The Hermit Kingdom

Lately, stories of Korea have been weaving their way deeper into our lives.

Our own Korean story started when we adopted our children from Korea decades ago, and with them came a lasting connection to the people, the culture, and lives shaped by separation. 

We’re now seeing how the Korean story reveals not only how deeply isolation damages people and cultures, but also the God-given fight for connection that rises from the human heart. 

I think that’s why Trace is drawn to Korean dramas. It’s not just cleaner entertainment. A powerful thread runs through those stories…something intense, relational, and often marked by barriers—identity struggles, family, honor, belonging.

In a culture driven by hierarchy, status, and intense pressure to perform—like our culture in the U.S. and the rest of the modern world—there’s something compelling about watching people fight through isolation to truly connect.

Few places offer a clearer picture of enforced isolation than North Korea. We’ve been drawn into stories like Yeonmi Park’s and her escape from one of the most isolated regimes on earth.”

In North Korea, people are almost completely cut off from the internet, social media, and even basic electronic communication.

The contrast with South Korea is striking. South Korea is free. Advanced. A model for modern culture—where people are more connected than ever digitally, yet often more isolated than ever relationally.

South Korea battles one of the highest suicide rates in the developed world—where connection is everywhere but isolation runs deep.

Isolation isn’t just one thing. It can be political, physical, cultural—even forced. But at its core, it is spiritual.

The Korean Peninsula has long been called the “Hermit Kingdom”—a place marked by separation, cut off from the world.

Historically, the entire Korean peninsula was known as the “Hermit Kingdom.” Today, that label is mostly applied to the totalitarian isolationist North Korea, while South Korea stands as one of the most connected and developed nations in the world.

In North Korea, isolation is enforced. It’s built into the system—controlled, guarded, and absolute.

But just across the border, in South Korea, the story shifts. There is freedom, movement, and every opportunity to connect. 

And yet…isolation still lingers.

As we’ve watched and read the stories, we’re seeing that it’s not the same kind of isolation—but the same ache.

Not always forced from the outside—but always felt within. It wears a different face, but it leaves the same mark.

Because isolation doesn’t begin with borders or governments. It begins in the soul.

The “Hermit Kingdom” may describe a peninsula—but its spiritual shadow reaches further than geography.

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From the beginning, the enemy’s strategy has been simple: Isolate us from God. Isolate us from each other.

In Genesis, the lie didn’t just deceive—it separated. Distance entered where connection once lived.

And ever since, isolation has been the silent weapon.

But Jesus didn’t just come to forgive sin—He came to restore connection.

Through the cross and resurrection, He reconnected us:

• to the Father

• to one another

• to our true identity

  
  

"God… reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation… We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors.” — 2 Corinthians 5:18–20

We are not just saved. We are sent. As ambassadors of a different Kingdom.

If the enemy isolates, then we reconnect.

If the world fragments, we restore family.

Sent into a world shaped by isolation, carrying the connection we’ve been given—as we: 

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•  Practice the Spirit of Adoption

“You received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’” — Romans 8:15

We adopted two children, but God adopted us all.

There are “orphans” everywhere—not always without parents, but without belonging.

• People who feel unseen

• People who don’t fit

• People surrounded by crowds but starving for connection

"Welcome and receive [to your hearts] one another, then, even as Christ has welcomed and received you.” — Romans 15:7

Let’s not just talk about family, let’s become family—and make room for others. 

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• See Beyond Ourselves

“Look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” — Philippians 2:4

Isolation shrinks our world.

But when we start noticing others—the overlooked, the hurting, the quiet—we begin to see something deeper:

Everyone is carrying a need to belong.

Connection starts with attention.

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• Ask… Really Ask

Jesus asked questions to get past the barriers people hide behind and reach their hearts.  People all around us will say “I’m fine,” until we ask the right questions. 

Jesus asked:

"What do you want Me to do for you?” — Mark 10:51

"Where is your husband?” — John 4:16

“Where are your accusers?” — John 8:10

He drew people out. Appropriate questions unlock hearts.

“May I pray for you?”  

“How is your health, your family, your relationships, your finances?” 

“How are you feeling?”

When we actually ask, we create space for people to be seen—and in that space, connection begins.

• Get Together

The 1960s hippie classic “Get Together” captured something we’re still trying to live out:

Come on people now

Smile on your brother

Everybody get together

Try to love one another

Right now

It’s simple—but it’s not shallow. It even points beyond itself:

When the one that left us here

Returns for us at last

Now and until Jesus returns, we’re meant to gather.

And yet, it’s easy to drift away. 

COVID taught us how to stay apart. Technology lets us communicate without ever truly connecting. 

We can text all day—and still feel untouched. Because true connection is physical.

Presence matters. Touch matters. Being in the same room matters. Unlike digital interaction, physical presence and touch provide tangible comfort, lower heart rates, and reduce stress.

We were created for more than messages on a screen.

Scripture doesn’t just suggest it—it calls us to it:

"Do not forsake meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing…” — Hebrews 10:25

Isolation grows when we stay apart. Connection grows when we show up.

So, come on people now—everybody get together right now.

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• Be a Band of Brothers and Sisters

“Everyone who was in trouble…or in desperate circumstances gathered around David, and he became their leader.” — 1 Samuel 22:2

David knew isolation. He was rejected by family, hunted by King Saul, and ended up hiding out in a cave. 

But it was in that lonely cave:

Men gathered.

Brotherhood formed.

Purpose emerged.

Isolation breaks people. Brotherhood rebuilds them. Loyalty and unity cement our bond.

How good and how pleasant it is when brothers truly live in unity.” — Psalm 133:1

We weren’t meant to walk alone. We were meant to band together. 

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South Korea is no longer the “Hermit Kingdom.” And neither are we.

Because of Jesus, we’ve been brought into a Kingdom of:

• Acceptance

• Adoption

• Alliance

  
  

And now we carry that Kingdom into a world still living in isolation.

We don’t just escape the Hermit Kingdom. We rescue others out of it.