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“The economic situation of North Korean residents is truly dire.”
“The streets are dark, and the citizens are suffering greatly in hunger.”
“The [government’s] constant emphasis on self-reliance as the only way to survive makes North Koreans feel utterly hopeless about their future.”
These are some of the new messages that Open Doors recently received from underground Christians in North Korea (once again ranked No. 1 on Open Doors’ recently released 2026 World Watch List). They paint a bleak picture of reality for most North Koreans versus the propaganda the country’s government releases publicly. And they help us pray informed prayers for our North Korean family.
The North Korean government actively monitors what people do and say. It bombards its people with propaganda and controls their activities from morning to evening.
In one message, a North Korean Christian shares: “The newspapers and television loudly proclaim that new factories and workplaces provided by the government are producing goods necessary for the people’s daily lives. However, in reality, many factories are not operating.”
Indeed, living in North Korea seems like living through an endless night.
Other messages emphasize the poor health conditions in the country. North Korea is deep in its winter season (December to March) with January being the coldest month marked by frigid temperatures that can be as low as 10 degrees Fahrenheit (-23 degrees Celsius).
“Recently, there was a large temperature difference between day and night, which caused widespread flu and respiratory infectious disease,” one believer shared. “Especially those who are aged or young can catch flu more easily as their immune system becomes weak. Here, it is a great problem to catch a cold because medicines [sold] in markets are not only very expensive but also are in very small quantities.”
Once again, the façade versus reality creates resentment and confusion. “In a pharmacy, you only see what is displayed, but no actual medicines are available for sale,” another message explains. “As a result, people endure the illness without proper treatment or rely on folk remedies, such as boiling radish and ginger with sugar sprinkled on top, or adding sugar to ginger juice and mixing it into hot water as a substitute for medicine.”
But as with most of the messages that Open Doors receives from North Korean underground believers, words of Scripture, gratitude and praise reveal a church with a deep faith and resolve to cling to the gospel.
“With an unchanging and steadfast faith in the Lord, we have come to deeply realize that we must never abandon our faith in Christ,” one believer shares. “Not even if it costs us our life. We have to stand firm for the truth of God’s Word.”
Another believer shares God’s promises through the words of the prophet Isaiah and praises God “who has kept us as the apple of his eye”: “Isaiah 43:2-3: ‘When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.’ We give thanks and praise to Him who has granted us hope in this autumn after the heavy rains and intense heat of summer, who has kept us as the apple of His eye, and who is ever with us through His abiding presence, Immanuel.”
These new messages also express gratitude. God is using your prayers and support to bring much needed strength to North Korean believers. Summing up his challenges, one believer then turns his attention outward, offering beautiful imagery: “However, your unimaginable warmth and thoughtful actions have touched our lives profoundly, permeating every corner of our daily existence and flowing into us like air, becoming an inexhaustible source of strength.”
Another believer essentially says your response to care for God’s people is a lifeline: “We still exist thanks to your prayers and support.”
You may never meet the writers of these messages from the underground church, and they may never know your name. But our North Korean brothers and sisters persevere because they know that the worldwide Body of Christ … Christians like you … are standing with them.
“And if you give yourself to the hungry
And satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
Then your light will rise in darkness
And your night will become like the noonday.
ISAIAH 58:10
