New IGNIS Book Released!

Stephen and Joy's New Book Released! 
Crossing the Divide: Learning to Love in North Korea

Is God at work in the darkest places?

In a nation known for oppression and isolation, Joy and Stephen Yoon discovered the answer is a resounding yes. For over 17 years, this ordinary couple witnessed God's extraordinary love piercing through the shadows, transforming their own hearts and the lives of those they encountered.

In Crossing the Divide, the Yoons offer an eyewitness perspective on North Korean life and share powerful lessons like:

• What it looks like to boldly follow God’s call on your life

• God's heart for the forsaken and how he is at work in unexpected ways and places

• Loving your neighbor, even when it's costly

• Hope for reconciliation and healing, both personally and globally

More than a memoir, Crossing the Divide, challenges you to see others through Heaven's eyes. By the final page, you'll view the estranged, the opposing, and the seemingly hopeless in a new light.

Get your copy now! Available in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon

Updated UN Exemption for IGNIS Community's Medical Equipment

UN 1718 Committee approved the extension of IGNIS Community’s medical equipment until January 2, 2025. Please check our compliance page for more information.

Updated OFAC Sanctions (Aug 2023)

Renewed OFAC License 2023

With respect to the UN sanctions, we submitted an application to the UN Sanctions Exemption Committee for an exemption to ship medical equipment and other related items for the Pyongyang Spine Rehabilitation Center (PYSRC) into North Korea. This application to ship medical equipment has been granted on August 24, 2023.

IGNIS Community have actively pursued interpretive guidance and counsel to adhere to the U.S. government as well as International laws and regulations. See our compliance page to learn more how IGNIS best effort to be transparent in all of our activities.

IGNIS Community Receives Multi-Entry Special Validation Passports

More than three years have passed since North Korea closed its borders at the end of January 2020. North Korea’s borders have remained closed throughout the COVID pandemic, with only select shipments recently able to go into North Korea. Therefore, the last time IGNIS Community was able to travel into North Korea was in December 2019.

Border closings due to the COVID pandemic plus five years of global sanctions have taken their toll on everyday life in North Korea. Scalpels, needles, and basic medical equipment are in low supply. Women struggle to support their families as textile factories have closed and work has come to a halt. Most humanitarian organizations have pulled out of the country, resulting in approximately 41% of children throughout the nation being left vulnerable to malnutrition. 

As a result, IGNIS Community applied for Special Validation Passports (SVP) to re-enter North Korea for both the medical and humanitarian teams on March 6, 2023. IGNIS Community pre-applied to be ready and prepared to enter North Korea as soon as borders re-open and respond to humanitarian needs on the ground, specifically to provide needs for children five-years old and younger as well as for children with developmental disabilities.

On March 21st, IGNIS Community’s medical team consisting of four team members received approval letters from the U.S. State Department granting SVPs. Then on March 30th, IGNIS’ humanitarian team consisting of four other team members also received their SVP approvals

Humanitarian organizations can now apply for multiple-entry Special Validation Passports to North Korea

Prior to the COVID pandemic, IGNIS Community had obtained approximately 20 SVPs, but each of these SV Passports were only good for one single-entry into North Korea. The U.S.’s travel ban significantly impacted our organizations’ ability to provide humanitarian assistance to North Korea. Humanitarian workers were required to apply for and obtain Special Validation Passports (SVP) from the Department of State for each trip in order to travel to and from the country. From IGNIS Community’s experience, the process took an average of 30 to 60 days, and in the end, humanitarian workers are only approved for SVPs approximately 76% of the time.

However, this time the U.S. State Department issued multi-entry SVPs, which are good for multiple trips in and out of North Korea throughout one whole year. The application process time was also significantly reduced. It only took IGNIS Community around two to three weeks to receive a response from the U.S. State Department.

