April 7, 2003

CHILDREN in a North Korean orphanage were among recipients of the Baptist food aid.

Texas pastor delivers aid to
North Korea, sees troubling sights
___By George Henson
___Staff Writer
___Pastor Yoo Jong Yoon took nourishment for bodies but returned home to Texas more concerned than ever about the souls of North Koreans.
___Yoon, who doubles as Asian director for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and pastor of Glory Korean Baptist Church in Dallas, traveled to North Korea last month to oversee the delivery of enough food to nourish 500,000 people for a day.
___The dried concoction of rice, potatoes, carrots and vitamin supplements was supplied through donations from the CBF, Texas Baptist Men and a group of Korean churches, businesses and individuals in Dallas. The primary recipients of the food were workers who are building a water tunnel and orphans in the impoverished country.
___Yoon, who has made several benevolence trips to the country, said the spiritual hunger of the nation is more apparent than ever.

PASTOR Voon gives food to an orphanage cook.

___"They believe in their leader as the God of one Korea," Yoon reported. "They said to me, 'You believe in American God, but we believe in our leader as god of one Korea.
___"That is so bad; that is so sad, I wept," he said. "It was so sad for me. I have visited six times, but this is the first time for Korean people to tell me this."
___Two thoughts were the primary things he carried home from this trip.
___"I have come to two conclusions," he said. "We need to feed the children and elderly people--they are starving to death. Also, God will do something terrible to those people that think their leader is god."
___North Koreans perceiving their leader as a deity could bode ill for America, he said. "They are very against United States. I could see signs and phrases that said, 'Americans will never set foot in our land' and 'We will destroy Americans.'"
___People in the cities are preparing for battle, he said. "They practice hiding themselves when sirens sound. They are alert because they think the war is coming. There is a very emotional uprising--not really against American people, but the American government."
___Yoon was pleased to see that children in the orphanage looked to be healthier than in the past. He did notice, however, about 10 children who were ill and lying in the floor outside their rooms. The orphanage houses 274 children.
___Yoon and his two traveling companions received a glimpse into rural North Korea they had not been afforded before. A driver and bodyguard accompanied them everywhere they went. The bodyguard gave the driver directions to the water tunnel Yoon was to visit in conjunction with the food delivery, but the driver misunderstood and drove them into farming regions.
___"They are very strict not to allow foreigners in the countryside," Yoon said. "But something happened that I think was the hand of God.
___"We could see all the details of the people, the farms, the rice paddies, the gardens, their fields, their stores. When we got back to the hotel, we talked about it and said, 'It is a ghost town.' The faces we saw were dark and weak--they are helpless and hopeless. We said, 'The homeless in the United States are in better shape than North Korean farmers. God allowed us to see the poverty of North Korea.'"
___The water tunnel project is designed to help produce better crops. Much of North Korea's terrain is mountainous, and when the snows melt, waters plunge down to the hills and wash away soil. The tunnel is designed to better control the water and reclaim it for later use.
___Yoon's next project is to gather funds to purchase vinyl. The vinyl can be spread over young crops, insulating them from the biting cold that claims many plants.
___

The Baptist Standard



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