by Kenneth Bae
PRAISE FOR NOT FORGOTTEN
“Nothing is more tragic than the separation of loved ones. I am honored to have witnessed firsthand the unwavering faith and courage exhibited by Kenneth Bae and his family in their quest to bring him home. As a Korean War veteran in Congress, I have been working hard to encourage peace on the Korean Peninsula and to reunite divided families. Inspiring stories like this keep the hope and pulse alive of seeing a unified Korea in our lifetime.”
—REP. CHARLES B. RANGEL MEMBER OF US CONGRESS (1971–2016)
“If you ever have the feeling of being deserted, this is the book you must read. This ordinary man’s extraordinary experience with God during the 735 days of his captivity in North Korea shows God’s presence, love, and care for us, no matter the situation we are in or who we are. Kenneth Bae’s story is evidence of how God brings light and hope even in the darkest tunnel.
“I also desperately sought God’s answer during my 140 days in North Korea. Not Forgotten carried the answers with the Bible verses that open every chapter. The Lord was and is with me.”
—EUNA LEE, JOURNALIST AUTHOR OF The World is Bigger Now: An American Journalist’s Release from Captivity in North Korea
“Kenneth Bae’s memoir takes us to the heart of darkness that is North Korea. His account of his two-year detention in North Korea shines a light on this secretive country and its savage treatment of its starving people.”
—MELANIE KIRKPATRICK AUTHOR OF Escape from North Korea: The Untold Story of Asia’s Underground Railroad
“As someone who worked to secure Mr. Bae’s release, I could only imagine the difficulties, fear, and suffering he endured. Not Forgotten gives us an honest glimpse of his experience and of what life is like for ordinary North Koreans, from government officials to prison guards to gas station attendants. His story reveals how his unwavering faith allowed him to act with humility and treat everyone he encountered with compassion. Not Forgotten is a story of human hope, perseverance, and triumph.”
—GRACE JI-SUN KIM, PH.D. AUTHOR AND ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY, EARLHAM SCHOOL OF RELIGION
“In many ways, this is a very personal book for me. While I did not personally know Kenneth prior to being with his family to welcome him home, I had the privilege of being the pastor to Kenneth’s family during his imprisonment in North Korea. As such, I intimately knew the ordeal, tears, tenacity, and faith that was involved during his journey. What amazed me then—and today—is that Kenneth and his family continue to pray for the people of North Korea. This is a book not only about the details of a missionary’s imprisonment but, more importantly, about God’s love for people.”
—EUGENE CHO SENIOR PASTOR, QUEST CHURCH AUTHOR OF Overrated: Are We More in Love With the Idea of Changing the World Than Actually Changing the World?
“An uplifting and Scripture-filled account. Kenneth Bae’s witness and testimony to the Lord’s presence in his trial is a blessing. It both affirms the faithful goodness of God and allows those of us at home to know that Kenneth never felt abandoned, that prayer can reach beyond the bars of persecution.”
—LISA JONES EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CHRISTIAN FREEDOM INTERNATIONAL
“Christians around the world will be blessed by this account of courage for Christ in faithful dependence upon his unwavering grace. Kenneth Bae’s love for his North Korean brothers and sisters through years of imprisonment and hard labor powerfully displays the heart of his Savior.”
—BRYAN CHAPELL PASTOR, GRACE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH PRESIDENT EMERITUS, COVENANT THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
© 2016 Kenneth Bae
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ISBN 978-0-7180-7963-5 (HC)
ISBN 978-0-7180-7964-2 (eBook)
ISBN 978-0-7180-8111-9 (IE)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015960286
16 17 18 19 20 RRD 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For my sister, Terri, who dedicated her life
for two years to get me home;
for my family, who together hoped and endured suffering;
and for all who stood with me and remembered
me during the darkest time of my life.
CONTENTS
Foreword by Bill Richardson
Note to the Reader
Prologue
Chapter 1: Welcome to Villa Three
Chapter 2: The Interrogations Begin
Chapter 3: Standing at His Feet
Chapter 4: Coming Clean
Chapter 5: The Power of Prayer
Chapter 6: Operation Jericho
Chapter 7: Confession
Chapter 8: On to Pyongyang
Chapter 9: Far from Home
Chapter 10: First Contact
Chapter 11: Out for Blood
Chapter 12: Guilty as Charged
Chapter 13: 103
Chapter 14: Down on the Farm
Chapter 15: The Whole World Now Knows
Chapter 16: Going Home?
