At a gala dinner celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Korean Faith for Today (KFFT) television program in Los Angeles, nearly half of the 250-plus people attending were from the community.

The anniversary celebration theme focused on the concept of well-being, since the thrust of the Korean television program is to promote healthful living practices through its programs and other ministries. The program also involves Koreans in the Los Angeles area in the work of the Korean Temperance Society, which Adventists have operated in L.A. for 16 years. The anniversary celebration itself featured a health presentation by KFFT performers and staff that drew intense interest.

Most community guests at the event were individuals allied with the television program in a variety of ways, including participation in the local health and temperance outreach. Among the dignitaries who attended were Yong-Tai Lee, president of the L.A. Korean Association, and Yung-Jai Jun, director of Korean Cultural Affairs for the Korean Consulate in Los Angeles. Both men lauded Korean Faith for Today’s work on behalf of the community.

“The consulate representative was especially impressed by the dinner program, which focuses on spiritual as well as health aspects,” said Kwang Rim Chough, director, SCC Asian/Pacific Region, “The meetings and events that he usually attends are politically oriented, but not this one.”

Nine special guests had participated in a stop-smoking program conducted by a physician and sponsored by the television ministry and the temperance society. Along with celebrating KFFT’s anniversary, they celebrated their own victories over smoking.

The audience applauded when Lourie Ishii, a Japanese woman, shared her essay on temperance, for which she had won an award in a contest sponsored by Korean Faith for Today. In her presentation, Ishii related her experience of obtaining freedom from heroin addiction and street life by finding God.

More applause erupted when Larry L. Caviness, SCC president, announced in his message that 110 people had graduated from a five-lesson Voice of Prophecy course offered on the program; about 1,000 others are enrolled in the course.

The KFFT television program and ministry are supported by members in 12 Korean churches in the Southern California area. SCC has participated since the program’s inception with an annual subsidy. The half-hour program airs every Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on the Korean Television Network in Los Angeles. In addition, the broadcast ministry provides tapes of the programs to lay people and friends to arrange for them to be broadcast on cable systems in their area.

Herman Chai, who founded and pastored the first Korean Adventist church in the United States in Los Angeles, chaired the anniversary program. He is currently a member of the Pacific Union Conference Executive Committee.

For more information about the Korean Faith for Today program, call 213-385-9676.