Extreme Devotion: North Koreaনমুনা

The Reluctant Bible Smuggler

Five months after being baptized and receiving his own small Korean Bible during a lengthy business trip to China, Min-jae had to return to North Korea. 

As he prepared to leave China, however, someone from the church made a bold request: They asked him to receive a shipment that included 10 hidden Bibles once he returned to North Korea. 

At first, Min-jae declined. He was already nervous about bringing his own small Bible into the country. If border guards caught him, he could be tortured or killed. And he knew that receiving the shipment of Bibles could result in his imprisonment in one of North Korea’s concentration camps. 

As Min-jae agonized over the decision, however, he remembered that he had given his life to Christ and it was no longer his own. He decided to trust the Lord. 

“Now I believe in God, and in God everything is possible,” he thought. “I can do anything He wants.” 

The shipment arrived a few months after Min-jae’s return to North Korea. At 1 a.m., he approached a boat along the bank of the Yalu River, praying for God’s protection and guidance. 

After retrieving three large vinyl duffle bags, he hoisted them onto his back and ran toward his home in the dark. Once inside his home, he opened the bags to find them tightly packed with pants. But wrapped randomly within the clothing were 10 small Korean Bibles. 

“I was afraid and nervous,” he said. “When I actually opened the bags, I began to wonder, ‘How can I distribute these at this time?’ I began to have doubts.” Min-jae decided to keep the dangerous books hidden until God led him to the right people. 

One day, as he walked through his village, he heard a man whistling a Christian hymn; Min-jae had learned the tune during his time in China. He made note of where the man lived and decided to deliver some Bibles to him that night under cover of darkness. After midnight, Min-jae rewrapped the Bibles in the pants and left them at the man’s front door. 

Months later, Min-jae returned to China with the intent of defecting, but authorities arrested him and extradited him to North Korea. 

In prison, he met a former friend who had been arrested because of his Christian faith. As they talked, Min-jae came to realize that the man to whom he’d given the Bibles was his friend’s uncle. That man had also been arrested and was being held in a different cell in the same prison. 

Min-jae’s friend told him that his uncle had given the Bibles to relatives, who had then committed their lives to Christ. The entire family of 27 people had gathered secretly at night to worship God and to read God’s Word. But one night, a neighbor overheard the believers singing hymns and reported them to authorities. The secret police raided their home and arrested everyone. 

Although he wasn’t able to interact with them in prison, Min-jae often heard some of the family members praying in their cells. He never told his friend that he was the one who had left the Bibles on his uncle’s doorstep, for it was still too risky for anyone to know. 

A month later, all 27 family members, including Min-jae’s friend and his friend’s uncle, were sent to a concentration camp.

Min-jae was released after seven months in prison, and he later defected to South Korea. He remains concerned about the Christian family suffering in a concentration camp; still, he knows that God ultimately provided the Bibles and that He is with them as they suffer in His name. 

Dear Heavenly Father, I praise You for those who are working tirelessly — even risking their lives — to get Your Word into North Korea. Meet these North Korean believers’ every need according to Your riches in Christ Jesus. I pray that every North Korean who receives a smuggled Bible is able to read it and study it. I also thank You for Min-jae’s faithfulness and courage and ask that You develop that same faithfulness and courage in my own life. Help me courageously serve You. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen. 

The video from Day 1, Sang-chul: North Korea, is available in DVD or digital format. You may request your DVD or download the video at persecution.com/idop to help your church or small group prepare for the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.