North Korea Freedom Protest
9 April 08
What’s it like in North Korea? Maybe we know something about the Korean war from History in school. Maybe we have a vague picture of a strict dictatorship with shodowy but terrible punishments for stepping out of line. But did you know that one in four Christians is in prison for their faith in North Korea?
A source who who is working with North Korea reckons that about a quarter of the estimated 400,000 Christians in North Korea are imprisoned for their faith in political prison camps which few survive. That’s 100,000 people – or to think of it another way, the entire population of a city like Exeter. Religion is technically legal – the country has four churches – but you have to get official permission to join, and there are long waiting lists. Meanwhile, North Koreans are taught to regard Christians as mad people who are a threat to national security: a cancer that needs cutting out. Parents can’t even teach their children about their faith, because children are encouraged at school to betray their parents.
The source says that even though they can’t go to church, some Christians in North Korea try and meet together on special occasions such as Easter and on Sundays. “For example, a Christian will sit on a park bench. Another Christian will come and sit beside him. Sometimes it is dangerous even to speak to one another, but just to know they are both Christians is enough. If no one is around, they may be able to share a memorised Bible verse or prayer request.
Occasionally, it may also be possible for Christians to go into a remote area in the mountains and hold a service at a secret location with as many as 60 or 70 believers”.
Despite all this, Church is growing. This is mainly due to refugees who come to faith in China and then return. One of those refugees was 11-year-old Jong Cheol. After finding faith in China, Jong and his friends were arrested by the Chinese police and sent back to North Korea. After brutal treatment by the Korean authorities Jong was executed, simply for being a Christian.
As Christians, we remember how God’s son came to the world over two thousand years ago, sacrificed his life on the cross and rose again. Thanks to Jesus, there is still hope for North Korea, and this hope is living in countless people who are prepared to give their lives for their Lord. Like the 11-year-old Jong Cheol, they want to remain faithful to their Redeemer until death.
Take Action!
Open Doors will be holding a protest and praying at 11.30am, Saturday 26 April 08, outside the Chinese Embassy in Portland Place, London, along with worldwide members of the North Korea Freedom Coalition. Other members will be doing the same all around the world. The aim is to encourage China to change their programme of forcing North Korean refugees back to North Korea.
If you can’t make it to London, you can fax the embassy at 11.30am with a handwriiten letter. Write to us at PO Box 6, Witney, Oxfordshire, OX29 6WG for more details.
- Pray for Open Doors’ protest in London, as well as all those taking place around the world – that the Chinese government would take notice and stop their programme of forced repatriation.
- Pray for Christians in North Korea, also those who are imprisoned in death camps and those who are detained in China awating repatriation.
Want more information about the protest? Check out the
Open Doors site!
Want more information about North Korea? Check out the BBC site!