NORTH KOREA: ‘BECAUSE OF YOUR PRAYERS, THE UNDERGROUND CHURCH IN NORTH KOREA IS EXPANDING’

Looking back, Jung Jik (Name changed) from North Korea thought his grandmother was always mumbling to herself. But when he became a Christian, he realised his GRandmother was actually Praying.

“My grandmother was a Christian, but I never knew,” says Jung Jik*. “Every morning, when she cooked rice, she would mumble. Before she went to sleep, she sat down and mumbled. I thought she believed in some superstition, but looking back, I now know that it was prayer.”

His Grandmother couldn’t share her faith because if the North Korea authorities discovered she was a Christian, she could be imprisoned or executed. But Jung Jik’s grandmother could quietly pray – and what an impact that went on to have.

A message from prison

Jung Jik’s dad was a Christian and had been sent to prison and sadly died whilst imprisoned. Jung Jik was unable to visit him, but his siblings did and he had a message for them. “He wrote on their hands that he was a follower of Jesus,” says Jung Jik.

His father became a Christian after leaving North Korea to find work and food during a time of famine, but was captured and sent back to his country. Jung Jik says:

“I think that because my father devoted himself to Jesus, the rest of my family could follow suit – In the Bible, one seed buried on the ground can become a big tree. I’d like to believe this is what happened with my father’s faith.”

Nameless and numbered

Like his father when he escaped, Jung Jik was also captured after fleeing North Korea. Whilst he wasn’t tortured as harshly as his father was (he wasn’t a Christian at the time), the experience was still traumatic.

“In prison, you are no longer considered human,” says Jung Jik. “They never called me by name, but by a number. There was hardly any food. The prison cell was very small. We were cramped, with 30 people inside. I couldn’t even lie down. If you wanted to sleep, you had to lean against the prisoner next to you.”

After 20 days in prison, Jung Jik managed to escape over a wall laid with electric wires – he realised the electricity was off and when no-one was around he climbed the wall and fled.

FINDING JESUS

After crossing the border a second time, Jung Jik was cared for by a church. It’s where, for the first time, he learned Bible verses, discovered about prayer and even experienced the Holy Spirit – all of which helped him when he was captured again and taken back to the prison he had previously escaped from. “For the first time in my life, I really prayed to God: ‘Holy God, if You exist, please let me live!’” Back in prison he knew God was with him, and when a guard asked him to fetch some things from outside the main part of the prison, Jung Jik fled, and didn’t return.

A familiar song

Leaving North Korea for the third time, Jung Jik returned to the church where he was earlier cared for – but this time he was a believer. He studied the Bible for a few years and his passion to tell others about Jesus grew. Eventually, he sensed a calling to return to his homeland. “I left as a traitor, but now, I was determined to return as an evangelist.”

“God uses your prayers”

After returning to North Korea for a short period and meeting other secret Christians, Jung Jik realised it was too dangerous for him to stay. He now lives in South Korea.

Reflecting on his experiences, Jung Jik says: “God uses your prayers. There still is a large underground church. Because you pray, many people are miraculously healed, and they experience God’s power. They come to faith. The seed of the gospel never dries up. Thanks to your faithful support and prayers, the doors of North Korea will open so that more people will get to know God. Because of your prayers, the underground church in North Korea is expanding.

“If I had only walked an easy path, I don’t think I will believe in God so much. Suffering is beneficial. This is why I believe in God. In those sufferings and those difficult times, in these trials, I experience how God answers my prayers, and this is how I now believe that God is a living God. I want to follow Him until the end.”