THE KUKMIN DAILY

The Korean Bible Society (Gwon Eui-hyun, president) said on December 8, “On the occasion of Bible Sunday, this December 14th, we request the Korean churches’ positive participation in the Bible-sending movement.” In its news transmission, KBS explained, “Our neighbors in the global village are being hit by poverty, disease, war, violence and other difficulties, so what they need now is the Word of God…Each Bible that we send will change their lives.”

Bible Sunday was established in 18th century England following the free Bible distribution movement, and has been observed in Korea since 1899, when it was first proposed by Alexander Kenmure, the person in charge of the Choseon branch of the Anglican Church of England. “As Korean believers have been saved through the Bibles you received from the West, now let us share that grace with our neighbors in the global village,” Kenmure said, advocating the observance of Bible Sunday.

Through the offerings it has gathered on Bible Sunday, the Korean Bible Society is supplying Bibles continuously to the whole world. KBS has produced and donated free of charge, a total of more than 350,000 Bibles to the national Bible societies of 48 countries including 24 in Africa, 12 in Central and South America, 7 in Europe and the Middle East, and 5 in Asia. The Korean Bible Society also has provided support in the form of an annual donation of 1.71 million dollars through the United Bible Societies. Last June, with funds it received from the National Women’s Association of the Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK Tonghap), KBS sent 10,000 Spanish-language Bibles to Cuba; and in October, with support from Seoul’s Hansarang Methodist Church (Rev. Hwang Seong-su), it delivered 3,000 Bibles in Hawa Naga, the language of a minority ethnic group in Myanmar, to that country (photo).

Besides that of KBS, the Bible-sending movements of other mission organizations are expanding actively as well. Since 1983, the Motungidol (Cornerstone) Mission Association has been sending Bibles to North Korean believers, and the Christian Sejin Association is carrying out a “campaign to send large-print Bibles to prison inmates.” While KBS is producing and supplying Bibles around the world, the mission organization One Body (Park Hyeong-seok, representative) is spreading a movement to encourage reading of the Bible.

Reporter Pyeong Seon Jeon (junbs@kmib.co.kr), with Marion Kim (marionkkim@icloud.com)

Photo courtesy of KBS


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