North Korean workers: “Kim Jong Un could not protect us but only in God we trust”

Posted on October 25, 2022 by Pastor Foley

North Korean workers trapped in work assignments abroad due to COVID were forced to choose between placing their trust in God or the North Korean government. According to Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr Hyun Sook Foley, God won.

Voice of the Martyrs Korea, an NGO which serves persecuted Christians worldwide, released letters it received this week from North Koreans working abroad who received audio Bibles during the COVID pandemic through the NGO’s distribution efforts. According to Representative Foley, the five letters reveal workers eagerly turning to God after being disillusioned by the lack of aid they received from the North Korean government and local authorities during the pandemic.

“The letters come from workers in different locations over the past few months but all exhibit the same pattern,” says Representative Foley. “NK workers saw other NK workers get infected with COVID-like symptoms; their NK government minders did not take them to the hospital or cover their medical costs but instead required them to use their own earnings if they wanted medical care; the NK workers indicated they would rather die than give up the little money they had earned for their families back home; so the NK workers decided to put their trust in the God they heard about in the audio Bibles they received from our team. They received as a gift from God the medicines and other materials that we provided along with the audio Bibles.”

“One worker put it like this: ‘Kim Jong Un could not protect us but only in God we trust.’”

Representative Foley quoted a letter from one worker at length to describe the situation of NK workers abroad during the pandemic:

“For the past several months, in our unit, [number withheld for security reasons] comrades have died. It seems their symptoms are just like Covid19. They were all infected with pneumonia-like symptoms but never went to hospital and died in this foreign land. With my eyes open, we could not bear to see their death. We would rather die than going to hospital if we have to spend the whole money that we have earned and saved up for the past year. It is too expensive without insurance. It is such a miserable reality. Therefore, there is nothing these sick people would do besides relying on God and asking Him for mercy. I am praying in my heart for the [X] comrades who died in a beautiful young age. I ask God for no more pain in their life in heaven. In truth, there is no good hospital we could go. We would rather go to back to Chosun and visit NK doctors. There are so many patients but nothing we could do, so that we just keep praying for them. We are distributing audio Bibles in secret to these sick people in hoping that they might receive comfort from the Bible. We believe that seeing and listening to the Words will greatly help them overcome the pain and disease. I also happened to think that it is truly miserable if people die without knowing God.”

Representative Foley says that Voice of the Martyrs Korea supplies audio and printed North Korean dialect Bibles to North Koreans inside North Korea, as well as to North Korean laborers working abroad and North Korean sex trafficked women in China. The Bibles are individually distributed directly to recipients, often as part of small care packages containing other items like masks, medicines, and hygiene items. She says that the distribution is done by underground Christians from North Korea and the other countries where Voice of the Martyrs Korea reaches North Koreans.

According to Representative Foley, Christians doing the distribution became so concerned by the COVID cases they saw among NK workers that they took the risky step of bringing in local doctors and additional medicines to aid the workers.

“One NK worker who received help from us described the situation like this,” says Representative Foley, quoting from one of the letters: “In [country name removed for security reasons], we want to get good treatment, but the NK person in charge of the factory does not give us proper treatment because it is expensive. So, we just pray to God for giving our comrades healing and delivering from pain. This is the only thing we could do. Thankfully, the [local VOMK worker] sent a doctor with medication, so that we are recovering now. We all think that this is from God.”

Representative Foley says that while the North Korean government’s COVID lockdown has prevented many North Korean workers from returning home, the longer stays have given NK workers opportunities more time to access materials not available to them inside North Korea. She quotes from one NK worker who wrote, “The [country name removed] holiday is very long but we were not able to leave the factory. But it turned out that it was an opportunity for us to know about God deeply.”

Representative Foley says that the letters were written over the summer months and were received by Voice of the Martyrs Korea this week. The remaining 4 letters are shown here, with slight redactions to ensure the safety of the writers.

“For the past several months, in our unit, [number removed for security reasons] comrades have died. It seems their symptoms are just like Covid19. They were all infected with pneumonia-like symptoms but never went to hospital and died in this foreign land. With my eyes open, we could not bear to see their death. We would rather die than going to hospital if we have to spend the whole money that we have earned and saved up for the past year. It is too expensive without insurance. It is such a miserable reality. Therefore, there is nothing these sick people would do besides relying on God and asking Him for mercy. I am praying in my heart for the [number removed] comrades who died in a beautiful young age. I ask God for no more pain in their life in heaven. In truth, there is no good hospital we could go. We would rather go to back to Chosun and visit NK doctors. There are so many patients but nothing we could do, so that we just keep praying for them. We are distributing audio Bibles in secret to these sick people in hoping that they might receive comfort from the Bible. We believe that seeing and listening to the Words will greatly help them overcome the pain and disease. I also happened to think that it is truly miserable if people die without knowing God.”  

