife came to attend our church and my daughter met God the Healer

One of blessings that I have received is that my wife, who had been lost in a spiritual sense, has attended Manmin Central Church since this past October when the church had its 28th Church Anniversary Celebration Service. My daughter not only came to attend the church the following week, but after receiving Dr. Lee's prayer, she was healed of Meniere's Syndrome and otolithiasis which she had suffered from without taking medication.
I have enjoyed good health since I started to attend our church. I have changed my way of speaking and behavior pattern. I even feel like staying in the church because all things in this church let me feel the love of the Lord which is seen in the believers who treat me with nice and warm hearts; Dr. Lee, who delivers messages boldly with tears; the love for souls; the goodness, and the performance teams that help us picture the beautiful heavenly kingdom.
I had roles offered to me in three dramas which have 20, 50, and 100 episodes respectively. I am scheduled to film a TV commercial. On April 9th, I appeared on 'Life Story' of i-TV FM. I give thanks deep in my heart to the Lord who gave me abundant blessings both in spirit and flesh.



1. Along with actorDeokhwa Lee in acharity event
2. Experiencedspiritual realm through dragonfliesduring the 2010 Summer Retreat