"History of the Church in Korea"

(This is Becca and her "mission twin" Sister Erickson)

1945:
Brother Russ Robinson, a sergeant in the United States Army, landed in Incheon. He was the first member of the Church known to have arrived in Korea.

1950
With the outbreak of the Korean War, thousands of United Nations troops came to Korea. Among those troops were many members of the Church.

1951
Dr. 김호직 attended Cornell University where he met Oliver Wayman, a member of the church. He learned about the gospel and was baptized. To quote from Brother Wayman's recollection:
"Shortly after Brother 김호직's arrival he was assigned to my office, which we shared.

During the time that we shared an office, we would occassionally take breaks from our studying or writing and discuss various topics. One day he asked me if I had any literature on the beliefs of my church. My response was affirmative.

Knowing that he was a devout and studious Presbyterian, I gave him a copy of Dr. Talmage's Articles of Faith. Within a week he had read the book and asked for more. He told me it was the best book on the gospel he had ever read and that he believed it thorougly. I gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon, which he read in a very short time. He accepted it as the word of God along with the Bible, but said that the Book of Mormon was much easier to understand and more complete. We encouraged him to attend our services and he agreed.

On the day I was leaving Cornell, I met him in the corridor. I felt impelled to ask Dr. 김호직 if he knew why he had left his hom, family, and a good position in Korea to come to the US..

His answer was that he had come to get a doctorate in nutrition from the most presitigious school in that field. I reminded him that he already had a doctorate in nutrition and that it seemed odd that he would leave his home and his family at such a critical time. He then responded that he needed the newer knowledge of nutrion that would be availabe at Cornell for the benefit of his people.

The Spirit was so strong that I felt as though I was transformed and stood beside myself above the floor. At no other time in my life have I been moved upon by the spirit as I was at that time.

I then bore my testimony of the gospel and told him that the Lord had moved upon him to come to America at the opportunity presented to him, in order that he might recieve the gospel and take it back to his people in preparation for a great missionary work to be done there. He had received the gospel but had been unwilling to accept it through repentance and baptism but wanted to carry the truths he had learned to the Presbyterian Church for its reform. This, I informed him, would not work and that if he refused to do the work the Lord had for him to do, another would be raised up in his place. That was the last time that we saw each other."

Brother 김호직 read the Book of Mormon again and through the Spirit, came to know of its truth. He was baptized on July 29, 1951, in the Susquehanna River near were Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery had been baptized. As brother 김호직 came up out of the water, he reported that the inspired testimony of Brother Wayman was sustained by a voice saying to him, "Feed my sheep, feed my sheep."

In September 1951 Dr. 김호직 returned home to Korea.