Faith J. H. McDonnell: Pebbles in their Mouths
[Faith J. H. McDonnell directs The Institute on Religion and Democracy's Religious Liberty Program and Church Alliance for a New Sudan, and is the author of Girl Soldier: A Story of Hope for Northern Uganda’s Children (Chosen Books, 2007).]
Victims of North Korea's brutal regime once died in anonymity. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) deliberately isolated itself from the rest of world. But now news of Kim Jong Il's prison nation escapes almost as frequently as North Koreans attempt to escape to "better" conditions in China. Escapees and refugees tell of millions of deaths from famine, imprisonment of another million in the country’s labor/death camps, 21st century gas chambers, and various other DPRK human rights atrocities. The Washington Post recently released such grim reports, but nothing prepares us for the execution of a 33 year-old mother of three for distributing the Bible. More shocking, her death was all but ignored by churches in America.
An Associated Press report July 25, 2009 said that in June 2009, Ri Hyon Ok, a North Korean Christian, was publicly executed in the northwestern city of Ryongchon, near the Chinese border. She was distributing the Bible, forbidden in North Korea. She was also accused of spying for South Korea and the United States, probably for having contact with South Korean, Chinese, or American Christians. According to the Investigative Commission on Crimes Against Humanity, on the day after Ri’s execution, her parents, husband, and three small children were sent to a political prison camp near the city of Hoeryong. The North Korean government punishes three generations of the family of one who has transgressed because of the late Kim Il Sung’s law that the seed of enemies of the state “must be eliminated through three generations.” Considering the brutality of these camps, it might be argued that Ri's fate was the lesser of two evils.
North Korea’s constitution "guarantees" freedom of religion. But Kim Jong Il and father Kim Il Sung have persecuted, imprisoned, and killed Christians in an attempt to wipe out Christianity. North Koreans must follow Juche, the Kim Il Sung-created state religion. Juche's "three fundamental principles" are that North Korea is politically independent, economically self-sustaining, and militarily able in its national defense. Juche also includes compulsory worship of the warped, egomaniacal "Great Leader" (the late Kim Il Sung) and "Dear Leader"(Kim Jong Il). As with all warped and egomaniacal leaders, both past and present, the cult needs deception to sustain itself. This is why North Korea represses the truth of the Bible.
In addition to lying to its own people, the North Korean regime has little difficulty deceiving some official western visitors. Many American church leaders are eager to criticize the "demonization of North Korea by the West rather than acknowledge the regime’s brutal treatment of its own people. (They must enjoy the present administration’s apology tour.) Such church officials have waxed eloquent over visits to North Korean churches where they "worshiped in freedom" with Korean brothers and sisters (otherwise known as DPRK "minders"). Some people don’t recognize a Potemkin village when they’re in one.
During the week in which the execution of Ri Hyon Ok and the imprisonment of her husband, parents, and three little children in prison camp was reported, The Episcopal Church mourned the death of one of its saints, newsman Walter Cronkite. Episcopal Life preened over his funeral at St. Bartholomew's, Park Avenue. Church's media noted such funeral attendees as Andy Rooney, Barbara Walters, Charles Gibson, Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, Brian Williams and others...
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Victims of North Korea's brutal regime once died in anonymity. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) deliberately isolated itself from the rest of world. But now news of Kim Jong Il's prison nation escapes almost as frequently as North Koreans attempt to escape to "better" conditions in China. Escapees and refugees tell of millions of deaths from famine, imprisonment of another million in the country’s labor/death camps, 21st century gas chambers, and various other DPRK human rights atrocities. The Washington Post recently released such grim reports, but nothing prepares us for the execution of a 33 year-old mother of three for distributing the Bible. More shocking, her death was all but ignored by churches in America.
An Associated Press report July 25, 2009 said that in June 2009, Ri Hyon Ok, a North Korean Christian, was publicly executed in the northwestern city of Ryongchon, near the Chinese border. She was distributing the Bible, forbidden in North Korea. She was also accused of spying for South Korea and the United States, probably for having contact with South Korean, Chinese, or American Christians. According to the Investigative Commission on Crimes Against Humanity, on the day after Ri’s execution, her parents, husband, and three small children were sent to a political prison camp near the city of Hoeryong. The North Korean government punishes three generations of the family of one who has transgressed because of the late Kim Il Sung’s law that the seed of enemies of the state “must be eliminated through three generations.” Considering the brutality of these camps, it might be argued that Ri's fate was the lesser of two evils.
North Korea’s constitution "guarantees" freedom of religion. But Kim Jong Il and father Kim Il Sung have persecuted, imprisoned, and killed Christians in an attempt to wipe out Christianity. North Koreans must follow Juche, the Kim Il Sung-created state religion. Juche's "three fundamental principles" are that North Korea is politically independent, economically self-sustaining, and militarily able in its national defense. Juche also includes compulsory worship of the warped, egomaniacal "Great Leader" (the late Kim Il Sung) and "Dear Leader"(Kim Jong Il). As with all warped and egomaniacal leaders, both past and present, the cult needs deception to sustain itself. This is why North Korea represses the truth of the Bible.
In addition to lying to its own people, the North Korean regime has little difficulty deceiving some official western visitors. Many American church leaders are eager to criticize the "demonization of North Korea by the West rather than acknowledge the regime’s brutal treatment of its own people. (They must enjoy the present administration’s apology tour.) Such church officials have waxed eloquent over visits to North Korean churches where they "worshiped in freedom" with Korean brothers and sisters (otherwise known as DPRK "minders"). Some people don’t recognize a Potemkin village when they’re in one.
During the week in which the execution of Ri Hyon Ok and the imprisonment of her husband, parents, and three little children in prison camp was reported, The Episcopal Church mourned the death of one of its saints, newsman Walter Cronkite. Episcopal Life preened over his funeral at St. Bartholomew's, Park Avenue. Church's media noted such funeral attendees as Andy Rooney, Barbara Walters, Charles Gibson, Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, Brian Williams and others...