A North Korean woman has bravely started a secret Christian church in a prison camp and won over new believers for Jesus Christ despite being in a religiously repressive regime.
The woman, named Hae Woo, revealed that they were taught to hate Christians, saying the stories they were told about people of faith were terrifying.
"Christians were not capable of 'revolutionary acts' and so were enemies," she told the National Catholic Register through the charity called Open Doors. "Every form of religion, and especially Christianity, was like opium: addictive and destructive. I heard stories about Christians who went to hospitals, enticed people into cellars, killed them there and sucked the blood out of their bodies so that they could sell it. The thought of it was horrifying to me."
But when she encountered real Christians, Hae Woo was surprised that they are unlike any of the scary people North Koreans envisioned them to be. In fact, she was so amazed by their goodness that she converted to Christianity herself.
Despite the challenges faced by Christians in North Korea, Hae Wood said she remained faithful. She said she felt blessed as God helped her survive. "Even more: He gave me a desire to evangelise among the other prisoners!" she said. "But I told God that I was too scared to do so. If I were caught, I would certainly be executed."
Thankfully, Open Doors helped Hae Woo escape to South Korea before her Christian faith lands her in trouble. She is now enjoying her newfound freedom, and she said she feels as if she's in her "honeymoon period."
"Of course, there are lots of things wrong here and some people think that South Korea is too materialistic, but what do they know about freedom? For that matter, what does anyone know about freedom? I learned what freedom is in the camp," she said.
