Voice of the Martyrs Korea

Overview

Voice of the Martyrs Korea is an interdenominational mission organization that assists Christians persecuted for their faith. It chiefly supports members of underground churches in North Korea, China, and elsewhere, and it makes their faith known to churches in South Korea. An underground church is one that meets covertly to avoid government surveillance. The organization shares its history with The Voice of the Martyrs, the international organization begun by the Romanian Lutheran pastor Richard Wurmbrand, and its English abbreviation is VOMK. It is one of the leading organizations raising awareness of the modern persecution of Christians among Korean churches.

Founding and History

Wurmbrand was imprisoned for more than fourteen years under the Communist regime and left Romania after a ransom of $10,000 was paid. In 1967 he founded an organization called Jesus to the Communist World, which later changed its name to The Voice of the Martyrs. According to the organization, its connection with Korea also dates to around 1967, when some Koreans worked with Wurmbrand to send Bibles into North Korea by balloon and radio.

The present Voice of the Martyrs Korea was founded by the Rev. Eric Foley and his wife, Dr. Hyun Sook Foley. The official website gives 2001 as the founding year, although some sources give 2003. According to the organization, its administration and finances were handled by an office in Colorado Springs, Colorado, until 2014; after the couple relocated to Korea, those responsibilities were assumed in Korea. In January 2024 the organization opened an office in Seomyeon, Busan.

Principal Activities

• Ministry to North Korea: The organization has sent copies of the Korean-language Bible published in North Korea into the country aboard high-altitude balloons. It broadcasts a daily radio program, The True Voice of the Martyrs, to North Korea and China.
• Satellite radio: Since March 20, 2018, it has operated a 24-hour Korean-language satellite radio broadcast, airing sermons left by martyrs and readings from the North Korean Bible, among other programs.
• Support for the persecuted church: The organization states that it serves persecuted believers in some seventy countries. It operates volunteer programs such as writing letters to imprisoned Christians.
• Education and commemoration: It offers a six-month Underground Seminary. It also holds a Christian Martyrs' Day observance to honor present-day martyrs during the week containing June 29, the date on which the Apostle Paul is traditionally said to have been martyred.

Organization and International Affiliation

Voice of the Martyrs Korea is not a denomination or a federation of churches but an independent nonprofit incorporated association. The various Voice of the Martyrs organizations in different countries share Wurmbrand's legacy, but each operates independently, and there is no worldwide headquarters. The organization states that it receives no government funding and is supported solely by donations from individuals and churches. After the Korea Christian Financial Accountability Association was established in 2015, the organization was selected as its first certified member.

Controversy

In June 2020, Kim Yo Jong, first vice department director of the Workers' Party of Korea, issued a statement condemning the launching of leaflets into North Korea. Afterward, Lee Jae-myung, then governor of Gyeonggi Province, referred four organizations engaged in sending leaflets and balloons into North Korea to the police for investigation, and Voice of the Martyrs Korea was among them. The organization disclosed that it had launched balloons carrying Bibles from Ganghwa Island on June 25. On July 3, it was caught attempting to launch balloons in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, after residents reported it. The police referred the case to prosecutors with a recommendation to indict the organization for violating the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act, the Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety, and the High-Pressure Gas Safety Control Act; no embezzlement charges were included. The prosecutors' final disposition of the case has not been confirmed.

The organization maintained that in fifteen years it had never sent political leaflets, only Bibles, and that its work was therefore entirely different from leaflet launches. It also stated that if sending Bibles was considered a crime, it would accept the punishment. In addition, ahead of a joint investigation by the authorities, it voluntarily released its external audit records.