Crossing the Divide: Learning to Love in North Korea

In light of a recent assassination attempt and ongoing conflict, division and obstacles in our world today may seem insurmountable. Throughout the world and in America, deep rooted issues in our culture are coming to the surface. Many of these deep-seated concerns have been left in the dust for far too long, and now they are boiling to the surface.

The result is a polarized society. Republican versus democrats. Red versus blue. The diversity in urban areas are in stark contrast to more uniform rural communities. Middle ground in our communities is shrinking every day.

Unfortunately, instead of mending this divide, we are witnessing polarization increase across the globe. Conservatives are battling liberalists. Worldwide alliances are setting the stage for increased conflicts. With the ongoing Israel-Hamas War, Russia-Ukraine War, and multiple civil wars throughout both Asia and Africa, hints of a possible World War III are on the horizon.

Yet, in the midst of this conflicted world, there is still hope. Because of God’s love, this hope will not disappoint us (Romans 5:5). His love is greater and stronger than any chasm or barrier we may face.

Our family has learned this first hand. We have experienced God’s love bridging the divide in one of the most closed and misunderstood countries of the world. That is a country that lives with the reality of division each and every day: the country of North Korea. Through our journey, you will see the people of this land wrestle with trauma, resilience, courage, hope, fear, and love, much like each of us do.  

In a satellite image of Earth, North Korea appears only as a dark void between China and South Korea. South Korea shines bright with electricity while North Korea is predominantly pitch black. Hardly a single light emitting from that land.

That’s pretty much all we initially knew of North Korea. We thought of it as the place where people go to be imprisoned, even tortured and die. Labor camps. Communist dictatorship. Robotic-like control. Missile tests. That’s probably what you think of when you think of North Korea too.

Then in April, 2007, the two of us sat in the border checkpoint building at immigration along the border between China and North Korea, and our world was flipped upside down. A window opened into a difficult but fruitful journey of faith and obedience while living among North Koreans. Together with our teammates, we learned to walk through disappointment and hardship, confusion and faith, provision and joy, and it radically transformed our lives while also opening pathways into the hearts and lives of North Koreans.

Ultimately, we learned how to transition from one polar opposite world and culture to another. But this journey was only possible by learning how to love.

While reading Crossing the Divide: Learning to Love in North Korea, you may feel at first like you are stepping into enemy territory. That’s how we first felt too. But also, like us, you might slowly, step by step, become more comfortable and at home with the people of North Korea. Perhaps your world too will be flipped upside down.

Hopefully, you will begin to see that dark places don’t just reside “over there” but there may be some dark places in your own life as well. Perhaps there is a person or relationship that seems impossible for you to relate to. Perhaps you feel the heavy weight of conflict and polarization in your family, church, or community. What boundaries might you need to cross to see them in a completely new light?

Journey with us. Join us in crossing the divide and learning how to love. Come get to know your new travel mates. That’s me, Joy, and my husband, Stephen, and our family. We are your crazy new travel companions- crazy enough not only to move to North Korea but also to choose to raise our family there.

You’ll discover what has compelled us to go, what propels us to stay, and how we’ve learned that love exists in some of the most unexpected places, even in North Korea. This same love exists where you live and work as well.

But you don’t have to go halfway across the world to find broken, hurting, and divided places. These places are all around us. Whether it be the poverty in our inner cities; those on the fridge, outcast and discriminated against, or conflicts within our own neighborhoods and countries, we are each called to be agents of love. God is calling us to cross the divide and embrace one another in His generous, unconditional love.