Any humanitarian organization that cites compelling humanitarian needs for visiting North Korea multiple times and provides each trips’ itinerary may qualify for multiple-entry SVPs. These multi-entry SVPs greatly enhance the effectiveness of providing humanitarian aid. Being able to travel to North Korea multiple times within one year will enable humanitarian organizations’ to properly assess and address needs on the ground in a timely fashion. It also removes unnecessary red tape and paperwork each time an organization travel to the DPRK. Most importantly, by permitting charitable organizations the ability to respond to time-sensitive urgent needs, the lives of ordinary North Koreans can be saved.

Train tracks into Sinuiju, North Korea

It is likely that IGNIS Community may be able to return to North Korea within the year. Already the Chinese ambassador has returned to Pyongyang after nearly three years. Along with nine other Chinese diplomats, Ambassador Wang Yajun crossed the border at Sinuiju and returned to his post on Monday, March 27th. He is the first diplomat to return to North Korea since March 2020. With the Chinese ambassador in his new position, it is anticipated that the DPRK border may re-open and flights from China into North Korea may possibly resume within the next few months.

What’s Motivating North Korea?

North Korea’s capital city of Pyongyang

Every time I hear a discussion on North Korea’s nuclear program I rarely hear any mention of the Korean War. In fact, many Americans are not aware of the fact that the U.S. is still technically at war with North Korea. According to a recent poll conducted by American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), 40% of Americans incorrectly believe that the Korean War has ended. 28% of those surveyed were unsure about the facts of the Korean War.

However, despite the general public’s lack of knowledge, the poll indicates that U.S. citizens’ attitude towards North Korea is changing. 68% of the U.S. public thinks that the U.S. president should hold talks with the North Korean leader. Slightly more than half of the U.S. public (52%) agree that the U.S. government should sign a peace agreement to end the Korean War.

If the Korean War ended, what would this mean for North Korea’s nuclear program? Obviously, that is yet to be seen, so it is impossible to say. But if defense and trauma from the Korean War are a motivating factor for North Korea to develop nuclear weapons, a peace treaty could only improve relations between the U.S. and North Korea.   

One thing is clear. Sanctions are not stopping North Korea from developing nuclear weapons. The only people impacted by sanctions are the common people of North Korea as well as the humanitarian organizations trying to help them.

Interestingly, AFSC’s poll also found that about 54% of the U.S. public agrees that humanitarian workers from privately-funded charities should be allowed to travel to North Korea without restrictions from the U.S. government, and 56% agreed that the U.S. should allow faith-based organizations to conduct people-to-people exchanges in North Korea.

As AFSC’s Program Director, Jennifer Deibert, stated, “It is time to rethink the use of sanctions as a foreign policy tool and no longer accept the devastating consequences of broad-based sanctions.” After all, sanctions are not having the intended impact for which they were designed.

Chuseok in North Korea

September 10, 2022 was the Korean Harvest Festival, otherwise known as Chuseok. Chuseok is a time for Korean families to gather together, pay respects to their ancestors, and enjoy a festive time of eating and drinking. Women wake up at dawn to prepare delicacies including Korean pancakes and rice cakes for the ancestral table to then later be enjoyed by the entire family.

Songpyeon, a traditional Korean rice cake

From our ten years of living in North Korea, one particular Chuseok stands out to me. That year the holiday landed on a Sunday. As was our weekly custom, our family walked to Bong-Su Church to participate in congregational worship Sunday morning.

We arrived at church to be greeted by the senior pastor. As he ushered us into the sanctuary, we noticed a stark difference from other Sundays. The entire building was empty. We were the only ones that week who showed up to observe the Sabbath.

On any other typical Sunday, Bong-Su church was attended by a few hundred congregants. Women and men in their forties, fifties, and sixties made up most of the congregation. It was uncommon to see young adults or children at church. Only once did I see a child, and the preschool boy who attended was obviously a grandson of one of the congregants.

Despite most of the Korean church members boasting middle-age or above, there were a few young adult singers in the choir. Both official State churches in Pyongyang have proficiently performing choirs. Perhaps this is an allowed exception because musicians are more free to serve in church, whereas most other young adults in North Korea have demanding full-time jobs requiring their services on the weekend.

