In light of our current views of North Korea, we can easily forget how much we don't know about it and its Christian roots. Years ago, the city of Pyongyang became known to missionaries as the “Jerusalem of the East.” The city had great institutional strength for Protestantism, including Union Christian Hospital, Union Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and Union Christian College, the first four-year college anywhere in Korea.
One hundred and ten years ago, Pyongyang saw the outbreak of a massive revival which was the high point of the season of evangelical strength in northern Korea. One Saturday night, Presbyterian missionary William Blair preached to thousands of Korean men focusing on their need to turn away from their traditional hatred of the Japanese people, with whom Korea had a long history of conflict. The missionaries and Korean Christians had been praying for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit for revival and repentance, and it came on that night in January 1907. Many at the meeting began praying out loud, and soon the signs of awakening began to appear. As one missionary described it, the sound of many praying at once brought,