<p>I either heard or read somewhere that Cornell has a Korean church for 1st gen. and 2nd gen. Koreans. Is it true?</p>
<p>You read correctly.</p>
<p>wow, that's really cool. I really hope i get accepted now :-)</p>
<p>That is very nice.</p>
<p>There's also a couple of Asian christian groups on campus: CBA (Chinese Bible Study), and GCF (Grace Christian Fellowship). GCF tends to have a lot of Koreans</p>
<p>I don't see the point behind ethnic churches/religious clubs. Isn't Christianity about bringing people together? Unless the issue is the language barrier, but that doesn't seem like it'd be a problem for most Cornell students.</p>
<p>that's an interesting question ^....so, are 3rd generation Koreans aren't allowed to attend, or is it just the 1st/2nd generation ones? :)</p>
<p>I wouldn't say it's a language barrier as much as it is a cultural one. I agree, it would be nicer if all the groups were more racially and culturally mixed, but there's just a lot of people, and so you have to draw some lines somewhere.</p>
<p>And as for the Korean fellowships, there's a Korean Church at Cornell Korean Ministry (which is in Korean) and a Korean Church at Cornell English Ministry (which is in English). See what I mean by the cultural barriers?</p>
<p>1st generation Koreans are considered Koreans whose first language is Korean; they would want to attend the Cornell Korean Ministry. 2nd gen. Koreans are those who speak English and little Korean (like me...I know maybe 10 words in the Korean language). Stargazerlilies, I'm just going to assume you were joking XD</p>
<p>Exactly. I would understand why first gen. Koreans would have the need for services in their own language. But I don't see any cultural or religious value in it.</p>
<p>///Stargazerlilies: There is no need for extreme interpretation.<br>
1st gen folks are usually more inclined to attend Cornell Korean Ministry.<br>
2nd gen folks are usually
more inclined to attend Cornell English Ministry.<br>
3rd gen and subsequent gen folks (By the way, I rarely saw 3rd gen folks
going to college, due to anti-foreign campaign that was heavily put in practice
about a century ago.) may go to whichever they wish.
It's not like there's a penalty for a Korean student depending on his/her
Korean proficiency. In fact, in most Korean churches, it's actually encouraged that
1st and 2nd gen folks to choose for themselves. It's all up for him/her to decide.
///SaveTheManatees: Yes, Christianity is all about accepting the saving grace of God
and uniting everyone in the world in the teachings of the bible. But this process
sometimes becomes more flexible when there is an extra boost from an individual's
own culture, as an individual is more sympathetical and comprehensive of his/her
culture than that of others. Just because there are different sects (although some
are definitely wrong kind of sects) does not mean that we all fundamentally deviate from
the set goal of God and decide to engage in intra-racial feud. Don't we all try to put ourselves
in a bit more favorable environment? Perhaps like that with a name of...
[Cornell], eh?</p>
<p>Jaysong - no, ImReachingForIt got it, I was joking (hence the smiley face) and poking fun at how oddly specific it was...like 1st gens, come over to this church, and 2nd gens, come on down to this one, 3rd gens...y'all can just go over there...hahah it's like segregated by generations. Don't worry, I have a great understanding of Korean Christian values, which I learned from watching Gilmore Girls.</p>
<p>btw, that last sentence was a joke in case you missed it again. heh</p>
<p>The only downside is that the KCCE services are on Friday nights.</p>
<p>SaveTheManatees: There is a significant cultural value to it that most non-Koreans wouldn't know about. Christianity held an important role in Korean American immigrant life. The church was a place where early Korean immigrants could gather and develop social networks when their populations were low. So it's not surprising that most early Korean American leaders were ministers and pastors. Even the first South Korean president, Syngman Rhee, was a Korean American Christian leader. Phillip Jaisohn, the first naturalized Korean in the United States, was also a Korean American Christian leader. The first Korean language newspaper in the U.S. was published in San Francisco by the Korean Evangelical Society. The church was to the Korean American community like the town hall meeting was to New England towns throughout the colonial period. This cultural bonding continues to present day. There's no intent to self segregate; that's just how things developed.</p>