Dialogues in Asian American Theology and Ministry
K-Pop Matters: How the Church Can Learn from K-Pop and BTS
Featuring Rev. Dr. Eun Joo Kim
OCTOBER 5, 2023 • 6:00–7:30PM EST • Hybrid Event
Cooper Room, Erdman Center at Princeton Theological Seminary
View Event ReplayRegistration ClosedK-Pop Matters w/ Rev. Dr. Eun Joo Kim
In recent years, there has been an incredible rise in recognition and popularity of Korean cultural contents, ranging from movies to beauty products to TV dramas and music/K-pop. This whole phenomenon, known as Hallyu, has been a fantastic journey for me to enjoy and engage with, especially as a 1.5-generation Korean American immigrant English Ministry pastor who grew up in the states in the 1970’s and 1980’s. But beyond its entertainment value, it has been a fertile source for reflection and exploration on how we, the church, can do better in our ministries with young people and beyond. K-pop matters, let me tell you how.
Rev. Eun Joo Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea and came to the States in 1974. She graduated from Cornell University with a double major in American History and Music Theory and then went on to Princeton Theological Seminary where she received her M.Div. in 1993 and her Th.M. in 1996.
Over the years, she has served as youth pastor, English Ministry pastor, and speaker at several Korean American churches in the tri-state area and gatherings across the country. Rev. Kim has worked for the United States Federal Government Department of Commerce for Census 2000 as a Partnership Specialist, and served as the Queens Team Leader. She also worked as the Director for the Center for Youth Development at the Queens YWCA.
Rev. Kim is a board certified chaplain and was staff chaplain at New York Hospital Queens (now called NewYork-Presbyterian Queens) for ten years. She served as the Spiritual Advisor for the National Korean Presbyterian Women (NKPW) of the PCUSA (2017-2021) and worked as the Program Coordinator for RISE Together, a national mentorship network for women of color in ministry. She was an Adjunct Professor for Field Education at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (2018-2022) and has been an active member of KAPCW (Korean American Presbyterian Clergy Women) for close to 20 years.
Rev. Kim finished her doctorate in Church Leadership at Fordham University (2016) and most recently completed a two-year term as the interim EM Pastor of the Arumdaun Church in Bethpage, Long Island. Rev. Kim is interested in the intersection of culture, community and the church and is a big fan of K-pop and K-dramas.
Host
Dr. David C. Chao is director of the Center for Asian American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary. He teaches courses on Asian American theology, organizes academic programs in Asian American theology and ministry, and mentors Asian and Asian American students. His research and writing focus on Asian American theology, the uses of Christian doctrine for liberation, the convergence and divergence of Protestant and Catholic dogmatics, and the theology of Karl Barth. His first book, titled Concursus and Concept Use in Karl Barth's Doctrine of Providence, is under contract with Routledge. He is grant co-author and project editor for the $300,000 translation grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities to the Karl Barth Translator’s Seminar. He is also developing a multi-volume project on Asian American theology. Chao is a graduate of Yale University (BA), Regent College (MDiv), and Princeton Theological Seminary (ThM, PhD). He is a member of the American Academy of Religion and the Association for Asian American Studies. Chao has a wide range of pastoral experience with Chinese American, Korean American, and Pan-Asian churches and ministries and is an active member of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Attend Virtually on Airmeet
Time: 6:00–7:30PM ET
Location: Airmeet
Attend in Person
Time: 6:00–7:30PM ET
Location: Cooper Room, Erdman Center
Address: 20 Library Pl, Princeton, NJ 08540
Registration is closed for this event.
Center for Asian American Christianity
The newly expanded Center for Asian American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary comes at a critical time in the life of Asian America. Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial-ethnic demographic in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the persistence of anti-Asian racism. Moreover, minority and immigrant churches are poised to transform the face of Christianity in the United States in the next few decades. The Center for Asian American Christianity seeks to equip and empower the next generation of Asian American leaders for service in church, society, and academy.
Princeton Theological Seminary has been a leading voice in Asian American theology and ministry through the work of Professor Emeritus Sang Hyun Lee, the Center for Asian American Christianity, and the establishment of the Kyung-Chik Han Chair of Asian American Theology.
