KIC has been a miraculous space. People from the South and the North have met and built trust, continuously building a cornerstone toward reunification. Kukmin Daily invited two persons who have been involved in civilian projects for North Korea to speak about their experiences and current aspirations.
*Board Director Jeong Geun of Green Doctors said, “Reunification will come like a thief in the night. We should prepare for the day like the five wise brides.” Green Doctors operated a hospital in KIC for eight years. (Photo by reporter Sangmok Shin)
Green Doctors opened the “Green Doctors South-North Collaboration Hospital (Kaesong Hospital) in January 2005 and operated it until December 2012. During those eight years, the hospital provided free treatment for 300,000 North Korean laborers and 50,000 South Korean laborers. Green Doctors also sponsored 10 million won every month toward 3,000 dollars in wages for more than 20 North Korean medical staff and other expenses. In addition, it sent medical supplies worth 500-800 million won to North Korea every year, amounting to a total 6 billion won.
Board Director Jeong visited KIC more than 100 times while operating Kaesong Hospital. At the early stage he went two or three times a month, and later every month, bringing the management fund and taking charge of eye exams and treatments. During this time, he witnessed changes in the KIC laborers. I met Jeong (56, elder of Baeyangro Church) on February 18 at Jeong Geun Ophthalmic Clinic in Busanjin-gu, Busan.
*Board Director Jeong Geun exams the eyes of a North Korean laborer in July 2011. (Courtesy of Green Doctors)
I asked Jeong, “What can Christians pray for at a time like this?” He answered by introducing the prayer of a pastor who used to minister at Green Doctors Hospital in Kaesong. “I remember clearly January 8, 2005, when I was driving an ambulance to the North, full of hope and expectation of reunification through the Gospel. I pray that someday a new sprout will spring out of the stump of reunification, and that this sprout may grow into branches with many leaves, and may finally bear fruit.”
Reporter Sangmok Shin (smshin@kmib.co.kr), from Busan, with Yeara Ahn-Park (yap@kmib.co.kr)
*Standing in front of the milk goat campaign exhibit in the CCC History and Vision Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on February 17, Director Lee Gwan-wu explains CCC’s North Korea support activities. (Photo by senior reporter Kang Min Seok)
“The government of course must have considered the situation and weighed many elements. But still I felt so hopeless and distressed, questioning myself, ‘Is KIC, the center of so many people’s devotion over so many years, just going to collapse like this?’ I feel like the relationship between the South and the North has come to an end.”
Director Lee Gwan-wu (53), Reunification Institute of the Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC Korea), shared his feelings on February 17 at the CCC Headquarters in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Through the CCC campaign Sending Milk Goats to North Korea, Director Lee visited North Korea about 50 times, starting in 2001. So far, CCC has sent 1,760 goats, but the actual number was about twice as large because most of those goats were pregnant. Their total worth was about 2.8 billion won.
*Director Lee and the North Korean staff care for milk goats on a farm in Onjeong-li, Hwanghaebuk-do, in 2000. (Courtesy of CCC)
Lee headed the Fundraising Department for eight years, from 2001, and visited the goat farms often, working together with veterinarians, technicians, and managers. During his visits to North Korea, Lee stayed at local residents’ homes and ate meals together with them. Even amidst South-North tensions caused by such incidents as nuclear testing and the death of Kim Jong-il, these friendships continued. They avoided subjects such as politics and religion, but they trusted each other in their work together.
Director Lee emphasized his belief that the church must pray and speak with a unanimous voice for peaceful reunification based on the Gospel. “I hope the Korean church will step forward as a facilitator, standing on the middle ground between South and North. The church must be the voice speaking to the nation and society, saying, ‘Nevertheless, we should go together in love.’ Wherever it is, the church must be the one calling out for love. I hope that all Christians will pray with one heart, remembering that prayer is the way to life; and will open up spaces to meet and accomplish reunification without bloodshed.”
Reporter Yang Minkyeong (grieg@kmib.co.kr), with Yeara Ahn-Park (yap@kmib.co.kr)
Top photo by reporter Lee Byoung-ju (ds5ecc@kmib.co.kr): KIC seen from Dorasan Observatory in Paju on February 23.
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