Chapter 17: I Am a Missionary
Chapter 18: A Visit from Home
Chapter 19: More Disappointment
Chapter 20: Missionary in Chains
Chapter 21: Is That What Is Going to Happen to Me?
Chapter 22: Not Alone
Chapter 23: I Will Bring You Home
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notes
About the Authors
“Return home and tell how much God has done for you.”
—LUKE 8:39
FOREWORD
FORMER GOVERNOR OF NEW MEXICO BILL RICHARDSON
OVER THE COURSE of my career, I’ve been called upon to negotiate the release of American prisoners held captive in foreign countries. It is a privilege I never anticipated having and one that I now deeply treasure. At the request of my superiors, even the president, I’ve flown to some of the most dangerous nations on earth—Cuba, Sudan, Iraq, and North Korea to name a few—to negotiate the release of American citizens. Often, I went after several other envoys made unsuccessful attempts to secure their freedom.
North Korea is at
the top of that list. Not only is it very difficult to get into the DPRK, but if you do get in, it can be incredibly difficult to get out. And because the United States has no official relationship with their government, it makes it that much more difficult to communicate and bring about a successful negotiation.
That is why when I learned of Kenneth Bae’s arrest, I knew he was in for a difficult journey. I also knew the North Koreans pay close attention to American media, so I quickly spoke out on Kenneth’s behalf, along with many other concerned leaders, such as Jesse Jackson and even President Obama. We knew it was going to take some time to figure out a negotiating strategy. Then former NBA star Dennis Rodman launched his own goodwill tour of North Korea, and the publicity for Kenneth’s case went to a whole new level. Suddenly we had “sports diplomacy” working for us.
The American people care a great deal about our family members who travel abroad. It has certainly been true of the families of our troops over the decades, and it’s been the same with Kenneth’s family. The way Kenneth’s family and friends organized and brought attention to Kenneth’s plight was impressive and did a lot to cause our government to act.
He may be a different kind of soldier, no doubt, but a very effective one nonetheless. You see, I believe in the power and necessity of Americans to get involved in foreign affairs. We need to know other countries, make friends with them, and learn about their leaders, their customs, and their languages. You may not be as bold as Kenneth, but there is a place for ordinary citizens in international relations. We need to grow our list of goodwill ambassadors around the globe to include people driven by humanitarian missions and organizations not sponsored by a government office. Kenneth was and is driven by his strong Christian faith to help the poor and suffering in the far corners of the world. We can learn a lot from his example.
America is blessed with so many citizens with genuine concern for people living under oppressive regimes. They have big hearts and want to help in some way. And that’s what I found in Kenneth Bae: a man with a great deal of concern for the poor, starving people suffering under a brutal regime. Not many folks actually want to go to North Korea, but through his deep desire to help and his deep faith, this man found a way to reach them.
Imprisonment is a strange thing. Yes, it is deplorable that a man is held against his will in a foreign land and shoved into forced labor. It can crush the best of us. But there is a way to make the best of a bad situation. Cruel dictators know if they can crush a man’s spirit, they will lower his will to live. He can fall into despair in intense isolation. He might go mad thinking he may never see his wife and children again. Or, like Kenneth, he can take his eyes off of his own suffering and begin asking how he might best use his time in this terrible situation. As demonstrated by the experience of the apostle Paul in the Bible, extended amounts of time in prison can have the opposite effect. Instead of endless depression, prisoners can find themselves in long conversations with the prison guards and even form new friendships. Kenneth handled his imprisonment in a model fashion. He remained calm, was cooperative, told the truth, and did what his captors asked him to do. He showed respect to them and did his best to work with them.
We need more people like Kenneth Bae. I believe you will find his story riveting and the lengths he went to help others very inspirational.
NOTE TO THE READER
THE NAMES OF and details related to some individuals and locations in this book have been changed to protect their identities. All scriptures used in this book are ones that the author received while meditating on the Bible during his detention in North Korea.
PROLOGUE
A FEW WEEKS before I started writing this book, I began thinking about traveling overseas again. As a missionary, I have a long list of places where I would like to travel and work. However, before I can travel to any other country for an extended period of time, I must obtain a visa. Every visa application includes the question, “Have you ever been convicted of a crime?” The application does not ask if the conviction was justified or if the rest of the world condemned the imprisonment. All it asks is, “Have you ever been convicted of a crime?”
