Korean missionaries make New Zealand their home

It is not often that missionaries travel to predominantly Christian nations to share the good word.

But the Chang family from Seoul, Korea have done just that.

Chul Ho Chang (52) and his wife Myung Syn (48), daughter Eun Syl (24) and son Eun Chong (22) are in Otago to establish Christian churches for Japanese residents.

Mr Chang said his family spent six years doing missionary work in Japan.

During a holiday in New Zealand, they noticed there was only one Japanese Christian church in the South Island - in Christchurch.

So they decided to move to New Zealand to establish more Japanese Christian churches.

Mr Chang said in the past 10 years, his family had established Japanese Christian churches in Queenstown and Dunedin, and were now looking to expand into Oamaru and Timaru.

The family's love of the people and the culture in New Zealand meant they planned to continue living and working in New Zealand for the foreseeable future, and decided to make their residency more permanent.

They were among 29 people from around the world who swore allegiance to the Queen before Dunedin Mayor Peter Chin at a New Zealand citizenship ceremony in the Glenroy Auditorium this week.

Immigrants who became New Zealand citizens were: Sarah Ann Carr (Canada); Chul Ho, Myung Syn, Eun Syl and Eun Chong Chang (Korea); Wilma Mary Cushen (Canada); Cathleen Hauman (South Africa); Sinavaiuli Leasi (Samoa); Jonathan Wade, Anna Lauren and Samuel Stuart Leichter (United States); Bozena Anna McFarlane (Germany); Richard Alistair and Lesley Joanne Mooney (Britain); Sarbani and Imone Mukhopadhyay (India); Mustafa Laith Mustafa (Iraq); Helen Lee Nortje (Britain); Marie-Michelle Ouellette-Sullivan (Canada); Eun Ah Park (Korea); Dimple Chiman Lal Parmar (Fiji); Michael Pinfold (Britain); Alvin Nugraha Setiawan (Indonesia); Jasmine Chek Meen Lai (Malaysia); Colin James Stevens (Britain); Dan Szostak (Canada); Valerie Anne Tong (Britain); Simon Benedict Watson (Britain) and Teresa Woods (Britain).

john.lewis@odt.co.nz