PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN NORTH KOREAN MARTYR COMMEMORATED ON “DAY OF THE CHRISTIAN MARTYR” CELEBRATION
Voice of the Martyrs Korea commemorated the Day of the Christian Martyr by adding a new plaque to their Martyrs Timeline and cutting the ribbon on their newly renovated “Kim Gyo Shin Home.”
“Throughout Christian history around the world Christians of all backgrounds have remembered the martyrdom of Peter and Paul on June 29,”
Voice of the Martyrs Korean representative Foley Hyun Sook explains.
“In our time June 29 has become a day for remembering all of the martyrs in the Great Cloud of Witnesses. It is increasingly being called ‘the Day of the Christian Martyr.'”
Voice of the Martyrs Korea commemorated the holiday this year by adding the North Korean martyr Cha Deok-Sun to their Martyrs Timeline, a line of plaques commemorating the lives of martyrs throughout history. The timeline begins with Stephen, whose martyrdom is detailed in Acts 7, and continues until the present day.
According to Representative Foley, Martyr Cha Deok Sun was unknown prior to Voice of the Martyrs Korea acquiring a copy of a video created by the North Korean government to combat religious superstitions.
appears in the North Korean propaganda video.
“In the video, Martyr Cha is criticized for her ‘superstitious beliefs’ and for ‘misleading others to follow her beliefs.’ However, we can see through this propaganda that Martyr Cha was a bold evangelist who spread the gospel throughout North Korea after coming to Christ in China. “We are adding Martyr Cha to our Martyrs timeline in remembrance of all the unknown martyrs in closed countries like North Korea.”
Foley explains.
Voice of the Martyrs also opened their renovated “Kim Gyo Shin Home.” According to Foley, this home is in the location of early Korean Christian Kim Gyo Shin’s old home, and many elements of the original structure have been retained in the redesign.
“We’ve redesigned the home to remind visitors of all three kinds of Christian martyrs around the world and throughout time,” Foley explains. “Historically, the church has identified three kinds of martyrs. Red martyrs, like Martyr Cha Deok Sun, are Christians who die witnessing to the gospel. Green martyrs, like Kim Gyo Shin, are Christians who die to their own comforts, pleasure, and security. White martyrs, like our volunteers, are Christians who die to the world’s values and ways of thinking in order to fully alive to God in Christ. We’ve redesigned the Kim Gyo Shin home to reflect all three kinds of martyrs and to support our growing base of volunteers.”
Representative Foley notes that Voice of the Martyrs volunteers help with the ministry’s daily radio broadcasts, book publishing, balloon launching, and training programs and resources for North Korean, Chinese, and Russian Christians. Representative Foley encourages Korean Christians to commemorate The Day of the Christian Martyr by donating to support the families of Christian Martyrs and Christian prisoners. Anyone wishing to do this can donate by visiting https://vomkorea.com/project/serving-families-of-martyrs-and-prisoners/ or by sending a wire transfer with the designation “Families of Martyrs” to:
국민은행 463501-01-243303, 예금주: (사)순교자의소리
Voice of the Martyrs Korea is an NGO founded 18 years ago to partner with persecuted Christians around the world. It is the only organization whose financial accountability has been certified by the Christianity Council for Financial Transparency Korea (CCFK) as meeting the highest international accounting standards.
