Eric's Beijing Diary

Interesting interview the other day on Dialogue. Yang Rui was talking with a Swedish Pentecostal missionary who has been working with farmers in North Korea for the past six years. I was particularly interested in hearing what he had to say about the changes he has noticed since he has been there. He said that he had noticed people taking home a lot more home electronics. And there were more markets opening up all the time. He also said that he had noticed quite a few more cars and bicycles.

North Korea is a puzzle. It's a lot like China used to be. This is an observation made by a lot of people I talk to in China. They tell me that North Korea reminds them of China during the Cultural Revolution. Of course I don't argue, because I think the comparison is apt. But it does appear that North Korea is adopting some of the market reforms that have so obviously benefited China.

North Korea is still a pretty closed society, so the picture is not bright. But the irony of the situation is that when a society is that closed, sometimes the result is that good news as well as bad news is kept from the wondering world. So things could be significantly better than the way everyone assumes they are going.

Yang Rui asked the missionary how his religious affiliation affected his ability to function in North Korea. The Swedish missionary responded that for him, the Bible was not just something he used to help people believe. It was something very personal, which he used to guide him in his daily life.