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August 2000
Dear Friends,
Today, as we write this letter, millions of
Koreans on both sides of the DMZ remain glued to their television
sets as they watch events unfold in Seoul and Pyongyang. Two hundred
families are being reunited—100 from the South and 100 from
the North. These families’ lives have been torn apart for
over 50 years by war and its aftermath. It is an emotionally wrenching
experience to see the tears, hugs, and smiles of joy as these
elderly folk see mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers—and
even husbands and wives—who, until a few weeks ago, they
did not even know were still alive. As one watches the TV screen,
the folly of war and the stupidity of the continuing Cold War
policies becomes most evident.
In June there was a seemingly impossible break-through when the
President of the Republic of Korea, Kim Dae-Jung, traveled to
Pyongyang to meet with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il. Today’s
family reunions are one outcome of that historic meeting. While
it is too early to know just how things will go in the future
between North and South, we can give thanks that the immediate
threat of war appears to be greatly diminished.
Many people are unaware of the role the churches have played
in laying much of the groundwork for the events of this summer.
For many years, Christians from both North and South have held
semi-secret meetings, usually in Europe, to discuss mutual concerns.
Korean-American church leaders made trips to the North to visit
church leaders there, and, in many cases, to meet their own family
members. Our newly elected moderator, Syngman Rhee, and our area
coordinator, Insik Kim, spearheaded these efforts. Other Korean
church leaders, such as Moon Ik-Hwan, made highly-publicized (and
illegal) trips to the North, which caused considerable controversy
here in Korea. At the same time, official church delegations from
the North attended both the seventh and eighth assemblies of the
World Council of Churches in Canberra, Australia, and Harare,
Zimbabwe, respectively. Billy Graham has traveled to the North,
where he lectured on Christianity at Kim II-Sung University. And
during the recent floods, droughts, and famine in the North, many
churches and Christian aid agencies were leaders in the relief
efforts. World Vision and Church World Service provided much food
aid. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) did its part as well, including
the construction of a noodle factory that is reputed "to
have the best-tasting noodles in the entire North." An unusual
aid group is the Eugene Bell Foundation, supported by alumni of
the old Pyongyang Foreign School, a missionary school that counts
among its alumni missionaries, diplomats, and Christian leaders.
Many retired missionaries from Korea are working with this group.
And yes, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) helps to support two
Korean mission co-workers in the North who teach religious studies
at Kim II-Sung University and humanities courses at the Pyongyang
Seminary. Mission co-workers in North Korea? Impossible, you may
say, but look on page 167 of the 2000 Mission Yearbook for
Prayer & Study—it’s true!
President Kim Dae-Jung is himself a strong Christian whose Catholic
faith sustained him through many years of political oppression
and exile. His wife is a graduate of Methodist-related Scarritt
College, which used to be located in Nashville, Tennessee. Kim’s
recent trip to Pyongyang came about not only because of his political
beliefs, but also because of his deep Christian conviction of
the importance of reconciliation. Prior to going to Pyongyang
he visited Pope John Paul II in Rome, and following his visit
to the North, Kim Jong-II has extended an invitation to the Pope
to visit the North.
And of course, the Korean churches have been praying for reunification
for over 50 years. They have been getting up at 4:00 each morning
to pray for it. They pray all night on Fridays for it. They fast—sometimes
for 40 days at a time—for it. They have prayer rallies for
it. The Christians of Korea long for the day when they can travel
freely from the volcanic crater of Paektu Mt. in the North to
the volcanic crater of Halla Mt. in the South. They long for the
day when they can be reunited as one people.
And now, a beginning in that process has been made. Make no mistake
about it, there are many dangers and pitfalls ahead. There is
much mistrust between the two sides. There are vested interests
of foreign powers such as Japan and the United States. There is
still the most heavily militarized border in the world between
North and South and both are technically in a state of war with
each other. There is the great income disparity between North
and South that somehow must be overcome. And there is the fact
that the younger generation on both sides of the DMZ did not experience
the war that divided the country. For some of them, a realistic
grasp of the issues relating to national reunification is hard
to understand. Some are heavy on optimism and very short on realism.
And yet only a few weeks ago Kim Dae-Jung and Kim Jong-II clasped
hands as these two former enemies smiled, and today there are
tears of joy as long-divided families are reunited.
We give thanks to God for what has happened in Korea during these
past few weeks, and we continue to hope and pray for the reunification
or the country. It is a joy to be here in Korea as these momentous
events unfold before us. We would ask that you join with our Korean
brothers and sisters in continuing to work and pray for unity
and reconciliation.
Yours faithfully in mission,
Carol Chou Adams, Daniel J. Adams
The 2000 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 168
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