Spirituality and the North

A few days ago, because of my job, I was afforded an opportunity that very few Koreans, and even fewer Americans, get to partake in; I got to visit a facility where North Korean defectors to the South are trained in the ways of the rest of the world. I cannot and will not go into much detail about the facility, but there is something I wanted to share with you.

During the tour, we were shown the “Spiritual rooms.” These spiritual rooms were basically rooms designed for worship of different faiths; Christian, Catholic, and Buddhist. A member of our group asked “Since North Korea is an atheist country, which religion do they normally turn to?” The answer was “Christian.” This shocked the majority of the group, thinking that Buddhist would be the more popular choice. At first I thought to myself, “This doesn’t surprise me at all with the sheer number of missionaries in Asia.” Later, I realized I was wrong. The missionaries play a huge part in it, that I am sure of, but I think it’s something else.

Before I get into what I think that “something else” is, let’s look at a quick demographic of the No-Ko refugees; 75% of all the refugees coming into the South are women, and nearly all of them experienced some kind of physical or mental violence. According to the Yonsei University Graduate School of Social Welfare, out of 140 defectors age 20-50, 57.6% had PTSD and 45.7% had attempted suicide. So what does that say about what they have gone through?

So what faith allows a person to come as they are with no judgement? Christianity does! These No-Kos are in pain from the slavery of their government and sexual bondage. When they are introduced to the different religions, they seek the one that says "Come to me you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." How much lighter must Christ's yoke seem than that of an oppressive government and sexual slavery! No, I'm not surprised at all when I hear that Christianity is the religion chosen over the others that are offered. Not one bit.