For more than four decades, Han Yang Presbyterian Church served the Korean Community of our region by proclaiming the message of Christ among its members, friends, and diverse communities in the Los Angeles area and around the world.

First organized in the Hollywood area, Han Yang purchased the facilities in Arleta in 1982. Soon thereafter, it joined the Hamni Presbytery which was created within the bounds of the Synod of Southern California and Hawaii. In February 2014, our Presbytery voted to receive the congregation.

Under the motto “Inward Education and Outward Mission”, Han Yang Presbyterian Church served faithfully both locally and globally. It supported ministries in places like Ukraine and Nepal. It helped build the facilities for a new church in Myanmar and trained new leaders in countries where Christians suffer governmental hostilities. More recently, the church partnered with the Presbyterian Mission agency in Louisville in a project to provide emergency assistance to families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In recent years Han Yang Church dwindled to 23 members and its average participation in Sunday worship averaged 6 people. Although  the congregation took an action to dissolve and hold its last service on March 27, the legacy of Han Yang Presbyterian Church will be felt through the many lives that it touched.

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Brief Overview of the ministry of Rev. Il June Kang

Rev. Il June Kang served as moderator of our Presbytery for the year 2017. As he plans for retirement, it is fitting to recognize his devoted ministry among us.

Born to a committed Christian family in the coastal city of Busan, South Korea, Il June’s grandfather was a pastor and his father an elder for fifty years. He majored in Foreign Affairs and received the Master of Divinity degree from Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Seoul. He then went on to obtain additional graduate degrees at McCormick Theological Seminary and Fuller Theological Seminary, where he also pursued doctoral studies.

Il June married Eun Hee, a trained pianist, in 1988. Together they had a daughter named Hae Jin and a son named Timothy. Following his call to pastoral ministry, he was ordained in April 1990. After serving at Shinil Presbyterian Church in Seoul, Bethany Presbyterian Church in Chicago, and Oriental Mission Church in Los Angeles, he was called to become the Senior Pastor at Han Yang Presbyterian Church in 2001

Il June is currently a member of the Personnel and Nominating Committees of our Presbytery. We wish Il June all the best in this new season of life and ministry.