The history of Protestantism in Korea started with the blood of martyrs although the good work hadbegun before that. In September 5, 1866, a Presbyterian missionary, Robert Thomas, arrived at the Dae-Dong River. He was captured and executed even before he began his missionary efforts. Before his execution, Thomas passed on his Bible. This bore the seeds of Christianity in Korea.

Following this event, John Ross, a preacher from Scotland, arrived and did evangelical work among the people of the Majo province. It was then that the Bible was translated into Korean for the first time. In 1885, the evangelical work of Horace Underwood and Henry Appenzeller helped continue the spread of the gospel. The Jangea-hun Church was created on January 6, 1907. It contributed to the adoption of missionary work nationwide.

With the coming of Japan's rule over Korea, the church was slowly being forced into difficult times. The self-imposed Japanese government enacted a policy on September 9th, 1938 that forced all churches throughout Korea to follow the Shinsachamvae. This doctrine forced churches and followers to betray their loyalty to their faith by worshiping a false Deity. The Presbyterian Church was resistant and was the last institution to change.

Religion in Korea experienced a darkness that impacted the church for quite some time. Only ten years after the Japanese decree, communism was established in Korea. And in yet another ten, September 9th, 1958, the Kim Il-sung government ordered that all churches in North Korea must be cut off. Around 3,000 churches officially disappeared with that order. Only the hidden works remained.

But God Himself initiated the largest missionary efforts ever seen in North Korea as starvation plagued the nation. Ever-increasing numbers of refugees secretly fled to China, and were helped by the Christians in place over the river. People believed that if one were able to find a church in China, they would be saved from starvation. Most Korean refugees received help from the Christian churches and were baptized, in many cases being saved from even more than their hunger.

Sometimes there was no reaction when they first heard the Good News because of the education they had been given. But as they kept being exposed to the Truth, to praising, and to praying, they began to believe and repent. Some quietly met Jesus Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit like a dove, and some met Him through the work of that same Spirit like fire. One girl quickly met Jesus after she had heard the Good News for only 10 minutes! She is still following God. One secret agent of North Korea who was working on capturing Christians repented of his sin and cried, "God, I am a sinner! I have killed many Christians!"

Some people who met Jesus Christ devoted their lives to the mission of reaching their people. One missionary conveyed the words of Nehemiah to a 16-year-old North Korean refugee boy. "Nehemiah prayed God to forgive him and his nation after he realized that they were falling because of sin. It is due to idolatry that North Korea was devastated and so many people died there. They discard God. We should shoulder responsibility for the sin of North Korea and repent." After the boy heard these words, he started crying. Repenting the sin of his people along with his own sins, he prayed to God that he might be used like Nehemiah.

One girl who was trained in China for one and a half years confessed , "I want to be a servant of God like Moses and be one who prays for my people to repent and come back to God. I want to go out to the world following the call of God and proclaiming Jesus Christ so that many people can meet Him and become a people of praise, who honor and please God." God heard these prayers and did His work.