The tragic "dark day" for the Seventh-day Adventist church in Korea was December 28, 1943. On that day government officials sent a proclama tion to all churches and members, stating that the Adventist Chinch was being dissolved, and there was no longer any church organization. Hence forth all members of the church—workers and lay men—should cease to believe the doctrines as taught by Seventh-day Adventists, and revert to the faith of their Korean ancestors.
The government ordered all church property to be liquidated. Through funds accruing from the sale of the Seoul Sanitarium and Hospital "a quit ting" allowance was paid to all former workers and colporteurs. Legally the church ceased to exist. However, government legislation can never re move the ardent faith hidden deep in the recesses of the trusting heart. Soon after this announce ment was made, various groups of devout, sincere Adventists quietly retreated to the rocky fastnesses in the mountains of central Korea. Far from the jurisdiction of haughty men, they continued their allegiance to God and kept His commandments.
From these isolated groups some courageous young men quietly visited various sections of Korea to encourage and strengthen the believers. They met with families, read the Scriptures, and secretly conducted meetings. Pastor Kim Myung Kil visited believers in north, central, and south Korea. He became a peddler by trade. But while selling his wares in cities and villages, he cau tiously continued to "preach the word," and bap tized fifty-two precious souls.
Determined to spread the message at all costs, energetic, fearless young workers strapped their Korean Bibles on their backs and secretly traveled into the more isolated portions of Korea. Last winter more than twenty of these young people left their villages and, according to a prearranged schedule, visited our churches in west Korea to hold one-week Bible institutes. These meetings greatly stimulated the church at a time when encouragement was needed, and the results have been more than gratifying. Our Korean leaders are now conducting a six-week summer Bible school to better train these young men for evan gelistic work. From among these pious, faithful youth, Korea's future evangelists and leaders will emerge.
A few weeks ago I met a number of these zealous workers. One, Pan Nae Hyun, came to Seoul to attend the union committee meeting. During the war, when all our workers were for bidden to preach, he traveled to one of the most isolated and mountainous regions in all Korea. Formerly we had scarcely any b'elievers in this section. Quietly and secretly he began to teach our message. Seeds of truth thus scattered began to germinate.
As soon as the war ended and freedom was again given to Korea, this brother immediately began a series of public gospel meetings. Within a few months new believers sprang up in three separate towns. In one place the whole congre gation of another religious organization, including the Bible instructor, systematically studied the message and began to keep the Sabbath. In all, over one hundred and fifty new Korean believers in this area are now preparins, for baptism. Three young men representing these new companies came to Seoul and earnestly requested that I visit the new district.
New Korea faces many grave problems. But the fires of persecution which were ablaze during the war years have cleansed the church of its dross, and now, with religious freedom granted, the remaining faithful workers and members are uniting their efforts in a speedy finishing of the work.
