Contributed by: Steve Aceto, a founding board member of CFK, was able to participate for 5 days of our 12 day visit, June 2009.   [His last visit to DPRK was in September 2001, and he shares his perceptions of changes noted since that last visit nearly eight years ago.]

Comparing this visit to my last visit in September 2001, and previous trips to the DPRK, from what I saw in Pyongyang and Sariwon, Koreans seem to be at least marginally better off from the earliest famine recovery years.  Our relationship to the guides was marked by flexibility in scheduling far beyond anything I experienced before, and the severe limitations on picture-taking and casual contact with Koreans were far less evident on this trip.

The level of armed military presence in the city and on the roads seems to be drastically reduced, and the city folks at least generally appear  well dressed and purposeful but not so much in military style uniforms as before.  There are street vendors peddling small stands of food and sundries,  although the retail storefronts appear no different.  Shelves are relatively empty, appearing to stock no more than one or two items Soviet-style. Many buildings appeared to be getting or to have recently received face lifts, although there was some debris in the streets from crumbling facades under reconstruction.

There seem to be more children and the children appear to be livelier than before, although most appeared to be pre-teen or younger.  Their ages seem to coincide with the easing of the most severe famine conditions; but perhaps I err in reckoning the ages of Koreans.  I saw pets for the first time, dogs on leashes in Pyongyang and dogs in baskets at the rest homes, kept for different purposes, I suppose.  Sariwon has spruced up their municipal park and it was bustling with children and adults.

The number of people moving about the open highways on foot or pushing carts was considerably less, though still present.  Automobiles appeared to be newer and in better condition and not always stuffed with people in army uniforms as before, and I saw only one wood-powered vehicle (some sort of bus).  Traffic is still relatively light.  There were still lots of work gangs in the fields and not much visible mechanized equipment, though there were lots of bicycles parked near the field gangs, so at least they have their own transportation.

The hospitals, rest homes, and other institutions seem to make as much use as possible of available land for gardening and, outside of Pyongyang animal husbandry.  Some rest homes are more successful than others in raising pigs, goats, chickens and rabbits.    There were a fair number of people apparently harvesting or weeding something from the roadside grass in Pyongyang and at Mangyongdae in particular, but in my limited time outside Pyongyang, I did not see the well-worn pathways observed from previous visits which ran randomly up the hillsides and road embankments, possibly indicative of human foraging.  Consistent with the warm hospitality shown to our delegation, the food we were served was plentiful and of good quality. 

There is perhaps a real change in perceptions of foreigners among the Korean population.  I noted that when I waved to people in buses or by the roadside, some actually waved back and smiled, something I never saw before.

Everywhere we went, CFK was greeted with warmth and appreciation.  The years of CFK’s dedicated efforts have resulted in significant and lasting physical improvements in many locations, large and small, and also in building great trust and respect at multiple levels of North Korean society.  It is obvious that the opportunities and openness to Christian Friends of Korea’s work and witness are greater than ever.

Published: December 2008. A daily diary of the October Technical Team

Saturday – The team of volunteers (most of whom pay their own travel expenses and take time away from work and their families to participate with us) arrived in Pyongyang late on Saturday afternoon after spending two nights in Beijing recovering from jet lag and picking up North Korean visas.  Our guides and drivers met and greeted us warmly at the airport, drove us to the guest house, and then after settling our luggage in our rooms, we met to discuss the schedule for the upcoming 13 days.   Much to our surprise and appreciation for their flexibility and suggestion, we were able to go to the Koryo Hotel to have dinner and visiting time with the CFK/USNGO food teams working on a totally separate project in a different area of the country. 

Sunday– After our daily devotions and prayer time together as a team that focused during this visit on the book of Isaiah, we worshipped at the Chilgol Church in Pyongyang, had lunch together with our guides and drivers at the famous Pyongyang cold noodle restaurant, and did a little sightseeing for the benefit of the two new team members.  Later in the evening, we hosted the USNGO food team for dinner at the guest house where we were staying, discussing current program issues and enjoying fellowship together before leaving the next day for the countryside.

CFK Tech Team and USNGO Food Team

Monday– Our day began early with visits to our warehouses in Pyongyang to pick up multiple bins of tools that we keep there in storage, and to sort and pick up project supplies that had been shipped in prior to the technical team’s arrival.  We were also able to meet with a representative from the World Health Organization (WHO) to get an update on the overall TB situation.  We returned to the guest house to pick up our luggage, and then left for the drive to Kaesong, stopping briefly in Pyongyang to buy new tires for our truck which our drivers were providentially able to find before leaving town.  Our 3 hour drive to Kaesong was delayed twice to change flat tires on the truck – and we were really grateful that we had purchased new tires before leaving Pyongyang.  There are no service stations or stores along the way – so any mechanical difficulties can leave one stranded for hours by the roadside until a fix can be cobbled together.

