26. Preparing for Ministry

If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and he is a foreigner to me. 1 Corinthians 14:11

Many South Korean Christians and ethnic Koreans around the world are preparing for ministry to North Koreans. Though all Koreans look similar, their cultures and worldviews are very different. For the last 50 years North Koreans have grown up in a communist country, vastly different from the South. Even the North Korean and South Korean languages are different. This hinders outreach in particular, as the meaning of some Christian words is distorted, if not lost, to North Koreans. Culture affects, for instance, how North Koreans would read John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” The meaning of “God” to a North Korean may be very similar to “the country leader,” and “love” may mean devotion to your nation, implying putting your country and its leader first. “Jesus” could be just some person that the West invented. These misunderstandings often cause confusion among North Koreans. Their neighbors in South Korea, having been exposed to Judeo-Christian values for 100 years, often do not anticipate or grasp these misunderstandings. North Koreans, especially the 70-80 percent born since the Korean War (1953), must truly understand these terms in order the understand the gospel, but it is something often overlooked by those trying to reach out to them.

Traditionally Korea is a very monocultural society. Even today the majority of the South Korea population is Korean, with only very small minority groups having settled there from other countries. Although the number of immigrants is increasing, Koreans are still learning to understand other cultures. Anyone wanting to minister to North Koreans, including South Koreans, needs to understand the North Korean way of thinking. This can be a challenge even for their closest neighbors.

• Praise God that so many South Korean and ethnic Korean Christians want to proclaim the gospel to North Koreans.

• Pray that those preparing to minister to North Koreans will prepare well for this ministry that is cross-cultural even for South Koreans and ethnic Koreans living elsewhere.

• Pray that those preparing to minister to this group will study communism, atheism and Juche well so they understand the group they want to reach.