Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI
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by Pascale RizkSeoul (Agenzia Fides) – “Now I know. After all, even the Fathers of the Church, Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas, repeated this simple phrase: to be happy, I need God, and if God is present, I am happy when I am close to him, and I am not happy when I am far away.” Thus, Korean singer and “Catholic influencer” Junho Chu describes the beating heart that now animates his life. And he reveals what every authentic Christian witness suggests: the source of salvation brought by Christ is mysterious, but accessing it is simple and within everyone’s reach.Junho shared his story and experience with the Jubilee of Catholic digital missionaries and influencers celebrated in Rome these past few days.The Happy Face of GodGrowing up until the age of 22 with no particular interest in religious doctrines and practices, he says that as a teenager he longed for happiness that could last “more than three days or two weeks.” Something that isn’t found in training courses or school curricula, in a competitive society where one’s worth and “is worth” only what one accomplishes. He believed he could achieve that happiness through success at work. But that wasn’t the case.At that time, two years before beginning his military service, Junho heard Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan speak on television, an imposing figure in Korea also for his passion for social justice (see Fides, 11/4/2025). “I was struck by his humility and the witness of the people who mourned his death in 2009.” Without believing in God, Junho saw God’s happy face reflected in those people. They had no personal successes to show off. They were grateful for the free love they had received. “So I started going to church and asked to be baptized. To be close to God, to go to Mass, to take Communion, and to pray. Junho says that a priest once told him: “Do you want something special? Then you must be sincere. If you live with perseverance and sincerity, every day of your life can be special.”Thanking the Lord (also) for TteokbokkiKorean society is based on respect for others, following a social stratification that dates back to the Cheoson Dynasty. Hierarchical respect is an integral part of everyday language and behavior. So when Junho saw a high-ranking Catholic soldier come to church and eat with the others, he was impressed by his humility. “He came to wash dishes with me in the kitchen. It seemed inconceivable to me that someone like him would do that. One day, I was eating tteokbokki (Korean rice dumplings) and I invited him. He sat with me and, clasping his hands, began to pray. I was deeply moved by this gesture. I had no idea that Catholics would stop to thank God for something as small as tteokbokki. I think my life, accompanied by small prayers, began there,” he says.”Sometimes they asked me to sing, I did it a few times, and a bishop told me I should keep singing, and this was like a blessing for the rest of my life,” adds Chu, who, along with other singers, enlivened the Digital Missionaries Jubilee Festival in Piazza Risorgimento on the evening of Tuesday, July 29, singing in his native language.Talent is from God and for GodDuring his military service, Chu embarked on a path that would lead him to his baptism in 2011. He also began participating in parish life, catechism, and choir. It was thanks to a contest on CPBC (Catholic Peace Broadcasting Corporation) that he was able to begin composing music and songs, and singing in Catholic churches. It had been his passion since childhood. The stories of missionaries such as Father Giovanni Lee Tae-seok, a Salesian missionary in South Sudan, and Bishop René Dupont, a MEP missionary who arrived in Korea in 1954 (see Fides, 11/4/2025) led him to imitate them, he shared with others the love of God he had received as a gift, even through his own talents. “That’s why I’m always happy to live as a Catholic on Instagram and YouTube.” His Christian journey, intertwined with music and singing, led Junho to accompany priests and nuns on missions in Cambodia, Zambia, and Mongolia. “The love you receive is incredibly greater than the love you give. It’s an absolute miracle and cannot be understood through the eyes of the world,” says Chu, who today continues his mission singing in Brazil.“The digital mission should not be about self-exaltation. The encounter with Jesus remains the starting point, but also the point of arrival. Our faith can also find comfort in the use of digital media, but it does not depend on them. The Mystery of Jesus’s predilection, savored in the everyday life, is far greater than the captivating power of a voice behind the screen or special effects. And it promises enjoyment and happiness incomparable to the excitement of having 100 followers or 500,000,” he concludes. (Agenzia Fides, 30/7/2025)Share: