THE KUKMIN DAILY

“Among North Korean residents and defectors, there is increasing interest in learning English. It’s known that even Supreme Commander Kim Jong-un wants his aides to learn English. It is very likely that more and more persons in North Korea will desire to learn English.”

So said Co-representative Rev. Eric Foley of the Voice of the Martyrs Korea (VOM Korea) at a press conference on the publication of the “North Korean-English Study Bible,” held at the VOM Korea office in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on July 22. This Bible, the first of its kind, was produced to help North Korean residents and defectors learn both English and the Bible.

Rev. Foley said, “Wickliffe Mission Assist of the United Kingdom granted us the copyrights, and with help from VOM U.S. and the Netherlands, theologians, and defectors, we were able to produce and publish this Bible.” He said he expects that “it will open up ways for English speakers to study the Bible together with North Koreans.”

This Bible contains Genesis and 27 books of the New Testament. Each book contains explanations in both North Korean and English, along with a vocabulary list. Rev. Foley said that the Bible is not for sale. “We plan to distribute it to churches and mission organizations that will use it effectively to communicate the Gospel to North Korean defectors and residents.”

Rev. Foley became interested in North Korean mission in 2003. He was working for a Christian network of 1,500 organizations in the United States, for marginalized neighbors including homeless persons and drug addicts. One night in a dream he received God’s calling to North Korean mission.

“It was the first time I had such a spiritual dream. God foretold that we would leave all we had to serve the underground Christians in North Korea. I woke up covered in sweat,” said Rev. Foley, recalling the experience. He testified, “So we waited quietly for God’s right moment, and a few years later it all became reality. My Korean wife Hyun Sook, whom I married in 2000, and our family naturally began our mission for North Korea, leaving all other things behind.”

He figured that the oppressed believers of underground churches in North Korea needed missionaries. So he taught the Bible to North Korean defectors so that they might spread the Gospel to their families and neighbors. For this reason, he and his family received threats to their lives. Some fellow missionaries in other parts of the world have lost their lives. Nonetheless, he has continued helping underground church members in North Korea and exposing the oppression of Christianity in North Korea.

Currently, VOM Korea sends North Korea “gospel balloons,” containing plastic-coated flyers of Bible verses and MP3 players with voice-recorded Bible and various education and praise materials. VOM Korea trains North Korean defectors in China-North Korea border regions, and broadcasts the Gospel via shortwave radio programs. It has also published a “Chronological Bible” and a “Contrast Bible of South Korea and North Korea” to help North Koreans better understand the Bible. (02-2065-0703·vomkorea.kr)

Reporter Yeong Dae Yoo (ydyoo@kmib.co.kr), with Yeara Ahn-Park (yap@kmib.co.kr)
Photo by intern reporter Jun Ho-Kwang


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