Collection 448
[February 17, 2000]
Seung-Hun Yang; 1955-
Interviews; 1991
Audio Tapes
Restrictions: None
Biography
Full name: Seung-Hun Yang
Birth date: April 15, 1955 in Jumchon, Korea
Family:
Parents: Myungchul (In English means "Brightness") and Eui Jung LimYang
Siblings: 8 brothers and sisters, 6 of whom lived to adulthood
Marital Status: Married to Jin Gyung Park in 1981
Children: Three - Bummo (1982), Changmo (1984), Yeum (1987)
Conversion: While a college student
Education:
January 1973 Graduated from Mungyung secondary school in Jumchon
February 1977 Graduated with a B.S. in Physics from Kyungpook National University in
Taegu, Korea
February 1980 Received from the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Seoul, Korea, his M.S. in Physics
August 1983 Received from the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and technology
in Seoul, Korea, his doctorate in physics
1986 Postdoctoral research at the University of Chicago. Returned to Korea at
the end of the year
1991 Received M.A. in the History of Science from University of Wisconsin-Madison
1992 Received M.A. in Theology from the Wheaton College Graduate School
Career:
1983-1988 Assistant professor of physics at Kyungpook National University in Taegu,
Korea
1983-1990 Founding member and director of the Taegu regional branch of the Korean
Association of Creation Research
1984-1990 Founder and general secretary of the Christian University Fellowlaborers
Association
1988-1995 Associate professor of physics at Kyungpook National University in
Taegu, Korea
1995- Professor of physics at Kyungpook National University in Taegu, Korea
Other significant information: Author of several books and articles on scientific and biblical creationism and has given hundreds of lectures on the same topic around South Korea.
Scope and Content
Dr. Yang was interviewed by Robert Shuster on October 17 and October 31, 1991, at the offices of the Billy Graham Center Archives. The events described in the interview cover the time period 1959-1990.
T1 (70 minutes). Parents' names; attending daily church services as a young boy; father's education and character; skill as a Bible teacher; teaching his family during the winter; father's love of hymns; love and example for his children; things learned from his father: how to study, the beauty of creation, how to use time; mother's character; comments on siblings, father's belief in the value of a college education (sent five children to college); description of the small rural Presbyterian church in which he grew up; importance of prayer in service; father's faith strengthened through the wars and suffering he lived through; description of a worship service; church activities during the week; religious attitudes as a child; influence of Korean War on Yang and his childhood friends; contrasts between Buddhist and Christian beliefs in Korea; family contacts with foreign missionaries; involvement in the Navigators while in college; influence of the Navigators on his spiritual development; development of an interest in electronics in junior high school; conversion to Christ while in college through the Navigators; importance of his participation in a Christian choir; father's reaction to his conversion; Navigator's criticism of the superficiality and lack of spirituality of the local churches; difficulty of adjusting to an urban life after a rural childhood; developing interest in physics while at university
T2 (19 minutes). Love of physics; study at the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology; father's reaction to his choice of physics as a career; father's death; description of the Institute; Christian community at the Institute; relation between his faith and his scientific work; attendance at a seminar sponsored by the Institute of Creation Research (ICR); helped start the Korean Association of Creation research in 1981; meeting the woman he would marry
T3 (48 minutes). Explo '80, sponsored by Campus Crusade for Christ, and the origins of the Korean Association of Creation Research; organizing meeting of the KACR in 1981; conservative nature of the Korean church; development of Yang's own creationist beliefs; liberal and conservative evangelism in the United States as reflected in creationism; Institute of Creation Research vs. Americans of Scientific Affiliation; need for humility in studying creation; purpose and activity of the KACR; debate over creationism among scientists in Korean; definition and history of creation science; development of his vision for creating a Christian university in Korea; history of Christian history education in Korea in the twentieth century; secularization of Christian universities by the government; development of a plan for a Christian college; going to Taegu National University as an assistant professor in physics in 1983; Yang's work in solid state physics
T4 (25 minutes). Continuing efforts to develop a Christian university in Korea; encouragement from Dr. Kim Jun Kon, the head of head of Campus Crusade for Christ and from Rev. Archer Torrey; attempts to acquire land for the university; character of Dr. Kim Jun Kon; his preaching style; raising support for CCC's Explo '80 in Korea; character of Archer Torrey; his advocacy of Henry George's idea of a single tax on land; his criticism of inequalities in Korea; his influence in the Korean church; strength and weakness of the Korean church in 1991; need of the enthusiasm of youths to avoid corruption in the church
Provenance
The materials in this collection were given to the Archives of the Billy Graham Center by Seung-Hun Yang in October 1991.
Accession: 91-97, 91-103
April 16, 1997
Robert Shuster
M. Bergstedt
LOCATION RECORD
Accession: 91-97, 91-103
Type of Material: Audio Tapes
T1 - Reel, 3-3/4 ips, 1 side. Interview of Seung-Hun Yang by Robert Shuster. October 17, 1991. Approximately 70 minutes
T2 - Reel, 3-3/4 ips, 1 side. Conclusion of interview of Seung-Hun Yang by Robert Shuster. October 17, 1991. Approximately 19 minutes.
T3 - Reel, 3-3/4 ips, 1 side. Interview of Seung-Hun Yang by Robert Shuster. October 31, 1991. Approximately 48 minutes
T4 - Reel, 3-3/4 ips, 1 side. Conclusion of interview of Seung-Hun Yang by Robert Shuster. October 31, 1991. Approximately 25 minutes.