July 27 this year marks the 70th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Agreement. As participating nations worldwide prepare commemorative events, I recently learned that the original text of the Armistice Agreement has been translated into Korean. Looking back, while we remember the June 25 War and August 15 Liberation, we seem to have been ignorant of the historical weight of the July 27 Armistice Agreement, which has sustained peace on this land. I, too, have taken this opportunity to deeply reflect on its significance.

The history of the ‘First Korean National Association in Philadelphia’ in April 1919, which I recently learned about through a documentary play 1919 Philadelphia, was truly moving. It was an event where over 150 Korean expatriates in America, including Dr. Seo Jae-pil and Dr. Lee Seung-man, with the help of Jewish journalist Benjamin and Christian leaders, laid the foundation for the Republic of Korea. Among the six resolutions announced at the time, the cry, **“Our dream is to build a Christian democratic nation,”** pierced through the frustration I felt about modern history. It was the moment I became certain that God’s history had flowed through this nation from its very beginning.

What’s astonishing is that July 27, 2023, corresponds to ‘9th of Av’ in the Jewish calendar. The fact that this day of tragedy in Israel’s history—when the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed twice—coincides with the 70th anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement is surely no coincidence. Like the words of God to the church in Philadelphia in the Book of Revelation (Rev 3:7-13), this feels like a powerful sign from God, urging us to carry on the spirit of Philadelphia from the nation’s founding and fulfill our sacred mission.

Yet, the reality of South Korea today is as dark as the hours before dawn. Geopolitical tensions have reached their peak, with a U.S. nuclear submarine docking for the first time in decades, while the political sphere is filled with wasteful squabbles and excuses over controversies like cryptocurrency and highway exit changes. Following the Itaewon tragedy, we now face the flooding of an underpass tunnel due to torrential rain, raising fundamental doubts: ‘Is this country truly safe?’

The economic situation is even more dire. Amid warnings of a crisis worse than the IMF era, the project financing (PF) crisis in the construction industry—built on the myth of real estate invincibility—has reached its breaking point. The ‘hollow-core apartment’ controversy, exposed by flawed designs and missing rebar, starkly reveals how precariously our society stands on a ‘house of cards’.

Amidst this crisis, I intuitively sense that God’s time is near. A sense of urgency grips me: unless we repent immediately, forgive one another, and return to what truly matters, we cannot escape God’s severe judgment. This morning, I knelt down for the Republic of Korea. I began the day praying earnestly that I might be the ‘one person’ God seeks in this era.