Fixing the first flat tire

Tuesday – Our week at Kaesong TB Hospital began at 9AM.  The morning was spent sorting and unloading supplies and multiple bins of tools, talking with the director about the scope of the work and what we hoped to accomplish with their help, and setting up for the Lab-in-a-Suitcase (LIS) workshop.  Before the day was out, Dr. Marcia Kilsby (Chair of Clinical and Laboratory Sciences at Andrews University) and Dr. Ri (our supervising guide) were fully engaged in the LIS training, and the technical team together with our other two guides and many local staff had succeeded in mounting the nearly 400 pound operating room light in the center of the operating room ceiling.  With local grid power only very minimally and sporadically available, we ended our work at dark and returned to the Kaesong Folk Village Hotel, a traditional Korean style inn built during the Yi Dynasty, for a hot supper and cold baths.

Rob Robinson and Kaesong electrician

Wednesday – While the local staff was digging the ditching needed in order to be able to lay conduit and string heavy electrical wiring, our team continued installing several panel boxes – at the small building that housed their incoming transformer, and in an adjacent room to the operating room that would house the power conditioner.   Exterior conduit pipe was laid and connected in the trench in preparation for pulling wire.  Meanwhile, Drs. Kilsby and Ri continued the Lab-In-a-Suitcase training course, mixing lecture time in the director’s meeting room with hands on time in the lab using the various components of the LIS. 

Thursday–Work began on channeling in the walls of the operating room where the conduit would need to be run for pulling the wire.  Our team demonstrated the use of the power equipment to local staff and officials and moved on to other projects while this was being completed by local staff.  The room was filled for most of the day with clouds of dust from the channeling, and the noise of the equipment.  Working together with local staff and officials, the heavy electrical wires were pulled through the conduit in the ditches and connected into the main exterior power panel and to the panels in the power room inside the hospital.  Before the day was out, most of the channeling was completed, a full inventory of the hospital OR equipment that we had sent was completed, the tool bins were sorted and reorganized, and the main power panel completed.  Training continued through the day for a dozen laboratory specialists on the LIS.  We returned to the hotel for our usual supper of soup, rice and kimchee, and a cold bath (despite the diligent, but largely unsuccessful efforts of the hotel staff to provide us with hot water due to the overall significant shortage of electricity in the city).

Pulling the electrical cable is a team effort

Friday – With the week drawing to a close, there was real urgency to complete as much as possible.   Interior conduit was cut, bent, pieced together and run, and electrical boxes and outlets hooked in, with our team demonstrating and much of the work being completed by the local staff.  The OR light was fully wired in.   Meanwhile our team was connecting the wiring to the power conditioner and to the generator located in another area of the hospital to be able to provide emergency electrical power from the generator to the operating room area if local power was not available.  Dr. Marcia Kilsby and Dr. Ri completed the LIS training workshop in the late afternoon and we were able to take group photos of this historic occasion.  The weather turned colder during the day, and we could feel in the air the coming chill of winter.  Thankfully, the staff at the hotel was finally successful in providing warm water for bathing which was most welcome after nearly a full week of hard work.

Saturday–This being our last day at this hospital, our guides had asked us to plan on working only half the day so that we could enjoy a little rest.  We all worked hard in the morning to finish pulling wire to all the outlets and switches and to tie them in to the grid, we cleaned and packed up the LIS’s and the supplies kits for later delivery to the hospitals that had sent staff to the training, and Mark Heydenburg of International Aid was able to do considerable orientation on multiple pieces of operating room equipment.   The local officials worked hard to get grid power supplied from the city to the hospital so we could test the

Mark Heydenburg demonstrating new medical equipment

power conditioner, and shortly before mid-day the power came on.  We stopped briefly for a quick lunch with local officials at a nearby restaurant, and then returned to finish our work and assess other needs at the hospital, including the spare parts needs for an ambulance that we had delivered to this hospital some time before.  In the midst of all of this, there was a mid-afternoon thundershower including heavy rain and hail that allowed us a little more working time.  By the late afternoon, we had finished the bulk of our work and were delighted to be invited to play a friendly volleyball match between the staff of the hospital and our joint Ministry of Public Health/CFK team.  It was a special time to savor – in the light of the setting sun, North Koreans and Christians from America playing together just a few short miles from the DMZ – cheering good plays on both sides of the net, with scores of patients and staff gathered around to watch.  Fresh persimmons were shared around, and the game ended only

A friendly volleyball match

when it became too dark to play anymore.    We left the hospital with warmth and thanksgiving in our hearts for a job well done, for new friendships formed, and assurance that they would be able to complete the laying of the tile, the hanging of the ceiling and installation of the fluorescent lights, the sinks and the set up of the operating room equipment after our departure.  We look forward to returning in the Spring to see a fourth fully renovated operating room that will greatly improve the surgical care of patients.

