In a city of transplants, Michael is the rare Los Angeles native; he was born at Queen of Angels Hospital (now the Dream Center), spent a couple years in the South Bay he doesn’t remember, and grew up in the San Gabriel Valley. A proud USC graduate (fight on forever!), he works in sales in the technology industry. Michael is deeply rooted in LA—he’s never considered leaving due to his love of LA’s unique combination of weather, culture, food, art, and sports.

Despite having attended a Korean church for his entire life, Michael didn’t understand the forgiveness of sins, the grace of God, and the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection until he started questioning the meaning of life during high school. After committing so much of his time to other areas that he thought seemed more important (college admissions, relationships, extracurriculars), Michael came to realize that Jesus wanted him to commit everything to him. Michael’s parents’ divorce forced him to rely on Jesus when it seemed like he had nothing left, a recommitment which led to him being baptized at Reality LA.

Michael enjoys connecting with God by reading both Scripture and books. He also listens to podcasts that help him deepen his biblical understanding and encourage him (testimonies of believers across the globe are some of his favorites). Finally, he enjoys connecting to the Lord through prayer while driving.

Michael’s introduction to Reality LA arose out of tragedy—during his college years, there was a student who passed away from a skateboarding accident. Tim Chaddick, the pastor of Reality LA at the time, came during prayer meetings for that student and preached. Many people at USC got saved or rededicated their lives to Jesus as a result, and Michael decided to check out Reality LA himself.

After attending Reality LA for several years, Michael was asked to lead a community group and later got involved with the parking team and then the welcome team with his fiancé (now wife), Aeri. He has been blessed to serve the people when so much has been given to him through the people of our church!

Michael and his wife live in the North San Fernando Valley with their three kids. Michael’s dream is to regularly host friends for delicious foods he’s dreamt of cooking (ex: slow roasting a quarter cow, smoking Texas BBQ, Kalua pork) or just for some good old Korean comfort food.