"Camp 14" and letter to a Precious Soul

Today I attended a screening of the documentary "Camp 14: Total Control Zone," the story of Shin Dong-hyuk's life growing up in a North Korean prison camp, his unlikely escape, and his ultimate defection to and life in South Korea. (Watch it on youtube here!) If you've read the book Escape from Camp 14, the details of the story won't surprise you. But seeing his face as he tells it--through an interview that seems at times painfully persistent, with long pauses of pregnant silence, uncomfortable shifting, and unwanted remembering--is so much more personal than reading the book. I found myself nodding my head as if he were actually talking to me. In fact, seeing him struggle through the interview made me feel a bit guilty as a "consumer" of his story, someone who reads or hears a story, feels an emotional response for a few days or weeks, and then puts it on the shelf and starts a new story--like food going in and out of my digestive tract without my body absorbing the nutrients. To do such an interview, I'm sure his intention, as well as the intentions of the other two men interviewed--a former policeman and a guard at a prison camp--was not to elicit isolated cases of sympathy or compassion, but to educate, prepare, and lead us to work together for social change and advocacy. However, watching the interviews, my heart was stirred not so much for the people in North Korea, dire as their circumstances are, but for the defectors who, while living in political and physical freedom, are still in spiritual and psychological bondage.


I can't tell you the burden I felt as I watched Shin Dong-hyuk and the other two men reflect on their roles as victim and offender and sometimes what seemed to be a grey area in-between. One man mentions his fear of reunification, of someday running into the people he tortured. He didn't want to do the interview, but he knew if he didn't, others would. He says he'll never talk about it again after the interview's done. The other man seems more settled down in a way, but he lives with the burden of someday having to tell his young son the truth about his past. Both men seem anxious and insecure, laughing uneasily, sitting uncomfortably, visibly troubled and, I would add, tethered to their past like prisoners bound by ball-and-chain. Shin Dong-hyuk was in no better a condition, from my perspective. The past still haunts him in nightmares and daydreams, and you can see in his eyes a cloud of gloom hanging over him. He is still filled with shame, confusion, and, he says himself, anger. But what burdened me most was the three men's ignorance of truth, sweet truth, as outlined by God in the Bible: of atonement, salvation, and resurrection in Jesus.

Toward the end of the movie, Shin Dong-hyuk says that when reunification happens, he wants to be the first to move back to North Korea. He wants to live in the camp, in the little house where he was born, grow a garden, and live off the fruits of the ground. I was rather astonished. Move back to the camp? To the place of unspeakable pain and suffering? He says that while his body lives in South Korea, his mind is in the camp. Asked what he misses about the camp, he says, "I miss the innocence of my heart. . . I miss the purity of my heart."

I couldn't help but pray for him as I watched the interview. If I could speak to him--to any of the three men, actually--this is what I'd want to say...

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Oh, Precious Soul, so loved, so wounded,
That you would know how to regain that innocence and purity which you seek. That you would know the truth, and the truth would set you free! The truth is, you did lose your innocence, but you lost it before you were born. You lost it when Adam sinned. Through him, we all became corrupt (Rom.10:23). Your sinfulness is in your very nature. You're right that you can't find your innocence in South Korea. But you can't find it in North Korea, either. You can't find your innocence in the camp, nor in the little house where you were born, nor in a garden plot up to your elbows in vegetables. But don't be dismayed, Precious Soul--there is Good News for you! You can find all you need in Jesus. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive" (1 Cor. 15:22). In Him, there is love, forgiveness, mercy, healing, and eternal, abundant, resurrection life. While you were still a sinner, Christ died for you (Romans 5:8), paying the price for all of your sin--past, present, and future. When He died, atonement was made for your sin, that you might be reconciled to God through Christ (Romans 8:10-11). For the promise stands: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). Through faith, your "old self"--your sinful nature--is crucified with Christ (Gal.2:20). "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Cor. 5:17). There is no doing--only believing and receiving what Christ has done for you (John 6:29, Eph. 2:8-9). In your old man, regardless of your day to day "success" or "failure" (experience), positionally you are a sinner. In your new man, regardless of your day to day "success" or "failure" (again, experience), positionally you are seated at the right hand of God, for your new life is hidden in Christ (Col. 3:1-3). That purity which you seek? I believe that desire is from God. And the frustration and despair that grip you? Is God not using them to draw you toward Him, to lead you to the end of yourself, that you might finally seize your striving and collapse into His nail-pierced hands, which are your healing (Isa. 53:5)? Precious Soul, Christ died for you, that you might have life. Hear what he says: "The thief [Satan] does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). Let Satan steal no more. By faith in Jesus Christ, receive God's gift of salvation and eternal life today (John 3:16). And let it be known that God loves you! For it says, "In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitation for our sins" (1 John 4:9-10)

"Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:20-21)

Fundraiser for Jail, and CO's in Korea

Last night, I attended a fundraiser event for Sangmin, a friend of our community who will be sentenced to jail this week after his trial on Wednesday morning. For those who haven't followed his story, he is South Korea's first Mennonite conscientious objector (CO), and his choice to refuse military service will cost him 18 months in jail. The prison will provide him with one uniform, 2 bars of soap, a toothbrush, and toothpaste, but the rest is up to him. Furthermore, inmates often pool their money to buy snacks to share, foods like ramen and so on. To "get in with the guys" and avoid being a leech, he'll need some money to contribute. If not, he will risk getting stuck with the so-called "3D" duties: dirty, dangerous, and (this one is debated) demanding/difficult/demeaning. So he anticipates needing $200 a month to foster relationships with his cellmates and have a relatively decent quality of life.

At last night's coffeehouse event, Sangmin's friend sang and played guitar, and then they did a duet followed by a Q&A "talkshow." I was impressed by the turnout and by the celebratory atmosphere. There was joking and laughter and picture-taking. And while this has been a really hard journey for Sangmin, costing him his home and even his parents to some degree, he was in good spirits last night and it was encouraging to see so many people supporting him, in presence at least, if not all in philosophy.

It's interesting... today I met another Korean CO, but he won't spend any time in jail. In fact, the government gave him free choice over whether to do military service or not. He chose not to, because if South and North Korea were to actively go to war (they technically are at war now), he would have to fight against his own brothers, his own blood. You may have caught on by now that he is a defector from North Korea, now living in South Korea. I'd like to go into length about his story, and about the documentary that preceded his Q&A session, in my next blog post. But first, is his military predicament really so different from the Christian's? As Christians, do we not consider ourselves brother and sister to Christians all around the world, not to mention that every person is created in God's image, regardless of religion? Then is our problem not the same as the NK defector's--the possibility that we would have to draw arms against our own brothers and sisters, against our own family? I'm struck by the paradox. South Korea, it's time to join other countries in providing alternatives to military service. How long will you persist in holding 96% of the world's imprisoned CO's?

Spring Update

It's been exactly 5 weeks since I've logged into Facebook or stepped into a McDonald's, and it's been really good for me in several ways. For one, I no longer think in status updates. ;-) Two, I've been reading so much! I finished John Eldredge's Walking With God (excellent--read it!) a few days ago, but I've still got plenty more to keep me occupied. I guess you could say reading has become a newfound hobby, one that was largely diminished by Facebook before. I still prefer non-fiction to fiction, but I'm enjoying a large variety of topics nonetheless: currently health, American history, conversational Korean, theology, and wildflowers.

 The last month has also been busy with hiking, a trip to the coast, a TESOL conference, dinner with students at our staff residence, language exchange, and time spent hanging out with friends. Juhee, Heather, Michael and I went hiking at Dobongsan on the first warm day of spring. I wish I had a nickel for every time a fellow hiker scoffed at Heather's footwear--Chacos, heaven forbid! We spent a good deal of the hike practicing beginner Korean, and this week we started our first "formal" class before work--it's really fun to teach Korean, especially to adults who are so motivated and positive. The hike was a decent challenge, and the view from the top was remarkable, although I didn't capture it well here.

