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DETERMINED SOUTH KOREAN VICTIM OF TERROR ATTACK 

PURSUES HIS GOALS IN BIBLE STUDY AT HEBREW UNIVERSITY

(Jerusalem) Determination takes on a new meaning when it comes to Seho Chang, an advanced student from South Korea in Biblical studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Severely injured in the terror attack on the student cafeteria at the Hebrew University’s Mount Scopus campus three years ago, he was unconscious for a month following the attack and thereafter underwent a lengthy period of medical treatment for the burns and internal injuries he suffered.

But the pain and the slow and difficult recuperation did not deter Chang from pursuing his ambition to continue his studies. Far from it. Recently, he received his M.A. degree in the Bible and Its World master’s degree program at the Hebrew University’s Rothberg International School. He has also been pursuing his further studies towards a doctorate in the university’s Department of Bible, where he is considered an outstanding student.

“I didn’t imagine I would be able to live (normally) again as I am. It’s a miracle!” he states emphatically.

Chang has been living and studying in Israel for the past six years, with the assistance of various scholarships and grants. “I was fascinated by Hebrew and wanted to learn the Bible in its original and also to experience the land of Israel,” he says by way of explaining what brought him to Israel and the Hebrew University.

In addition to his studies in the Bible and his expertise in both ancient and modern Hebrew, Chang has acquired considerable skills in other ancient Near East languages, including Akkadian, Ugaritic, Aramaic and classical Greek.

Married and the father of two small children, Chang, 36, is an ordained Presbyterian minister whose ambition it is to one day return to his native land and teach in a religious seminary. But for now he has his sights set on completing his Ph.D. studies at the Hebrew University, a task contingent upon his finding the necessary financial resources that will enable him to do so.  

In this pursuit, he has faith that he will achieve his goal. “I think God wants me to be here to and to get my degree. He gave me the courage to study here. This is a special country!” he says.