As we walked down the aisle of the church and sat in the empty pews, the pastor explained to us that everyone had gone to the mountainside to pay respects to their ancestors. There would be no regular Sunday service that day. In light of this, though, the pastor graciously allowed us to stay for as long as we desired for a quiet time of reflection and prayer.

On the walk home, it was close to noon and families were congregating outside. On the sides of the road, the riverside park, and every green spot of grass, the city was full of picnicking families.

Initially, communism put a halt to celebrating Chuseok in North Korea. Because ancestral worship is considered a religious practice from Confucianist tradition, the atheistic nation did not encourage their people to pay their respects.

But around 1980, North Korea reinstated the holiday. This was to preserve their traditional roots within Korean culture. Today North Koreans are given one-day off from work to celebrate the Harvest Festival.

Those families unable to travel to the mountainside along with those who possess urns of their loved ones gather outside in the refreshing early fall weather. Throughout our 20-minute walk home, we could see entire families from grandparents to grandchildren line up and bow before the framed pictures of their ancestors. Ceremonial bowing was followed by the family circling over deliciously prepared lunchboxes.

Traditional Chuseok Delicacies

This custom is similar in South Korea. Typically, South Koreans receive a longer three-day holiday to travel to their hometown, gather with family, and visit the graves of their ancestors. Some of the foods and customs of Chuseok ceremonies differ, and South Koreans typically do not picnic outside but rather gather at the gravesite or in homes. But the fundamental holiday is the same.

Over the past 70 plus years, North and South Korea’s cultures, languages, and way of life have diverged. But one thing is clear. They both are still very much Korean. Despite some drastic differences, North and South Korea remain more alike than different. Koreans are the same people on both sides of the border, and the way they celebrate Chuseok is one evidence of that fact.  

FORM 990 AVAILABLE

IGNIS Community files Form 990 with the IRS annually. If you’d like to obtain a copy, please view the Compliance Section or email give@igniscommunity.org

June 2021 Update

It is already the month of June and we are heading into the hot summer, if not already. It’s ironic how during the summer time, Ignis Community staff and fieldworkers are constantly thinking about the cold winters the children would be facing in the next couple of months. Like a parent, we worry and think about the little faces we once saw in person. It’s as if we can feel the harsh winter breeze hit our faces as we anticipate providing humanitarian aid to the children and people of North Korea. It has been over a year since Covid-19 hit and North Korea’s borders are still closed. Yes, it has been disheartening for us and we are still waiting to hear good news. Thankfully, as mentioned before, we still have counterparts who are working endlessly to provide care at the hospitals. Ignis Community always strives to do more but when there are limitations, sometimes we have to take a step back, be hopeful and move forward in planning for the future.

Regardless of what is happening, Ignis Community has partners all around the world who are working hard for the organization. There are so many other things that Ignis Community offers and we are so proud of our teams.

We just wanted to thank all of our supporters who have supported us regardless of the situation. We do have other things in store in regards to providing care and aid to North Korea. There are also many things scheduled this summer and all the events will be available virtually. You can always reach out to us and ask us what we’re doing and how we’re doing at any time!

If you are already part of Ignis Community, shoot us an email and let us know how you’d like to connect with us.

Ignis Community US Staff
info@igniscommunity.org

Shifting the Paradigm: North Koreans are People, too!

Ask the average American what they think about North Korea, and you may receive the following responses: “North Korea is an axis of evil… a tyrannical dictatorship that poses a nuclear threat to America.” “North Korean leaders care little for their own.” “They cannot be trusted.” “North Korea is unpredictable and volatile.”

Almost all the information fed to the American public supports these statements. The news, the research, and articles published on North Korea unilaterally declare the same message. Americans view the DPRK negatively, tainted by a political lens and bias. As one of the few remaining communist regimes, they are our enemies, we believe.

In reality, what does the United States have to do with a country half-way across the world? The answer may shock you. Whether you are aware of the facts or not, the U.S. has not only been intricately involved for years on the Korean Peninsula but also largely in control of the outcomes.

