There is an almost universal lack of faith in North Koreans’ ability to lead. I’ve found few South Koreans who believe otherwise and a number of North Koreans who question it themselves. We believe they can – and must – lead. My conviction of this is rooted primarily in God’s word. Time and again we see God deliberately choosing those men and women are the most unlikely of candidates to advance His kingdom through. Joseph the slave, Moses the murderer, David the adulterer, Peter the fisherman, Paul the prosecutor – it is not so much that unlikely candidates turn out to be more suited for God’s work; rather, it is that unlikely candidates, when transformed, are able to reflect God’s glory more brightly precisely because of their unlikeliness to do so on their own. I cannot think of anyone more unlikely to lead than a man or woman who, from birth, has been deliberately trained not to under the threat of death. It is difficult for most of us to imagine just how allencompassing Juche really is. Even for those of us who have been raised in Christian families and gone to church all our lives; the very fact that we live in countries where we could choose to worship otherwise – or not at all – keeps us from grasping the full gravity of it.
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Yet, this we do know: through faith in Christ every person may been transformed. It doesn’t matter whether we are North Korean, South Korean, American, Russian or any
other nationality. God is in the business of taking unlikely candidates like you, me, and the tens of thousands of North Korean defectors living in South Korea and China, and doing in us what we could not do ourselves. His work is to make truly great leaders out of the unlikeliest of candidates. In this issue, you’ll find out more about overcoming Juche through leadership training; the challenges facing North Korean defectors; and the programs Seoul USA has developed to facilitate the transforming work God wants to do in their lives. Consider this your invitation to join us: be it as a student in one of our programs, a volunteer at our ministry headquarters in Seoul, or a financial supporter of this vital and unique work. You may just find yourself being transformed in the process.
THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE FACING NORTH KOREAN DEFECTORS
“...ESCAPING FROM NORTH KOREA IS ONLY THE FIRST VICTORY IN A SERIES OF BATTLES YET TO COME.”
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Underground Technology’s Dean, Hyun Sook Foley, teaches on peacemaking.
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Underground University students receive leadership training as pastors, missionaries and ministry leaders.
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Juche’s Trinity: adherents worship Kim Il-Sung, his son Kim Jong-Il, and his wife Kim Jung-Sook
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“...be transformed by the renewewing of your mind.”
TRANSFORMING DEFECTORS
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UNDERGROUND UNIVERSITY
tECHNOLOGY
Dean: Rev. Eric Foley Pastor Foley serves as CEO of Seoul USA and Pastor of .W Doers of the Word church, which meets simultaneously in Colorado Springs, CO and Seoul, Korea. He has trained more than 1,300 NGOs how to build giving and volunteer programs around discipleship practices and is the author of two books, Coach Your Champions and The Whole Life Offering.
Dean: President Hyun Sook Foley Mrs. Foley serves as President of Seoul USA, working to foster Korean-American relations while drawing attention to and serving the persecuted church around the world. She holds graduate degrees from universities in both South Korea and the United States and is currently pursuing her doctorate at Regent University.
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