The King’s Men, an acapella music group from Biola University’s Conservatory of Music, recently completed a whirlwind tour of South Korea that began Oct. 18 and ended Oct. 24. Hosted by Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC), an organization with offices in La Mirada, the men traveled and performed in various venues around Seoul, accompanying Biola President Barry H. Corey, who spoke at various venues.

“It was absolutely amazing to perform our style of worship for a people who already worship and pray so passionately," said Thiago Demendonca, a member of the King’s Men. "The Korean people are so loving, kind and appreciative of hard work and true worship."

The trip consisted of performing at numerous large churches in the Seoul area. One performance included singing for the largest church in the world, Yoido Full Gospel Church, before an audience of more than 30,000, which included both satellite and online viewers.

"It felt surreal, to be honest," said senior Mackenzie Burns."There were large numbers of people at mostly every place we performed. I loved being a part of a group that really loves to sing and loves our Savior even more."

The group also met the pastor of another church with more than 50,000 members and spent time with both the pastor and Corey after a performance at the church. Their music was also broadcasted across the airwaves of FEBC throughout South Korea. They also performed at Sarang Community Church, Cornerstone Christian Academy, Antioch Church, Sae Eden Church and Hanyoung Foreign Language High School.

"We left for Korea with the exciting prospect of inspiring people, but what we didn’t expect was for them to be such an inspiration to us," said Demendonca. "The experience was life changing.”

Between performances the group had the opportunity to visit various parts of the city, including seeing the home of the president of South Korea. The group also had the privilege of witnessing Corey receive an honorary doctorate from Busan University of Foreign Studies.

Written by Bethany Wilson, Media Relations Intern. For more information, contact Jenna Bartlo, Media Relations Coordinator, at 562.777.4061 or jenna.l.bartlo@biola.edu.