Missionary Ethics
By Sarah Kim
Sunday morning I opened the San Francisco Chronicle and found a story called “An ‘underground railway’ rolling to freedom or death” in the Insight section. It was written by Josh Chin who is a student at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. He was given the rare opportunity to enter a safe house in China and meet a dozen North Korean refugees who sought protection there. The safe house is part of a loose network of Christian missionaries who do what they can to help North Korean refugees escape to South Korea. The Chinese government does not recognize North Koreans as refugees and will forcibly repatriate them back to North Korea where they are often tortured and sometimes killed. As Josh says in his article “the missionaries are virtually their only protectors.”
As an opinion piece this article was much more personal than a typical news story. Josh shares his own struggle to define whether the missionaries are bringing life or death to these refugees. Josh is quick to point out the courage of the missionaries who face imprisonment or worse if caught aiding the North Koreans. He also points out that they seek no recognition and earn no payoff for their work other than remaining true to their beliefs. Many North Korean refugees do make it to freedom because of the work of these missionary networks.
So why the struggle? Two of the North Korean women that Josh meets at the safe house, 16-year old Esther and 17-year old Grace, declare that they plan to return to North Korea “to spread the Gospel”. Josh notices that Grace seems hesitant. Proselytizing in North Korea is a crime punishable by death. Why would the women choose this fate? Josh wonders if the women, taught from birth in North Korea to worship Kim Sung Il, Kim Jong Il and juche (the national philosophy of Korean self-reliance) have merely substituted the object of their faith with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit of Christianity. Are North Korea refugees easy targets for missionaries? Is this ethical? Are the young women better off? These are the questions I struggled with as I drove to church that morning after reading the paper.
I have more questions than answers and Josh’s article does not attempt to give any answers. He shares his struggle and asks his readers to draw their own conclusions. Here are a few of my thoughts.
The pastor of my church, Mark Labberton, held a class on a book he recently finished titled The Dangerous Act of Worship, Living God’s Call to Justice. During the final class he engaged in an extended discussion with a woman in the class who wanted to make sure that in our discussions of justice we did not forget that our main calling as Christians is to spread the gospel. Pastor Mark, while agreeing that sharing the good news of Jesus Christ is important, argued that loving our neighbors and working for justice are inherently valuable to God - because of the nature and character of God - and that value is not dependent on our sharing the Gospel.
I asked myself why proselytizing is punishable by death in North Korea. (Josh writes that these days North Koreans caught illegally crossing the border are no longer put to death unless they return to proselytize) Another way to ask the question is: what does Kim Jong Il have to fear from the spread of the gospel in North Korea? In 2001 Edward Kim, editor of Chosun Journal, wrote Kim Jung Il “knows that once the missionaries and refugees were to bear witness to the world of their unbreakable courage and undying love strong enough to move the whole world’s conscience, that his freedom to abuse would be lost forever.” For me, there lies hope. And yet that quote comes from a conversation that Edward had with one of these missionaries and it leaves me with much concern.
Learn to do good; seek justice; rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.
Isaiah 1:17
Is this not the fast which I choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free
And break every yoke?
Isaiah 58: 6
August 21st, 2008 at 7:43 am
Thanks for interesting reading here, now I got time to think about it.Good luck.
Submitted by: katoAugust 2nd, 2008 at 4:18 am
Having visited Korean Factories in Indonesia and delivered commercial trainings at Daewoo in Europe I tend to think that South Koreans are pretty hard handed as well when it comes to quell any form of dissent.
Ask any Indonesian labor activist about South Korean management and they’ll tell you some pretty horrible stories.
Having read your webpage I never cease to be surprised at how vehemently religious organizations tend to be active against communism whereas things like child labor in Western Europe was abolished under predominantly socialist struggle. Religious organisations have achieved amazing little when it comes to fighting injustice. Au contraire
Jesus’s followers decided to provide priests for the West German army which led to severe persecution of Christians in the former East-Germany.
Also because of the unwavering loyalty to the great United States most christian organizations cannot be any alternative to the fierce Korean nationalism bred in the DPRK. That might explain the relative popularity of the DPRK in the South. Did you know there is a board of former South Korean politicians in Pyongyang? Initially headed bu general Choe Dok Sin, the South Koream ambassador to Austria and Australia? Later he founded the Chondoist party of North Korea.
We should help the people in the DPRK by sending help without strings attached. Not have them dismantle their nuclear installations like Clinton did, then hand over to Bush who didn’t live up to his part of the deal.
Submitted by: John KoemanDiplomacy in Asia is usually done quite covertly like the “secret” China DPRK visa deal of 2006.
Stop using Jesus for your own petty little ends. Help Koreans unite and pray that the Americans will follow suit when it comes to dealing with the DPRK in a South Korean way.
June 20th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
It does not help a person to gain the whole world (i.e. freedom, luxury, the good life) and the lose his soul? These women have now been given the free choice to either live in relative freedom in China, risk their lives to live more comfortably in South Korea, or to help bring TRUE freedom to their families and friends by returning to North Korea and share the message that will save their countrymen for eternity. Jesus never said that following Him would be safe. This is a concept that western Christians have forgotten. We should honor and respect the decisions of North Koreans to return to their home country and risk death for the sake of the Gospel. Josh has missed the entire point of the work the missionaries. Yes, we should seek social justice and help those in physical need, but if we don’t also offer them spiritual life through Christ, we have ultimately done them a disservice…
Submitted by: RobMay 20th, 2008 at 1:16 am
We were commanded to go into all the world and make disciples. We were also told to become like children. Who are any of us to question a purer belief than our own? You think they’d be better off if we broadcast their cases to the world? They’re simply being obedient to God. Remember what Jesus’ followers did in Acts when they faced social injustice - they prayed and then went out in faith. And us? We look for a safer road. Brothers, the narrow road has no guarantee of safe passage.
Submitted by: JonApril 1st, 2007 at 2:10 pm
I’m wondering if the message regarding the plight of North Koreans would be heard more if young women like Grace and Esther could speak to the issue in South Korea, the USA, and/or Canada or any other free country for that matter. With a journalist like Josh involved, their story and that of many others could be spread. Of course, one of these countries would need to give them refugee status. Would that not serve a greater purpose in the work towards social justice? Other free Christians could offer assistance to these brave young women as they begin a new life. Part of the work of those brave missionaries in North Korea could be to give hope by sharing what young women like Grace and Esther are doing for them. These are just thoughts I am having as I am reading your column. It was very thought provoking.
Submitted by: Henny