Sunday–Our guides and the local officials planned a very special day for us on Sunday.  After having our own private worship service in the morning, we left the hotel under brilliant blue skies and sunshine with our friends and colleagues to enjoy some of the historical places of Kaesong.  They took us first to see two king’s tombs, where we learned about ancient love stories.  From there we drove to a Buddhist temple up in the mountains where there are many poems and sayings carved into the rocks.  While there, we hiked to a beautiful waterfall that is featured in many North Korean nature paintings, and then our hotel staff

Greater CFK team in Kaesong

honored us with a wonderful picnic including bulgogi cooked over charcoal shared among all of us as we sat on straw mats on the ground enjoying the waterfall.  We had a wonderful time of visiting and fellowship, enjoying the beauty of nature, good food and friends, and songs shared between us in the open air.  The song sung by our local guide touched us deeply – he said in his dedication to us that during our time together, we had left footprints on his heart.

Monday – We spent the better part of the day at the nearby Kaesong Provincial Pediatric Hospital (formerly the Methodist’ Ivey Hospital) where the technical team had worked in May.  We delivered one of the LIS to the lab staff, meanwhile our technical team split up and worked on several small things that needed to be fixed or adjusted.   We worked through the lunch hour and into the late afternoon, and we were very grateful for the flexibility shown by our guides and the local officials in facilitating the successful completion of our work.  As the sun sank low on the horizon, we bid warm farewells to our local officials and the hospital staff members, and departed for the 3 hour drive on rough roads to Haeju.  Along the way, one of the leaf springs broke on one of our vehicles, so after stopping for a repair attempt by the side of the road under a sky brilliant with stars, as well as multiple stops at security checkpoints along the way, we limped our way into Haeju – arriving there late in the evening.

Tuesday – We spent the better part of the day at the South Hwanghae (Haeju) TB Hospital working on several follow up matters from the previous installation and completing the sorting of our tool bins for storage in Pyongyang.   We also delivered an LIS to the staff of this laboratory.  The hospital staff prepared snacks for us, including peanuts, persimmons, pears and bread so that we could continue our work without losing time for lunch, and by late afternoon we were ready to return back to Pyongyang for hot showers and rest.  We arrived too late for supper, but grateful for warmth of relationships, safety in work and travel, and the completion of many projects.

Wednesday– After a good night’s rest, we drove an hour back to Sariwon to deliver the final LIS, and finish up pending matters at the North Hwanghae TB Hospital.  We also met there with the Hwangju TB rest home director to discuss a renovation project that he had underway.  We worked through lunch again, having a quick snack at the hospital before leaving again for Pyongyang and our final meetings there.  As the day drew to a close, we invited our guides and drivers out for a farewell dinner, enjoying another good time of friendship, discussions and fellowship.    We returned to the hotel, finished our packing, and met with our guides one final time to finish off last minute details and discuss new projects.

Delivering an LIZ to Sariwon

Thursday –Our guides and drivers saw us off at the airport amid warm and reluctant farewells.  As one of our guides said during our trip – “We will miss you.  We became like a family working, traveling and eating together for days on end.” They work very hard to facilitate our visits, to translate and to solve problems on our behalf.    Our work is becoming a true partnership, and we are amazed at what has been accomplished through God’s provision, your support, and our joint efforts.   It is a special privilege to see our counterparts take increasing ownership and joy in our joint work, and to see their pride in what has been accomplished.

In about 30 hours, most of us will finally arrive back at home, a world away from the one we left, deeply tired, but reflecting and aware of the providence of God in large and small ways through these projects.  Just 18 months ago, we received the final approval to proceed – and we fully expected that it might take several years to do the fundraising and complete the projects.   Within just a few months, nearly all the necessary funds were raised (nearly $500,000) enabling us to be much more efficient in sending two 40’ containers and at least six 10-ton truckloads of goods needed to complete these projects.  With very few exceptions, our goods were very faithfully delivered as specified.  Now within a one year time span of beginning site work, the projects are virtually complete, with unprecedented levels of local partnership and collaboration.  Local directors and staff are energized and have new vision for what can be possible, patients are receiving greatly improved care, and significant decreases (70%) in post operative infection rates have been achieved.   The number of procedures being done regularly has increased dramatically, and patients are coming from other provinces for treatment.   It is a real joy and privilege to be instrumental in facilitating such important transformations, and we thank God for his provision and you for your faithful prayers and partnership with us in these efforts that make these kinds of successes possible.

Contributed by: Bill Moore , CFK Board member, June 2008.

North Korea is a beautiful place in May.  Everything had greened up nicely.  The Cottonwood trees were depositing wind-blown piles of downy fluff in the roadways, blanketing the bushes and spider webs.  The guest house on the banks of the Taedong River near Pyongyang where our Christian Friends of Korea team stayed for most of the visit had a dense backdrop of vegetation, populated by Ring Neck Pheasants, which appeared unfazed by the foreigners nearby, and sounded off regularly.  The Acacia trees were in full bloom. 

