Voice of the Martyrs Korea announced that it is adding a fifth daily 30-minute broadcast to North Korea.
That move comes as most government-sponsored broadcasts into the country by the United States and South Korea have been discontinued. Voice of the Martyrs Korea says that the new broadcast will consist of the sermons of early Korean Christians and an uninterrupted reading of the Bible.
Details about the new broadcast’s time, radio frequency, and launch date are being withheld for security reasons.
Radio as the main source of Christian content
Voice of the Martyrs Korea CEO, Pastor Eric Foley, says that listening to Christian radio broadcasts is the most common religious activity among North Korean Christians.
“Based on our own religious experiences, we often assume that the most common religious activities of North Korean Christians would be things like gathering together for underground worship services or reading the Bible privately or praying,” said Pastor Foley.
“But these kinds of activities are easily detectable by onlookers, because they are distinctly Christian activities. Even prayer is typically done in a certain posture, where the person sits a certain way, holds their hands a certain way, moves a certain way, and concentrates and whispers. On the other hand, listening to foreign radio broadcasts is also illegal, but it’s a far more common activity which is less obviously ‘Christian’ to onlookers, including other family members who may not be Christian.”
According to Pastor Foley, between 14 and 20 percent of North Koreans listen to foreign broadcasts through headphone radios purchased on the gray and black markets. He explains that because listening to such broadcasts can be done overnight in the dark in silence, it remains the primary way that North Koreans are able to access Christian content.
“Each time we meet North Koreans who are new to South Korea, about 30 percent of them have had some previous exposure to Christianity. The primary two means of that exposure cited by North Koreans are Christian radio broadcasts and Christian content sent by balloon,” says Pastor Foley.
Foley says that meeting Christian workers during defection is also frequently cited as a source of Christian contact, but it is often less favorably regarded by North Koreans.
“Often that kind of contact does not happen by choice but by necessity,” says Pastor Foley. “A North Korean may need a place to stay while trying to make money in China or may need help defecting. They meet a Christian broker or discipleship base leader, and they are then required to participate in certain religious activities in exchange for receiving the help they need. It’s very different than choosing to tune in a Christian radio broadcast or choosing to keep a Bible they find on the ground from a balloon launch.”
Early requests from underground Christians
Pastor Foley says that when he and his wife, Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr Hyun Sook Foley, began their ministry 20 years ago, North Korean underground Christians made two requests of the couple.
“They asked us, ‘Please send Bibles by balloon, and please broadcast programs that help North Korean Christians understand Christian persecution biblically,” says Pastor Foley. He notes that balloons and radio have typically been used to send political messages or general news and information rather than content tailored for North Korean underground Christians.
“North Korean underground Christians expressed concern to us that much of the Christian radio broadcasting into North Korea is either the re-broadcasting of the regular preaching of South Korean pastors, which is difficult for them to understand both linguistically and conceptually, or it is content that says they are being persecuted because they have not repented of the idolatry of their ancestors,” says Pastor Foley.
He says that is why the ministry decided to broadcast the sermons of early Korean Christians, as recorded by Voice of the Martyrs Korea volunteers and students of its North Korean “Underground University” missionary training program for North Korean defectors.
“The life of the early Korean Christians is very similar to the life of underground North Korean Christians today,” says Pastor Foley. “The sermons of the early Korean Christians explain biblically that persecution is the result of faithful witness, not punishment for the actions of ancestors.”
Pastor Foley says the sermons are broadcast Monday through Thursday, and the weekend broadcasts are readings of the whole Bible. “This enables North Korean Christians to make their own copies of the Bible by writing down what they hear, or simply to have a way to regularly hear the Bible. Very few broadcasts into North Korea contain only Bible reading, uninterrupted by sermons or teaching or other content.”
Filling the gap left by government broadcasts
Pastor Foley says he believes the cessation of the government broadcasts to North Korea shows the difference in motivation of government and Christian broadcasters.
“For governments, sending information into countries changes as their strategic interests change,” says Foley. “Information is sometimes seen as a political tool for regime change or for applying pressure on human rights issues.
For Christian broadcasters, the motivation is what the Apostle Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:2: ‘Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season’. Voice of the Martyrs Korea never broadcasts news, information, or politics. We simply preach the word. The cancellation of the government broadcasts means that more North Koreans than ever are likely to be exposed to the gospel, as fewer other options are now available for listening. That is why we are adding a fifth broadcast.”
Pastor Foley says his organization formerly aired five daily broadcasts but was forced to cut one due to a decrease in sponsorship. “Voice of the Martyrs Korea neither receives or accepts funds from governments or government-funded sources, but a drop in sponsorship a year ago led us to have to cancel one of our broadcasts,” says Pastor Foley. “We believe the time is right to add the broadcast back in, and we are trusting the Lord to continue to provide the funding resources.”
Individuals interested in hearing the Voice of the Martyrs Korea daily radio broadcasts into North Korea can listen online here. More information about Voice of the Martyrs Korea’s North Korea radio broadcasts is available here.
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This story originally appeared at Mission Network News and is republished here with permission.