How did Brother Moses meet the Salesians? How did he discover the missionary vocation? How did his stay in Mongolia help him? You can learn all this from this short interview.

1. Please, can you share with us about your family, childhood and growth in faith?

I was born into a devout Catholic family as the eldest son, with a younger sister. My father was a military officer and my mother was a Korean-Air flight attendant, both of them later became Salesian Cooperators. Because of my father’s profession, my life has been characterized by constant transitions, requiring our family to move more than 30 times from my childhood through my adult years. Growing up as a continual “new student” and a stranger—moving from a tiny rural school near the border of North Korea to metropolitan cities—I naturally developed deep adaptability and an open heart toward unfamiliar environments, people and cultures.

I received infant baptism at the age of two under the name “Moses.” This name was given with a deep spiritual wish connected to my Korean name, Minsu (民守), which means “to protect the people.” I did the First Communion when I was 7, and received the Sacrament of Confirmation at 10.

Since we belonged to military parishes, I spent my youth simply attending Mass and serve as an altar server without the chance to experience a Sunday school or parish activities for the Youth. However, a profound turning point in my faith occurred in 2011 during the World Youth Day (WYD) in Madrid, Spain which I participated with Korean Salesian group.

Amidst millions of youth from all over the world, I experienced a powerful, giant joy and the living presence of God. This grace led me directly into the Salesian Youth Movement (SYM), where my faith transformed from a passive routine into a personal, deep relationship with Jesus Christ.

2. Where did you meet the Salesians and Don Bosco? Why did you become a Salesian?

My encounter with the Salesians in the winter of 2010 through voluntary work at a Daycare Center was not a mere coincidence, but the first providential spark of God’s call in my life. This encounter led me into a deeper relationship with Him, guiding me to spend the next eight years as an animator in the Salesian Youth Movement (SYM).

While I pursued my studies in Law and Public Administration at the university, the Lord continually expanded the horizons of my soul. Through hard work at various part-time jobs as an academy instructor and tutor, I managed to finance my travels and pilgrimages to more than 20 countries including 2015 Salesian Youth Day in Torino, volunteering as a working guest in Madonna House Apostolate in Canada, 2016 World Youth Day in Poland, pilgrimage to Camino de Santiago, and the Holy Land, and volunteering in Calcutta, India with Missionary of Charity Brothers.

These journeys were not just adventures; they were sacred spaces where God unexpectedly broke into my life, allowing me to touch His vast presence across different cultures and in the faces of the marginalized. This same divine prompting inspired me to commit to various social ministries—organizing humanities programs for vulnerable youth and teaching school dropouts—where I began to hear Christ’s voice crying out through the needs of the young.

Recognizing that the Lord was gently but firmly anchoring my heart among the youth, I responded to His call by officially entering the Salesians of Don Bosco upon my graduation.

Through the unique lens of Salesian spirituality, God captivated me entirely, revealing the immense, unconditional depth of His love. As I breathed, worked, and prayed within this charism, I realized that my vocation was not a career choice I made for God, but a sacred covenant initiated by Him. The profound sense of acceptance and grace I had freely received from the Lord became an inner fire. He did not just call me to work for Him, but consecrated me to be a living sign of His love for the young, helping them recognize that they are infinitely loved by God. Captivated by this pastoral heart, I joyfully surrendered my entire life to His divine will as a Salesian.

3. What do you like and admire about Don Bosco?

What moves me most about Don Bosco is his profound way of psychological and spiritual accompaniment, which mirrors how God embraces our true selves. In my own spiritual journey, I experienced a time of stripping away external recognitions to confront my own inner vulnerabilities and spiritual poverty. It was in that very brokenness that I encountered God’s profound mercy and learned to empty myself.

This personal experience allowed me to deeply understand Don Bosco’s supernatural gaze. He did not look at young people from a distance, nor did he judge them by their rough exterior, wounded backgrounds, or troubled behaviors. Instead, he possessed the grace to see past those defensive layers to find the hidden, undamaged spark of goodness within each soul. I admire how he created a “home” of absolute acceptance where young people felt completely secure. He teaches me that our mission is to accompany the youth with that same patient, merciful gaze, helping them discover that God loves them exactly as they are.

4. Are you discerning missionary vocation? Why would you like to be a missionary?

Yes. Even before arriving in Mongolia, my missionary vocation was nurtured and discerned in Korea through the close accompaniment and guidance of my spiritual director, formators, and rectors. Afterward, through my practical training and missionary experiences here in Mongolia, this call grew significantly deeper. This spiritual clarity led me to officially submit my missionary application right here in the mission land. By the immense grace of God, I have been officially welcomed into this year’s 157th Salesian Missionary Expedition. I am being sent to Vanuatu, the newest Salesian mission among the 137 countries worldwide, where our first pioneers just arrived last December.

To me, a missionary vocation means emptying my own limited views, human attachments, and comfort zones to offer full, conscious availability (Disponibilità) to the Congregation and God. Looking back, I realize that my experience of moving more than thirty times was God’s pedagogical way of preparing my heart to be a spiritual nomad for His Kingdom, making me naturally free from attachments to places, environments or people. I want to be a missionary because I desire to be “ad gentes, ad exteros, ad vitam”(to the nations, to the outside, for life) missionary—to completely lower myself, inculturate into a new land, and offer my entire life for the salvation of the youth who are waiting for meeting Jesus, a Good Shepherd.

5. How do you like Mongolia? What was your first impression here?

My very first impression of Mongolia was the breath-taking, endless vastness of its nature and the deep, silent strength found in the vast sky and plains. Currently, I am serving my second year of practical training here, belonging to the Darkan Community, after staying in UB (Ulaanbaatar) Community and the Shuwuu house.

Living in Mongolia has been a time of profound interior growth. Despite the language barriers and cultural differences, encountering the pure, unpretentious hearts of the Mongolian children makes me experience the living face of Christ every single day. Sharing in their simple daily lives has made me fall in love with this mission. Mongolia is no longer a strange foreign land to me; it is a precious vineyard of the Lord where I am learning the real meaning of presence and pastoral love.

6. What is your “life motto” or a favorite Bible verse?

The anchor for my life and Salesian vocation is Joshua 1:2: “Moses my servant is dead.” This verse holds a profoundly sacred and foundational meaning for me. As a Salesian confrere who has the name Moses, my highest spiritual longing and daily prayer is that when my lifelong Salesian missionary journey on this earth finally comes to an end, God may look back at my life and say those exact words: “Moses my servant is dead.” I do not seek my own personal recognition, comfort, or human achievements. Instead, I desire to live my entire life faithfully and quietly as a humble, obedient servant of God. This verse constantly reminds me to empty myself daily and offer a generous, lifelong “Yes” to His call, so that I can faithfully love and serve His young people until my very last breath.