Page 6 - 영문 이성필성지순례여행

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A Letter of Recommendation | What do you see?
Rev. Sung Pil Lee, a historical explorer, is not a ship anchored in the port. He is
a ship that is constantly sailing. Even today, his voyage of exploration is advancing
forward splitting the waves.
His exploration of the Christian missionary cultural heritage in Korea invites us to
the sites in multicultural dimension. The photos of 175 Christian historic sites and
backstories are a three-dimensional exploration of cultural heritage and the book is
beyond a simple photo book.
Following his camera angle and listening to his honest explanation, you will be
amazed by his outstanding historical awareness, the architectural aesthetics, and the
artistic values. This book shows harmoniously exteriors and interiors of martyrdom
sites, missionary memorials, history museums, and churches with the scent of
Christian cultural heritage. As you can see the name of the book, this book is a
guide book for traveling to Christian holy sites in Korea.
The author, Rev. Sung Pil Lee, is not only a photographer but also an artist. It is
wrong to limit him to the category of simple photographers. His point of view puts
the past, the present and the future into one frame and he is excellent at creating
words of life in that fixed space. So his work is a living audiovisual message.
The prophet Jeremiah was looking at a branch from an almond tree and a boiling
pot facing away from the north. ‘What do you see?’ God asked. Jeremiah told him
what he saw. God said to him, ‘You have seen well, for I am watching to perform My
word. From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land.’ God
who spoke to Jeremiah asks us again today, ’What do you see?’ Facing this question,
let’s explore the Christian culture and the historic sites of Christians in Korea with a
kind guide, Rev. Sung Pil Lee. Let’s weigh the anchor of the great adventure to find
the lost first love.
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June 10 , 2008
Jong Gu Park | Publisher of Monthly Ministry
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Preface| Publishing the 3 edition of Christian Holy Sites Tour in Korea
When people thought that pilgrimage was an overseas trip to holy sites mentioned
in the Bible taking money and time, I started to excavate, explore, and record the
Korean national mission field with a history of 140 years that had not been found in
any other region, country, or ethnic group since the gospel was spread world widely.
I wondered what motivated Korea to become a world mission center that spreads
the gospel to the end of the earth and how the history of Korea mission has been
preserved.
Realizing Korean churches are given a great mission of handling the mission field
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of the 21 century in this global IT era, I traveled around the Korean Peninsula with
a camera and a pen to find the root of evangelism and searched for missionaries'
ministries, self-sustaining churches, the footsteps of blooded martyrs, and local
evangelization. Further, I searched for the history of the beginning of the society
which contributed to cultural enlightenment, education, medical care, business, and
physical education etc.
To share the impression and the grace that I felt to the Korean churches, the 1 st
edition of ‘Tour with Faith’ which introduces 137 sites was published and thanks to
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the support of many pilgrims, the 2 edition including 153 sites was published.
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As the 2 edition went out of print, republishing it was demanding. Taking this as
an opportunity, I explored newly investigated 20 additional Christian sites and the 3 rd
edition was published under the title of ‘Christian Holy Sites Tour in Korea’ instead of
‘Korea Pilgrimage Tour’ as it has sense of Catholicism.
Especially, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Elder Myung-soo Lee,
the head of Sejul publishing company, for giving me great strength in both physical
and mental aspects so that I could publish the book.
In the summer of 2023 in Yeongjong do
Rev. Sung Pil Lee