Confirming arrival of blankets and other goods at TB hospital

As we moved through the countryside, the workers on the collective farms were transplanting rice plants into the paddy fields.  This is a critical phase of life in the north, and everyone is expected to take part.  Backs bent, barefooted workers move slowly across the fields.  On the mud dikes of the water-filled paddies there are often patriotic slogans on placards, revolutionary red flags flying, and even sound trucks playing inspirational songs.  This idyllic picture of a worker’s paradise belies a truth that is not readily apparent.  The coming fall harvest, which is vital to a nation where one third of the 23 million people suffer from malnutrition, is already in jeopardy.  Previous large shipments of fertilizer from South Korea have been withheld this year for political reasons.  Aid workers from other countries told us that the potato crop is already stunted, and predicted that the rice crop will be twenty-five percent less this year.  For those still receiving rations, the daily government ration of grain per person will be reduced from 250 grams to 150 grams in June.  The US government announced while we were there that they would provide 500,000 metric tons of food aid – but it will take time for this to arrive and be delivered.   Uncertain food aid, coupled with poor food security (effective agricultural production) means an increase among the populace in susceptibility to disease, particularly tuberculosis, which afflicts an estimated five percent of the North Korean people.

This was the backdrop for our journey to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as an NGO (non-government organization) working to provide medicine (particularly tuberculosis treatment drugs), medical equipment, farm machinery, vehicles, construction materials and food for the people of the DPRK.  The needs are real, and the urgency is intensifying. The Chinese character for “crisis” is composed of two other characters: “danger” and “opportunity”.  As we traveled to fourteen different medical facilities, we could see that there is a “dangerous opportunity’ to make a difference in this land, and bring hope to many lives. 

Combined CFK team

Our team was a diverse mix of six people.  Our Executive Director, Heidi Linton, grew up in Alaska, married into a famous Presbyterian missionary family, and has effectively immersed herself in the work of CFK for the last 13 years.  By her indomitable spirit, genuine integrity and meticulous attention to detail for providing aid and assistance she has endeared herself to the North Korean leaders assigned to us through the Ministry of Public Health and forged working relationships that are highly effective.  Dr. John Somerville, retired Presbyterian missionary, was our official Korean speaker on the trip.  A Harvard graduate in Asian studies, Dr. Somerville spent many years teaching in South Korea, and has visited the north on 10 previous visits.  Paul Moffett, a pastor at Lighthouse Christian Center in Puyallup, WA is the great grandson of pioneer Presbyterian missionary, Samuel Moffett, who came to PyongYang in 1905.  Lee Wheeler is an agricultural engineer from Hesston, Kansas, representing the Mennonite Central Committee, a CFK partner.  He is a greenhouse expert who has made 11 trips to the DPRK.   Terry Smith, Heidi’s able assistant, came from Memphis, TN and now lives in Black Mountain (headquarters of CFK).  I rounded out the team and am the son of Methodist missionaries, James and Margaret Moore.  My grandfather, Dr. Stanley Martin, was a Canadian Presbyterian medical missionary in China and Korea.  I grew up in Seoul and am now the pastor of Southern Hills United Methodist Church in Lexington, KY.

Our purpose in traveling to North Korea was to make a “confirming” visit, checking to make sure that the supplies and equipment (more than three million dollars worth sent since January) had been properly received, inventoried and distributed, to present lists of donors to the facility directors, and to build relationships and trust with everyone with whom we had contact.  Part of this work was to visit two warehouse locations to make sure supplies were moving out to the facilities.  This is important also to make way for incoming shipping containers.  It is noteworthy that our North Korean counterparts value the aid assistance of CFK and a similar NGO so much that they actually built a spacious warehouse just for receiving shipments to be distributed to CFK ministry sites.  A forklift sent by CFK donors was in use there.  The other main task of confirming was to visit the actual facilities, interview directors, staff, and patients, and assess the priorities and needs of each place.  These visits were the heart of our schedule.

Discussions at TB rest home

A typical trip to one of the hospitals or TB rest homes began with a convoy of vehicles traveling to the locations scheduled for the day.  The road surface usually began with paved roads of varying quality, that soon gave way to a washboard gravel road, a muddy track snaking up into the hills, or even a rocky stream bed that had to be forded.  Once we arrived, we were greeted by the director, doctors, nurses, and various local officials.  We would be seated around a table with refreshments provided for the visitors (strawberries, peanuts, tea), introductions would be made, the donor list presented in Korean with an explanation, and Heidi would begin the process of inquiry.  What is the current situation in this place?  How did the devastating floods of 2007 affect the facility and patients?  How many TB patients are there?   What are your priorities here?  Questions would be asked about the arrival of vitamins, health kits, bedding, laundry soap, doctor’s kits, hospital beds, medicine, and other things.  Food shipments of canned meat, soy beans and dry vegetable soup mix were checked on.  New equipment was sometimes delivered, including new microscopes.  Some sites had cargo tri-motorcycles to transport supplies slated for delivery.  A new kind of greenhouse, which does not require an additional heat source even in frigid temperatures, was discussed and offered at each place.  A tour of the facilities meant a chance to see delivered goods, meet the patients, to inquire about their health, and to offer best wishes and prayers for swift recovery.  Outside, the greenhouses, which are so important for supplementing meager government rations, would be inspected. Walking tractors and bicycles provided by CFK were noted.

