According to a resource person on North Korea and the Voice of America (VOA) on March 8th, Rev. Lim has played a leading role in a large-scale North American humanitarian mission to North Korea. He first visited North Korea in 1994 and experienced its reality directly. When the country was hit by the 1996 great famine, known as the “Arduous March,” Lim began all-out humanitarian support.
A person related to Light Presbyterian Church said, “In the mid-90s, when Rev. Lim learned that North Koreans were dying of starvation, he visited the North with a representative group of our denomination… Since then he has always emphasized to the church members that we all should help North Korea even if it means skipping a meal.”
Rev. Lim has been providing help and support in various areas: food and agricultural development, medicine, fisheries, computers, and even English education. In a church testimony, he said, “We’re supporting nearly 10,000 orphans in multiple regions including Wonsan in North Korea, and sending soybean oil, powdered milk, and diapers to three nursing homes and Gulpo Kindergarten in Rason.” Other resources said that Rev. Lim had provided as much support as possible for projects related to raising milk goats and pigs, a chicken farm in Rason, an organic fertilizer plant in Hoeryeong, a public bathhouse that can accommodate 2,000 persons, and even helped support the North Korean national ice skating team.
It is also known that Rev. Lim built a large-scale training center in Pyongyang to tutor teachers in English and computing skills, and that since October 2013 the center has trained 200 teachers at a time, reaching a total of 2,400 teachers. Additionally, he built a wig factory in Pyongyang large enough to employ 500 workers, opened the Seonbong condensed milk store in Hamheung, and provided two large ships and 50 small ships to an East Sea saving project called “Agape.”
Rev. Lim’s assistance to North Korea has received the joint support of Light Presbyterian Church and other churches and organizations in North America, as well as of business people. During his visits to many churches in the United States and Canada, Rev. Lim reportedly has emphasized the importance of humanitarian support for North Korea, and has evaluated highly the North Korean people’s potentiality. For this reason, some predict that the longer Rev. Lim is detained, the less advantageous it will be for North Korea.
In an interview with local newspaper Toronto Star, Toronto City Council member Raymond Cho said, “I really hope the North Korean leadership will release Rev. Lim immediately… If they continue detaining him, it will only hurt the image of North Korea.” Councilor Cho described Rev. Lim as a good Samaritan who has fundraised to help North Korea through hardships throughout the past 20 years.” Rev. Lim, who has been to North Korea more than 100 times so far, has made plans to devote himself fully to North Korea support work following his retirement this year.
The family of Rev. Lim and Light Presbyterian Church have requested the people of Canada and international society to pray for his immediate release and return.
*Rev. Lim Hyun-soo of Light Presbyterian Church, Toronto, has devoted himself to humanitarian support for North Korea over the past 20 years. The photos (from top to bottom) show Rev. Kim at sites for improvement of seeds, food support, and agricultural development. (Photo courtesy of Toronto Light Presbyterian Church)
Reporter Sangmok Shin (smshin@kmib.co.kr), with Yeara Ahn-Park (yap@kmib.co.kr)
Click here for the original article in Korean
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