It can be said that the goal of North Korea missions is the attainment of reconciliation between North and South Korea through the Christian gospel, and its concrete, visible expression is the establishment of churches.
Consequently, in regard to Christian missions, which pursues essential change of human life, research and analysis of environmental factors such as the way of thinking and lifestyle of our North Korean brothers is indispensable.
Therefore, we realize that widening the areas for North and South Korea to share a common religious environment is establishing true national reconciliation and peaceful unification. Finding, analyzing, and understanding these areas must be a prerequisite for North Korea missions.
In this research on the principles and aims of an effective missions policy through understanding the history and status of North Korea missions, I will present a way to bring together the conservative and progressive camps of the Korean church, based on an understanding of missiological concepts, and examine a Biblical understanding of North Korea missions and principles and aims of missions policy.
In Chapter Ⅱ, I will compare and analyze two concepts in today's world missions, that is, evangelical and ecumenical missions concepts, and outline basic missions concepts for North Korea missions.
The evangelical concept of missions is to evangelize in order to establish churches in the non-Christian world, to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to the whole world until everyone believes in Him and is saved.
The ecumenical concept of missions is not that God speaks to the world through the church, but that He speaks to the church through the world. The church is not the core of missions, but rather the mission of God is a result, and its core continues from humanization to liberation to the advent of the kingdom of God.
However, we cannot choose and apply just one of the above concepts of missions to North Korea missions, because North Korean society will not allow either one of these concepts as it is. Therefore, the Korean church must first consider other ideologies, principles of sending, missions priorities, and principles of homogeneity, and build its concepts of missions on these foundations for North Korean missions to be possible.
A theology of missions for North Korea includes the mission of the Trinity, quantitative missions, and qualitative missions. Qualitative missions includes social missions, missions that gradually transforms culture, based on a combination of these three ministries.
Chapter Ⅲ shows that from the historical background and role of North Korea missions, if we examine North Korea's religious policy, we see that it is based on the religious view of Marxism-Leninism.
Because of this religious view, North Korea has a policy of thoroughly obliterating religion. Regarding the process of North Korea's policy on Christianity, from the point of view based on Korean traditionalism, the North Korean regime is dealing with how to restrict and suppress Christianity, obliterating Christian activities and misusing them to reappear on the stage. The writer has divided North Korea's religious policies on Christianity into stages: 1st stage (1945-1949) restriction; 2nd stage (1950-1953) suppression; 3rd stage (1954-1973) obliteration; and 4th stage (1974-present) misuse. Through North Korea's deification of Kim Il-Sung as the ideal human, the "Kim Il-Sung religion" has become the uniting factor. The goal of North Korea missions is to help the North Korean people who are being changed to the "Kim Il-Sung religion" to recover the biblical image of God. The obstacles to North Korea missions can be seen as the influence of Marxism and atheism, and North Korea's juche ideology and policy of eradicating religion are examples.
In Chapter Ⅳ, on the Korean church and the status and task of North Korea missions, we examine key factors of change and problems of missions organizations working for North Korea. Because of the nuclear crisis, signs of conflict and division have begun to appear in the Korean church, and as imitations of the capitalist economic system accelerate in North Korea, methods of supporting North Korea have become multilateral, and the aims and prospects for missions in North Korea are not clear. Therefore, the biggest problem is that direct mission work is impossible, and the problems of cooperation between individual churches and missions organizations and of changing emotions about North Korea missions are factors hindering missions for North Korea.
As types of contact with North Korea missions, this thesis classifies the status of denominational North Korean missions and types of ministry among Korean Christian organizations, between active Christian organizations and organizations run by a union of denominations. Other organizations related to North Korea missions are mentioned in the appendix. As types of missions for North Korea, broadcasting media missions, networking missions, and literature missions are dealt with. At the end, on the evaluation and tasks for North Korea missions, types of missions, types of cooperation among mission goals, and types of pursuing results on the mission field are discussed and tasks are presented and evaluated.
In Chapter Ⅴ, on the aims and principles for North Korea missions policy for the future, the basic principles are classified as biblical personhood recovery ministry and spiritual and physical mission ministry. An understanding of North Korea missions from the basis of policy requires strategy for contacting the mission field, St. Paul's mission strategy, and Nevius' mission strategy.
North Korea missions methods can be divided into individual missions, local church missions, denominational missions, ecumenical missions, and North Korean defector missions; in particular, I have described North Korea missions in relation to defectors.
In conclusion, regarding prospects for North Korea missions, first, individual support for North Korea missions in the Korean church and Christian organizations should be directed through denominational channels. Second, North Korea missions strategy should be changed from a simplistic to a more wholistic strategy. Third, North Korea missions should be expanded from material support to spiritual renewal through the North and South Korean church.
Regarding plans for North Korea missions, in the strategy for unification from level 1 to level 4, it is difficult to discuss how North and South Korea will end up, but we have explored missions strategy for systematically, simultaneously, and effectively preaching the gospel after reunification, through the effort of the government and Christian policies for North Korea missions, when North Korea is open to free proclamation of the gospel.
As the types of missions which aimed for material support of North Korea only through the Korean Church Federation have changed to various channels, the problem of Christian identity in North Korea missions has been raised. Also in the modern age of globalization, everything is viewed from the logic of capitalism. As a result, poor nations and people's difficulties are aggravated, and the South Korean and North Korean people are in a difficult position as they face the expenses of a divided country. At this point, we Christians need to gather our strength for North Korea missions. North Korea missions is an important task, not only from the point of view of the Great Commission of Jesus Christ, but also for the survival of the Korean people, and due to the unlimited competition under the pretense of freedom.
Therefore, with regards to future North Korea missions, the Korean church must first recognize that North and South Korea are no longer rivals, but companions who must lead the way together to the future. Then the future of the Korean church will become a true hope for all the Korean people, and this will create a great meaning for North Korea Christian missions.
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