“My hometown is not far away from here, but it feels so far away. As I spent the [Korean Thanksgiving] holiday in this foreign land where I have no freedom, I miss the freedom-less hometown where I could at least travel in my town. I just spent the holiday here in the factory and experiencing the entertainment party which was not fun at all. I was sad during the holiday as I was thinking about my parents and brothers at hometown, but as seeing and listening to the Bible in secret, I got to think a lot. It was sad, but not really sad, I now think. I believe that there must be a reason why God is giving me this hardship. After having faith, I have learned how to overcome pain and sadness with joy. I give thanks to God through whom I realized this.“

“Greetings, How are you doing? We are well here. We have several comrades who recovered from the Covid19 in our factory. We worried much about them who kept coughing and feeling pain in their chest. Comrade A and B are not able to work well because of their sickness. In [country name removed for security reasons], we want to get good treatment, but the NK person in charge of the factory does not give us proper treatment because it is expensive. So, we just pray to God for giving our comrades healing and delivering from pain. This is the only thing we could do. Thankfully, the [country name removed for security reasons] man sent a doctor with medication, so that we are recovering now. We all think that this is from God. We are truly thankful to God. Kim Jong Un could not protect us but only in God we trust. We are thankful with all our hearts to give us this opportunity.“


“Greetings, I am writing this letter with great fear. I just received Jesus God. I only knew Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un. I thought they are the only ones in this world. My head is full of confusion now but the more I hear the Bible, the more I am drawn to. There is nothing I could do besides praying to God in this difficult season. Thank you for the delicious food and medication that you sent to us.”

“During [Korean Thanksgiving], with my friends, we truly enjoyed the SK ramen that the [country name removed] man sent to us. Even though I am away from my families and parents in this foreign land during [Korean Thanksgiving], with the food and my comrades, it was joyful. Especially, the ramen that God sent to us was filled with God’s love. The [country name withheld] holiday is very long but we were not able to leave the factory. But it turned out that it was an opportunity for us to know about God deeply. I was not expecting to know God in this foreign land. His Being is too precious to us, and our hearts are trembling at Him. I pray for my parents and friends in [location removed for security reasons] and for myself. I feel no lonelier and in pain because I now know that God hears our prayers and watches us whenever and wherever we are through the power of prayer. We are also thankful for you who pray for us from far away.”

Representative Foley says that for the safety of its workers and the Bible recipients, Voice of the Martyrs Korea no longer releases the specific quantity of Bibles distributed each year, or the media or methods by which they are distributed. “Generally we distribute 40,000 to 50,000 North Korean dialect Bibles a year in print and electronic formats to North Korean citizens outside of South Korea, though distribution has increased significantly during the pandemic as North Koreans seek the kind of hope and stability that are only found in Christ,” she says. She notes that the Bible is also read daily on Voice of the Martyrs Korea’s five shortwave and AM radio broadcasts.

Individuals or churches interested in supporting Voice of the Martyrs Korea’s North Korea ministry can make a donation via website or wire transfer to:

  • 한국 VOM 웹사이트: www.vomkorea.com/en/donation   
  • 계좌이체: 국민은행 463501-01-243303, 예금주: (사)순교자의소리
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Crimea: Church leader and 2 ministers fined for private worship service

Posted on October 4, 2022 by Pastor Foley

On August 16, a judge in the city of Saky in Crimea fined a unregistered Baptist church leader and two ministers for illegal missionary activity related to worship activities held in a private residence. According to Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr Hyun Sook Foley, the ruling raises questions about government-imposed definitions of “religious group” and “missionary activity” and how those definitions may be used to prosecute Christians in other areas under Russian Federation control.

According to Representative Foley, Mr. Gerasimenko and two ministers, Shokhu P.L. and Shokhu L.P., were each fined 5,000 rubles (approx. 115,000 KRW) for implementation of missionary activities in alleged violation of Article 5.26 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. On July 27, Mr. Gerasimenko had also been fined 300 rubles (approx. 7,000 KRW) for failing to submit a written notice of the beginning of the activities of a religious group, in alleged violation of Article 19.7 of the same code.

