Sung Hoon Kang was sent to prison for refusing to bear arms in South Korea. Listen as he describes his sobering experiences in which he learned the reason for his existence while being able to share his faith with fellow inmates. Sung counts it a privilege to have been able to suffer for Christ’s sake.

ARME 10: Angwin, CA - July 2012

<p>Sung Hoon Kang was sent to prison for refusing to bear arms in South Korea. Listen as he describes his sobering experiences in which he learned the reason for his existence while being able to share his faith with fellow inmates. Sung counts it a privilege to have been able to suffer for Christ’s sake.</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

ARME Bible Camp

Sung Hoon Kang

My Struggle in a South Korean Prison

This afternoon I'll be just sharing my testimony, my personal experience from prison.

And before I begin, I want to read a quotation from the book, Education, page 57.

It says, the greatest want of the world, can you fill it in, is the want of man, right?

In that context of needing more Jesus, how do we manifest more Jesus?

We need a man that can show who Christ is.

The greatest 1, the 1 thing that this world is lacking, if there's 1 thing that's lacking, that's a man or woman that can reveal Jesus Christ in their lives, right?

It says, men who will not be bought or sold.

That's the character of Jesus Christ, right?

He was a man that will not be bought or sold with money or anything, men who in their inmost souls are true and honest, men who do not fear to call sin by its right name, men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole.

Men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall.

Those are the men or women the world is seeking for.

And today as I share my testimony, I want to share a few principles that can help each 1 of us.

How can we become such a man and woman That we will stand for the right thing no matter what happens, no matter what circumstances we are in, no matter who we hang out with, no matter where we go.

How can we stand faithful to God's principle that God has given to us?

I want to share a few principles from my personal experience from prison.

How Jesus Christ helped me to stand faithful in the most discouraging circumstances.

Before we begin, If you don't mind, I want to ask 1 more time to bow with me to offer a prayer and invite the Holy Spirit to be with us.

Dear Heavenly Father, we want to thank you so much for this beautiful day you have given to us and this Army Bible Camp that you have allowed us to have in this beautiful campus.

And this freedom that we enjoy to come together and worship and learn more about the Bible and you this week.

I pray that you will help us to prepare our hearts for the things that you want to teach us this afternoon.

And I pray that you will especially hide me behind your cross, that Jesus will be uplifted through this, my personal testimony of Your power and Your love in my life.

I'm from South Korea, and my name is Sung Hoon Kang.

I'm a Bible teacher at Heartland College in Virginia.

I just came here to help out with the media, the video recording.

But I'm very privileged to be able to have this time to share this testimony.

I want to share a little background why I had to go to prison.

In Korea, South Korea, as probably most of you know, we face very difficult situation with North Korea.

North Korea is a communist country, right?

And South Korea is republic, but the war never officially ended.

So we are living in a situation where the North Korea can attack us any time, any given day.

So South Korean government requires every man that's born in South Korea to go through military training for 2 years.

It's not optional or voluntary, it's mandatory.

Every man that's able have to go through this training for 2 years in the military.

I studied pastoral evangelism and Christian media management at Heartland College, that's a small missionary college in Virginia.

And there was 1 question that I had in my mind constantly as I was going through that missionary training.

When I finish my school here, I have to go back to my country, and the first thing I would have to face is the military issue.

Is it okay for me to go through this training where basically I'd be learning for 2 years how to kill other people and if necessary during the war I have to kill other people.

Is it okay for me to go through that kind of training as a Christian?

It was, let me tell you, it was not an easy decision.

It took me many years to study personally, pray, and finally I was convicted in my heart that I should ask for the alternative service, where I don't have to carry arms and be trained to take other people's lives.

And the issue is, it's not just the issue of training or not training.

If you are going through this training, you are basically telling the government, I am willing to partake in this war and I'm willing to shoot.

And that's the whole purpose of training, right?

When the war happens, then you send out the troop, the trained soldiers.

So I finished my study in Virginia in the year 2006 in November.

And some of you might be asking why didn't you just stay and don't go back to your country.

The thing is, when I got my visa to study in the States, I had to find 2 people that are willing to sign.

The first 1, if I don't come back after my study, I would have to pay $50, 000 to the government, and the second 1 would go to prison instead of me.

I didn't want to see my grandfather, you know, being in prison, so I had to go back.

Now the very following day, I arrived in Korea in November, and the very next day with my dad I went to the military office and I explained to the officers, Look, I'm a Seventh-day Adventist, and according to my religious conscience and my conviction, I cannot go through these 2 years of training where basically I'll be learning how to kill other people, and in the war, I will not take other people's lives to save mine.

Is there any way that I can be placed in the military where I don't have to bear arms?

And the officers just looked at me and they said, young man, basically you have 2 options.

You go to prison or you go through this training.

So of course I didn't want to go to prison, so I explained, look, I'm not trying to avoid the duty to the nation.

Anything, if it's harder, longer, if it's 3 years, that's fine.

As long as it doesn't contradict my religious conviction, I am willing to do it.

I'm not trying to avoid the duty to the nation.

Is there any way that I can be a cook or a medic or anything?

Is there any other alternative service I can do?

And they said, under the current law, there's no alternative that's allowed.

So once again, young man, you have to choose between prison and going through this training.

I made a very short prayer in my heart, but I already knew what I had to do as a Christian.

Now, The first principle I want to share with you this afternoon, how can we be true to God no matter what circumstances we are in?

No matter what we face, how can we stand firm and be faithful to God's principle?

That principle is found in Daniel chapter 1 verse 8.

So if you have your Bible, let's read quickly that verse that's found in Daniel chapter 1 verse 8.

Principle number 1, How can we be faithful to God?

If you have your Bible, let's read that together.

But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defy himself with the portion of the king's meat.

The Bible says Daniel had to do something very special.

He said, the Bible says he purposed in his heart to be faithful to God.

Principle number 1 is we have to commit ahead of the time before we face the trial.

Every morning, right, as we wake up on our knees, we have to make up that choice.

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My Struggle in a South Korean Prison

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