Christians Report "Rich Soil" in Famine-Stricken North Korea
"When I lost my daughter due to malnutrition, I lost my will to live. I tried to commit suicide several times before deciding to flee to China," said a 28-year-old woman identified as Choi.
According to Hunger Notes, published by the World Hunger Education Service, and many other sources, the continuing North Korean famine that began in 1995 "already ranks among the greatest famines ever, with a staggering total of human deaths."
Voice of the Martyrs notes that the number of deaths by starvation varies - outside humanitarian organizations estimate 2 million, while North Korean estimates put the death toll at around 220,000.
"UNICEF has said, I believe, that about 10,000 children are pushed over the edge into malnutrition every month," says Jon Valfells of the Red Cross. "We (at the Red Cross) need at least 10,000 tons of food (every month) to feed our beneficiaries - 740,000 people - and that is only a small percentage of the millions of people who may be in need of food."
And the number could soon rise, as fall flooding has ravaged the peninsula. A recent BBC report indicates that in Kangwon province - an area already suffering food shortages - the impact of October's torrential rain and flooding "has been devastating." The normal recorded rainfall for October should be around 20 mm. But in the worst-affected areas, 400 mm (18 inches) of rain fell in just 12 hours.
"It was the worst flooding we've had since records began in 1910," Kim Song Hwan, head of the government's Flood Damage Rehabilitation Committee, told BBC's Caroline Gluck.
With winter on the horizon, reported Gluck, "it is a race against time" to bring in emergency supplies to the region - including blankets and cooking utensils for the thousands who have lost their homes. In just a few weeks, temperatures will drop to below zero.
"This natural disaster is just the latest to hit impoverished North Korea, which has been battered by serious flooding and drought for the past seven years," Gluck added.
Yet this famine may be yielding a rich harvest. Until recently, there were officially "very few" Christians in North Korea, according to Christian Solidarity International (CSI). "But the famine has brought about certain changes."
North Korea remained cut off from the rest of the world until the early 1990s, when a serious economic crisis, floods and long periods of drought led to severe famine, said a CSI report. "The estimated number of people starving is 3 million-5 million. Because of this state of emergency, people are very open to the gospel, as they have no other hope. Before the famine, there was hardly any openness since the people were brainwashed by government propaganda."
As a result of the famine, the CSI report continued, many people try to flee to China. One estimate is that there are 50,000-80,000 North Korean refugees currently in China. If they are caught by the Chinese authorities, however, they are heavily fined and sent back to North Korea - at the least.
The spouse of a South Korean worship artist recently shared with Religion Today that his parents, who are missionaries in China, report a more severe fate for refugees captured by North Korean officials. For example, one man who was caught trying to escape had his legs broken by North Korean guards. He was dragged back across the border by his hair.
Once the refugees are forced back into North Korea, CSI confirms, "it appears as though they are interrogated and when there is any indication of Christian influence, they are condemned to labor camps or a death sentence."
Another "fruit of the famine" is growing in the south. South Korean churches in particular viewed this as an opportunity to carry out missionary work. According to Le Monde, approximately 1,000 South Koreans have moved to China just to train as missionaries and work among North Korean refugees.
Thanks to their efforts, North Korea today has hundreds of house churches, where members meet for "meals" and secretly murmur prayers; these house churches comprise from 5,000 to 10,000 members. However, the missionaries risk death if discovered.
For this reason, reports Open Doors with Brother Andrew, missionaries are no longer given miniature Bibles. Instead, they have to learn Biblical passages by heart. According to a refugee, missionaries, if caught, "are executed, not as missionaries, but as spies."
Having grown up in the merciless society of North Korea, says a spokesperson for Open Doors, many refugees feel drawn to the Christian message of love and empathy, previously entirely unknown to them.
One refugee described to Christian Solidarity the public execution of an entire family: "They were tied to poles on the market square and shot to death. The children cried. I was so devastated that I fled to China and converted to Christianity."
Another account: "An engineer who had come to China had not heard from his family for months. When he returned to Pyongyang, he found his wife and his child lying dead on the floor in his apartment. Both had starved to death. The engineer went back to China and turned to Christ."
*Photo courtesy of World Vision.
Originally published November 06, 2001.
