[Sportschosun, Lee Woo-joo] The father of singer Won-hyuk has stepped away from ministry after 30 years.
On the 19th, a video titled "The End of My Father-in-Law's 30 Years in Ministry... The First Story" was uploaded to the YouTube channel Appo TV.
Won-hyuk announced his father's retirement from the ministry. As his father prepared to retire, Won-hyuk said, "I hadn't really felt much until now, but yesterday I watched the next pastor preach live, and I saw the whole pastor's family. Watching that video, I felt something strange for the first time. I cried."
After the retirement ceremony, both families met. Lee Yong-sik, Won-hyuk's father-in-law, said he felt conflicted. "He walked one path all this time, and suddenly he's reached the end of the road. I can keep going, but he suddenly says he's retiring, so I was surprised. Why would he want to stop?" he said.
Won-hyuk's father said he was "calm, unlike what others may think," and added, "People think I'm retiring because I met a wonderful daughter-in-law, but in fact I had a master retirement plan 20 years ago. As each part of it was fulfilled, I felt the time had come, so this was simply a careful decision."
He also said he has plans for a second chapter in life after retirement. "Once I retire, I want to travel around the country. I want to visit churches in rural areas one by one. I want to shake hands with and encourage pastors serving small and struggling churches. And I want to take a motorcycle trip in Vietnam," he said.
His wife then revealed another new plan. "Don't you have another new plan these days? I heard you're opening a donut shop in The Philippines," she said. His father replied, "I'm thinking about opening a donut shop in a cafe, creating a space where people can have donuts and coffee together, and using that as a way to do missionary work."
Won-hyuk, who said he had opposed his father's retirement, confessed, "I don't want to experience a big change. I just want to keep living the way I have been." Lee Soo-min's mother joked, "So you didn't take your children's opinions into account," and Won-hyuk laughed, "My father never takes his children's opinions into account anyway."
wjlee@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
