Praying for Women in Northeast Asia

Women in the Northeast Asian countries of China, Japan, North Korea, and South Korea live lives that differ dramatically from one another. TWR Women of Hope’s global prayer movement and media outreach strive to address their unique situations.

Women in China face great challenges, many of which are brought about by the traditional view that women are less valuable than men. China is the only country in which suicides among women outnumber those among men.

China’s one-child family planning policy from 1979-2015 resulted in millions of traumatic forced abortions. Sadly, many families insisted that their pregnant young women abort female babies to ensure that only prized sons would be born. The two-child policy that started in 2015 has resulted in an increased birthrate. Today, though, because of the millions of baby girls never born, the country strives to overcome the challenges resulting from a mismatch between the lower number of women of childbearing age and the estimated 33 million men who cannot find brides.

In North Korea, people continue to have limited food, water, and sanitation. Around 18 million, or 70 percent of the population, suffer malnutrition and struggle with unmet health issues. Some desperate women risk everything trying to escape the country and often are forced to work in brothels or become “brides” of men in China. If caught by authorities in China, many are sent back to North Korea, where they face torture in labor camps or execution.

South Korea is now home to more than 30,000 North Korean defectors, including about 16,000 women who traveled through China, Vietnam, and Mongolia to obtain freedom. TWR Women of Hope’s Korean team desires to help lead them to our Lord Jesus Christ.

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