A Journey to Korea

Revd David Walsh with Bishops from Seoul and Bishop John during their recent visit to the Diocese. Read more. 

Revd David Walsh, incumbent at St Peter & St Paul with St Michael & All Angels and All Saints, is currently on sabbatical in Korea having fallen in love with the city of Seoul during a Diocesan visit in 2019 with the Dean of Peterborough.

Inspired by this, David decided to spend his sabbatical this autumn in South Korea, living for around a month in Seoul, and the rest of the time visiting all four corners of the country, including the north-eastern city of Sokcho; the second city, the southern port of Busan; and South Korea's sub-tropical island of Jeju.

It is a fascinating country with a culture which happens to be very prominent right now. The opening at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum of the exhibition ‘Hallyu! The Korean Wave’,  K-Pop, the Oscar winner ‘Parasite’ and TV’s Squid Game to name just three examples.  As well as this, South Korea currently has the church with the largest congregation in the world; the department store with the largest turnover, recently overtaking Harrods; the largest car factory and largest shipyard in the world.  David is planning to visit all these during his time in the country.

The sabbatical is an opportunity for rest, relaxation and reflection; but also a chance to be stimulated and to learn.  David said ‘I hope it will also strengthen links between our Diocese of Peterborough and the Diocese of Seoul; and between our three churches in Kettering and our link church in Osan.’ 

A portrait of Her Late Majesty on display in Seoul Anglican Cathedral. 

And rather unexpectedly, David has already led a service in Seoul Cathedral.  The Queen died just a few days before he flew out and the Bishop of Seoul asked if he would lead their Service of Commemoration, which involved working closely with the British Embassy.  The eulogy was given by the British Ambassador; the ambassadors of other Commonwealth nations took part, whilst other ambassadors - including the United States - also attended.

You can follow David’s journey on Twitter either by searching for the tag davidinkorea2022 or by following his account @davidwalsh1959 or visit his blog at davidwalsh1959.blog.