"Lord of the Sabbath" by Pastor Edward Chun (March 25, 2018)

Mark 2:23-28

The Sabbath was the most important day of the week in Jewish culture. It lasted from Friday night to Saturday night. The two highly revered things in Jewish culture were circumcision and the Sabbath.

Why was it a big deal? God commanded it (See the 4th commandment in Exodus 20:8-11). No one worked on that day. You must rest. Why? God rested when he created Earth. He didn't rest because he was tired. He rested because he was finished. God enjoyed the work that he created.

The Sabbath pointed to the divine order of the universe and God was serious about the Sabbath (Exodus 31:14-15). It's as if God was saying that if you don't rest, you'll die sooner.  This is how we're designed. We'll die if we don't rest enough. How do I know if I'm keeping the Sabbath? Can I cook? Take a shower? Go outside? Drive?

This is where the Pharisees come in. They created many laws to make sure they weren't breaking the Sabbath. Here are some examples they had to follow on the Sabbath:

"You can't tie more than two knots on the Sabbath."
"You can't carry anything heavier than a dry fig."
"Don't sew more than one stitch."
"Don't write more than one letter."
"You can't walk more than 1,999 steps."

These laws and regulations were exhausting and burdensome. In verse 23, the disciples were plucking grains of wheat. In the next verse, the Pharisees called them out but there was a verse that vindicated them: Deuteronomy 23:24-25. This verse showed God's heart. He wanted NO ONE to go hungry. So if the disciples were innocent, what was wrong? They broke the Pharisees manmade laws. They couldn't charge the disciples with walking too many steps or they would have been just as guilty since they were there with them. The Pharisees charged them with working on the Sabbath. Jesus responds in verses 25-26 with a reference to a story in 1 Samuel 21. King David violated the same law but the Pharisees never criticized David because he was the king.  Yet someone far greater than David was in front of them (Jesus) yet they didn't get it. The Sabbath belonged to God (verse 28) and Jesus was making a serious claim that he indeed was God (See also John 1:3).

Think of the universe. Jesus is saying that it all hangs on His power. The Pharisees can't accept it and want to kill Jesus. What does this mean for us? We are to rest from work and not be burdened by the Sabbath. It was supposed to be a blessing for mankind and it was also about peace and trust that God was in control of that day. There was no need to worry. Jesus said he was the source of rest and peace.

Matthew 11:28 tells us to come to Jesus. He will give you rest. Maybe you're restless and tired. Maybe you're worried about the future. Maybe you don't feel good enough, pretty enough, not rich enough, or not holy enough. You might have possibly been disappointed by people. Come to Jesus because he can only refresh you and give you unconditional forgiveness. Jesus died on the cross to give us rest. If you are restless, have anxiety, or fear, go to Christ and make him the center of your life.

Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)

Instagram: l.a.seoulguy

Engrish in South Korea: Cafes

Koreans are obsessed with learning English for tests, traveling, and for work. They also have a strong desire to learn English phrases so they can understand American or British TV shows and movies. The weird thing is that you'll see a lot of awkward or badly translated English in front of businesses and on clothing despite so many native English speakers in Seoul. And some of them aren't awkward, they're just cute expressions that you wouldn't normally use for a business.

Americans, Brits, Canadians, or Australians could easily check to see if the English is natural or strange.  Over the many years of living in Korea (almost 15 years), I've collected photos of funny or unnatural English that I found on cafes, restaurants, and t-shirts. I've continuously put them into a photo album on Facebook and I'm still collecting them on a monthly basis. Due to so many great pictures, I thought I would create a three-part series on my blog, so more people can enjoy all of these gems. 

Today, we will start with Engrish in South Korea: Part 1: Cafes.

A. Cute Cafe Names

1. You can see why the owner of the cafe picked this name. Anyone would like to take it easy and relax while you're at a cafe. I would say that "take it easy" isn't as common of an expression as it used to be, but it's still not a bad name for a cafe.

2.  I'm not exactly what the creator of this idea was thinking. When you order coffee, do you get a hug? Or do you feel like you're getting a hug when you drink their coffee? I have no idea. Although this is a random name, the name has that cute Asian Hello Kitty (Sorry Koreans, I mean Kakao Friends) feel about it.

B. Funny Cafe Names

1. Coffee Bean makes sense, but beans alone does not. I think of Mexican food and the power of those beans (gas) for some reason. Haha!

