{"id":55014,"date":"2025-08-05T14:00:45","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T05:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=55014"},"modified":"2025-08-05T14:17:27","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T05:17:27","slug":"vomk-report-359","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2025\/08\/05\/vomk-report-359\/","title":{"rendered":"VOICE OF THE MARTYRS KOREA TO ADD FIFTH DAILY BROADCAST TO NORTH KOREA"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”55008″ img_size=”full” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Voice of the Martyrs Korea announced that it is adding a fifth daily 30-minute broadcast to North Korea. That move comes as most government-sponsored broadcasts into the country by the United States and South Korea have been discontinued. Voice of the Martyrs Korea says that the new broadcast will consist of the sermons of early Korean Christians and uninterrupted reading of the Bible. ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left|color:%23111111″ google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” css=”” el_class=”headline”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Details about the new broadcast\u2019s time, radio frequency, and launch date are being withheld for security reasons.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Voice of the Martyrs Korea CEO, Pastor Eric Foley, says that <\/span>listening to Christian radio broadcasts is the most <\/span><\/span>common religious activity among North Korean Christians.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on our own religious experiences, we often assume that the most common religious activities of North Korean Christians would be things like gathering together for underground worship services or reading the Bible privately or praying,\u201d said Pastor Foley. \u201cBut these kinds of activities are easily detectable by <\/span>onlookers, because<\/span> they are distinctly Christian activities. <\/span>Even prayer is typically done in a certain posture, where the person sits a certain way, holds their hands a certain way, moves a certain way, and concentr<\/span>ates <\/span>and whispers. <\/span>On the other hand, l<\/span>istening to foreign radio broadcasts is also illegal, but <\/span>it\u2019s<\/span> a far more common activity which is less obviously \u2018Christian\u2019 to onlookers, including other family members who may not be Christian.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]According to Pastor Foley, b<\/span>etween 14 and 20 percent of North Koreans<\/span> listen to foreign broadcasts through headphone radios <\/span>purchased<\/span> on the gray and black markets. He explains that because listening <\/span>to such broadcasts can be done overnight<\/span> in the dark in silence, it <\/span>remains<\/span> the primary way that North Koreans are able to access Christian content.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

\u201cEach time we meet North Koreans who are new to South Korea, about 30 percent of them have had some <\/span>previous<\/span> exposure to Christianity. The primary two means of that exposure <\/span>cited by North Koreans <\/span>are Christian radio broadcasts and Christian content sent by balloon,\u201d says Pastor Foley.<\/span> Foley says that meeting Christian workers during defection is also <\/span>frequently<\/span> cited as a source of Christian contact, <\/span>but it is often less favorably regarded by North Koreans. \u201cOften that kind of contact does not happen by choice but by necessity,\u201d says Pastor Foley. \u201cA North Korean may need a place to stay while trying to make money in China or may need help defecting. They meet a Christian broker or discipleship base leader, and they <\/span>are then required to<\/span> participate<\/span> in certain religious activities in exchange for receiving the help they need. <\/span>It\u2019s<\/span> very different<\/span> than choosing to tune in a Christian radio broadcast or choosing to keep a Bible they find on the ground from a balloon launch.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”55011″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”A Voice of the Martyrs Korea volunteer records a sermon by an early Korean Christian for the ministry\u2019s daily radio broadcast into North Korea.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0101|line_height:1.45em” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Pastor Foley says that when he and his wife, Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr<\/span>.<\/span> Hyun Sook Foley, began their ministry 20 years ago, North Korean underground Christians made two requests of the couple.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

\u201cThey asked us, \u2018Please send Bibles by balloon, and please broadcast programs that help North Korean Christians understand Christian persecution biblically,\u201d says Pastor Foley. He notes that balloons and radio have typically been used to send political messages or general news and information rather than content tailored for North Korean underground Christians.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

\u201cNorth Korean underground Christians expressed concern to us that much of the Christian radio broadcasting into North Korea is either the re-broadcasting o<\/span>f<\/span> the regular preaching of South Korean pastors, which is difficult for them to understand both linguistically and conceptually, or it is<\/span> content that says they are being persecuted because they have not repented of the idolatry of their ancestors,\u201d says Pastor Foley.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]He says that is why the ministry decided to broadcast the sermons of early Korean Christians, as recorded by Voice of the Martyrs Korea volunteers and students of its North Korean \u201cUnderground University\u201d missionary training program for North Korean defectors.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

\u201cThe life of the early Korean Christians<\/span> is very similar to the life of underground North Korean Christians today,\u201d says Pastor Foley. \u201cThe sermons of the early Korean Christians explain biblically that persecution is the result of faithful witness, not punishment for the actions of ancestors.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”55013″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”A North Korean defector records a radio broadcast. North Korean defectors and South Korean volunteers both record the Voice of the Martyrs Korea radio broadcasts. ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0101|line_height:1.45em” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Pastor Foley says the sermons are broadcast Monday through Thursday, and the weekend broadcasts are readings of the whole Bible. \u201cThis enables North Korean Christians to make their own copies of the Bible by writing down what they hear, or simply to have a way to regularly hear the Bible. Very few broadcasts into North Korea <\/span>contain<\/span> only Bible reading, uninterrupted by sermons or teaching or other content.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Pastor Foley <\/span>says he believes <\/span>the cessation of the government broadcasts <\/span>to North Korea shows the difference in motivation of government and <\/span>Christian <\/span>broadcasters.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>For governments, sending information into countries <\/span>changes as their <\/span>strategic interests<\/span> change<\/span>,\u201d says Foley. \u201cInformation is sometimes seen as a political tool for regime change<\/span> or for applying pressure on human rights issues<\/span>. For Christian broadcasters, the motivation is what the Apostle Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:2: \u2018<\/span>Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season<\/span>\u2019.<\/span> Voice of the Martyrs Korea never broadcasts news, information, or politics. We simply preach the <\/span>W<\/span>ord. The cancellation of the government broadcasts means that more North Koreans than ever are likely to be exposed to the gospel, as fewer other options are now available for listening. That is why we are adding a fifth broadcast.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Pastor Foley says<\/span> his organization formerly aired five daily broadcasts but was forced to cut one due to a decrease in sponsorship<\/span>. \u201cVoice of the Martyrs Korea <\/span>neither <\/span>receives <\/span>or accepts <\/span>funds from governments or government-funded sources, but a drop in sponsorship a year ago led us to have to cancel one of our broadcasts,\u201d says Pastor Foley. \u201cWe <\/span>believe the time is right to add the broadcast back in, and we are trusting the Lord to continue to provide the funding resources.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Individuals interested in hearing the <\/span>Voice of the Martyrs Korea daily radio broadcasts into North Korea can listen <\/span>online, at <\/span><\/span>http:\/\/www.podbbang.com\/ch\/1768188<\/span><\/span><\/a>. <\/span>More information about Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u2019s North Korea radio broadcasts is available at <\/span><\/span>www.vomkorea.com\/<\/span>en\/<\/span>radio<\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”55008″ img_size=”full” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Voice of the Martyrs Korea announced that it is adding a fifth daily 30-minute broadcast to North Korea. That move comes as most government-sponsored broadcasts into …","protected":false},"author":659,"featured_media":55009,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nk","category-vomk-report"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["ko","en","zh","ru"],"languages":{"ko":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"ru":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55014"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55014\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55019,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55014\/revisions\/55019"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}