North Korea – where faith and fear live side by side

When Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List was launched in London in January it came as no surprise that once again North Korea was top of the list. Jim Stewart reports.

Open Doors supports the persecuted church in over 70 countries. This annual ranking lists the 50 where persecution is the most extreme.

In North Korea, where the mere discovery that you are a Christian can result in a prison sentence or even death, there are nevertheless examples of extraordinary faith.

Joo Min* is one such – growing up in North Korea as a non-believer, she escaped to China but later returned of her own volition to serve the underground church.

In school, she was taught that North Korea was the greatest country in the world. But because of desperate food shortages, she attempted the dangerous border crossing to China in search of work.

Shortly after reaching the other side of the river, Joo Min met the first Christian she’d ever known - a secret Open Doors fieldworker who said they could help her and take her to a safe place.

They took her to a the safe house for North Korean refugees run by Open Doors underground networks. Here, they provide food and help people find jobs. More than that – they tell people about Jesus.

“In the safe house, I heard the gospel for the first time,” says Joo Min. At first, she was very resistant. Her schooling taught her that Christians were evil and she knew she’d face severe punishments if she were discovered and deported back to North Korea.

Even so, Joo Min couldn’t help wanting to know more about Jesus. “Despite what I was told as a child, I accepted Jesus as my Saviour,” she says. “I started attending Bible studies and training.” Eventually, she chose to be baptised.

After a long period of biblical teaching and persecution survival training, Joo Min felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

“I felt God was telling me: ‘Go back to North Korea,’” she says. “I felt a calling to share everything I’ve learned in my homeland.”

And that’s what brought Joo Min back to the border and to the dangerous crossing back into North Korea.

Today, Joo Min serves as a leader in the underground church. “I know the risks involved,” she says. “If I’m caught, I could end up in a labour camp.” Yet, by the power of the Holy Spirit and with the help of the training she received, she continues her ministry.

“Please pray for me,” she asks. “Pray for protection and courage, so that I can be like salt and light in a land overshadowed by darkness.”

*Joo Min’s story is taken from accounts of two North Korean believers. As the real people are currently living and ministering in North Korea, some details have been combined or omitted to protect their identities.