All three have appealed the judgments against them.

“The case is concerning for several reasons,” says Representative Foley. “First, the church has been in operation for 65 years. Second, authorities used a definition of ‘religious group’ which violates the Christian beliefs of the defendants. And third, authorities claimed that a private religious gathering service held in a private residence constitutes missionary activity. It’s a situation where authorities imposed their own anti-Christian definitions onto Christian activities and then found the defendants guilty of activities which violate the defendants’ own long-time, dearly held beliefs.”

According to Representative Foley, Voice of the Martyrs Korea received reports that on Sunday morning June 5, 2022, representatives of the prosecutor’s office, the police, and the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) came to the house of prayer of an unregistered Baptist in Saky where believers were worshiping. “Eyewitnesses say the authorities took pictures of those who preached and those who were present,” says Representative Foley. “At the end of the service, the authorities questioned some of the brothers. Several times they asked, ‘Where is Gerasimenko Sergey Fedorovich?’”

The Church in Saky.

On June 15, the prosecutor’s office initiate two cases against Mr. Gerasimenko, one for failure to register a religious group and one for illegal missionary activities. Then on June 20, two ministers were also charged with illegal missionary activities in connection with Mr. Gerasimenko.

On July 27, 2022, Mr. Gerasimenko was found guilty and fined for failing to register a religious group. In a copy of his complaint received by Voice of the Martyrs Korea, Mr. Gerasimenko objected to the charge. His complaint says, “My fellow believers never made any oral or written decisions to create a religious group and give it any name. The indicated persons also did not authorize me orally or in writing to notify the Office of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation about the beginning of the activities of a religious group, as this contradicts their and my beliefs as a Christian. My fellow believers also did not provide me with written consent to the processing and provision of their personal data like their full names, place of residence and their religious beliefs.”

On August 16, 2022, the three defendants were found guilty and fined for illegal missionary activity. “They said that sermons are for the edification of believers, not the conversion of unbelievers,” says Representative Foley. “It is a position that is rooted in the earliest Protestant tradition: sermons are not missionary activity.” She says the defendants are basing their appeal on Article 7 (part 1) of Federal Law 125 of September 26, 1997, “On Freedom of Conscience and on Religious Associations”, which allows worship to be legally held in premises that can be provided for these needs by the members of a religious group. “They are also noting that legally, worship does not automatically qualify as missionary activity.”

The Church in Saky has been in operation for 65 years.

Representative Foley says that Voice of the Martyrs Korea is monitoring the appeal closely. “Requiring unregistered groups to register is a major theological issue for them, not just an administrative matter,” says Representative Foley. “And all churches become vulnerable to prosecution if regular worship services are legally regarded as missionary activities.”

Voice of the Martyrs Korea operates “Голос Мучеников – Корея”, a Russian language edition of its popular Facebook page on Christian persecution.

Representative Foley says that Voice of the Martyrs Korea is calling on all Christians to pray for the Lord to cause the judgments against the three defendants to be annulled and the cases against them to be dismissed.

Representative Foley says that Voice of the Martyrs Korea is providing emergency assistance to local church congregations and individual Christians who are continuing to engage in faithful witness during the present Russia/Ukraine conflict. Donations can be made to the organization’s Ukraine Emergency Fund at www.vomkorea.com/en/donation.

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Mayflower Church departs Jeju for Thailand after final persecution training

Posted on September 20, 2022 by Pastor Foley

The members of Shenzen Holy Reformed Church assembled one final time for training on Christian persecution from Voice of the Martyrs Korea at a secret location on Jeju Island on August 28. Unlike the previous trainings, however, this time only a handful of congregation members were present in person. The majority of the 61 members joined via videoconference.

Voice of the Martyrs Canada CEO Floyd Brobbel shares a meal with Pastor Pan Yongguang.

“They had left Jeju for Thailand earlier that week,” says Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr Hyun Sook Foley. The remainder, she says, departed in the days following her organization’s visit. Now the church members have filed applications for refugee status at the United Nations refugee office in Bangkok and are living quietly in separate hotels while they await the agency’s determination.

The Shenzen congregation, dubbed the “Mayflower Church” by global religious freedom advocates, fled China in 2019 for Jeju Island, where they had been supporting themselves by doing menial labor while applying for asylum in Korea. After having their application denied at multiple levels of the Korean court system, the group decided to take flight again.

