As a young man of high school age in Seoul, South Korea, Min Seo Park studied art in a technical school for the deaf. He had lost his hearing completely at age 2, as a result of medication for a serious illness.
His artistic abilities were not the greatest, so he went for private tutoring in design. After a while, the tutor, who was also deaf, introduced him to the Catholic faith. Park came from a Buddhist family, but had enjoyed going to a Christian church with other deaf students. Reading books that his tutor gave him, he discovered something new and energizing in Catholicism.