Remember to Pray for North Korea.

Dear COAH,

North Korea has been in the news a lot lately. From the dropping of more than two thousand balloons filled with filth and garbage in South Korea to the defection of a senior North Korean diplomat to Cuba, there's been an endless supply of news about the renegade State. In June, there were even reports of the public execution of 30 middle school students for watching South Korean dramas. These students found USB memory sticks containing K-dramas inside the balloons sent by North Korean escapists now living in South Korea. The students were shot dead for watching K-dramas! North Korea is a land of tragedy, where neither mercy nor justice nor reason prevails. All its inhabitants exist essentially as slaves in the service of the dictator Kim Jong-un and his cronies.
 
I imagined what must have gone through the minds of those North Korean teenagers who were executed. They must have been fascinated by the free and glamorous world they saw in the dramas. They must have also felt so wronged and lied to by the propaganda state. But then, they must have felt sad and helpless because they could do nothing to change how they lived. K-drama and K-pop are bad for Kim Jong-un's stronghold. When his subjects watch and listen to what South Koreans make, they will learn about the world outside and how much deception and falsehood they have been living under. These movies and songs will be a stark reminder of how much their supreme leader has enslaved the bodies and souls of some 25 million people.

The generation born after the Arduous March (1996-1999) of suffering, hunger, and death has never known the state rationing or welfare system. Their understanding of the Communist Party differs significantly from that of their parents' and grandparents' generations. The younger generation is familiar with the market system (aka Jangmadang). They are the first generation to learn that they, not the State, are responsible for themselves.

Many North Korean experts believe that Kim Jong-un's tyranny is almost coming to an end and that internal collapse is near. I, for one, am eager to see a change in North Korea. I hope and pray that the people of North Korea will receive freedom and dignity as fellow human beings. Did you know that North Korea was once a strongly Christian country? There was a time when young men like Kim Cheong Song, Lee Sung Ha, Paik Hong Jun, and Seo Sang Lun, influenced by missionaries like John Ross in Manchuria, crossed the Yalu River to preach the gospel in Uiju, Suncheon, and Pyongyang. God will surely remember and restore Pyongyang, once called the Jerusalem of the East. If you're a believer who hasn't given up hope for the evangelization of North Korea, now more than ever is the time to pray fervently for those 25 million souls in Korea. Please remember to pray for North Korea.

Blessings,
Pastor Minho Song