“They were concerned about what they saw as growing harassment by Chinese authorities of family members who had remained in China,” says Representative Foley. She says the church members also suspected that Chinese authorities might soon try to kidnap or blackmail church members in Jeju, since they had been unable to secure legal protections of asylum in Korea. “The church’s goal is to obtain official refugee status, which they believe in the short term will prevent China from forcibly repatriating them, and in the long term could lead to permanent resettlement in a country like the United States.”

Representative Foley says that her organization first learned about the church when the pastor, Pan Yongguang, called through an interpreter to request a private meeting at the airport. “He and his church members had traveled as tourists and arrived on Jeju Island with almost nothing,” says Representative Foley. “In order to avoid being detained during their departure, they had not communicated their plan to anyone in advance, including us.”

Dr. Foley teaches the Mayflower church about ways they can Biblically handle the trauma they received as a result of persecution.

Representative Foley says Pastor Pan explained how he had founded the Shenzen Holy Reformed Church in 2012 under the oversight of Philadelphia Bible Reformed Church in the United States. “Pastor Pan shared with us that because of his connection to a foreign religious group, he began to be interrogated by authorities at least twice a week beginning in 2014,” says Representative Foley. “When he refused to affiliate the church with the Chinese Communist Party-approved Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TPSM), authorities pressured the landlord of the building where the church-run elementary school was located to evict them. Church members didn’t want to send their children to state-run schools to be indoctrinated into atheism and communism, so they voted to flee China as a whole church in 2019.”

The church started a Christian school in China and continued their Bible-based education program for the children while in JeJu.

Representative Foley says her organization explained to Pastor Pan that Voice of the Martyrs Korea does not help Christians to escape persecution but instead equips Christians to make a faithful witness in the midst of persecution. She says that Pastor Pan expressed understanding of the organization’s policy, as well as interest in having the organization provide comprehensive persecution-related training to his whole church, adults as well as children.

“Fortunately, Pastor Pan and the Mayflower Church were able to receive a lot of help from Korean churches and refugee ministries while they lived in Jeju, awaiting the determination on their application for asylum in Korea,” says Representative Foley. She says Christian attorneys worked with the group to file a number of applications and appeals as they faced denial of their request at each level of the Korean court system.

Representative Foley says that during the church’s three years on Jeju Island, Voice of the Martyrs Korea visited them several times a year to provide multiple-day training sessions on what the Bible teaches about persecution in the life of the Christian.

She says that it was only in preparing to visit the church again last month that her organization learned that church members were already in the process of departing Jeju for Thailand in small groups, just as they had arrived three years earlier.

“When we called to let Pastor Pan know we’d be coming down to provide the training, he told us that he wasn’t sure how many church members would still be there, but he wanted us to come and encourage them one final time before their departure,” says Representative Foley. “It wasn’t until our team arrived that Pastor Pan was able to share fully with us about the church’s departure.”

Representative Foley says they brought Voice of the Martyrs Canada CEO Floyd Brobbel with them to address the church. “Mr. Brobbel reminded the Mayflower congregation from 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 that God’s strength is perfected in weakness, and that in Christ we are never exiled spiritually even when we are exiled from our own country. It was a poignant time, with the congregation listening from two different countries, neither one of which was their permanent home.”

Representative Foley says her organization is honored to have been the first organization to greet the church on its arrival to Korea and the last one to say goodbye to the church in its departure. “God doesn’t seem to have sent the church here to Korea for permanent asylum,” she says. “God seems to have sent the church here so that we at Voice of the Martyrs Korea could study together with them what the Bible teaches about persecution and faithful witness. So many Korean churches and ministries and attorneys helped them out while they were here. Voice of the Martyrs Korea’s part in the process was to prepare them for whatever comes next.”

One family from the church when they first arrived at the JeJu airport almost three years ago. Pastor Pan Yongguang is pictured on the far right.

Representative Foley says that she expects her organization to remain in contact with Pastor Pan and the Mayflower Church members. “Other groups are continuing to care for their resettlement costs and legal needs,” says Representative Foley. “But God seems to give us at Voice of the Marytrs Korea the role of reminding them what the Bible teaches about persecution in the life of the believer. We pray that wherever God sends them, they will be his faithful witnesses.”

Individuals interested in learning more about Voice of the Martyrs Korea’s work in partnership with underground Chinese Christians wherever they are found can visit www.vomkorea.com/en/china.

The Mayflower congregation members gather for a group photo in JeJu earlier this year.
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