Hello, and welcome back to Nations 4 Jesus. Today I'm starting a three-part series that's very close to my heart—the story of the Korean church. My family lived in Seoul, South Korea from 2006 to 2008 during Jeff's service with the U.S. Air Force, and we absolutely loved it! We loved the people, the culture, the food, and especially our amazing church, Jubilee. Korea captured our hearts in a way few places have.
And next March, our youngest daughter is going to Seoul to participate in a Youth With A Mission Discipleship Training School for five months. So as I researched and prepared this series, I found myself even more passionate about sharing Korea's remarkable story with you.
How did a nation that once called itself the "Hermit Kingdom," closed off from the world and hostile to Christianity, become home to some of the most vibrant churches on earth? How did brutal persecution under Japanese occupation produce heroes of the faith whose courage rivals any martyr in church history? This is a story of suffering and triumph, of faithfulness under fire—and it begins with a Welsh missionary who threw Bibles from a burning ship as he died.
[Robert Jermain Thomas - the seed that died]
In 1866, a Welsh missionary named Robert Jermain Thomas felt a powerful call to bring the Bible to Korea. At that time, Korea was completely closed to foreigners and Christianity was illegal—both foreigners and local converts faced execution. But Thomas couldn't shake his burden for this isolated nation.
He joined a U.S. merchant ship called the General Sherman, which sailed up the Taedong River toward Pyongyang. Thomas brought along Bibles written in Chinese—the only script Koreans could read. When Korean officials stopped the ship and tensions escalated, fighting broke out. The Koreans set the ship on fire, killing the crew as it burned.
But as the ship burned, witnesses later recounted something remarkable: Thomas threw Bibles to people on the shore, shouting for them to take and read. When he was captured, he reportedly handed his last Bible to a Korean soldier before being executed—praying for Korea as he died.
[The Bible House - God's sovereign preparation]
Years later, in the village of Pyongyang, locals used the pages of Thomas's Bibles as wallpaper inside a small house. Over time, visitors began reading the words printed on the walls, and some came to faith through them. That house became known as the "Bible House." Though Thomas never saw a single Korean convert, his death and those Bible pages became legendary. He was "the seed of the Korean church," fulfilling Jesus' words in John 12:24: "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit."
[Christianity arrives officially - 1880s opening]
It wasn't until the 1880s that Korea officially opened to foreign missionaries. The first Protestant missionaries arrived in 1884—medical missionaries and Bible translators including Horace Underwood, a Presbyterian who came in 1885. What they found stunned them: some people in Pyongyang had already read portions of Scripture—from Robert Thomas's Bible pages!
Christianity grew explosively because it offered something revolutionary in Korean society: the idea that all people—regardless of class, gender, or family background—were equal before God. In a culture dominated by strict Confucian hierarchy, this message was dynamite. Women especially embraced Christianity because it gave them dignity and education they'd never had.
[Rapid growth through education and independence]
By the early 1900s, Christianity was tied to education, modernization, and national independence. Missionaries established schools and universities, teaching not just the Bible but reading, science, and democratic ideals. When Japan annexed Korea in 1910, ending Korean independence, the church became a center of resistance. The famous March 1st Movement of 1919, where millions peacefully demonstrated for independence, was organized largely by Christian leaders. Japan responded with brutal crackdown, but the connection between Christianity and Korean nationalism was firmly established.
[The Dark Ages begin - 1937 Japanization]
Everything changed in 1937 when Japan launched full-scale war with China and decided to completely erase Korean identity. This period from 1937 to 1945 became known as the "Dark Ages." Japan implemented Japanization: forced Japanese names in 1939, banned Korean language, erased Korean history from education, and conscripted hundreds of thousands into forced labor.
But for Christians, the worst policy was forced Shinto worship. Beginning in the late 1930s, all citizens had to participate in Shinto shrine worship. The Japanese called it patriotic duty, not religion. But Christians knew this was idolatry—bowing before idols, worshiping the Emperor as a god. Churches faced an impossible choice: comply and survive, or resist and face destruction.
