Noah Brown: January 2026

Shincheonji Volunteer Group Masan Branch volunteers pose for a commemorative photo after completing their kimchi-sharing service

Across different cities in South Korea, one pattern quietly repeated itself throughout 2025.

Volunteers showed up—not for one-time events, but again and again—responding to real needs in everyday places rooted in consistent service, rather than visibility.

Throughout December 2025, branches of the Shincheonji Volunteer Group in the Busan–Gyeongnam region carried out a series of community-focused activities, ranging from large-scale kimchi sharing for veterans’ families to small-business support, senior care, and environmental campaigns.

Rather than a single event, the efforts formed a connected “relay of care”, responding to different needs across communities during the coldest time of the year.

Sharing Kimchi with Veterans’ Families

One of the central activities this winter was a large-scale kimjang (kimchi-making) service for veterans and bereaved families.

In early December, volunteers from the Busan–Gyeongnam regional coalition and affiliated branches prepared and delivered 2.2 tons of kimchi (400 boxes) to 16 veterans’ organiwations across Busan and Masan. The recipients included disabled veterans’ associations and widows’ groups of fallen soldiers.

Later in the month, volunteers in Masan continued the effort, preparing an additional 1.2 tons of kimchi, which was delivered to veterans’ groups and seniors living alone. In recognition of this sustained support, the local veterans’ association presented the Masan branch with a certificate of appreciation.

Veterans’ representatives shared that the service was meaningful not only for the food itself, but for the respect and remembrance it conveyed.

Supporting Local Markets and Small Businesses

With local economies facing continued pressure, volunteers also focused on revitalizing neighbourhood commerce.

In Geoje, around 70 volunteers visited the Okpo traditional market as part of a shopping-support campaign. Volunteers purchased goods directly from merchants and distributed over 100 hand warmers, offering encouragement through both action and conversation.

In Busan’s Saha District, another group of volunteers took a more playful approach. Dressed as “secret Santas,” they visited 42 local shops, delivering small gifts such as towels and offering words of appreciation for business owners who had endured a difficult year.

Merchants shared that the visits provided emotional encouragement at a time when foot traffic and sales were declining.

Caring for Seniors and Promoting Environmental Awareness

In Yangsan, volunteer activities focused on senior care and environmental responsibility.

At a local community centre, volunteers hosted a year-end gathering for seniors as part of the “Baekse Manse” programme. The event included music, games, and small gifts, creating a festive atmosphere ahead of the holidays.

Earlier in the month, the same branch held a carbon-neutral awareness campaign in recognition of International Mountain Day. Volunteers encouraged residents to adopt small, practical actions to reduce environmental impact, emphasising that sustainability begins with daily choices.

Service Shaped by Local Needs

What connected these varied activities was not scale alone, but attention to context. Each branch focused on needs specific to its community—veterans, seniors, shop owners, or environmental awareness—rather than applying a single, uniform programme.

Volunteers emphasised that their goal was not short-term visibility, but continuity: returning to the same neighbourhoods, listening to local voices, and responding with care that fits the situation.

A Different Kind of Year-End Warmth

As the year came to a close, the Busan–Gyeongnam volunteer efforts showed how community trust is built through repetition, presence, and sincerity.

In cold weather and uncertain economic conditions, the warmth that reached these communities did not come from grand gestures, but from practical help delivered at the right time—one box of kimchi, one market visit, one conversation at a time.

Source: vo.la/xM8tv88

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Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (hereinafter referred to as Shincheonji Church of Jesus) declared its commitment to fulfilling its mission as a Bible-centred believer living in this era by testifying to the biblical truth.

On the 31st December, while leading the New Year's Eve service at Shincheonji's Yeongdeungpo Church, Chairman ManHee Lee announced the slogan for 2026 as "The Year of Fulfilling Our Duty." He also urged the congregation to testify the word of Revelation to believers according to the Bible and make this year a year of fulfilling that duty.

The Chairman explained, “The biblical way of saying goodbye to the old year is not simply to see off one year and welcome a new one, as is the world’s standard,” and “From a religious perspective, saying goodbye to one (religious) era and welcoming a new (religious) era is the way to see off one era and welcome a new one, and from God’s perspective, this is even greater.”

He said, “In Revelation chapter 6, an era ends with the falling of the sun, moon, and stars, and in Revelation chapter 7, a new era begins with the sealing of the 12 tribes and the creation of the 12 tribes.” Chairman Lee added, “The 12 tribes sealed in Revelation chapter 7 have appeared in the world, so the good times of Songgu Youngshin (a common idiom meaning 'letting go of the old year and welcoming the new year') have come.”

He also said that the Book of Revelation records God's promise to bring eternal life through the Tree of Life during the time of Songgu Youngshin.

Chairman Lee said, “God said that He is with the 12 tribes in Chapter 7 of Revelation, so if we belong to the 12 tribes, we can also attain eternal life,” and criticised Protestant and Catholic pastors who slander Shincheonji Church of Jesus, saying, “Because they don’t know this properly, they say that when they die, they will go to heaven.”

He continued, “These 12 tribes are also the tree of life that bears 12 kinds of fruit each month, as recorded in Revelation 22,” and testified, “God made a promise to use this tree of life as medicine to heal the world and achieve the hope of eternal life.”

Chairman Lee emphasised, “Shincheonji, which has mastered the Book of Revelation, is the very embodiment of the Twelve Tribes and the Tree of Life.” He added, “Only the Tree of Life can save those who cannot enter heaven by adding or subtracting from the Book of Revelation. Therefore, we must fulfil the duty of this Tree of Life.”

Finally, he repeatedly emphasised, “Let us spread this light (word) to the whole world,” and “Let others see, hear, and understand this light so that they can come under the light and become part of God’s family.”

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