Korea, a Country Divided
Life Beyond the DMZ
We looked over the 10 km-wide DMZ (demilitarized zone) between North and South Korea (pictured above) and tried to take it in. Korea has been a country completely divided for more than 60 years.
Earlier in the week, we had met D,* a North Korean defector, at a church that reaches out specifically to those who have made it out. Minefields make simply going south impossible for North Koreans so those who are able to leave go via China, and then Thailand, to South Korea. It is an arduous journey of thousands of kilometers that can take months or even years. Oddly though, talking with D was not arduous. During her years in China she had learned Mandarin, so we chatted freely - two Canadians, talking in Mandarin to a North Korean, in South Korea …
“Life there is very hard,” D mused. “Food normally gets shipped from China to North Korea, but because of COVID, that is not happening, so the hunger there is terrible. It is as bad as it was in the 90s.” “Do you have family in the north?” we asked cautiously. “I have a son, but I have had no contact with him for 10 years. He was seven when I left. I also have a mother, but I don’t know if she is still alive. I have someone there trying to find them. I left because our village was so poor, so I went to China to find work.” Her voice trailed off. Clearly there was much in her story that was left unsaid. Her love for Jesus, however, did not need words. It shone through her like a beacon. “But I have come to know God and am now a student at Seoul Theological University,” she beamed. “I want to learn as much as I can so that, hopefully one day, when reunification happens, I can share the love of Jesus with my people.” Now, looking over the DMZ, we felt the burden and the urgency of sharing God’s love with those who do not yet know him, regardless of the boundaries that lie in the way.
*Names omitted for security reasons.
By P and M S*, OMS Regional Directors for Asia/Pacific