In most books and motion pictures about concentration camps, the author has taken God out of the equation – as if those hellish places and God are incompatible. The hero or heroine tries to make the best of the situation, but is completely at the whim of the guards, even of life itself. There is no God to turn to. But not so in this true story of 70-year-old Hea Woo*. Shortly after coming to faith in China, she found herself back across the border in a North Korean gulag. In this valley of the shadow of death, God spoke comfort to her, but also told her to evangelize. In the next few blog series we will follow her life story.
Like some 25,000 other refugees from the north, Hea Woo now lives in South Korea. North Korea is country ruled by the Kim dynasty since 1945. The 200 000 – 400 000 Christians are severely persecuted. Even the possession of a Bible is enough to be sent to a labor camp. A chronic famine makes many people flee to China. Hea Woo arrived in South Korea only a little while ago, which makes her say, “It still feels like I am on honeymoon. For the first time in my life, I am free. Free to go where I want, to do what I want and to worship Jesus in the open. I know many people don’t like South Korea, but what do they know about freedom? In fact, what does anybody know about freedom? I learned what freedom is when I was in labor camp.”
Hea Woo is a short, fragile and cheerful lady. It is hard to imagine that she survived several years of detention in a Nazi-like labor camp. It was only two years ago when she literally ran out of the camp. “On the day of my release I had to wait before that enormous, electric gate. When I was forced to work the land outside the camp, I was used to wait until the door was entirely open. Now, I ran towards the door and squeezed myself through the narrow opening. When I came to the road, I kept on running. Not once did I look back. I was so happy to leave this horrendous place.”
Long before the North Korean secret police brought Hea Woo to the labor camp, she had experienced a lot of trauma. During the Korean War (1950-1953), when she was still a young girl, North Korean soldiers ordered the people in Hea Woo’s village to march to the Chinese border. It took them two months. The people walked by night and took shelter from the American bombers by day. Hea Woo’s father, a doctor, was killed when he was serving in the army.
Hea Woo’s oldest daughter starved to death in 1997. She was only in her twenties. After her death, Hea Woo’s husband left to find food in China. He found much more than that. He became a Christian. Unfortunately he was arrested in China and sent back. He died in a North Korean prison six months later. A few of his former cellmates visited Hea Woo after their release, to share with her that he had told them about Christ, and that their lives were changed because of his testimony. “I was shocked to hear that my husband had become a Christian. But instinctively I realized that he had found the truth, whereas I was still living a lie. I was certain: our leaders were not godlike at all. I fled to China. I was looking for relatives living there, but they had left. So I turned to the only sanctuary I could find: a church.”
She was provided with food and shelter and received Bible study as well. Soon Hea Woo decided she wanted to follow Jesus Christ. However, thinking back about her past, she came to a shocking discovery. Her mother – who had passed away in 1990 – had always been a Christian! “Once during the Korean War I noticed a necklace with a cross around her neck. When I asked her about it, she just told me to not tell anybody else. And she always murmured when she made breakfast for us. She was praying of course. The deepest regret of my life is that I have never been able to talk about faith with my mother. I don’t know why she never mentioned Jesus to me, not even when I was an adult. It is probably because I was such a blabber mouth, not good at keeping secrets.”
Read more about Hea Woo tomorrow...
Like some 25,000 other refugees from the north, Hea Woo now lives in South Korea. North Korea is country ruled by the Kim dynasty since 1945. The 200 000 – 400 000 Christians are severely persecuted. Even the possession of a Bible is enough to be sent to a labor camp. A chronic famine makes many people flee to China. Hea Woo arrived in South Korea only a little while ago, which makes her say, “It still feels like I am on honeymoon. For the first time in my life, I am free. Free to go where I want, to do what I want and to worship Jesus in the open. I know many people don’t like South Korea, but what do they know about freedom? In fact, what does anybody know about freedom? I learned what freedom is when I was in labor camp.”
Hea Woo is a short, fragile and cheerful lady. It is hard to imagine that she survived several years of detention in a Nazi-like labor camp. It was only two years ago when she literally ran out of the camp. “On the day of my release I had to wait before that enormous, electric gate. When I was forced to work the land outside the camp, I was used to wait until the door was entirely open. Now, I ran towards the door and squeezed myself through the narrow opening. When I came to the road, I kept on running. Not once did I look back. I was so happy to leave this horrendous place.”
Long before the North Korean secret police brought Hea Woo to the labor camp, she had experienced a lot of trauma. During the Korean War (1950-1953), when she was still a young girl, North Korean soldiers ordered the people in Hea Woo’s village to march to the Chinese border. It took them two months. The people walked by night and took shelter from the American bombers by day. Hea Woo’s father, a doctor, was killed when he was serving in the army.
Hea Woo’s oldest daughter starved to death in 1997. She was only in her twenties. After her death, Hea Woo’s husband left to find food in China. He found much more than that. He became a Christian. Unfortunately he was arrested in China and sent back. He died in a North Korean prison six months later. A few of his former cellmates visited Hea Woo after their release, to share with her that he had told them about Christ, and that their lives were changed because of his testimony. “I was shocked to hear that my husband had become a Christian. But instinctively I realized that he had found the truth, whereas I was still living a lie. I was certain: our leaders were not godlike at all. I fled to China. I was looking for relatives living there, but they had left. So I turned to the only sanctuary I could find: a church.”
She was provided with food and shelter and received Bible study as well. Soon Hea Woo decided she wanted to follow Jesus Christ. However, thinking back about her past, she came to a shocking discovery. Her mother – who had passed away in 1990 – had always been a Christian! “Once during the Korean War I noticed a necklace with a cross around her neck. When I asked her about it, she just told me to not tell anybody else. And she always murmured when she made breakfast for us. She was praying of course. The deepest regret of my life is that I have never been able to talk about faith with my mother. I don’t know why she never mentioned Jesus to me, not even when I was an adult. It is probably because I was such a blabber mouth, not good at keeping secrets.”
Read more about Hea Woo tomorrow...
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