7 faith lessons from North Korea's underground church

In North Korea, following Jesus is a dangerous secret. Owning a Bible is illegal. Even the slightest appearance of prayer, such as closing your eyes, can raise suspicion, potentially leading to arrest and torture in an inhumane prison camp. Faith is a defiant act in North Korea.

And yet, despite the risks, tens of thousands of North Korean believers continue to cling to Christ with fierce devotion. Like the woman seeking healing in Matthew 9:20-22, it seems they’ve “touched the hem of His robe.” Our North Korean brothers and sisters have much to teach if we’re willing to listen. Here, we share seven lessons from looking at the lives and faith of North Korean Christians.
 

1. Suffering produces unshakable hope.

“In my prison cell, I had only one hope: that the God of my mother would hear my prayers.” – Hannah*, former North Korean prisoner

In North Korea, suffering is where faith is born and strengthened. Believers endure prison camps, starvation and the constant threats of betrayal. And yet, their hope and joy in Christ are not based on their life situation or circumstances. Instead, it’s forged in the fire.

As the apostle Paul writes in Romans 5, “suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” This hope does not disappoint—not even in a North Korean prison cell. It is sustained by God’s love poured out through His Spirit, often in the most desolate places.

Some believers share Scripture in code; others pass a whispered blessing to a fellow prisoner. In his letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul writes: “So in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others” (Romans 12:5).

In North Korea, this unity isn’t felt through gatherings, but through shared suffering, shared faith and a shared Saviour.


 

2. God sees what is done in secret.

“When I was young, my grandmother would lock the closet door behind us, then pray and sing with me. After the songs, she would make a speech; now I believe she was reciting the Apostle’s Creed.”— Hee-Jin*, North Korean refugee

There are no public signs of faith in North Korea—no worship bands, no church signs, no crosses worn around necks. Faith is lived out in whispers, gestures and hidden acts of obedience. Prayers are spoken silently. Scripture is memorized, not displayed. Yet the lacks of visibility doesn’t mean the absence of power.

Jesus himself taught, “When you pray, go into your room and shut the door… and your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matt. 6:6). The North Korean church reminds us that God’s presence isn’t reserved for stages or sanctuaries. He meets His people in closets, prison cells and caves—and rewards their unseen faith with unseen strength.


 

3. The Word stored in the heart cannot be taken away.

“Because of the many sudden and random house searches, we had to hide the Bibles in our home. There were three of them: one Chinese Bible, one Korean Bible that my grandmother had translated by hand from the Chinese version, and one Korean Bible we had received from a Chinese friend. Each Bible had a paper cover, with images of (North Korean leaders) Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il, to keep them from raising suspicion.” — Hee Young*

In North Korea, possessing a Bible can mean execution, not just for the person caught reading it, but for their entire (even extended) family. And yet, believers still seek out the opportunity to hold and read the printed Bible. When they can’t keep the printed Bible, they memorize it. North Korean refugees tell us how they commit whole chapters or even entire Gospels—to memory.

As Psalm 119 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” The Word stored in the mind becomes a wellspring of truth, comfort and strength when all else is stripped away.

While many of us take for granted our choice to have multiple Bibles in our home and read them whenever and wherever we want, the underground church in North Korea reminds us: God’s Word is not optional; it’s oxygen.

 

4. A community exists without visibility.

“My friend often took me to the mountains. There, nobody would accidentally hear us. He explained to me about Jesus and the Bible. I knew I could report him and be rewarded, but his entire family would be imprisoned. And I didn’t believe the government anymore. I trusted in his God.” — Kyung-So*

In a regime built on isolation and suspicion, Christian community seems impossible. Believers are often completely alone—no church meetings, no pastors, no visible Body of Christ. And yet, they are not alone. The Holy Spirit unites them. Scripture says the Holy Spirit intercedes for believers, “groaning” for us when we can’t articulate our thoughts (Romans 8:26-27).


 

5. Forgiveness is more powerful than fear.

“When I was in prison, it was easy to hate the prison guards. But I tried to forgive them and asked God to use them to help me. When I was really sick, the prison guards brought me extra food. That’s how I survived.” —North Korean refugee Hea Woo*.

In today’s world, revenge can feel natural. But North Korean believers like Hea Woo tell us they choose to forgive—even their torturers. Like she did, they take seriously Jesus’ commands to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt. 5:44). They pray for prison guards, bless their enemies and intercede for government leaders. Forgiveness in North Korea isn’t a nice idea or concept. It’s costly, radical and deeply Christlike.

 

6. Christ is worth everything.

“You can have my clothes. Where I am going, I don’t need any possessions.” —the words of imprisoned secret church leader Seo Yeun* to a fellow prisoner.

Throughout the centuries, God’s people have made the decision to follow Jesus to the cross. They have found what Matthew’s Gospel describes as “the treasure in the field” (Matt. 13:44). They realize Christ is worth everything they have—even their life.

Seo-Yeun could have saved her life if she had renounced her faith. Instead, she looked to Jesus and His suffering. Months of interrogation left her physically depleted. She was brought to a political labour camp, where she soon died. The faith of the North Korean underground church forces us to ask: Is Jesus worth everything to us, too?


 

7. We are one Body—and they need us.

“The fact that you support us is proof that God exists, and that He hasn’t forgotten us.” —Chan-Woo*, North Korean believer

If you’ve followed the now 70-year mission of Open Doors, you know this powerful Scripture: When one part of the Body suffers, all suffer (1 Cor. 12:26). We are bound together in Christ. The prayers of North Korean believers rise for us. Ours must rise for them. Their courage inspires our obedience, and their suffering stirs our compassion.

Their endurance should deepen our resolve to walk with them. The persecuted church doesn’t just need our awareness of what’s happening in their lives and church—it needs our fellowship, our advocacy and our faithful intercession.

The believers in North Korea don’t have the freedoms we often take for granted—yet they live with a clarity and commitment that should stir us to our core. Their lives challenge us to examine our own.

What if we cherished Scripture the way they do? What if we prayed with that kind of desperation, forgave with such resolve, and clung to Christ with unwavering devotion?

This week, spend some time with each of these faith lessons. How can you not just admire how they follow Jesus but also imitate them? The underground church is showing us how to walk in faith—both in our lives and theirs. Let’s not just watch from a distance. Let’s walk with them.

*Names changed for security reasons