I have to answer truthfully. I must check the yes box.
A second question always follows the first: “If yes, what was your crime?”
I don’t know how to answer. If I tell the truth, I don’t think any country will grant me a visitor visa. According to my prison record, I am a terrorist charged with and convicted of plotting and working to overthrow the government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), also known as North Korea. After my arrest the prosecutor told me I was the most dangerous American criminal apprehended in the sixty years since the Korean War permanently divided the Korean Peninsula. If I had not been an American citizen, I may have received the death penalty or, at the very least, life in prison with no possibility of parole. Instead, I was sentenced to fifteen years of hard labor.
What did I do that posed such a danger to North Korea? What were my terrorist activities?
I am a missionary.
To the DPRK government, being a missionary is the same as being a terrorist. The terms are interchangeable. As you will discover in the pages that follow, the government finds the gospel of Jesus Christ to be very dangerous. They understand that if they allow the message of Jesus to spread, their government will collapse, along with every aspect of their society. I was tried and convicted of plotting to overthrow the government, even though I never gave away a single Bible or held even one outreach service for the North Korean people. All I did was bring visitors into the country to pray for the North Korean people. That was enough to convict me.
The communist regime in the DPRK has always viewed Christianity as a threat. Ironically, before World War II, when there was only one Korea, more Christians lived in the north than the south. A huge revival broke out in Pyongyang in 1907, with thousands of people coming to Christ. The revival earned Pyongyang the name “Jerusalem of the Far East.”
Today, very few people remember that revival ever took place. All those who lived through it are long since dead. But God has not forgotten the work he once did there. My crime was to walk through that land and pray God would do again what he once did. That made me a terrorist and a dangerous criminal.
I guess I still am, because I am still praying for North Korea.
I love the North Korean people, and I hope to return there someday. As you read my story, you will get a glimpse of what life is like for average citizens in one of the most secretive nations on earth. The people have not chosen this life. They live in darkness, completely cut off from the rest of the world. All they know, all they believe, is the propaganda that comes at them all day, every day, through their radios and televisions and schools and newspapers and every other information outlet. They have forgotten life before the days of their Great Leader, life when the light once shone.
As you read the story that follows, I pray that you, too, will fall in love with the North Korean people. They have no voice, but together we can be that voice. God has not forgotten the North Korean people. I write this book so that you will not forget them either.
ONE
WELCOME TO VILLA THREE
“But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”
—MATTHEW 10:19–20
THE MOMENT THE car pulled into the parking lot I knew I was in trouble.
“Are you Mr. Bae?” asked a fiftysomething man who had just stepped out of the black compact sedan that now blocked my path.
From his black suit, white shirt, and black tie, I immediately knew he was a government agent. Like nearly everyone I had met in North Korea, he was very thin. Another, younger man approached me from the other side. He looked to be m
aybe thirty. Neither one smiled or showed any sign of emotion. They clearly were on a mission.
“I said, are you Mr. Bae?” the first man repeated, even though I could tell he knew the answer.
I swallowed hard. “Yes,” I said with a smile, trying to act relaxed, while inside I wanted to panic.
Even before the car pulled into the hotel parking lot, I knew something like this was going to happen. I wasn’t sure if it would happen today or tomorrow or the next day, but I was certain that before my scheduled four-day visit was over, government agents would come for me. The only question was when.
“You need to come with us,” the man said. His tone of voice told me that if I knew what was good for me, I would do as I was told.
Even so, I hesitated. It felt like a scene from a movie: the black sedan, the agents in dark suits. I’d seen this movie before, and I knew things never turned out too well for the man forced into the backseat of the car.
Before I could say or do anything, the younger man grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the sedan. “Get in now,” he growled.
Every outside visitor is accompanied by a government minder, a low-level official whose job is to monitor the visitor’s activities and report back to Pyongyang. My minder, who was walking across the parking lot with me, instinctively took a step back as if he didn’t know me. I could tell he wished he had never been assigned to my tour group.
“Who are you? Are you part of his tour company?” the younger agent barked at him.
“No,” the minder replied. “I am the—”
The first agent cut him off. “Why were the two of you walking around out here?” He didn’t have to say it, but I could tell the agent was accusing the minder of breaking some rule. Without waiting for the minder to answer, the agent snapped, “Come with us.” Then, as if the minder had any questions about whom the agent was talking to, the agent pointed at him and repeated, “You. Come.”
