Acknowledgements
The present study is the revised version of a doctoral thesis submitted to the Theological University Kampen (Theologische Universiteit Kampen) in the Netherlands in February 2020.
First of all, I would like to thank my primary dissertation supervisor, prof. dr. Barend Kamphuis. His passion for the catholicity of Christian dogma was a fascinating stimulus for me to explore the traditions of East and West and to appreciate the beauty of their respective trinitarianism without bias. Furthermore, I wish to thank prof. dr. Giulio Maspero at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome and am grateful for his willingness to serve as the second promotor to the project. His wide and deep knowledge of and profound insights into patristic trinitarianism were of great guidance to me, preventing me from losing my way. Last but not least, I want to thank my co-supervisor dr. Dolf te Velde (Kampen), who gave his feedback in ways challenging me to re-think the matter more deeply and to clarify what I had understood and written.
Thanks are also due to the other members of the examining committee: prof. dr. Lewis Ayres (Durham University), prof. dr. Arnold Huijgen (TU Apeldoorn), and prof. dr. Paul van Geest (VU Amsterdam/ Tilburg University, Utrecht). Their comments pushed me to improve my original dissertation for this monograph.
I also want to mention a number of other professors to whom I am greatly indebted. For my doctoral research, I spent one academic year at the Istituto Patristico Augustinianum in Rome. Prof. dr. Giuseppe Caruso, OSA who was the dean of the institute, granted me a wonderful opportunity to study there in doctoral coursework on the patristics. Prof. dr. Robert Dodaro, OSA similarly accompanied me for a period of time. His stimulating lectures on Augustine’s theology helped me gain an overview of what Augustine thought and taught. Additionally, I am thankful for all the professors who taught me at Kosin University in Busan and at Korea Theological Seminary in Cheonan. My knowledge of the Reformed tradition was formed and enriched through their lectures. Among them, prof. dr. Hae Moo Yoo is worthy of my special gratitude. He introduced me to Reformed dogmatics and ignited my interest in the patristic tradition.
I could never have done my work in solitude, and am grateful for my Dutch and international colleagues and friends in Kampen and Rome, who have accompanied me on this journey. Without their presence and friendship, the journey would have been a lonely one. I could not have completed this work without the help of dr. Albert Gootjes. I owe him my thanks for taking on the burden of proof-reading my text. All remaining errors are, of course, my own.
From the academic field, my gratitude extends also to the churches to which I belonged, along with their members. Among the members of the Gasthuis Church (Hattem), I would like to thank dr. Pieter Pel and his wife Tineke Pel, who opened their home to me when I first came to the Netherlands, as well as Mrs. Tineke Meijer and Mrs. Grietje van Dijk. Among the members of the Eudokia Church (Kampen), I thank the dear members of the ‘Huiskring’ of ‘Wijk 1.’ The dinners and fellowship with them were precious opportunities to enjoy ‘one faith in our Lord, Jesus Christ’ in ‘one Spirit’ concretely.
Besides these churches in Europe, there are also two churches and a Christian foundation in South Korea that are deserving of my special gratitude. The Busan Dong Presbyterian Church (Rev. K.C. Hyeon) and the Mieum Presbyterian Church (Rev. D.E. Kim) have supported my work with prayer and financial aid. I am indebted also to the Oakto Foundation, which provided a scholarship that was of special help for the opportunity to study at the institute in Rome.
I am deeply indebted to my parents and parents-in-law. They have rejoiced and suffered together with me. With their love, commitment, and trust, it was possible to begin, continue, and finish my work.
Haram and Hajin are to be thanked for the patience with which they have endured the absence of their father on too many occasions. Their smiles and laughter are God’s most beautiful creation, cheering me up every day again.
Finally, I thank God for giving me my lovely wife, Oh-jin. She has been my most precious treasure and my best friend, comforter, and helper over the course of the long journey. To her this book is dedicated.
Pusan, January 2021