One of the highlights of the journey was to see the wonderful progress that has been made in the construction of modern surgical facilities at both the North Hwangae TB Hospital in Sariwon and the South Hwangae TB Hospital in Haeju.  The surgical suites feature new anti-microbial ceiling tile, non-skid floor tiles, power conditioners and new electrical wiring, heating/AC, lighting, and new surgical equipment and supplies enabling more complicated procedures and greatly improved surgical outcomes.  One patient, who had been brought to Sariwon for an operation from a TB rest home, remarked when he saw the gleaming facility, “I feel like I am cured already!”  The

Warm farewell from rest home staff

result of the renovations are stronger confidence among patients that healing will occur and an increased willingness to undergo surgery. (“The number of patients willing to undergo surgery has tripled.”)  Because of the sterile conditions, post-operative infection has been greatly reduced.  Eighty percent of the patients used to have post-op infections.  Now it is down to 1 in 5 patients.  We also saw the preparations for a similar renovation to be completed in early June by the CFK technical team at the Kaesong Provincial Pediatric Hospital where the surgery area has been stripped to the bare stones in preparation for the $200,000 make-over made possible by a CFK donor. 

Everywhere the CFK Team went on this confirming visit there were expressions of gratitude.  When one director was asked what further assistance he needed for his facility, he exclaimed, “You have already sent a lot!”  Heidi responded that God in His love had provided these things.  The director’s response:  “Please send thanks to our Christian friends.”    

Kay Radar and Heidi Linton with TB patients

Contributed by: Paul and Kay Rader, retired international leaders of the Salvation Army.  Kay is a member of CFK’s Board of Directors, December 2007.

When we visited North Korea in 2005 for the first time ever even though as missionaries we had lived in the Republic of Korea for over 22 years, we discovered that upon the initial touchdown of our flight from Beijing, our landing on a North Korean runway, our feet touching the North Korean soil, resulted in emotional reactions that neither of us had fully anticipated.  This time the emotions upon arrival were not as strong but included the anticipation of greeting old “friends” among the members of the Ministry of Public Health personnel; renewed memories of the capital, Pyongyang; and feeling ‘at home’ at the guest house, Ko Bang San located on the river Tae Dong.

Observations:

It seemed to us there were more cars on the roads, particularly inPyongyang.  As we took off for visits to hospitals and rest homes, we marveled at the number of bicycles ridden by both women and men.  Countless numbers of people, bearing heavy loads on these bikes, trudge along despite rocks, gullies, muddy ruts, steep hills and deep valleys, somehow managing to plod on to their destinations, wherever those destinations were.

Beyond Pyongyang the acute difficulties of the people are unmistakable, recent floods exacerbating the situation.  Fields that should be ‘ripe unto harvest’ are left with nothing but rotting husks or standing residues of water.  The faces of children and adults, both stunted in growth, show signs of deprivation.   Apartment houses appear to be abandoned, yet there are people living in them.  The same is true for most of the smaller houses, as well.  For whatever reason we seemed to observe more tractors in the fields and on the roads, albeit the age-old oxen are still very much in demand.

People walk from morning till night and late into the night to reach their destinations.  One woman appeared out of nowhere as we drove along a very dark road around9:30 p.m.  Street lights are nonexistent outside ofPyongyang, yet the people venture out.  Women on bicycles hauling bags of rice or other commodities were headed home long after the sun had set.  We observed the words, “South Korea” [Tae Han Min Gook] printed on some of the rice bags and on at least one, “U.S.A.”

We felt more openness and less tension throughout the land.  The anti-American billboards are mostly gone and the tour guides at the major monuments seemed quite willing to talk with us.  One guide shared with Paul that she had been on her feet all day, had had no time to eat lunch and that she was very weary.  She remembered meeting Heidi before and thought she remembered me.

At each of the hospitals and rest homes there were those who remembered that Paul and I were with the CFK group in 2005.  They seemed genuinely happy to see us again.  The doctor at one rest home whom I stood beside in the group picture in ’05 wanted to have a picture taken with me this time.  His smile is infectious.

There is still a hesitancy when responding to interview questions such as, “What do you need?”  “Tell us your priorities here so that we can better help you.”  Always a glance towards the representative from the Ministry of Public Health or the county, provincial or local party representative before replying.  At one hospital, the new director asked the translator why they are being asked to say what they need.  He told her it is because “You are the ones who know your professional needs.”  In the end, the answer is the same:  first, an acknowledgement of the help received from the State, then,  ”we need the things CFK sends. We so appreciate the medical supplies and especially the food.”

