Pastor Hwang poses with the Bag Ladies Sewing group at First United Methodist Church in Waupaca WI. Left to right are Bob McIntyre, Sadie (dog), Hope McIntyre, Jan Schroeder, Kay Blair, Carolyn West, Janet Taber, Michael Passage, Nancy Anderson. (Courtesy Photo)
Special to United Methodist Insight | June 30, 2026
What is it like to be an immigrant living 6,400 miles away from the place where you were born?
The Rev. Hyunwoong Hwang was born in Incheon, South Korea in 1985. He is now pastor of three United Methodist congregations in Waupaca, Parfreyville, and Crystal Lake, Wisconsin. Together, these congregations form WARM—the Waupaca Area Regional Ministry of The United Methodist Church.
Hwang told me it was difficult to leave his family behind when he answered the call to come to the United States. His father is now retired after working many years in construction and later as an apartment security guard. His mother works in a meat retail shop. Hwang’s younger sister is married to a farmer on Ganghwa Island, where his mother is from. His brother-in-law cares for cattle and manages farm equipment.
Hwang said, “One of the greatest joys in our family has been the arrival of my nephew. Even from far away in Wisconsin, I delight in watching him grow through video calls and hearing stories about him. He brings joy not only to his parents and grandparents, but also to his uncle across the ocean.”
Hwang was raised in the Korean Methodist Church. He said, “Bethel Methodist Church in Incheon played an important role in my spiritual formation, helping me develop a love for Scripture, worship, and service. My call to ministry grew gradually through experiences of faith, service, and a growing sense that God was inviting me to accompany others on their spiritual journeys. As a teenager, I loved being involved in church life, but I did not seriously consider pastoral ministry until my military service.
“Through serving in the military chapel and participating in ministry, I began to discern God’s call. That experience eventually led me to seminary.”
Pastor Hwang said the decision to come to the United States occurred during his final year of seminary in 2013: “One of my professors encouraged me to study English and pursue further theological education in the United States. I was eventually accepted into Boston University School of Theology and arrived in Boston in January 2015.
“Moving to a new country involved significant uncertainty. It meant leaving behind family, friends, language, culture, and everything familiar. It was not an easy decision, but I sensed that God was opening a path for growth, learning, and ministry. Studying theology in a second language was challenging…it taught me how to navigate theological differences.”
Pastor Hwang majored in mathematics as an undergraduate student. He earned a Master of Divinity degree from Methodist Theological University in Seoul, then a Master of Theological Studies degree with a concentration in Christian Ethics from Boston University’s School of Theology.
Following this, Pastor Hwang was appointed to Community United Methodist Church in Brighton, Massachusetts, in July 2017. He later transitioned to Phillips United Methodist Church in Phillips, Wisconsin, in August 2020.
“In Phillips,” Pastor Hwang said, “I experienced the warmth and resilience of a rural Wisconsin community. The congregation taught me much about faithfulness, hospitality, and serving one another through life’s joys and challenges. Phillips is a small, and somewhat isolated community, where many Czech and Slovak immigrants settled.
“As a Korean immigrant, I found a surprising sense of resonance with them. In different ways, our communities shared histories marked by war, hardship, and the experience of being outsiders. They welcomed this Korean stranger with remarkable kindness and hospitality. During my years there, I learned to collect maple sap, harvest wild rice, attend Pow Wows, and enjoy snowshoeing. These experiences helped me appreciate both the beauty of northern Wisconsin and the generosity of the people who call it home.”
The Rev. Hyunwoong Hwang fills containers with Judy Paulson and Ardyce Eisentraut in First United Methodist Churches Bread Basket Ministry in Waupaca, WI. (Courtesy Photo)
I have come to know my colleague, Pastor Hyunwoong Hwang, through his Facebook posts. I was touched by the thoughts he shared in a recent posting:
“These days, this country so easily turns immigrants into threats, building
walls, drawing lines, creating hierarchies among immigrants themselves,
deciding who belongs and who does not.
“Some may say, ‘Don’t politicize it.’ But the question of immigration, really the question of how we treat the vulnerable and the stranger, is unmistakably a spiritual one. Jesus consistently drew near to those pushed to the margins of society and even identified himself with them.
“In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 25, caring for the poor becomes inseparable from caring for God. That is the point. How we welcome the stranger reveals the substance of our religion, the depth of our spirituality, perhaps even the essence of our humanity.
“What this country often does to the vulnerable is, to borrow from Carl Jung, an act of projecting its shadow outward. In the language of René Girard, it is the release of the tensions and conflicts within ourselves and our communities onto an outsider. We search for scapegoats, blame them, fear them, hate them, sometimes even commit violence against them, never realizing that what we are confronting is often our own shadow reflected back at us.
“The ‘other’ we despise is not merely the other, but ourselves projected onto another person. Perhaps this is why loving our neighbor is inseparable from loving ourselves, just as loving our neighbor is inseparable from loving God.
“Today a church member came to me, after carefully reading the news about recent immigration law changes, and asked whether they might affect me as well. If some of these changes are implemented as written, I may have to stop serving my churches here, return to Korea, and wait indefinitely in order to receive permanent residency. I sincerely hope it does not come to that.
“Of course, I would somehow find a place to stay. But I find myself worrying about my three churches. What would happen to them without me? Do I simply trust that, somehow, all shall be well in the end? Even the thought itself feels dizzying.
“Yet what moved me even more deeply was seeing this church member treat the issue not as someone else’s problem, but almost as their own. And strangely, I, someone who never even intended to emigrate, but have now spent more than a decade living through this long and uncertain immigrant journey, found myself bewildered by their concern.
“But when I pause to consider that impulse, the willingness to carry another person’s uncertainty as if it were one’s own, I cannot help but wonder if this is precisely the work of the Holy Spirit. My heart was strangely warmed when they hugged me. Trying to understand another person across the boundaries of race, nation, culture, and language, that is holy work. Ironically, perhaps in learning to see the other, we are also learning to encounter our truer selves.”
The Rev. Hyunwoong Hwang loves biking. (Courtesy Photo)
Pastor Hwang is beginning his third year of ministry in Waupaca. He told me he loves the people and the opportunities he has to enjoy the natural beauty of the area:
“One of the things I appreciate most about Waupaca is its strong spirit of community service. I have seen people actively working to improve the community through churches, volunteer organizations, food pantries, farmers markets, and countless acts of neighborly care. These congregations have become an important part of my life, and over time Waupaca has come to feel like home.
“I enjoy spending time outdoors, especially participating in quiet, human- powered activities such as biking, hiking, and kayaking. Cycling has become both a hobby and spiritual practice for me. I often travel between churches by bicycle and enjoy exploring local trails and communities. Being outdoors gives me opportunities to appreciate God’s creation and reflect on life and ministry.
“This summer, I hope to continue that journey in a different way by hiking the John Muir Trail in California. I look forward to experiencing the beauty of creation, embracing simplicity, and discovering what God might teach me along the trail.”
The Rev. John Sumwalt (Courtesy Photo)
The Rev. John Sumwalt is a retired pastor and old farm kid. He is the author of “Shining Moments: Visions of the Holy in Ordinary Lives.” Email him.