Read this letter from North Korea

A rare look at real faith in a place where following Jesus can cost everything...

“North Korean Christians are among the most devoted believers you can ever meet,” says an Open Doors fieldworker who works with the North Korean underground church. “They live in circumstances so difficult that we would go mad.

“Yet these Christians, because they have so little, are so eternally grateful to [Open Doors’] supporters around the world. They are devoted because you are devoted.”

To prove his point, the fieldworker reads from a letter he was given from a North Korean believer. We can’t tell you how the letter came out of North Korea, and we have edited some things in it to avoid any identifying details. After all, if the writer of this letter was found out, he or she could be sentenced to a labor camp, forced to live out the rest of their days facing brutal conditions and horrific treatment.

But it’s a real letter—and a rare glimpse at what life and faith are like in the country that’s the most dangerous for Christians in the world (according to Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List).

Here’s what our fieldworker read:
 

Dear brothers and sisters,

Have you been at peace in the Lord?

We have been using your support for our ministry. Many believers are in great need, and we help those who are in the most need.

We, the North Korean Christians, are united in the same faith as you and devoted to a life centered on the Lord. We strive to prepare and equip the next generation to follow the Word’s guidance and fulfill the Great Commission of our Lord. Under your guidance and support, we grow to be faithful servants of God. We regard this calling as the compass of our lives, and with an unwavering conscience of faith, we are running faithfully with deep devotion to the noble honor and weighty responsibility entrusted to us.

We could not function as the Body of Christ without your unwavering support. I’m so proud of the believers I know. They are steadfast and carry out the tasks they are entrusted with. They stand solidly upon the Rock, which is Jesus Christ.

Today, I will end my letter here. Thank you and all the people who work for us.

Your support makes it possible for us, through our secret networks outside the country, to equip North Korean believers with Christian materials, provide food aid and medicines, operate safe houses for refugees, and create and broadcast Christian radio programs that beam into North Korea.

Our fieldworker adds his thanks: “None of this would have been possible without the steadfast prayers and generous support of believers worldwide. They know the verse ‘If one part suffers, every part suffers with it’ (1 Corinthians 12:26). Not only do they know it, but they also act upon it. So thank you, on behalf of our entire team, for everything you do.”