[Esther Ahn Kim - refusing to bow]
Esther Ahn Kim was a music teacher who, in 1939, was ordered to take her students to bow at a Shinto shrine. She refused, believing it violated the First Commandment. Her defiance cost her job and made her a fugitive. She spent years hiding in mountain villages, memorizing entire books of the Bible, preparing for the imprisonment she knew was coming.
In 1943, she was arrested for helping others resist shrine worship. She was imprisoned for six years, enduring cold, starvation, and beatings. But instead of breaking, Esther sang hymns in her cell, shared Scripture with fellow prisoners, and led women to faith—including some of her Japanese guards! After liberation in 1945, she wrote "If I Perish," which became a Christian classic. Her words still challenge us: "If I am to die, I will die for the Lord. If I am to live, I will live for the Lord."
[Pastor Joo Ki-Chul - no compromise]
Pastor Joo Ki-Chul, a Presbyterian pastor in Pyongyang—the very city where Robert Thomas had died decades earlier—boldly preached that Christians could not worship at Shinto shrines. He called it idolatry. The Japanese repeatedly imprisoned and tortured him. Each time he emerged and continued preaching: "If I serve two masters, am I a true servant of Christ?" In 1944, he died under torture rather than deny his faith. Today he's memorialized as one of Korea's greatest martyrs.
[Rev. Son Yang-won - grace and forgiveness]
Reverend Son Yang-won was also imprisoned for rejecting shrine worship. But what makes his story remarkable is what happened after liberation. During the Korean War, Communists killed his two sons. When the murderer was captured, Rev. Son did something stunning—he adopted the man who had killed his sons and forgave him publicly. His writings on grace became famous worldwide.
[Underground church and the fruit of faithfulness]
While these heroes became famous, thousands of ordinary believers worshiped secretly in forests and mountains, reading the Bible in whispers, teaching children hymns when Korean was banned. This underground network sustained the faith through the Dark Ages. The Japanization campaign sought to erase Christianity, but through believers who refused to bow, the faith not only survived—it deepened.
After liberation in 1945, the Korean church exploded in growth. Churches that had gone underground emerged stronger. Young people who'd watched their parents stand firm became passionate believers. The seed that Robert Thomas planted by dying in 1866, the faithfulness of believers who refused Shinto worship—all of it produced an incredible harvest.
[The division and preview]
But liberation brought new challenges. Korea was divided along the 38th parallel—North occupied by Soviets, South by Americans. Pyongyang, once called the "Jerusalem of the East" because of its many churches, became capital of the world's most oppressive Communist regime. Christians who survived Japanese occupation now faced even worse persecution. Meanwhile, South Korea's church continued explosive growth.
Today, South Korea is over 30% Christian with some of the world's largest churches. When we lived in Seoul from 2006-2008, we experienced this vibrant Christianity firsthand at Jubilee Church. The passion, the prayer culture, the commitment to missions—it was unlike anything we'd experienced in America! Korean missionaries now serve in over 170 countries. The Korean church that suffered so much has become one of the greatest missionary-sending forces in the world!
In our next episode, we'll look at Korea's division and how North Korea became the worst persecutor of believers while the South became a Christian powerhouse.
[Closing challenge]
Let the example of Robert Thomas, Esther Ahn Kim, Pastor Joo, and Rev. Son challenge you. Would you be willing to lose everything for Christ? Would you choose faithfulness over survival? These believers did—and their witness still inspires us today.
Let me pray:
Until next time, remember—keep your eyes on the nations and never compromise your witness for Christ!
Episode Description: 1866: Welsh missionary Robert Jermain Thomas threw Bibles from his burning ship as he died praying for Korea—pages became wallpaper in "Bible House" where Koreans first read Scripture. Japan's 1937-1945 campaign forced Shinto shrine worship—the ultimate test of faith. Esther Ahn Kim refused to bow, imprisoned 6 years, sang hymns and led guards to Christ. Pastor Joo Ki-Chul died under torture in Pyongyang. Their faithfulness under Japan's "Dark Ages" produced Korea's explosive post-1945 revival—Christianity's greatest Asian success story. The seed Thomas planted bore extraordinary fruit.
Scripture: John 12:24, Exodus 20:3, Matthew 16:18
Book: "If I Perish" by Esther Ahn Kim
Read more: nations4jesus.blogspot.com
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