A deal was reached to end the long Korean hostage ordeal.  The 19 Korean Christians freed by the Taliban after six weeks in captivity arrived at Incheon airport.  They apologized for putting their country through a wrenching worries and anxieties.  “We owe a big debt to the Korean government and people,” said Ryu Kyung-shik, the oldest of the freed hostages.
  They faced the Korean public, who are relieved that the volunteers had been freed, but also getting increasingly angry about their decision to travel to Afghanistan despite government warnings, and angry about their overzealously proselytizing attitude.  One man even tried to throw eggs at the church missionaries.
  South Korea, which has about 30 percent Christians of its population, has become the second-largest source of missionaries, after the United States.  Their overzealous evangelism is now spreading abroad.  They believe sending missionaries to abroad is the fastest way to expand the honor of a church as well as to convert people to christianity.
  But should missionaries go to countries where they are not welcome?  We should take an in-depth look at the role of Korean missionaries in the world.

Ryu Seo-hyun  ryu0121@dongguk.edu

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