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Mainstream news often reports on the nation’s nuclear weapons and human rights abuses, but James* shares that even in the darkest places, God is working.
Despite it being over 14 years since he last travelled to North Korea, James still vividly remembers how he felt each time he visited.
“One of the first questions they'll ask you is: ‘Do you have a Bible?’ And so, you show them your Bible, and they say: ‘Okay, make sure that you bring it out.’ They knew me inside out,” he said. “They tried to extract as much money and resources as possible. Every time I left, I didn’t want to return.”
“But I cannot give up,” continued James, recalling a prayer meeting 20 years earlier where he had been overwhelmed with sorrow for the children of North Korea, “because of God’s heart and how He wants the North Korean people to know how much He loves them.”
Spiritually speaking, North Korea is a very dark place, said James. The small Christian church communities are struggling, and anyone caught with a Bible could be exiled or thrown into labour camps. Yet there are glimpses of hope.
A North Korean couple who came to faith in Jesus in China knew they could not keep the hope they had found to themselves. “We cannot stay here in China,” they shared. “We have to go back and share the good news with our children.”
James believes that the harvest is ready. “[North Koreans have] been living in a vacuum. Once they realise that there is one true God and Father who loves them, the harvest will be so bountiful.”
Since 1995, when North Korea requested international help due to a severe famine, many foreign aid organisations have been active in the nation. Overseas businesses and expatriates have also been welcomed by the state.
James has used these openings to send Jesus followers in professional roles — medical workers, professors, agricultural specialists — who live and work alongside locals, quietly planting seeds of hope.
Due to the history between the country and the United States, the gospel — which is closely associated with the latter — is considered an enemy of the North Korean government and its people.
One important step, therefore, is to change the mindset of North Koreans regarding Christians. James believes that simply living and working alongside locals is a form of witnessing. “By being people of integrity and kindness who are there to bless them, it is being salt and light in North Korea and planting the seeds.
“The depth of what we’re able to share, if we’re living there versus just visiting, makes a world of difference too.”
James has found North Koreans to be generous and deeply committed to family. “They’ve been taught not to talk to foreigners, but once you build trust, they’ll give you their kidneys,” he said.
*name changed
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