In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiated peace in the Russo-Japanese war that lasted from 1904-1905. Ironically, the peace settlement during the 1905 Korea-Japan Convention included making Korea a protectorate of Japan. The full annexation of Korea to the Empire of Japan was finalized on August 29, 1910. The subsequent Japanese colonization was a dark and gruesome time for the Korean nation. Koreans were severely mistreated, forbidden to speak the Korean language, and were forced to either worship Japanese Shinto shrines or face imprisonment.

Treaty of Portsmouth ended the Russo-Japanese War

It was not until August 15, 1945, at the end of World War II that Korea was liberated from Japan. As allies in WWII, the Soviet Union and the United States had already determined how to ensure Korean’s liberation from the Japanese. It was decided that the Soviet Union would enter the peninsula from the north while the U.S. entered from the south. The two met in the middle at the 38th Parallel. But instead of allowing Korea to become its own liberated nation, with the onset of the Cold War Era just beginning, Korea was divided into two nations. In the North, a communist government was established while in the South, the United States helped establish a democracy. This division occurred without the consent or intent of the Korean people.

War, as a result, was inevitable. Korea desired a unified nation, but due to the establishment of two stark, contrasting governments, conflict was unavoidable. On June 25, 1950, the North invaded the South. And although the Korean War today is known as the “Forgotten War” in America, it very real in the hearts and minds of Koreans. At the end of the war, more than 3 million Koreans had died, and 10 million families were divided. Resulting in 43% of the population at the time being directly affected by the war through either through death or separation. Through the United Nations’ involvement, the United States Air Force used 386,037 tons of bombs, 32,357 tons of napalm, 313,600 rockets, and 167 million machine-gun rounds against the North in a short three-year period. North Korea was flattened through these air strikes, and both the North and the South at the end of the war were left in ruins.

Although fighting ended with the signing of the Armistice Agreement on July 27, 1953, a peace agreement to officially end the Korean War was never signed. Therefore, in the minds of North Koreans, they are still at war. In fact, the Korean War has been the longest unresolved conflict in American history, now lasting more than 70 years.

Truce Signed on July 27, 1953 but the Korean War Never Ended

Since my husband and I have worked and lived in North Korea as humanitarian workers for over a decade, we are beginning to discover what makes North Koreans tic. We have first-hand experience of what their lives are like. And through deepening relationships with local people, we have begun to understand what North Koreans are thinking and feeling and why.

Living in North Korea is unlike any other nation on earth. Standards of living may be similar to other third-world countries, but North Koreans live by a different set of rules compared to the rest of the world. They have a completely different value system with unique end-of-game objectives. If a person does not understand where a North Korean is coming from, it is almost impossible to obtain positive outcomes from any talks or negotiations. 

North Koreans live as if they are in a war zone. The Korean War was extremely personal to them. They literally saw their mothers and fathers, uncles and aunts, grandmothers and grandfathers, brothers and sisters killed. Stories of trauma from the Korean War has been passed down from one generation to the next. And every person in the nation was elicited to rebuild their country from the ground up.

Media highlights negative aspects about North Korea, but it would be inaccurate to leave it there. These descriptions of North Korea are not untrue, but they are also not the full picture. It is like describing the United States as a country rampant with gang warfare, homeless drug addicts, and violent schools. These facts are all true, but there is also a vast treasure cove of beauty waiting to be explored. 

Instead, we need to begin viewing North Koreans through a human perspective rather than through a political one. The fact is that they are people, just like you and me. All they really want is to defend their country and bring about healing for their nation, that is to stop the cycle of violence and trauma. They want an end to the Korean War.

Ironically, apart from the United States, a peace treaty ending the Korean War cannot be signed. Once again, Korea’s fate is in the hands of America.

Broken trust and disappointment between countries is obstructing the United States from declaring an end to the Korean War. However, without this crucial step, there is little hope for a peaceful future.

Koreans are worth getting to know better. North Koreans are a tough people who resist the attempts of powerful world-leaders to dominate their country. But even though they can come across as threatening and firm, they respond well to the hand of friendship. Those who persist to get to know them will discover a remarkable nation full of people who have unlimited potential.

March 18, 2021