The Kaesong Provincial Pediatric Hospital

In every place the wonjangs and sojangs (directors) are more than happy to see CFK.  The director at one hospital, never restrained in his comments, expressed gratitude for CFK’s diligence and dedication, the attention to detail and for CFKs frequent visits.  It seems to us that without confirmation of receipt of goods as well as checking on the state of the green houses, tractors, bicycles, medical equipment, etc., the effort would soon grind to a halt.  The value of more technical equipment depends to a great extent on adequate training of those who use and maintain it.  Instruction, advice, and counsel, while sensitive,  are needed.  The greenhouse instruction booklets hand carried this time to teach about how to construct the new larger greenhouses were greatly appreciated.

Koreans are resourceful people.  Koreans have an indomitable spirit that is part of their DNA.  It is interesting to observe the similarities between north and south Koreans.  In spite of the total separation from each other for over 57 years, their body language, mannerisms, sense of humor, cultural as well as individual personality characteristics are amazingly the same.  For example, their reaction to the dried vegetable soup mix (sent recently by CFK through a partnership with the Mennonite Central Committee) was identical in each place and was so reminiscent of South Korean responses to some of the Western-type foodstuffs that were distributed in the aftermath of the Korean conflict.  In the end, however, they wanted more dried soup mix and said they are becoming more used to it, especially when they add canned meat, peppers and other spices.

We were allowed into the patients’ rooms with more freedom than in ’05 even to our being invited to step inside, interact with the patients, ask about their families, former livelihood, their first signs of TB, their present condition, what they do to pass the time, etc.  Some of the men said they play chess.  Two of the three at one place had been coal miners for five years before contracting the disease.   Three women shared that high fever was their first sign of serious illness.  They said they like to sing to pass the time away (but yarn and knitting supplies would again be welcomed!)

Photos, while still sensitive, were allowed in each place.  One special memory of ours is the sight of a director at one special facility, hearing that we wanted to visit, running to open the door to a room where seven women patients resided.  In that same room, one of the patients who was sitting beside me suddenly took my left hand in her two hands and held on tightly.  I said, “We’re friends now,” to which she replied, “Yes, we’re friends.”  I was able to tell them that we would pray for them, remembering their faces and their stories.  They registered keen appreciation and delight.

Rural TB hospital doctors with new bicycles for house calls

It is impressive to observe the dedication of the directors, doctors, nurses and other members of staff at these institutions.  At one rest home, one of the nurses has been there 30 plus years.  She came first as a result of TB in her own body.  The director at another rest home has had TB three times in 14 years.    TheCountyRepresentativeat that place said they need new buildings so that the Director will not have to sit up all night when it floods, making sure the buildings don’t collapse.  The Director of a hospital we visited inPyongyangthat was severely impacted by the August flooding had been there for ten years.  He was effusive in his gratitude for CFK emergency help after the floods.  He spoke more freely when I spoke with him privately in the courtyard following the visit.

Despite no electricity, often no safe water, and very little of this world’s goods, these people carry themselves with an aura of dignity that is admirable.  No one is spoiled.  Even those women who ride bicycles whilst carrying babies on their backs and a heavy load tied to the rear fender are dressed in their best.  A blanket or shawl thrown over the baby for warmth, a scarf around their necks or over their heads, coats, jackets and trousers neat.

Our hosts were the epitome of graciousness.  They were kind, generous and helpful.  We were the spoiled ones.  The guide who accompanied Paul and me on most of our long days on the road engaged us in conversation as often as possible.  We spoke together both in the Korean language and in English, depending upon his choice.  He inquired about The Salvation Army.  He asked about our family.  We showed him photos from our cameras of our children and grandchildren.

We joined North Koreans in worship at the Chilgol Church on Sunday, November 11, the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.  How appropriate that a Methodist Bishop from Seoul chose to speak on the topic:  Suffering and Blessing.  The next day we witnessed several busloads of North Koreans leaving one of the government buildings in Pyongyang to be reunited by videolink with their relatives.  How moving to see elderly men dressed to the nines in their recently acquired new suits and hats helping each other find their way out of the enormous corridors of the building and the women in traditional Korean dress behind them, making their way downstairs.

We were impressed by the reverence and respect of the waitresses at each hotel we stayed in when faced with our heads bowed in prayer for grace before meals.    These are a people who know how to be reverent.  They know how to pay obeisance.  They are accustomed to honoring and obeying.

