{"id":38438,"date":"2021-09-07T13:06:50","date_gmt":"2021-09-07T04:06:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=38438"},"modified":"2021-09-07T16:39:24","modified_gmt":"2021-09-07T07:39:24","slug":"vomk-report-170","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2021\/09\/07\/vomk-report-170\/","title":{"rendered":"Ministry Leader: COVID Has Created a \u201cWindow of Opportunity\u201d to Evangelize Stranded NK Foreign Workers"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”38422″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”More than 100,000 North Koreans working in China, Russia, Mongolia, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East have been unable to return home due to North Korea\u2019s COVID lockdown, according to Voice of the Martyrs Korea. The ministry\u2019s Representative, Dr. Hyun Sook Foley, says that has created a \u201cwindow of opportunity\u201d for evangelism which Christian ministries should maximize.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” el_class=”headline”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are accustomed to thinking\u00a0<\/span>that\u00a0<\/span>COVID<\/span>-related<\/span>\u00a0lockdowns\u00a0<\/span>make evangelism difficult, but\u00a0<\/span>in the case of\u00a0<\/span>NK\u00a0<\/span>workers sent out\u00a0<\/span>to foreign countries\u00a0<\/span>by the<\/span>ir<\/span>\u00a0government<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>it has made evangeli<\/span>zing them\u00a0<\/span>much easier<\/span>\u00a0because they are stuck in\u00a0<\/span>their current locations<\/span>\u00a0until the lockdown is lifted<\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cIn many cases they are undersupplied and quite naturally worried about their families and their own future.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Representative Foley\u00a0<\/span>says\u00a0<\/span>that\u00a0<\/span>her ministry\u2019s estimate of 100,000 stranded NK foreign workers comes from<\/span>\u00a0its network of field workers as well as<\/span>\u00a0from\u00a0<\/span>their consultation with\u00a0<\/span>secular\u00a0<\/span>analysts<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>who\u00a0<\/span>study and monitor\u00a0<\/span>North Korean foreign workers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Reaching the workers\u00a0<\/span>requires a customized effort in each location<\/span>, according to Representative Foley<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201cIn some cases, electronic Bibles are the most useful tool. In other cases, printed Bibles draw the most interest.\u00a0<\/span>Other workers<\/span>\u00a0prefer Bible phone apps or\u00a0<\/span>links to online videos, like our Gospel of Mark video<\/span>.\u201d She says\u00a0<\/span>Voice of the Martyrs Korea uses\u00a0<\/span>Christian\u00a0<\/span>workers from a variety of backgrounds<\/span>\u00a0to reach NK workers<\/span>. \u201c<\/span>Most NK workers have been trained to be wary of contact with South Koreans, so in most cases local Christians\u00a0<\/span>can be more effective<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Bible distributors than South Korean missionaries. And\u00a0<\/span>local construction workers or neighbors or even customers can sometimes have access to workers that\u00a0<\/span>pastors and missionaries don\u2019t have. T<\/span>here are sometimes even believers<\/span>\u00a0or people who are familiar with or especially open to the Bible\u00a0<\/span>among the North Korean workers themselves.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”38427″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Bibles awaiting distribution to NK workers in foreign countries by Voice of the Martyrs Korea field workers. The ministry uses a variety of Bible types including various digital formats and print.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that\u00a0<\/span>so far in 2021\u00a0<\/span>Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u00a0<\/span>has distributed more than 4,500 electronic and print Bibles to NK workers<\/span>, with plans to try to double that amount by year\u2019s end<\/span>. She said the ministry\u00a0<\/span>does not release\u00a0<\/span>a\u00a0<\/span>more detailed\u00a0<\/span>breakdown of distribution by country or\u00a0<\/span>Bible type to protect the safety of Bible recipients and the ministry\u2019s own field workers.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cIn most cases, contact with the workers must be very brief and discrete, and follow-up discipleship is often not possible,\u201d says Representative Foley. But she says the ministry\u00a0<\/span>regularly\u00a0<\/span>receives\u00a0<\/span>letters of thanks sent through its field workers. \u201cThe workers\u2019 only exposure to Christianity in most cases is\u00a0<\/span>the Bible they receive.<\/span>\u00a0They don\u2019t know any Christian \u2018vocabulary\u2019, so their thank-you letters often contain phrases\u00a0<\/span>drawn from their daily North Korean life and experience. One NK worker wrote that we should \u2018put Jesus on a pedestal\u2019,\u00a0<\/span>which is\u00a0<\/span>an expression that is generally reserved only for the Kim famil<\/span>y.\u00a0<\/span>Similarly, another worker wrote that they should have \u2018<\/span>single-hearted filial piety and allegiance\u2019<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>to\u00a0<\/span>God<\/span>\u2014a phrase usually used only for North Koreans\u2019 devotion to the\u00a0<\/span>Kims<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Another worker was worried that writing God\u2019s name could be a security risk, so they\u00a0<\/span>referred to God simply as \u2018that person\u2019.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”38430″ img_size=”387×460″ alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”A collage of thank-you letters received this summer from NK workers stranded in foreign countries who received Bibles through Voice of the Martyrs Korea distributions” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”38434″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”File photo of NK workers in a foreign country.\u00a0” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A sample of the thank-you letters\u00a0Voice of the Martyrs Korea has received this summertime follows:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n