 On March 22, a former Connexus teacher from Canada married a Korean from Gangneung, on the East Sea. So all the staff from Connexus and KOPI (Korean Peacebuilding Institute) piled into several vans and headed east for an overnight retreat. We serenated the bride and groom with a song at the wedding, and then we traveled an hour north to Sokcho, where we had a barbecue and played games Saturday night. Sunday morning, we had devotions and a community-building activity, and then we went to the beach, where I almost lost both my shoes in the ocean (thank goodness for Kaia's and Michael's quick reflexes!).

 

 

Last Saturday, I met Anna and another friend to look at cherry blossoms in Seoul, and then we went hiking with a couple teachers from our Korean class. The weather took a sudden turn for the worse, so our hiking was cut short, but we still got to see many wild azaleas. We used the extra time to refresh ourselves at a jjimjilbang, a public bath and spa. I've been to the public bath many times, but this was my first time to go with another Caucasian. Also my first time to have a friend scrub my back for me, like I've often seen Korean friends do for each other. So that was a heartwarming experience, haha. :-) After showering and sitting in the whirlpools for a little while, we got dressed in the unflattering jjimjilbang uniform (super baggy t-shirt and mom shorts), and spent the next several hours alternating between sweating in the oven room, freezing our bums off in the igloo room, covering our bodies with coarse chunks of salt to remove toxins through sweat, and eating kimbap, ice cream, and shikye. I think all that relaxation made me sleepier than if I'd gone hiking the whole day.

 

 

L-R: Hiking with Andee, Anna, Pei Rin, and Kate; Dawn, after church, in front of forsythia; wild azaleas at Cheongyesan.

Finally, of course, my main work is teaching kids, and I can't tell you how much joy and amusement I get from them. They're just so hilarious, and so stinkin' cute. I love the stuff they come up with--even their squabbles are amusing. But as usual, I enjoy the relational aspect of teaching more than the science of it. I've had a couple chances to share my faith this month, and that's been really special. I hope I'll have another chance with Easter coming up. Last weekend, one of my classes came over for dinner with one of Heather's classes. We had fun playing frisbee, making spaghetti (typical), and teaching the kids to play spoons (the card game). On April Fool's Day, I was too busy with report cards to plan any tricks, but one of my students got me good. He ran into class late, exclaiming how badly he needed to go to the bathroom, so I quickly waved him back out the door to take care of business. When he came back in a few minutes later, I noticed dried blood on his forehead and was concerned he had gotten into a fight at school. He seemed unaware of any injury and quite surprised to feel blood on his head--or so I thought. Then he said, "April Fool's!" and pulled out an eyedropper of fake blood, which he had apparently taken into the bathroom with him. I was oh-so-pleased! The first time a student pranked me! I was so pleased, in fact, that at the end of class I let him put more "blood" on his head and then rushed out to summon Karen's help for my student who had "bashed his head on the table." ;-) Fun times. I'm also grateful for the chance to play basketball with a couple students after work in the evenings. As the weather gets warmer and the days longer, I hope we can do more of that.

 

Some prayer requests to lift up:

• For me to eat of God's manna every day, that I might have wisdom and faith to meet each day's challenges and opportunities.
• For my friends who are unbelievers to be drawn to God, and for my believing friends to walk in freedom and relationship with Jesus, casting off the yoke of legalism and empty religion. Pray that for me, too, actually--I think I'm apt to drift.
• For Sang-min, the first Mennonite conscientious objector (CO) in Korea, who will be escorted to jail at the end of his trial on April 16. (In Korea, there is no alternative service for COs, and it is a crime to refuse military duty.) Sang-min will have a fundraiser this Friday night to raise money for his jail expenses. Pray for him to grow in his faith and relationship with Jesus, and to be a witness to the many Jehovah's Witnesses (also COs) whom he will meet during his year and a half in jail. Pray also for his parents, who cannot accept or understand his decision, that their relationship would be restored in Christ.
• For my upcoming trip to Japan (April 30-May 4) with other Connexus and KOPI staff--that we would glorify God in our unity as a group, in our conversation, in our response to unforeseen situations, and especially in our relationships and interactions with our host families. Pray for God to prepare hearts--both ours and theirs.