2. Apparently Bean has a brother and opened his own cafe....

3. The next one is fairly clever since you can ask your coworker, "Wanna Coffee?" and the coworker can just say "Yes!" and then you head over here. The Brits might hate this name since they hate American English slang but I think this name makes me snicker.

4. Then we have a fairly ridiculous one, yet the humor makes me appreciate Korea. My hunch is that the owner of this cafe probably has a great personality. As an English teacher, you might want to be picky about the name placement since he or she should have put the word "cafe" on the end. But then the name of this cafe wouldn't have been that as funny.

5. And if you don't want awesome coffee, you can settle for "good good good" coffee...

6. The final name in this category makes the coffee seem unique and uses the word "ground" to refer to coffee grounds. I like it!

C. Random Cafe Names

1. Ireland is known for its potatoes, but I'm not sure what this exactly has to do with coffee (Cafe Irish Potato). Hmm...

2. This next one has two problems with it. First, it's not a cafe; It's actually a bar. Secondly, they ripped off the logo from American Airlines. Oops!

3. I get the intent of Omnipotent Coffee. They wanted to make the coffee sound powerful but it just doesn't work especially when "powerful" has three syllables. Why don't we just kick it up a notch to four syllables? I would really love to hear how you would pronounce this in Konglish!

4. Koreans understandably love Tiramisu cake and this cafe sells that kind of cake. However, the owner of this cafe thought that would be a silly name for a coffee establishment, so they came up with this name instead...

D. Awful Cafe Names

1. Let's start with "Hussy Coffee". Did the owner of the cafe even search what the name hussy meant? Well, let me give you the English definition and tell you how ridiculous this name is. 

Hussy (noun): An impudent or immoral girl or woman

The word "hussy" is just a little less offensive than the word "slut". Yes, this name is that bad...

Who came up with this crazy name??

2. How about a really weird name like Psycho Barista? Koreans already know the meaning of the word "psycho" (insane person), so maybe they thought this name would be funny or maybe they wanted it to be a bit edgy since the outside looks very dark. Perhaps. But let's add a slogan to creep you out even more: "We will coffee you." Ummm okay.....

3. I really don't know what to say about the following one. It has two MAJOR problems behind it. First, the word "anle" does not even exist. Secondly, it sounds too much like "anal". Do they have that expensive poop coffee that is so famous and expensive? It honestly made me wonder that. Non-Koreans will have a field day with this one every time they walk by this coffee shop.

4. Although I was thinking of putting the next one into the funny category (and it certainly IS funny), it's still a horrible name for a cafe.  I'm not sure why any cafe would be called "bump and grind" since this is a kind of dance that makes it look like you're having sex with your clothes on. But then again, maybe that's how this coffee affects you? Well, probably not.

So there you have it. If you found other ridiculous, funny, cute, or random cafe names, please leave a comment below! 

Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)

Instagram: l.a.seoulguy

Yuldong Park in Seongnam, South Korea

Two weeks ago, I was trying to find a way to get out of Seoul but not go too far. The weather was getting slightly warmer, so I was open to an outdoor spot. Then I decided to look for parks in Gyeonggido and came across a park that had very high reviews in the location of Seongnam (Bundang-gu), South Korea. The name of the park is Yuldong Park (율동 공언), which opened in 1999.

My wife and I took a bus from Sadang Station and then transferred one time there (See transportation information below). Since it was February, it was a bit warmer, but still a bit cold and windy. To prove it, the lake was still frozen as you can see in this picture!

My wife and I started off by getting some coffee to wake us up at Kona Queens Cafe, which is near the entrance of the park and beside the lake. The people there are very friendly and welcome you as you come inside. Since it was the only cafe that we saw there, you can imagine how busy it was.

However, I had a fun experience there as you will see in a minute. But let me tell you first what's it like to be a white guy that is in a smaller city in South Korea. When I take a trip outside of Seoul, I sometimes get more stares especially from babies, who don't see non-Koreans very often. That leads me to my experience at Kona Queens in Yuldong Park. One baby kept staring at me while we were there and his grandparents laughed. Then a mentally disabled man in his 20s kept glaring at me, but mostly out of curiosity. Though his mother tried to keep his attention on her and his sister, his curiosity got the best of him. While my wife went to the restroom and I was looking at my phone, he came over to me and touched my arm. I guess he wanted to see if this non-Korean alien wasn't just a mirage. It scared me for a second, but I thought it was humorous when he smiled after he realized that I was indeed real.


