Last Sunday, a choir composed of 16 South Koreans and 16 North Korean students came together in a church in Los Angeles to sing praises to the Lord and deliver a message calling for Korean Reunification. The students who participated ranged from elementary school to college and brought about a great deal of emotion within the congregation.
The team performed both CCM songs and tradition Korean ballads that any 1st generation Korean would have heard before at least once. They also performed CCD (Contemporary Christian Dance) and traditional Korean dance with fans, wearing Hnbok.
The North Korean defectors who were performing on Sunday were all defectors who moved into South Korea. For a defector, readjusting to the competitive life in the south is no easy task. The missionary, who was in charge of the performance, explained that 70 percent of those who manage to escape from North Korea are children or young adults. 80 percent of the escapees are women.
She went on to explain that the defectors are like Korean-Americans in a way; that they came to a new home to find freedom and opportunity, but soon reality closes in. However, these students that experienced both the South and the North will be used by God in bringing reunification to Korea.
The Blessing Korea team ended the performance with asking the audience to sing with them one last song – the Korean national anthem. As the concert came to a close, the congregation of G Church came up on stage, singing a song of blessing to embrace and encourage the students.
