Thank the Yanks

Most analysis of the Korean hostage drama is focused on the publicity coup being delivered to Afghani extremists. Few are looking at the implications for Christian mission.

As SC goes to press, the Taliban has freed two seriously ill hostages as a “gesture of goodwill”.

The Taliban kidnapped 23 members of a Christian aid group from their bus as they were travelling from Kabul to the southern city of Kandahar on July 19.

Nineteen South Koreans still remain in captivity. Two men from the group were shot dead after deadlines set by the captors for the release of Taliban hostages passed.

The Taliban believes high-profile kidnappings will drive out foreigners and make Afghans view them as powerful. Yet, the Afghan hostage drama is no isolated incident for Korean Christians. There are nearly 17,000 South Korean missionaries serving overseas this year, says the Korea World Missions Association.

An investigation by The Taipei Times reveals that hundreds of these Christian volunteers have been expelled from Afghanistan, Egypt and China, while others were detained or killed in Iraq. Still others press ahead in Somalia, even though it was declared off-limits by the Korean government.

The zeal of South Korean aid workers is said to be driven by the example of 1960s US missionaries who built schools, hospitals and orphanages after the country was left devastated by the Korean War. The impact of this US mission work was dramatic church growth.

Over a quarter of South Korea’s 50 million people now say they are Christian, representing one of the most dramatic religious shifts in history.

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