North Korea: The absence of Sun, indeed

 

Years ago I read Helie Lee's book about her rescue of some family members out of North Korea (In the Absence of Sun). I must hasten to add that although Helie has a healthy "respect" for Jesus because of Halmoni (grandma), my personal faith resembles that of Halmoni more than Helie. I do not condone the expressed lifestyle of this young Korean American, but I am captivated by the story and the very many details she shares of a land that I still wish to visit myself.

In telling the story, she mentions Kim Il Sung's "Ten Principles", a not-so-veiled replacement of God's Ten Commandments, created in an attempt to obliterate all things Biblical. All ten have to do with Kim Il Sung himself, his ideology, loyalty to him, his authority, his revolutionary thought, his centrality, confidence in him, the passing on of his thoughts to the next generation.

From page 101 & ff:

"The Ten Principles came with very specific guidelines. For example, Principle No. 3 went on to elaborate that ‘Kim Il Sung's portraits, plaster figures, statues, badges containing his pictures, publications carrying his pictures, paintings portraying his image, monuments or public notices containing his instructions...must be carefully handled and protected from being spoiled.'

"In 1985, Burundi's ambassador to Beijing checked into the Botonggang Hotel in Pyongyang. When he unpacked his bags and saw that his shoes were flattened, he stuffed a sheet of newspaper into them. A bellboy reported the ‘crime' to the police because the newspaper contained Kim Il Sung's picture. The ambassador was accused of damaging the dignity of the Great Leader, nearly causing a diplomatic incident."

Time and space fail me to record in detail Helie's reporting of the little 3-year old who caused her parents to be arrested by accidentally urinating on a Kim Il Sung booklet...

Let us allow the images of North Korea to disturb us, but only enough to pray. Depression and despair are not the goal of this blog. God will hear. God will rise up. He suffers long for His own purposes. But He is a jealous God and will not be mocked forever.

Remember Israel in Egypt 430 years! But He does arise. Is this His time?

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