CFK Team with 60 metric tons of soybeans

    Contributed by: Professor Donald Clark, Trinity University, San Antonio, May 2007

Visiting the DPRK in April as a member of the CFK monitoring team was a unique privilege for me, the first time any member of my family has set foot in North Korea since my grandfather, Charles Allen Clark, was arrested and deported in the summer of 1941.  Our family has a long history in Pyongyang, and I was hungry for any sign of anything that they would have found familiar.  My ancestors would have been happy to see the majestic Taedong and the wonderful public recreation areas that have been built along the Potong River.  The broad avenues and tall buildings would have impressed them, along with the monuments that are everywhere.  They would have loved seeing poplars with “ggachi” nests in them, the forsythia blooming everywhere, the cherry blossoms on Peony Point (Moranbong) and the pine woods at Man’gyongdae.  They would have wondered what happened to Kija’s tomb and been startled to see the USS Pueblo tied up on the waterfront; and we would have had to explain to them the myriad references to North Korea’s political leaders that were written, it seemed, on every building, rock and tree. They would have been impressed by the West Sea Barrage at Namp’o and with the four-lane divided highway that speeds vehicles northward from Kaesong to the capital.

Had they gone with us along the dirt roads of north and south Hwanghae they would have recognized much. The beautiful mountains would have been familiar, with fields in the foreground under stress to produce what was needed; the resourcefulness of people making do with limited supplies of everything; the touching gifts of pheasant eggs and peanuts provided with generosity by hosts in tiny villages where we visited TB sanitariums. Along the way, I’m sure they would have wished that more and better ways could be found to produce more of everything, to generate dependable electricity, and to have abundant and safe fuel for kitchens and “ondols”. 

     They would have missed seeing even the slightest traces of the pre-war Presbyterian compound where scores of American missionaries spent their careers as teachers, doctors, and evangelists, where both the Clarks and Robertses had homes, and where their children, including my parents, attended Pyeng Yang Foreign School.  Old Pyongyang was mostly a raffish town with important historic sights. During the Korean War, American bombers pounded the city into rubble and then again into powder.  We were grateful not to be reminded of this at every possible opportunity.  Our hosts sometimes removed obvious references to “American imperialism” just ahead of us but they were still to be seen on outdoor posters and billboards.  There is a lot of work to be done to restore communication and trust between our countries.

     In April 2007, however, traveling as an individual, I noted the quality of the relationship that exists between CFK and Heidi Linton on one hand, and our hosts at the Ministry of Public Health and the doctors and health workers at the provincial hospitals and sanatoriums on our itinerary.  The fact that the Koreans have a long relationship with “Heidi Sonsaeng” means that CFK has access to people and institutions in remote places, and throughout the countryside, that might be barred to other outsiders.  During our service with the Peace Corps back in the 1960s, my wife Linda and I worked on a TB control project in a remote village in South Korea.  In North Korea in 2007 much that we saw on our CFK confirming trip was reminiscent of that earlier experience: the bare-bones medical care; the need to think about the basics of nutrition; the shortages of electricity and petroleum; the hand labor occasionally assisted by oxen; people carrying things on “jiggys;” and everywhere the hills stripped of trees.

     Back in the sixties, we had learned to measure improvements through small things.  These same things are now to be seen in North Korea: healthier children; free-ranging chickens, ducks, sheep, goats, and dogs, and pigs in stys; more vehicles than we’d expected to see; roadside markets selling vegetables and daily items; and schools everywhere with signs saying proudly “Chosen wihayo pae’u-ja!” “Let’s learn for Korea!”  North Korea is rich in human potential, and we can only pray that one day there will be means to match.

Easter Sunday at Chilgol Church

 On Easter Sunday, our CFK delegation worshipped at the Chilgol church, in the Pyongyang suburb where Kim Il-sung’s mother once served as a Presbyterian deaconness, a fact documented in the Supreme Leader’s own autobiography.  The church was packed, though it turned out that some in attendance were visiting overseas Koreans or southerners.  The preacher preached a Biblical sermon without political messages; the choir sang “Yonggwang, Yonggwang allelu-ia” to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic and the congregation sang that perennial favorite “Who is Jesus?” to the tune of “Go Tell Aunt Rody the Old Gray Goose is Dead.”  We took communion and wept when the soloist beautifully rendered “I’d Rather Have Jesus.”  

       I am grateful to CFK for giving me the opportunity to visit not only Pyongyang but also the hinterland.  Our confirming trip was a whirlwind of impressions, emotions, and memories.  I am proud of the work that CFK does in North Korea and can attest to the care with which the organization tracks the shipment and deliveries, right down to the tiny rest homes tucked in remote valleys where dedicated Korean professionals use the donations to the benefit of our fellow children of God.  

Mark Jarvis and Professor Don Clark standing near the Juche Tower

Contributed by: Mark Jarvis, an Asia analyst for an international investment company, May 2007

I was privileged to join the recent Christian Friends of Korea team that visited North Korean healthcare facilities during the week of April 9th.  We spent our time in Christian fellowship while bearing witness to Christ’s love as we conducted the practical business of confirming the delivery of supplies and conducting an assessment of needs.

