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Kenneth Bae speaks about his time spent in a North Korean prison camp during a talk at Waseca’s Christ Community Church on Oct. 13, 2024.     Photo by Jessica Lutgens

‘Be careful when you pray’

Bae visits Waseca; shares story of North Korean imprisonment
Nearly ten years after being released from a North Korean prison camp, Evangelical Christian missionary Kenneth Bae traveled to Waseca, home of Kelly Sadler, who was among those who helped encourage him during his imprisonment by being part of a letter writing campaign. A good-sized crowd was in attendance at Christ Community Church in Waseca on Sunday, Oct. 13, to hear Bae tell about his experiences.
Born in South Korea in 1968, Bae moved to the United States with his family in 1985 at the age of 16. Following high school, he studied for two years at the University of Oregon, majoring in psychology and minoring in Chinese. He went on to graduate from San Francisco Bible College in 1996 before receiving a Master’s Degree of Divinity from Covenant Theological Seminary in 2002.
In 2005, Bae first visited the North Korean border as part of an outreach team through China. During a visit, he met two North Korean citizens who had become Christian. Knowing faith could make such a difference, Bae says, “changed his life forever.”
During a boat ride on a river between North and South Korea, Bae found himself praying for the Lord to use him as a bridge between North Korea and the rest of the world.
“I have no idea why I said that,” he said with a slight chuckle. “You have to be careful when you pray - the Lord listens.”
It wasn’t until 2010 that Bae first crossed the North Korean border, which was also when the country first opened the border to western tourists. Through a tour company that carried out Christian missionary work, Bae and others brought in about 300 people from 17 different nations. 
“While we’re doing that, we’re praying for people,” he said.
North Korea, officially, is an atheist state.
“If you’re not North Korean citizens, it’s okay for you to worship and pray, as long as you keep it within your group,” Bae explained. “They didn’t like it, but they thought it was a fair trade…[people were] coming in and bringing money to [their country].”
However, on Nov. 3, 2012, Bae was first detained by North Korean authorities for “crimes against the nation.” He explained that some of the evidence against him was a computer hard drive that contained a Western media film about, in part, starving North Korean children.
“[It had] stuff they didn’t want the rest of the world to see,” Bae said. “They didn’t like that at all.”
According to Bae, he was taken to a remote place and questioned day and night, being allowed very little sleep and food.
“It was very intense,” he said.
Eventually, Bae was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in a North Korean prison camp. While there, he was required to work eight hours a day, six days a week, doing things such as field work, farming, digging, and carrying rocks.
After a few months, due to losing about 50 pounds and battling numerous health issues, Bae was sent to a hospital where his mother was allowed to visit him. This visit from his family member, where she was able to bring Bae some of his favorite snacks from the United States, along with his faith and continued daily prayer, allowed Bae to keep his spirits up despite the circumstances he found himself in.
Efforts to have Bae released were ongoing throughout much of his time in the prison camp, with an agreement almost being reached in August 2013. It wasn’t until November of 2014 following a visit from the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, that Bae was able to go home to the United States.
About six months after Bae was returned to Seattle, he and Waseca resident Kelly Sadler were finally able to meet. Sadler is now an ambassador for Bae’s non-profit organization, New Korea Foundation International, which is “dedicated to rebuilding the lives of North Korean refugees through holistic education.”
Sadler first became involved with the effort to get Bae released in 2012 when she joined a letter writing campaign. Not all of the letters written to Bae actually reached him, but Sadler’s did, and ended up changing her life direction from then on out.
Her advice to others is, “Write that letter. The impact you can make is greater than you will ever know.”
For more information on Bae’s organization, which will be moving its headquarters from Seattle, Washington, to Minneapolis, visit newkoreafi.org.
 

 

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