Tark, Ji-il 1964-

PERSONAL:

Born December 8, 1964, in Seoul, South Korea; son of Myeong-Hwan Tark (a professor) and Choon Sim Kim; married Lee Eun-Ha (an organist), November 24, 1992; children: Jin-Sol, Jin-Suh, Jin-Joo. Ethnicity: "Korean." Education: Yonsei University, Th.M., 1992; San Francisco Theological Seminary, M.Div., 1977; Graduate Theological Union, M.A., 1997; University of Toronto, Ph.D., 2002. Religion: Presbyterian.

ADDRESSES:

Home—301-306 Gunyoung Apt., Nae-Dong, Gimhae-Shi, Kyungnam, South Korea. Office— Busan Presbyterian University, 764 Gusan-Dong, Gimhae-Shi, Kyungnam, South Korea. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Busan Presbyterian University, Gimhae, Kyungnam, South Korea, professor, 2003—.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Grant from Korea Research Foundation, 2003; award from Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, 2004.

WRITINGS:

Family-Centered Belief and Practice of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Unification Church, Peter Lang Publishing (New York, NY), 2003.

Contributor to periodicals, including Korea Journal of Christian Studies and Journal of Ecumenical Studies.

SIDELIGHTS:

Ji-il Tark told CA: "I have learned the most precious things from my family, such as unconditional love, deep commitment, courage, respect, and caring. My father showed me the nature of deep commitment. He dedicated his life to a study of new religious movements in Korea, focusing on the so-called Christian heresies, and was killed by a member of one of those movements in 1994. He showed me that we need courage to practice what we believe. He also taught me what good death was and enabled me to have the hope of resurrection. Most importantly, in light of the wife-husband relationship, my parents showed me how to respect and share with one another. My parents modeled a deep commitment in a Christian marriage. However, as a foreign student and an ordained Presbyterian minister, I have seen a completely different family picture since I came to North America. I have seen many homeless people on the streets and broken families, especially among newly immigrant families, in the United States and Canada. As a pastor and teacher, I decided to follow my father's work researching new religious movements in Korea after finishing my doctorate. I chose the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) and the Unification Church for my research subjects.

The LDS Church is the most successful and recognized new religious movement in North America, and the Unification Church is also a well-known new religious movement, not only in Korea but also among imported new religious movements in North America."