Korean Churches Reach Out : Riot aftermath: Festival of Reconciliation will bring together hundreds of religious leaders from a wide range of ethnic groups.

In an unprecedented action, the 700-member Council of Korean Churches in Southern California tonight will host a Festival of Reconciliation to bring together hundreds of religious leaders from Anglo, Latino, African-American and Asian-American churches for an evening of worship, dialogue and food.

“This is a real Korean-style janchi (feast),” said the Rev. Paul Yang, pastor of Orange Korean Christian Reformed Church, a member of the festival organizing committee. “Koreans believe you have to share a meal before you can build a working relationship.”

The Rev. Dong-Seop Jang, executive director of the council, said the gathering is the culmination of months of discussion in Southern California’s Korean Christian community, which has been “struggling to understand the meaning of the civil disturbances of last April.”

Jang said he hoped that the session, scheduled from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Wilshire Plaza Hotel in the Mid-Wilshire district, will lead to the establishment of a permanent structure, such as sister church relations, that would facilitate continuing communication among religious leaders and, through them, their congregations.

Until now, most of the council’s outreach efforts have been directed at African-American churches. But the group chose to broaden its activities because the riots have convinced it that Korean-American church leaders must lead the way in making connections with not only African-Americans but other communities as well, said the Rev. Hee-Min Park, senior pastor of Young Nak Presbyterian Church of Los Angeles.

“The Festival of Reconciliation may be a one-time thing, but the issue of working together is an endless effort toward which we must all strive and work together,” Park said.

The Rev. Ron Wright, pastor of St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church in Santa Barbara, who lives in Los Angeles and has been active in the African-American community here, said he hopes good things will come out of the event.

“The fact that they’re doing this is important,” said Wright, adding that he is committed to working to improve relations between African-Americans and Korean-Americans.

Wright was a member of a 22-member delegation of African-American community leaders from Los Angeles who just returned from a goodwill trip to South Korea.

“My trip to Korea had a profound impact upon me,” Wright said. What impressed him most was the Korean people’s devotion and commitment to religion, education and the work ethic, he said. “Churches are open at 5 a.m. every morning,” he said. “When you have a commitment to God, a commitment to education and a commitment to the work ethic, how can you fail?”

The Rev. Jung-Nam Lee, pastor of the Valley Park Korean Baptist Church in North Hills, who accompanied the delegation, said there are no shortcuts in race relations.

“You have to meet face to face and talk with each other,” he said. “It is only then that we realize how much we are alike. Even if we cannot love each other, we should at least try to understand each other. As we share our respective histories and experiences, we can build on them and establish relationships.”

Two years ago, council members and black ministers formed the African-American/Korean-American Christian Alliance to help resolve conflicts between African-Americans and Korean-Americans.

The alliance has sponsored seminars and trips of black community leaders to Korea and handed out scholarships to African-American students. The group is on a $100,000 fund-raising campaign to do more. It wants to establish a job training program for South-Central Los Angeles residents.

“Just being together and spending time listening to each other can help,” Yang said. “Most first-generation Korean pastors don’t have many opportunities to meet pastors from other ethnic groups.”