North Korea
In the border region between China and North Korea © Diego Tirira via Wiki Commons
Missionary behind bars for more than a decade
Kim Jung-wook, a Christian imprisoned in North Korea, as “Prisoner of the Month for December 2025”. The 61-year-old has been in a prison camp for more than a decade. The missionary lived in the Chinese border city of Dangdong from 2007 to 2014 , helping North Koreans escape to South Korea. Based on promises, the Baptist believed he could safely enter North Korea on October 7, 2013, with Bibles and other religious texts. However, it was a trap: he was arrested and interrogated the day after his arrival.
Kim Jung-wook was accused of attempting to overthrow the government and spying for South Korea. In February 2014, he appeared before North Korean media, confessing and apologizing, claiming he had followed instructions from South Korean intelligence. On May 30, 2014, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in a labor camp. On March 13, 2015, the UN Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention called for the immediate release of Kim Jung-wook and two other South Korean Christians.
The ISHR and IDEA first presented him as “Prisoner of the Month” in March 2015. We had called for letters to be sent to Kim Jong- un, the communist dictator of North Korea, demanding both immediate information about Kim Jungwook’s whereabouts and his unconditional release.
Sample letter
His Excellency
Kim Jong-un
Supreme Leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
via Embassy of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
Glinkastraße 5–7
10117 BerlinYour Excellency,
I am writing to you regarding the South Korean citizen Kim Jung-wook . He was arrested in your territory on October 8, 2013, and sentenced on May 30, 2014, to life imprisonment in a labor camp. This Christian man lived in China and was lured to Korea under false pretenses. The charges in the verdict, including espionage, are completely unfounded. The UN Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention most recently called for Kim Jung-wook’s immediate release on March 13, 2015. I endorse this call. Please allow Kim Jung-wook to return to his homeland.
Respectfully
