Dr. David Sohn presented a lecture to Leisure World residents and external guests on his memoir ‘Divine Vision and Milestones.’ The lecture held on March 26th from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM at the Leisure World Auditorium in Silver Spring, MD. Dr. Sohn was invited to speak by Mr. John Feldmann, President of CLL, Leisure World. About 90 people attended the lecture and learned about Dr. Sohn’s lifetime stories.
Dr. Sohn was born and raised in a rural farming family in South Korea. He had a dream of becoming a medical doctor and wanted to go to a medical school, but he could not afford to pay expensive tuition although he was admitted to one of the best medical schools in Korea. Instead, he was forced to enter the Korea Military Academy (KMA), which provided full support for tuition, room, and board for 4 years. After graduating KMA, he served as a signal officer in the Korea Army. Later Dr. Sohn was selected as a full scholarship student by the U.S. Army Signal School to study and travel in America for a full year from May 1965. While studying and traveling in the United States for a year, he witnessed that the American Dream and education system had made the United States of America the strongest, richest, and most generous nation in the world.
After returning to Korea, he was assigned to work at the Korea Army Signal School. While working at the Korean Army Signal School, he suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis. As a result of this unexpected heart problem, he had to be discharged from the Korea Army, forcing him to give up his dream to become an Army General as a KMA graduate.
After being discharged from the Korea Army, Dr. Sohn worked as a journalist for a news media company which published newspapers and served as a Korean Branch of the Associated Press of UK. Although he loved his job as a journalist, he had to decide to quit his job. The main reason he had to stop working as a journalist was because he could not accept bribery not only from the large corporations but also from the Korean government.
After resigning from the journalist job, he was thinking of becoming a Member of Congress in an effort to change the law to eliminate briberies and injustice full of Korean society. However, soon he realized that he cannot change the law all by himself, especially as a freshman Congressman.
It was during this time that he wanted to know more about God’s creation and control of our lives.
Dr. Sohn was complaining in earnest prayer about why his dreams were broken three times. His first dream to become a medical doctor was broken; his second dream to become an Army General as a graduate of the Korea Military Academy was broken; and his third dream to become a prominent journalist was broken.
While praying sincerely and reading the Bible, he discovered God’s plans for human beings, including himself in “Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV),” where God says, “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” In Proverbs 16:9 (NIV): “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”
Dr. Sohn held on to these two Bible verses and prayed sincerely. He finally discovered God’s Plan for himself. God’s plan for Dr. Sohn is to transform not only Korea but also the entire world through innovative, effective and affordable education. Dr. Sohn converted God’s plan for him to his own lifetime vision.
While going to a pharmacy to treat his pulmonary tuberculosis, Dr. Sohn met Pharmacist Mok Jah Kim, married her, and started a family while living in the United States since 1968. Their children are Gene and Edward. Gene graduated from MIT and Edward from the University of Maryland, respectively.
Dr. Sohn founded International Computers & Telecom, Inc. (ICT) to achieve the American Dream in the United States. ICT grew amazingly fast and successfully and became an international IT and airport construction company. ICT was selected as the prime contractor to design and construct Korea’s Incheon International Airport. ICT completed the project in 2001 successfully, laying all the foundations for Incheon International Airport to be selected as the World’s Best International Airport for several years by the Airport Council International, England.
In 2008, Dr. Sohn established IGlobal University (IGU). IGU awarded bachelor’s and master’s degrees to about 10,000 students from 50 countries, including Korea, for 12 years. Upon Dr. Sohn’s retirement from IGU in 2020, Dr. Sohn offered up a prayer of thanks to God, convincing God of the fact that he had achieved his vision of changing the world through Global Education. However, God said to Dr. Sohn, “Your vision has not been completed yet but continues as long as you live.” Dr. Sohn was suddenly reminded of the ‘Great Commission’ in the Gospel of Matthew (28:19-20). God commanded Dr. Sohn to teach all the truths of God that Dr. Sohn had discovered to everyone in the world, as long as he lives.
Going forward, Dr. Sohn is carrying out the following plans to carry out this Great Commission.
1. Translate his memoir into many languages and disseminate it through books and videos.
2. Inspire students by awarding scholarships through vision-setting essays.
3. Provide speeches and lectures on ‘God’s Plan for human beings to schools and churches at home and abroad
In addition, Kim Sohn founded the Global Children Foundation (GCF) as a nonprofit charity organization in 1998. GCF now has approximately 8,000 members in the United States, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, and Canada. GCF’s mission is to feed and educate underprivileged children around the world.
The 10 milestones established based on God’s vision for Dr. Sohn are as follows:
Milestone 1: God created me (David Sohn) in His own image (Genesis 1:27)
Milestone 2: God Guided me to achieve academic excellence
Milestone 3: God Made me choose the Korea Military Academy
Milestone 4: God Guided me to study at the U.S. Army Signal School
Milestone 5: God Led me to witness the Americans who fulfilled the American Dream
Milestone 6: God Led me to marry Pharmacist Mok Jah Kim so that we can be adopted as children of God (Ephesians 1:5)
Milestone 7: God Guided me to dream of the American Dream in Korea
Milestone 8: God has guided me through my best education and experience to acquire the leadership and management skills I need to achieve the American Dream
Milestone 9: God Guided me to Fulfill the American Dream in America
Milestone 10: God has led us to directly and indirectly disseminate the evidence of the fulfillment of ‘God’s plan for me to the world
Extra Milestone: God guided me to spread God’s plan for me and the evidence of my accomplishments to the world directly and indirectly.
