Hae Jong Kim (; 1935 – 2020) was a

Korean-American Korean Americans are Americans of Korean ancestry (mostly from South Korea). In 2015, the Korean-American community constituted about 0.56% of the United States population, or about 1.82 million people, and was the fifth-largest Asian Americans ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

, elected in 1992, who resigned as a bishop in 2005.

Early life

Kim was born in Seoul, Korea in 1935. During the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

he became a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. Then, while working for a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

as an interpreter, translating sermons before Korean audiences, he decided to enter into ministry. He was 17 years old.

Education

Kim went to the Methodist Theological Seminary in Seoul, and upon completing study there came to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to pursue further education. He graduated in 1964 with an

M.Div. For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and di ...

degree from the

Methodist Theological School in Ohio The Methodist Theological School in Ohio (MTSO) is a graduate theological school and seminary in Delaware, Ohio. MTSO is one of the 13 official seminaries of The United Methodist Church. MTSO is accredited by the North Central Association of Col ...

. He continued

graduate study Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

at Drew Theological Seminary.

Ordained ministry

He also began

pastoral ministry A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...

in 1964, serving various types of churches in the Northern

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of the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

, including a Korean church he founded. Kim was instrumental in developing Korean ministry strategies in the conference and helped develop some 15

Korean American Korean Americans are Americans of Korean ancestry (mostly from South Korea). In 2015, the Korean-American community constituted about 0.56% of the United States population, or about 1.82 million people, and was the fifth-largest Asian Americans ...

U.M. churches in New Jersey. During the next several years, as Korean

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

to the U.S. began to swell, Kim worked for the Annual Conference and for U.M. agencies as a ''bridge person,'' helping to bring understanding about the Korean community. He has been an advocate for

ethnic minority The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...

causes, having strong links to the Korean community and to the Methodist Church of Korea. Kim went on to serve as the Chairperson of the Conference Council on Ministries and has provided leadership at the annual and general church levels. Prior to his election to the episcopacy, he was a delegate to General Conferences (1980–92), as well as a director of the U.M. General Board of Global Ministries (1980–99). During these years he had an important role in developing national and jurisdictional mission structures to facilitate Korean American ministries and congregations. In the Korean community he was recognized as a leader by his election as President of the National Association of Korean American U.M. Churches, and President of the Council of Korean Churches of Greater New York. He worked with the Northeastern Jurisdiction Multi-Ethnic Center: on the Charter Committee and then as a member of the Board of Directors, serving as President (1988–92). Kim earned the

D.Min. The Doctor of Ministry (abbreviated DMin or D.Min.) is a professional doctorate, often including a research component, that may be earned by a minister of religion while concurrently engaged in some form of ministry. It is categorized as an advanced ...

degree from Drew Theological Seminary in 1984. That same year he was appointed a district superintendent in the Northern New Jersey Conference, the first Korean American to hold this position in the entire

. Following this, he was appointed pastor of a church in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, from which he was elected a bishop in July 1992. He served the New York West Episcopal Area from 1992 to 2000, and in 2000 became bishop of the Pittsburgh Area. He retired in 2004. In January 2005, a disciplinary complaint was brought against Bishop Kim. The details of the charges were handled in accordance with confidentiality requirements of the ''United Methodist Book of Discipline'' and were not disclosed. However, on August 30, 2005, Bishop Peter D. Weaver, then president of the United Methodist Council of Bishops, announced the resignation of Bishop Kim as a part of the resolution process. The resignation was to be effective September 1, 2005. Though he resigned from the United Methodist episcopacy, he retained his clergy credentials. In July 2008 he became the pastor of a very small United Methodist church. Bishop Kim liked to write poems. He translated many Korean hymns into English, two of which are in the United Methdodist Hymnal: ''Lonely the Boat'' and ''Mountains are All Aglow''. He has written other hymns in English.

Personal life

Kim was married to Wha-Sei Park Kim (박화세). They had three children: Eugene (김유진), Eusun (김유선), and Eumi (김유미). He died on November 3, 2020, in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

Selected writings

*''Ten Ideas for Evangelism and Church Growth'' *''Korean-American Ministries'' *''Class Meeting for Church Growth'' *''Becoming Disciples'' (in Korean)

References