More Korean missionaries going to dangerous countries

A Korean missionary group whose members were kidnapped and two of them killed in Afghanistan in 2007 has attempted to begin work again in the Central Asian country.

A government source in Seoul said Friday, “A Protestant missionary group has recently asked the government to lift the restriction on travel to Afghanistan for its missionary work,” adding, “I understand that the missionary group involved in the 2007 kidnapping in Afghanistan is also attempting to resume work in that country.”

The government fears that aggressive missionary work could lead to another kidnapping. With a series of missionary attempts detected in Middle Eastern countries with a high risk of terrorism due to Islamic fundamentalism or civil wars, Korean embassies there are on high alert.

Uzbekistan is known to have expelled a Korean Tuesday for allegedly conducting illegal missionary work. According to a Korean Foreign Ministry source and the pro-government Uzbekistani news site Press-uz, the Korean allegedly tried to preach Christianity to an Uzbekistani couple despite warnings from Uzbekistani judicial authorities.

Last year, seven Koreans were kicked out of Uzbekistan for illegal missionary work, according to the ministry. A ministry source said, “The figure was given by the Korean Embassy in Tashkent. If those expelled by the Uzbekistani government without notification to the embassy are added, the figure would be higher.”

A Korean pastor who was kicked out of Morocco due to illegal missionary work in March last year attempted to reenter the country in November last year and early this year. So the Korean Embassy in Rabat has reportedly banned his entry into the Arab country, which expelled four Koreans for illegal missionary work last year.

Korean missionaries are known to have flocked to Mauritania to avert the Moroccan government’s crackdown. Travel to most areas in Mauritania has been restricted from last year due to political instability there stemming from bloody clashes between refugees and government forces.

Last month, eight Korean Christians notified the Korean Embassy in Mauritania of their travel to the country at the invitation of a Korean missionary based in the country. The embassy urged them not to go, but they reportedly went away.

In addition, 15 Korean Christians who presented themselves as "missionary pioneers" entered Mauritania in December last year.

A government source in Seoul said, “They are apparently related to the missionary group involved in the Afghanistan kidnapping.”

In addition, a missionary dispatched by a different missionary group reportedly entered Mauritania late last year.

Furthermore, four college students suspected of being missionaries visited on Jan. 4 the northern region of Pakistan, which is plagued by frequent terrorist attacks by the Taliban.

A government source in Seoul said, “College students are doing missionary work in Pakistan and Iran under the guise of exploration of remote areas.”

Moreover, more Korean missionaries are entering Pakistan via the country’s border with China. This led the Korean Embassy in Islamabad to post a message on its homepage last month reading, “Certain college students are visiting areas at high risk of terrorism for travel or missionary work purposes during their winter vacation. Safety guidance and promotional efforts should be heightened until late February, when their winter vacation ends.”

Many college students and missionary groups are also entering Yemen, a country where terrorist bombings and attacks are frequent.

One source said, “Korean missionaries were expelled from a Yemeni college for missionary work, and others were detected at checkpoints while going on a mission trip without written permission.”

The Korean government is in trouble since it has no way to prevent Korean missionaries from entering such countries.

A government source said, “If they say their purpose is not to propagate Christianity, there is no way to discern them from ordinary tourists,” adding, “Though the embassy there suspects them as missionaries, it cannot return them to Korea due to lack of evidence.”

Ethnic Koreans in the Middle East and African countries are also worried. A staff member at a volunteer organization that has worked in a Mideast country for the past 10 years said, “Aggressive missionary work will cause Koreans to be subject to surveillance by secret police. This will lead to restrictions on voluntary work and victimize the entire Korean community.”

zeitung@donga.com