HIUS Korea Reporter Rhee Tae-bong
손영환 박사(Dr. David Sohn)가 ‘내 인생의 비전과 마일스톤’ 자서전을 주제로 레저월드에 사는 주민들과 외부 손님들을 대상으로 강연회를 가졌다.
3월 26일 오후2시부터 3시30분까지 MD실버스프링 소재 레저월드 강당에서 개최된 강연회는 레저월드의 CLL 회장 John Feldmann초청으로 하게 됐고 이날 강연에는 약 90여명이 참석하여 손 박사의 인생 과정을 들었다.
손박사는 충남의 시골 농가에서 태어나 자랐고, 의사가 되고 싶은 꿈이 있어 의과대학에 가고 싶었지만, 학비를 전액 지원해 주는 육군사관학교로 진학, 졸업 후 통신장교로 복무하던중 미국육군통신학교로부터 장학생으로 선발되어1년간 미국유학을 한던중 American Dream 과 교육제도가 미국을 세계에서 가장 강하고, 부유하고 또 관대한 나라로 만들었다는 사실을 목격했다. 그후 한국육군통신학교에서 근무하던 중 폐결핵을 앓고 전역한 후, 언론사 기자로 근무했고 이 시절 하나님과의 만남이 이뤄졌다.
손박사는 간절한 기도속에서 ‘왜 자기의 꿈이 세번이나 좌절되었는가?’를 원망하던중 자기를 향한 하나님의 계획을, “예레미야 29장11절 (KLB)”에서 발견했다. 즉 “너희를 위한 나의 계획은 내가 알고 있다. 그것은 너희에게 재앙을 주려는 것이 아니라 번영을 주고 너희에게 미래와 희망을 주려는 계획이다”
잠언 16장 9절: “사람이 마음으로 자기의 길을 계획할지라도 그 걸음을 인도하는 자는 여호와시니라”
이 두 성경말씀을 붙잡고 기도 했고 그 기도의 응답이, ‘혁신적이고 효율적인 교육을 통하여 한국사회는 물론 세계를 변화시키라’는 것을 믿고 이것을 손박사 ‘인생의 비전’으로 세웠다.
그리고 폐결핵병을 치료 하기위해 약국을 다니면서 김목자 약사를 만나게 되어 결혼했고 1968년 이후 미국에서 살면서 가정을 이루었다. 자녀로는 Gene 과 Edward 를 두었고 MIT 와 Maryland 대학을 각각 졸업했다.
손박사는 미국에서 아메리칸 드림을 이루기 위해 International Computers & Telecom, Inc.(ICT)회사를 설립했고 국제 IT및 공항건설 회사로 성장했다. ICT는 1992년에 한국의 인천 공항 건설 주계약회사로 선발되어 2001년에 완공함으로서, 인천국제공항이 수년간 세계 최우수국제공항으로 선발될수 있는 모든 기반을 닦았다.
2008년에는 IGlobal University(IGU)를 설립한 후 12년동안에 한국을 비롯 하여 50개국에서 온 10,000 명 학생에게 학사/석사학위를 수여했다. 손박사는 2020년 은퇴하면서, Global Education을 통하여 세상을 변화시키자는 비전을 다 성취했다고 믿으면서 하나님께 감사의 기도를 올렸다. 그러나 하나님은 손박사에게 마태복음의 ‘지상명령’을 상기시키면서 목숨이 살아 있는 한, 손박사가 발견한 모든 하나님의 진리를 전 세계 모든 사람들에게 가르치라고 명령하셨다고 믿었다.
앞으로 손박사는 이 지상명령을 수행하기 위해 다음과 같은 계획을 수행하고 있다.
1. 자서전을 많은 나라말로 번역하여 책과 영상으로 전파할것
2. Vision-setting Essay를 통하여 장학금을 학생들에게 수여할것
3. 국내외 학교와 교회에서 ‘하나님의 인류를 위한 계획’을 강의 할것
또한 부인과 함께 글로벌어린이재단을 설립하여 미국, 한국, 일본, 홍콩, Canada에 약 8천여명의 회원을 가진 자선단체로 성장시켰고 전세계 불우 결식아동을 위해 돕는 사역을 하고 있다.
손박사를 위한 하나님의 비전을 근거로 세운10개의 마일스톤들은 다음과 같다.
1: 하나님은 자신의 형상대로 나를 창조하셨다 (창세기 1:27).
2: 학문적 우월성을 성취하도록 인도하셨다.
3: 나로 하여금 의과대학 대신 육군사관학교를 선택하게 하셨다.
4: 나를 미국육군 통신 학교에서 1년간 수학하는 장학생으로 선발되어 미국에서 많은 것을 배우게 하셨다.
5: 아메리칸 드림을 성취한 미국사람들을 목격하게 하셨다.
6: 하나님의 자녀로 입양시키기 위해 김목자 약사와 결혼하도록 인도하셨다(에베소서 1:5).
7: 나로 하여금 아메리칸 드림을 한국에서 꿈꾸도록 인도하셨다.
8: 하나님은 내가 아메리칸 드림을 성취하는 데 필요한 Leadership and Management 능력을 최상의 교육과 경험을 통해 획득하도록 인도하셨다.
9: 내가 미국에서 아메리칸 드림을 완수하도록 인도하셨다.
10: 하나님은 나의 비전, 즉 교육을 통하여 세상을 변화시키기 위하여, 세계적인 대학교를 세우도록 인도하셨다.
Extra Milestone: 나를 위한 하나님의 계획과 내가 성취한 증거를 세상에 직접, 간접으로 전파하도록 인도하셨다.
하이유에스코리아 이태봉 기자
