Pastor Choi Il-Do of Dail Church

My wife and I are working together to translate a Korean book by Pastor Choi Il-Do (최일도). For you Koreaphiles out there, here's the bibliographical information in Korean:

최일도: 밥짓는 시인 퍼주는 사랑. 시인목사 최일도의 아름다운 세상찾기.

We've finished a second draft of the translation and are currently reworking toward a third one. My wife hasn't yet translated the title, however, and due to the abysmal condition of my Korean, I cannot provide an accurate rendition. I think that it's something like:

"A Poet Making Rice, Scooping Love"

But I suspect that we're going to need to find some other title in English. First published in 1995, the book was a bestseller here in Korea. Choi now wants to publish it in the United States.

I'm trying to figure out what sort of marketing niche the book will fit into. It's a biography that explains how Choi founded Dail Church, which is located in a poor area of Seoul (Junnong-Dong, since you asked) and which provides free meals, shelter, and medical service for the poor and aged.

But the book offers more than this. It's also the story of how a young wanderer and aspiring Protestant minister growing up in the dictatorial era of President Park fell in love with a Catholic nun whose heart he won through poetry and persistance. In short, a love story.

That's the first half. The second half tells the tale of how Choi's life as a seminary student was transformed by a chance encounter with a homeless man in a train station. This so affected him that he began cooking ramyon (spicey Korean noodles) on the streets to feed the homeless drunkards. That was in late 1988, and by 1995, Choi was offering free medical care and planning a hospital. In short, a social-gospel story.

Two different stories, one life.

Anyway, for readers interested in learning more about the Dail Church, the House of Sharing, and Angel Hospital, please visit the blog of Dail English Pastor Aaron Krueger:

http://dailkorea.blogspot.com/

Those proficient in Korean (not I) can visit the official Dail Church website:

http://www.dailchurch.org

Dail Church welcomes any support and assistance, of course, so if anyone wishes to help, please visit the websites and establish contact via email.