Ministry serving Korean ramen in Jerusalem
Every Tuesday from 1-7 p.m. in the Old City of Jerusalem, you can enjoy free Korean ramen noodles. The Jerusalem church hosts the event, sharing Korean flavors with visitors of all faiths, including Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Popular with students at Makor HaTikvah (a Messianic school in Jerusalem), the ministry also serves Korean ramen every Thursday from 1-4 p.m. near the Mahane Yehuda market. Those who are interested in visiting the places click here.
The leader of the ministry, Pastor Wan-Byung Chae, pastors the Jerusalem church and is also the president of the Korean Association in Israel. The following is the summary of the interview with him.
The Korean community in Israel is composed of mainly temporary residents like students rather than settled Israeli citizens. The total number of Koreans in Israel rose up to 800 before the war, but is now in the range of 6-700. The average length of stay is about five years. In the 40 years of the organization's history, settled Israeli citizens have only recently begun to appear in the second generation. Pastor Wan-Byung Chae, who has been the president of the Korean Association for three years, has been living in Israel for 23 years after coming to Israel in 2001. He shared some of the changes he has seen over the years. In the early days, he said, most of the members were poor international students, and few had cars. Over time, the quality of life has improved, especially as Korea's economy has grown, and the standard of living has improved a lot. Secondly, the image of Korea among local Israeli people has improved. With the influence of the Korean cultural wave and the opening of economic exchanges such as FTAs, Korea's image continues to improve. With this background, Korean ramen began to be imported in 2021, and a ministry called "Beit Ramen" became possible.
When asked about the role of South Korea and the Korean church in the current war situation, Pastor Chae said that as a local church pastor, his first priority is to serve his congregation, and since some of his congregation members are close to Jews and some are close to Arabs, he is cautious about politically sensitive issues between Jews and Arabs. However, he expressed his hope that the Korean church could play a role as a "peacemaker" between Jews and Arabs after the end of the war with Hamas in Gaza and in the reconstruction process.
Following is what he would like to share with the readers of All Israel News. First, he is thankful to the people of Israel for keeping the land safe. Second, he is more thankful to the God of Israel who is protecting Israel from behind the scenes. Third, he is most thankful to Jesus who introduced him to the God of Israel. His final prayer request is that his ministry could contribute to peace between Jews and Arabs, as Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers."(Mat 5:9)