This was my first trip to North Korea, and after 20 years of involvement in Korea-related matters I should say that I was surprised at my ability to be surprised.   Having spent time in South Korea I felt a bit of “culture shock” as I have become somewhat comfortable moving in that society, and while I clearly felt that I was in a Korean society during my time in the North, the differences, both positive and negative, were noteworthy.

Some of my preconceptions were confirmed.  Yes, the ideological messages are pervasive, and yes, the infrastructure is rickety.  Yet the attitude of the health care professionals that we met and the representatives of the government bureaucracy that are responsible for them were as courteous, hospitable, and professional as one could hope to find anywhere in the world.

Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital is its crown jewel.  The streets were wide and free of congestion, and the flowers on the trees and azaleas on the hillsides were blooming.  People everywhere were busying themselves for their most important holiday, the April 15 birthday commemoration of their “Great Leader,” the late president Kim Il-sung.

The countryside where we spent four days visiting tuberculosis hospitals and rest homes was a stark contrast.  The mountains looked barren and dry, though we were blessed with rain later in the week.  Most of our travel in the countryside took us on back roads through farmland, and agricultural techniques were almost completely lacking in mechanization.  Plowing and transport were largely accomplished by oxen.  Bicycles are becoming widely used, but many people still traversed long country roads on foot. 

The increasing diffusion of bicycles, I learned from another team member, is a relatively recent phenomenon and one of the hopeful signs that we saw as it is both a sign of affordability by the rural population as well as a quantum leap in economic efficiency through saving time.

Most of the terrain we traversed was flat, although the bulk of the Korean peninsula is mountainous.  As a result, almost all of the land we saw was under cultivation, even along the mountainsides.

Another surprise for me was the dependence of the hospitals and rest homes we visited on vegetables raised on their own small plots of land.  For this reason the greenhouses, tractors and soil treatments provided by Christian Friends of Korea are prized possessions.  In one greenhouse I looked into, I saw rows of leafy cabbage with no sign of insects that, as a gardener, I could only envy on that early Spring day.  

At each site we visited, Dwight Linton presented a list of recent donors.  He explained in Korean to the various health care directors about CFK’s donors.  His presence there as a representative of CFK’s board, and more importantly as an individual who has spent most of his life in service to the Korean people, was a strong testament on behalf of Christian Friends of Korea. 

The importance of site visits is something that I had not properly appreciated prior to this trip.  In this age of Internet, fax, low cost international telephony and global media, I have come to expect that if I need some information from the other side of the planet I can dash off an e-mail and have my reply by the next day, if not within a few minutes.  By contrast, CFK cannot send even a letter to the local sites to ask them what they need or whether what they have received is meeting their needs as expected.  That is why on-site interviews are so critically important.  Until relations between our governments improve and North Korea opens up further, there will be almost no means other than personal visits to gauge the impact of previous gifts and the most appropriate type of future support.  It is also a vitally important way to build understanding and trust among a people who are largely innocent of our ways and may not fully understand our motivations.  The presence of a CFK representative and the message that patients are remembered and prayed for gives them an opportunity for hope that they might not otherwise have.

Mark Jarvis with TB Hospital Staff and CFK donations

At one rest home we visited I pointed out to a colleague the farmers cultivating the soil on the adjacent hillside.  He corrected me and told me that it was not farmland but rather graves, and the workers I saw were likely digging a new grave.  What a discouraging view it must be to have from one’s place of recuperation from tuberculosis!  Yet I heard from another site’s director that prior to the arrival from outside North Korea of tuberculosis medicines, the survival rate was extremely low, while with proper medication approximately 80% are cured with the first round of therapy, while others require further treatment.  CFK had pioneered the provision of these medicines to them, and now provides for supplemental nutrition, beds, blankets, general medicines and other needed goods that are so critical for the successful treatment of patients.

Several years ago at a presentation for my company’s clients, I showed a widely-circulated satellite image of Northeast Asia at night, where China, South Korea, and Japan are spangled with light sources, while North Korea is almost completely dark.  It is a powerful and eloquent image.  However, it cannot compare with the experience I had of visiting site after site of health care buildings that were without artificial light and lacking heat.  One of the more discouraging things noted by our team was the fact that ceiling apertures for lighting had been plastered over, seeming to say that there was no longer hope of ever getting regular lighting back. I could only imagine what the past winter had been like for the sick.  CFK is providing generators and various other upgrades for some of these facilities. 

The week prior to my visit to North Korea I had met with an American hospital director in Beijing with long experience in India who pointed out that when the water is cold people do not like to wash their hands.  Another surprise that I was not prepared for in North Korea was the lack of running water in even the more modern looking buildings.  Traditional wells or pumps provided by international assistance were the sources of water I saw.

 At this point around mid-week I was tempted to feel indignant about the unfairness of it all, but I do trust that God is working in His own way, and will bless North Korea and make all things beautiful in His time.

I will always be grateful for the chance to have been with the CFK group that spent the first week of the Easter season in a place still so seemingly remote from the Gospel and yet so full of promise.