North Korean exiles and members of the Korean Church met at Sato Church on the Anyan River in Kyoto on June 21st to celebrate the 2025 Pan-Korean Unification Festival in an age of worship and prayer centered around the dream of unity through the gospel. The event was held jointly by the North Korean Christian Association (led by President Seo Kyung-Hwa) and the Global Mission United Training Center TMTC (chaired by Pastor Heon Soo Lim).
The event was an age of encouragement and comfort, with exiles, North Korea-centric missionaries and Christians who have long prayed for unity to share their hopes for Christ’s unity. Under the themes of “The Path We Walked,” “The Path of New Beginnings, The Path of Challenges,” North Korean exiles presented testimony, performances, youth art presentations, praise and drama. Key speakers included Pastor Cho Bong Hee (Mission Pastor of Global Village Church), former Minister of Unification Kim Ha-Jong, and Pastor Hyun Su-Lim, a Canadian pastor who was previously detained in North Korea.
Former Minister Kim Ha-Jong shared that during his tenure as South Korean Chinese ambassador, he promoted the safe arrival of 1,760 North Korean exiles to South Korea. “I have been the Chinese ambassador since 2001. In 2002, 25 North Korean defectors entered the Spanish Embassy in Beijing.
“The incident caused a fuss in the global media, and soon exiles began to enter the Korean embassy. However, due to a lack of cooperation from the Chinese authorities, we were unable to support them in the first place,” he explained. “There was even an incident in which the father and son tried to enter the embassy together, but while his son was safely inside, his father was caught in Chinese security and was repatriated to North Korea. The physical struggle between embassy staff and Chinese police was broadcast by international media.”
He continued, “In the end, me and other Korean embassy officials entered into negotiations with China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and secured an agreement that allowed asylums who entered the embassy to be sent to South Korea via a third country. An average of 100 asylums then entered the embassy every day.”
Kim said, “The embassy building became a shelter for the exiles and staff had to work in the hallways. At that time, I prayed every day and asked God to help the 1,000 exiles before the end of my term.”
He also said, “Since 1995, I have been praying every day for the rescue of North Korean exiles in China. That added up to about 10,000 prayers. My prayer was to soften the hearts of the Chinese people and allow exiles to arrive safely in South Korea.”
Kim dealt with unity skeptical of unity, saying, “While some people have a pessimistic view, unity can suddenly come under the timing of God’s sovereignty. It exceeds what we expect. The foundation of unity is unity: unity in the north and south, especially the inner healing of the South.”
He emphasized, “You must pray for unity. Korea will become a G7 nation just before or after unification, and reunification will occur suddenly.”
Kim said, “The North Korean exiles are like Joseph in Genesis. They preceded South Korea as part of God’s great plan for gospel-centric unity. After unity, these exiles return north to help rebuild the church.
Early in the event, Rev. Chobon Hee (Passioner Honorary at Mokdong Global Village Church) preached a sermon entitled “Expecting Sudden Blessings” (Acts 12:5–7). “In an act, King Herod Agrippa persecuted the early church. He executed James and imprisoned Peter. The church still prayed seriously,” Cho said.
He continued. “Just as the early churches prayed eagerly for Peter’s release, we must pray for unity through the gospel. The same passionate prayer brought a sudden judgment to Herod, who died five days later of acute colitis,” according to the historian Josephus.
“Acts 12 is a powerful story of the prayer of unity,” Cho said. “We believe that when we urgently pray for gospel-centric unity, God’s grace will suddenly come. He works as much as we pray. A prayer can unleash miraculous wonders.
Pastor Changho Lim, founder of the North Korean Christian Association and former professor at Guangshin University, has announced plans for the 2025 World Conference on the World Human Rights of Seoul. He asked for an intercession prayer in preparation.
During the event, artist Janet Hyun completed a live painting of me flying, carrying the keys. “For us, if we forget God’s mission, we live like an eagle trapped in a chicken coop,” she said. “But we will soar again like the Eagles as we restore God’s calling for unity and mission.”
Finally, Pastor Seo Kyung-Hwa, chairman of the North Korean Christian Association and president of the 2025 Pan-Korean Uniform Festival, said in his welcome notes: He said, “Gospel-centric unity is part of God’s plan for our people. Let’s pray and prepare together.”
Originally published by Christian Daily Korea and translated and edited by Christian Daily International Staff.
