By Michael Motes

In his spare time, he brushes up on the art of the chiropractor, a handy service, especially in the jungles of South America where other medicinal aids are few and far between. And he's convinced that it works!

But "spare time" is the rarest of all commodities for Father Benito Soh, the courtly Benedictine priest assigned to Atlanta as the first director of the Korean Catholic Apostolate of the Archdiocese of Atlanta. He was warned that he would find little medical assistance in the remote villages he would serve. Determined to prepare himself should he encounter illness among his flock, he studied chiropractics in Japan and is quite a believer in the merits of the controversial practice.

Father Soh is one of five Korean priest in this country engaged in the apostolate to his fellow countrymen. Other programs are in Detroit, Los Angeles, New York City and Houston.

Although assigned to the Archdiocese of Atlanta, the work of Father Soh is becoming known throughout the Southeast. He explained that since his arrival here, he has worked with Korean Catholics in areas from North Carolina to Miami, Florida.

Atlanta is growing in the number of South Korean immigrants. There are presently more than 4,000 in the city and Father Soh's congregation consists of about 60 families. The "parish center" is at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church on Briarcliff Road where Mass is celebrated in the native tongue each Sunday afternoon at 4:30. A social hour follows in the cafeteria.

While his congregation is spread throughout the metropolitan area, Father Soh conducts his work as any parish priest would do. A choir has been formed; catechistic classes are held, and a parish council functions.

Because he is without assistance, Father Soh relies on the telephone as a vital tool in his apostolate. An answering device takes the Benedictine's messages. A typical day finds numerous local telephone calls to return, as well as messages from Nashville, Tennessee; Columbus, Augusta, and Hazlehurst, Georgia; and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Father Soh returns each call as soon as possible and even offers the unique service of giving instructions in the faith via Ma Bell.

"If someone cannot come to me and I find it will be some time before I can get to them, I use the telephone for instructions," he says. As a rule however, instruction classes are held in private homes.

Father Soh has also prepared several cases for Marriage Tribunals since arriving in the Southeast. Because so many immigrants have not yet learned enough English to prepare the voluminous forms, Father Soh offers his assistance.

His background is fascinating, although he is rather shy to discuss past achievements. He was a prisoner of war of the Red Chinese and the Russians, having been captured at the Benedictine Monastery in Manchuria while studying for the priesthood.

He literally escaped with his life across the North Korean border, thence to Europe, completing his studies in Switzerland and Italy. He is fluent in Russian, German, Hebrew, Italian, French, and Spanish as well as his native and adoptive languages. For several weeks, he has been celebrating Mass in Spanish at IHM in addition to his regular Korean services.

Father Soh served as Secretary of the Catholic Committee of Korea; was host of a weekly national radio broadcast in his native country, and worked as editor of a monthly magazine. He continues his journalism by writing regular columns for Korean newspapers in the United States, including the Chicago-published Ham Kuk (Korean Daily News). His work has also appeared in two other Korean Newspapers, Jung-Ang and Tong-A.

He is currently preparing parish bulletins in Korean, quite a laborious task. He explained that several keys on a Korean typewriter must be struck to reproduce one character of the complicated-looking language. He has his bulletin covers printed in Washington, D.C.

"Our people so desperately want copies of prayers and the Liturgy," he says. "But printing is so expensive that many times these are not available. I do the best I can."

Father Soh is proud of his heritage, being a seventh generation Catholic.

"Korea," he explains, "is the example of the lay Apostolate. While missionaries went to all other counties of the world, the Koreans sent scholars to China to learn our Catholic Faith and then they returned to Korea to teach native scholars. For many, many years, petitions to he Holy See to send priests and missionaries were denied."

Vacation time is practically unknown to Father Soh. Last Christmas, he was invited to Miami. Along the way he made numerous stops. His schedule had been pre-planned in order that Korean groups from Atlanta to Miami could gather for instructions, confession and Mass. During his "vacation" a typical day ended at 2 a.m.

His goal is to obtain an assistant and to establish a "referral center" to which Koreans could be guided for help in Church matters, securing jobs and finding housing.

As he says, "I know what to do … but there is so little time. Perhaps if there were more hours in the day … "