Open Doors event draws 9,000 to Germany for prayer, firsthand accounts of persecution

A North Korean pastor who survived hunger and forced labor told thousands of German Christians that the Kim dynasty is nearing its end — one of several firsthand accounts of persecution that shaped a three-day gathering in southwestern Germany this month.

Around 9,000 people attended Open Doors Days in Karlsruhe from May 14–16, according to a press release from Open Doors Germany and reporting by Jesus.de. The event, which drew comparable numbers to the previous year, opened with a Youth Day on Ascension Day, followed by a prayer evening and a main program day on Saturday.


Speakers from Indonesia, Burkina Faso, North Korea, Mexico and Central Asia shared personal accounts of the hardships facing Christians in their countries. A 25-year-old Indonesian woman, identified only as Vina, said she survived a suicide bombing at her church in 2021 that left her with serious injuries. Jung Jik, a pastor from North Korea, described years of hunger, escape and detention in a labor camp and said he believes the Korean Peninsula will eventually be reunified.

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