They go anywhere – from African jungles to tribal villages of Afghanistan. Self-designated foot soldiers of Jesus Christ, Korean missionaries travel the globe, looking for souls to save with the good book in one hand and cash in another. The apostles carry a special message mixing religion and politics, insisting that the Gospel saved South Korea from communism. Belief in Jesus not only saves souls, but delivers nations from poverty.
But if press reports turn out to be true that the South Korean government, working on behalf of the missionaries kidnapped in Afghanistan, paid millions of dollars in ransom, then the church work may have merely alleviated the poverty of a terrorist group. The global mission of spreading Christian faith has run smack into the US and NATO global mission against terrorism.
A Reuters news agency report quoting a senior Taliban official as saying that a ransom of more than US$20 million was paid to secure the hostages’ release, though unconfirmed, is sure to add fuel to growing criticism of Korean missionaries and expose the growing complexity of an old globalizing force.
The kidnapping of 23 Christian aid workers in mid-July, two of whom were killed before release of the remainder, has revived criticism of missionaries’ no-holds-barred proselytizing. The zeal of some churches, often offending local sensitivities, has made the Korean missionaries controversial at home and abroad. Some countries such as China and Cambodia, with a historical view that foreign missionaries are agents of imperialism, have banned them. South Korea’s foreign ministry frowns on work where the missionaries are not officially welcome and restricts travel to war-torn countries like Iraq and Somalia.
Eager to serve, however, some ignore the warnings, risking capture and death; Kim Son Il, a young, novice evangelical worker, was beheaded by Iraqi insurgents in 2004.
This time, in addition to possibly paying ransom, South Korea obtained release of the missionaries by promising to keep them and all South Korean non-governmental organization workers out of Afghanistan and withdraw troops from that country.
Officially, the South Korean foreign ministry has not responded to speculation about ransom payments. The source of funds is alleged to be the hostages’ church, Saemmul Presbyterian. Church officials did announce plans to repay the government for airfare, hospitalization and other costs. But if reports of ransom payment are confirmed, it would trigger a public outcry, increasing taxpayer resentment about missionaries visiting danger zones explicitly prohibited by the government.
The news of the 29 August agreement won’t quiet debate already raging within churches. While the two biggest Protestant organizations in Korea – the liberal-oriented Korean National Council of Churches and conservative Christian Council of Korea – issued statements accepting Taliban conditions, critics suggest that Korean missionaries pause and moderate their course.
Overall, such changes, they said, would require Korean missionaries to avoid many war-torn regions, especially where Islam is the dominant religion. They would have to show greater respect for local cultures and religions. Mission emphasis should shift from total converts reported to pragmatic projects. Thus humanitarian projects – such as providing medical, child-care or education services in Asia and Africa – should be given priority.
Voices within the church call for moderation: Korean missionaries are "too loud and aggressive in their ways and self-centered," commented one missionary worker writing in www.newsandjoy.com, a church blog, withholding his identity.
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