Woman executed for distributing Bibles

Perhaps like the reporters, they didn't realize they were in North Korea? It is a shame that we don't find out about these things when they first happen, but that's the way it is where the government controls everything. Everything can be hidden.

She must have at least had an idea of the risks she was taking. Being their with her husband, children and parents makes me wonder if she wasn't some sort of evangelist. As a parent it doesn't make sense to me to take such risks when you have children who needs you and will be devastated by your loss. That being said I do not think I have ever believed in something so much that I would give my life for it. She was a brave woman.

I thought about the children too.

God gave man free will. When he matures he will know better how to exercise it.

What are your sources for this report? Can you provide any links?

She was following the dictates of her religion. Hopefully, she was following God's Will, so much good will result from her actions.

I think that she exercised poor judgment. Would you hand out Bibles in Iran and think that you were doing God's will?

If she was doing God's will then it's a shame God didn't save her. What a cad !!!

Peter: Perhaps God did save her, saved her before she could do more harm to herself or others. We cannot judge God's actions.

I just always wonder about the "almighty" being "almighty".

If it were against the law here to hand out the Koran, and someone handed out the Koran, they would have been arrested, too. That part, I agree with. If you knowingly break a law, you need to accept the consequences. Are North Korea's laws much harsher than ours? Obviously they are. Did she realize that? Then, she must have believed she'd be a martyr and get instant entry into heaven. It's sad for the kids, but hopefully, they'll learn to believe that mom did the right thing and someone else will step in to nurture them.

Missionaries have been working around the globe for centuries. Many have died for their beliefs. It's not new, nor will it be the last time one is executed.

In China, Christians meet in secret to worship. They know the consequences, but their faith is stronger than their fear.

Thanks for posting to Fugitives from Ignorance, Conformity, and Peer Pressure

Why are Christians so foolish as to think that their religion is better than the one other people already have? Christians are good at proselytizing but they won't shut up and listen to other truths.

You calling something a "truth" is irrelevant, Thomas. No person ought to treat anything as sacred truth, if they have not personally witnessed something very special about, or in regard to it, I say. You may push for your preferred beliefs, but that isn't, and ought not be seen as anything but proselytizing by you. As a disciple of Christ, I don't care what you bundle into your personally accepted assortment of "sacred texts", I know the Book is the Word of God . . I have no indication all that other stuff is. If that bugs you, so be it. Learn to accept differences in what other folks believe, I suggest.

PS~ This from the Wiki, about "the one other people already have";

" . . . much more attention is paid to the personalities of the deceased "Great Leader" Kim Il-sung and today's "Dear Leader", his son Kim Jong-il. Their portraits are omnipresent in streets, schools, public buildings and all private homes. The ideological statements and scriptures produced by the two leaders are the main basis of education for both children and adults. The story of the Kims' descent is surrounded with mythology. Children in schools are taught that they came down from heaven, and were placed on the top of Mount Paektu, where they were transformed into human beings. At public events, songs are sung that depict the leaders as saviours of the country as well as of each individual citizen."


You figure that "religion" is of God too, Thomas? . . ; )

Let reason and common sense prevail.

(. . . I'll take that as a . . . probably not ; )


And, if I were to tell you it was . . . and that those scriptures of the Kim's ought to be considered the equivalent of those from Bahá’u’lláh . . . nay, superior, by virtue of the chronological occurrence of the . . revelations . . . me thinks you might hesitate to agree ; )

I would like to see some links and documentations to this execution story. Something doesn't smell right. Why was the entire family, including the children in North Korea, a well known isolated and closed country. How did Bibles get across the border? Strange there is no mention of a Christian denomination mentioned. Why? In most cases, church headquarters would have been on the top of CNN and Fox.

North Korea is secretive. You might Google some words like "North Korea, Bible, executed, Oklahoma."

What was an American woman doing in North Korea distributing the Bible? She was
"living her Faith" which is more than most people do. God has a special place for people with such Faith. Too bad that more people haven't the courage or conviction to stand up for what they believe.

Donald: What you say is true, however there is something to be said for not going where you are not wanted, and for not disobeying the laws of the country, as corrupt and backward as that country may be.

You're right, Thomas. It's the wrong way to try and achieve anything positive overall. I was thinking only of the motive for what the person did and not with the wisdom of what it might or might not achieve. And it is true that the right motive at the wrong time or place is or can be counter productive. This is particularly true in this case where the motive involves an obsolete religious paradigm that has little or no applicable meaning at this time in history and even less in the place of this instance.

Yes, this is analogous to distributing 6th grade text books to deaf and blind college graduates.

"" involves an obsolete religious paradigm that has little or no applicable meaning at this time in history "" seems to apply to "both" religions in question ... IMnsHO.

Jerry: It does.

Although I know for certain that mine will not be the final comment, yet I feel the line must end here. North Korea may have acted with discretion because as of now this country is not in the good books of either God or the world. And its own acts have imperiled itself and its neighbors. Moreover, the lady who died as a martyr has done the greatest deed by subscribing to God's own precept – ie. By spreading the message of God. And with her death, she has merited next life not only for herself but for her family as well. So, we only need to rejoice that someone dared a communist country (an atheist country for that matter) to act against the very supremacy of the Almighty who sure will solicit of North Korea an account for the crimes and violations of Human Rights.

If God were to miraculously save someone from death or near death, that is not going to fetch even a iota of faith inside the rulers and people of North Korea. Even Jesus Christ did a solemn miracle in the garden of Gethsamane when the pharsees and scribes came to take Him away, when he asked of them “Who do you want?” The entire crowd had then fallen on the ground. But this miracle did not work for those people who were already under the spell of satan. So too, no amount of miracle can prick the conscience of people who are hell bent to persecute the followers of God – Jesus Christ. What needs to be underlined is that North Korea, Iran, and many more rogue nations have only known the silence of God not the Day of Wrath!

Ri Hyon Ok, 33, was also accused of spying for South Korea and the United States and organizing dissidents. She was executed in the northwestern city of Ryongchon near the border with China on June 16.

She was a Korean woman.