After that my wife and I decided to take a walk and we were really happy with how quiet it was and how long the path was. The park has a 2.5km for both walkers and bike riders, so you can definitely get some exercise if you are trying to burn off some extra calories that you gained over the winter season.

Since it was still a bit breezy, my wife wanted to keep her head a bit warm, so she turned into a Russian for a second by wrapping her scarf around her head:

Due to the fact it was still winter, mostly everything was brown, but in the summer time not only is it green, but you'll get to see a fountain turned on and greenery everywhere. Nevertheless, my wife and I enjoyed the breeze and the beautiful sun shining over the lake. It was nice and clear and we loved admiring the mountains in the background:

As we were heading back to the entrance, we came across a place where you could go bungee jumping. The jump is 45 meters and is restricted for people between the ages of 25-50. The cost is W25,000. You must be between 40 kilograms and 115 kilograms. For more information you can call the Yuldong Park Bungee Jumping Office at: 031-704-6266 or the Parks Department at Seongnam City Hall at 031-729-4390. It's closed during the winter season. Here's what it looks like:

Right next to the bungee jumping platform is a large grassy area. In that section, you'll see a lot of modern art sculptures spread out all over the lawn. And at the far end of the park, there's a traditional Korean building, which was unexpected.

The coolest feature was this statue of Korean children playing musical instruments:

And here's one look from the other side of the grassy area. You can see the lake and the bungee jumping platform off in the distance:

Overall, this park is great for families, couples, or if you want to bring a pet (You are more than welcome to bring your dog here as long as you clean up the animal's mess). During winter, it's very calm and quiet. I'll have to make a trip out here in summer to see how green it is. I totally recommend coming here. You won't be disappointed!


How To Get There: You can take the Bundang Line to Seohyeon Station. Take Exit 2. Then you will reach the basement of AK Plaza Mall. Go out of Gate 4 of the mall and then you will see a bus stop right in front of you. Take bus number 17, 17-1, 15, or 33 to Yuldong Park. Cross the road on an overpass to the parking lot of the park.


Address: 145, Munjeong-ro, Bundang-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggido, 13576, South Korea


Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)

Instragram: l.a.seoulguy

Some Taxi Drivers are Great in South Korea

On the night before the March 1 (Samil Movement) holiday of 2018, I went out with coworkers in the Samseong-dong area near Seolllung Station since it was one coworker's last day. On the following Monday, it was another co-worker's last day, so we had pizza and drinks to give both of them a proper farewell.

To make a long story short, we all decided to go home at 1:30am. I was having a heck of a time getting a taxi and I had been waiting in the street for a good 15 minutes. Thankfully, it wasn't raining or it would have been worse. Finally, one taxi driver pulls up and asks where I'm going. I tell him Nakseongdae Station but he rejects me because he said he was heading to Gyeonggido (Gyeonggi Province, just outside of Seoul).

I wait another 10 minutes and another taxi driver pulls up and this time the driver had a passenger with him. The chances of the second driver wanting to pick me up get even smaller since my destination would have to be similar to where his passenger was going. Expecting to be rejected, I start to walk away. Then suddenly I hear him yell at me and motion for me to get into the taxi. I was really surprised.

I get into the back seat and then it gets awkward. For the first five minutes, the taxi driver and the female passenger in the front are just talking to each other. We pass Gangnam Station and he's pointing out how many people are waiting for taxis and the female passenger is saying "Wow" in Korean.

A couple more minutes pass by as we're near Kyodae Station and the taxi driver asks me in Korean, "Nakseongdae right?" Phew. Thankfully he gets it right. Then a flashback to my earlier days in Korea come back to me. The driver starts asking me how long I had been in Korea, what my favorite food in Korea was, what I did in Korea, etc. As I answer each question, both the taxi driver and passenger react to each answer with surprise. It was hilarious and weird at the same time!

I was so thankful that I was able to get home before 2:30am. Not only that, my wife was very understanding and also very happy that I made it home finally.

Taxi drivers in Seoul usually have a bad reputation of refusing drivers as the first taxi driver in this post did. You can just check Google and see the first page. However, there are some like the second driver that are really polite and kind to non-Koreans. I've been in Korea a long time but still appreciate these experiences!


Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)

Instagram: l.a.seoulguy