Deacon Jeongwoo Yu, age 31, Young Adults Mission, Manmin Central Church


I was born to the family whose members are engaged in Korean traditional music. When I was a 12th grader in National Traditional Arts High School, I was guided to Saturday Worship and Praise Service of Manmin. I was given faith in the living God while I was praising. I started to attend Manmin Central Church and performed with the Serem Korean Traditional Music Team. However, after I entered Korean Traditional String Instrument Department of Chung Ang University in 2006, I enjoyed the worldly pleasure with friends and only kept the Lord's Day.

After the army, I returned to school. I had many performances in school and made more friends. So I spent many days drinking alcohol and hanging around. I justified myself thinking I was enjoying music but in the other side of my heart I thought that there was no salvation for me when Senior Pastor eagerly urged us to turn back from sins with tears.

In the end of 2011, before my graduation, I made up my mind to lead my believing life properly. I stopped drinking, smoking and relationships with the opposite sex. I did not know how to pray but I went to Daniel Prayer Meeting every night and asked for God's mercy on me. On the third Monday of December, I was given the grace of repentance. I shed tears and had the runny nose of repentance. I was convinced that I had been forgiven. I was so thankful.

Afterwards, my life changed and I started to try my best to be renewed. When I failed to keep my heart and stumbled, I repented right away and offered up my heart in the special performances of Serem Korean Traditional Music Team to repay the grace.

After the graduation, I continued many performances and entered a graduate school of education in 2014. It was not that easy for me who had only studied music but I tried my best to become a source of help for the kingdom of God in the future. For the two years, I tried to serve my friends and students that belong to the Music Education Department as the president of students' association.

On July 29, 2016, right before the graduation, I found out the recruitment notice of the position for a Korean traditional flute major in my high school National Traditional Arts High School. I did not intend to become a teacher but I happened to think that the position would be mine. It was a rare opportunity because there had been no recruitment for the position for the last 23 years.

I cut myself off from the world and stopped all the public performances. I started to prepare for the test. I prayed in the church every night. I prepared for the performance test by practicing until 2 or 3 to 4 A.M. My lips hurt due to so much practice and the blood covered my flute. But I thought that Senior Pastor would be happy if I achieved the goal.

On January 20, 2017, the titles of songs we had to prepare for the test were announced. There were two tests, and the applicants were required to have the second class license of a teacher for secondary school and the third level of Korean History Test. I had those. In retrospect, it was all the guidance of God. At the right moment of my graduation, the position for the flute teaching became vacant. If I had entered the school a semester late or I had not written a thesis at the right time and graduated late, I could not have taken the test in the first place.

On January 27, I received Senior Pastor's prayer with the test in my heart when I came to his residence during Lunar New Year's holidays. On February 11, I took the written test and performance test. On February 14, I took the second test which consisted of production of lesson plan, teaching simulation, and in-depth interview.

As God was with me, I felt comfortable as if I were having fun at home. Two days later, I got the congratulatory text message from the school. I got the position. I knelt down before God and offered up prayer of thanksgiving.

I am the only flute instructor in the whole National Traditional Art Middle and High School. And I am the youngest teacher for this position. I also received the qualification of the civil servant who belongs to Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Many master artists and singers, my professors, friends, family and relatives greatly congratulated me.

I give thanks to God who gave me this great blessing as well as saved me who was on the way to death and gave me hope for New Jerusalem. Hallelujah!


Serem Korean Traditional Music Team offering up special performance