My name is John Chung from Washington, D.C. In 1974, when I was 30, I quit my job at a bank in Korea and emigrated to the United States together with my wife and a two year-old son. While in Korea, in 1969, I became a Catholic to marry my present wife. However, I have been a superficial Catholic for the past 30 years. I only went to Confession a few times during that time.

I worked hard in America and considered myself a successful immigrant. Our son became a medical doctor. Then, in June 1999, I was diagnosed with lung cancer. It was devastating news. I discontinued all my work and tried to fight the cancer. One day, my daughter-in-law suggested that I visit Naju. I felt reluctant, because I had not been a fervent Catholic at all. I was almost forced by my daughter-in-law and her father to come to Naju. So, here I am in Naju. I planned to be here for three days only, but, after three weeks, I am still here.

I used to be a rationalist, preferring science to religion and refusing to believe anything unless I could understand it. My daughter-in-law kept telling me about the signs and healings in Naju, but I could not believe them.

Before coming to Naju, we made a sightseeing trip to Cheju Island for three days. After that trip, I had a high fever and pains all over my body. A few days later, the fever was gone, but three red spots appeared on my back. I did not think much of them, and went to Naju as planned.

For the first two days when we were praying in the Chapel and drank "the miraculous water" on the Blessed Mother’s mountain, the three spots on my back spread even to my left side and abdomen. There were blisters around my navel. I called a doctor in Seoul, who was a friend of mine, and explained the symptoms to him. He said that it was caused by an invasion of viruses into the nerves and that I had to be hospitalized as soon as possible. While I was going to the train station in Naju, I met several people who said that they were on the way to the Blessed Mother’s mountain. I followed them and drank the water from the fountain. I also washed the affected areas on my body with that water. I continued staying in Naju, treating myself with the water. After a few days, the spots and blisters disappeared completely.

While staying in Naju, I have seen so many miracles and experienced some myself. I am worried, because my friends in America will not believe me when I tell them about what I experienced in Naju. I will relay just a few of them here.

I smelled a fragrance of roses from the spot on the floor in the Chapel where the Eucharist miraculously descended in 1998.

My wife had been suffering from coughing and pain in her throat, but became well after drinking the water from the Blessed Mother’s mountain.

While I was drinking water on the Blessed Mother’s mountain, the water in the bowl which I was holding became human milk. I was so surprised that I stirred it with my fingers. It was real milk, with some thickness. I believe that this is "the spiritual milk" from the Blessed Mother. I cannot help believing in its truthfulness, because I saw it with my own eyes. Also from the springs, I smelled a powerful fragrance of flowers. This cannot be anything else but a miracle which I cannot explain based on my common sense.

I still need a medical examination by doctors, but I can say this: when I came here, I was an exhausted, extremely tired person because of the lung cancer. Now, three weeks later, I feel like flying and even having a wrestling match with a young man. I do not feel any sickness in me. I will have a checkup after returning to America, but I already feel that my lung cancer is gone.

I have been like a new person since I came here. I am so grateful to the Blessed Mother for giving me such an amazing miracle despite my lack of faithfulness. She gave me this grace of healing not because of my faith but because of the prayers and faith of many priests, Sisters, and friends who have been praying for me. I truly repent my past life and resolve to make efforts to promote the Blessed Mother after I return to America.

A Korean priest told me about his experience in Rome. The driver in a taxi cab asked the priest if he was from Korea. When he said "Yes," the driver said that he was saving money to make a pilgrimage to Naju and even refused to accept taxi fare from the priest.

The Blessed Mother has appeared in Lourdes, Fatima and other places. There are miraculous springs in other shrines also. However, where is a place really like Naju, where so many supernatural manifestations have occurred in a comprehensive manner? I do not understand why the Blessed Mother’s House in Naju does not have the approval from the local diocese yet. Can anyone explain the reason to me? I also do not understand why Mrs. Julia Kim has to live a restricted life, not even praying in the Chapel with other pilgrims. The authoritarian style not only in the government but also in the Church in Korea has to change.

I ask everyone to pray that the restrictions on Naju may be removed, Julia may pray with us, and the Blessed Mother’s messages may spread to all corners of the world. Let us pray that the whole Catholic Family may gather and pray together here and receive graces. I will do my part until the day when the Triumph of the Blessed Mother’s Immaculate Heart is achieved.

John Jin-Young Chung
Laurel, Maryland
U. S. A.
January 1, 2000

—From Mary's Touch, March 2000 Newsletter