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| Yoo Yoon talks to the orphans during lunch time in Wonsan, North Korea |
The
beneficiaries are about 1200 students from three schools for orphans, and the
patients of a medical center in Wonsan, a city located in the Kangwon province,
two hours east of Pyongyang. When he is in town, Yoon visits with students,
meets with teachers, and quietly prays for the myriad of needs that he sees around.
“We are very limited in the kinds of supplies that we can bring. Government
policies make it very difficult to reach those in need”, he explains.
While the
orphanages are run by the government through a local school district, the supplies
are very limited. These 1200 children live and study in buildings that lack
refrigerators, washing or drying machines, and even balls for playtime. Besides
corn, Yoon is allowed to deliver powder milk and soup, children’s vitamins, appliances,
and recreational items like balls and musical instruments. “The teachers would
really like to have one or two accordions to teach the children”, he points out.
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| Yoon narrates the story of Jesus 'the Great Physician' . |
Yoon’s words
for North Korea’s regime and policies are scarce. He is closely followed by
intelligence agencies of both the United States and North Korea. “I am working
for the people, not for a government”, he tells officers every time they interview
him. “I have to concentrate on the ways we can help these children, who need
food, shelter, and love”, he adds.
Yoo Yoon worked for the Korean community in Dallas for 27 years before starting his work with orphans. The North Korean Christian Federation —through North Korea’s UN office in New
York— contacted him, along with 20 other ministers, to help the hungry.
“We went to
North Korea for the first time in 1995. Severe flooding had ruined their crops
for the previous years, and the Soviet Union was not subsidizing them anymore”,
he clarifies. Today, only one other minister who started the relief effort
still raise funds for the people of North Korea. As Yoon explains, the aid sent
by the World Food Program (WFO) does not reach everyone. “The orphans and the
sick in Wonsan are the focus of our mission”.
According to
a document from the Congressional Research Service, sending food to North Korea
represents a serious dilemma for the United States. On one side, it is likely
that the supplies end up being sold in markets, instead of being distributed to
the people in need. On the other side, it allows the North Korean government to
allocate money in other activities, neglecting the obligation to feed their own
people.
So far, Yoon
has been able to deliver about 60 tons of corn twice a year. It all goes to the
orphanages and the clinic. Other supplies are difficult to come by, since it
all depends on the generosity of people.
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| June Yoon visits with some of the 300 preschoolers at the orphanage. |
During her
second visit to Wonsan, Yoon’s wife, June Yoon, met with teachers from the
elementary school. They asked for a freezer to store the produce that local
fishermen donate during the summer months. “It was very painful for her to experience
how easy it is to see their needs, but how difficult it is to ask for the money”
recalls Yoon. Currently, one church in Dallas and the Korean-American Sharing
Movement of Dallas contribute to the mission.
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| Noodles produced with corn shipped by Yoon's mission. |
Besides collecting
money for North Korea, Yoon works with impoverished communities in Cambodia, Vietnam and
the Philippines. “It is a joy to visit with them. There is poverty, but they
have freedom to worship their God. There is hope in the people of Southeast Asia”, he
declared.
An unlikely
encounter
Yoon’s
latest visit to North Korea coincided with the ceremonies honoring Kim Jung Il in
the second anniversary of his death. He received an invitation to the services
and stayed to see a memorial. While waiting in the hotel’s lobby, he saw Dennis
Rodman with his bodyguards. “Without thinking, I ran towards him, greeted him,
and said that I was also a Texan wanting to help the North Korean people”, he
explained. Even though the encounter was brief, it fueled Yoon’s ideas on how
to form alliances to better serve the orphans. Thanks to donations from
churches in Texas, Yoon bought 500 soccer balls along with 60 tons of corn in
December. The teachers at the schools know that physical activity will benefit
the children in Wonsan. “I pray that my encounter with Rodman will be the first
step in forming new alliances to reach the people of North Korea”, he
concluded.
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| Yoon's plans to deliver soccer balls and basketballs to the orphanages. |
