OMF Blog

21. North Koreans in China

NK Blog - Wednesday 09 December 2009

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” Luke 10: 36-37

Some people from North Korea come out from that land. Many of them settle in northeastern China, just across the border from North Korea. People come out for a variety of reasons: because of hunger, because they are Christian, as well as for a host of other reasons. Some Korean-Chinese, people who are ethnic Koreans but Chinese citizens, perhaps having lived in China for generations, often help these people. Korean is still widely spoken among these Korean-Chinese and many of their schools are still conducted in Korean. This makes it easy for the North Koreans to integrate into this neighborhood.

However, some of them, especially the women, are taken advantage of by local Chinese. On one hand, these people have some thing they did not have in North Korea, but on the other hand, they still do not have freedom and recognition as human beings worthy of respect. North Korea thinks of them as traitors. The Chinese government thinks of them as illegal migrants and repatriates many of them (sends them back to their home country).

What does God think of them?

Some Christians in the area think these people need help and are willing to offer them this help. These people are usually seeking food. They want to be treated like human beings. In the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:29-37, Jesus said that being a neighbor to someone in need is more important than defining who is your neighbor. May Christians in northeast China be neighbors to the needy people in the area.

  • Praise God for His church in northeast China that is helping these people in need.
  • Pray that these people would be treated like human beings made in God's image, worthy of respect.
  • Pray that these people would also hear about the God of the Bible as they receive physical help.