For North Korea to become Paradise on Earth : Stefanus Alliance International and its partners' mission and visions for impacting the lives of North Koreans

Abstract

This master’s thesis presents an empirical study of how Stefanus Alliance international together with its partners understand their mission directed at the North Korean people and what impact they envision. Inquiring into this has implied exploring their motivational basis, their hopes and expectation for the outcomes of their work as well as their missiological perspectives. The approach of the thesis is a qualitative case-study making use of triangulation in the data sampling. Hence the research is based on data retrieved through interviews, document analysis and participant observation in Norway and South Korea. The data has been processed by thematic analysis and discussed against a theoretical backdrop consisting of the Lutheran World Federation’s Mission in Context (2004) as well as J. Andrew Kirk’s What is Mission? (1999). The research concludes that Stefanus Alliance and its partners understand their work as motivated by God’s love, a belief in human worth and dignity as well as the experience of a God-given calling to intervene in the appalling North Korean humanitarian and human rights situation. In spite of differences in how they understand the balance between evangelism, humanitarian work and human rights efforts they work well together. Their partnership is characterized by values such as respect, trust and mutual understanding. Further the thesis concludes that SAINT and its partners envision impacting the North Korean people in such a way that they too may experience God’s love and achieve an improved life-quality and human rights situation.