Religion in North Korea
Encyclopedia
Traditionally Religion in North Korea
primarily consists of Buddhism
and Confucianism
and to a lesser extent Korean shamanism
and syncretic Chondogyo. Since the arrival of Europe
ans in the 18th century, there is a Christian
minority. According to the Central Intelligence Agency
, since the rise of the Workers' Party of Korea
, free religious activities no longer exist as the government sponsors religious groups only to create an illusion of religious freedom. North Korea is officially an atheist state in which much of the population is nonreligious. North Korea sees organised religious activity as a potential challenge to the leadership.
s. Estimates by South Korea
n and international church-related groups were considerably higher. In addition, the Chondogyo Young Friends Party
, a government-approved group based on a traditional religious movement, had approximately 40,000 practitioners, according to the Government. According to a South Korean press report, in 2002 the chairman of the Association of North Korean Catholics stated that the Catholic community in the country had no priests but held weekly prayer services at the Changchung Catholic Church in Pyongyang
. However, some doubt that all of those attending Mass were Catholic. According to state-controlled media reports, following the death of Pope John Paul II
in April 2005, a memorial service was held at this church, and services were also held at family worship places across the country.
In Pyongyang there were reportedly three state-controlled Christian churches: two Protestant churches under lay leadership—the Bongsu and Chilgol churches—and the Changchung Roman Catholic Church. One of the Protestant churches is dedicated to the memory of former leader Kim Il-sung
's mother, Kang Pan-sok, who was a Presbyterian deaconess. The number of congregants regularly worshiping at these churches is unknown.
The Presbyterian Church of Korea
in the South is partnering with the Christian Association in North Korea to rebuild Bongsu Church. In the fall of 2006, a delegation of 90 Christians from South Korea visited the Bongsu church to celebrate completion of its first phase of renovation, according to press reports. According to religious leaders who travel to the country, there were Protestant pastors at these churches, although it was not known if they were resident or were visitors.
In its July 2002 report to the U.N. Human Rights
Committee, the country reported the existence of 500 "family worship centers." The country did not define the term; however, observers stated that "family worship centers" were part of the state-controlled Korean Christian Federation
, while "underground churches" were not part of the Federation and were not recognized by the Government. Some NGOs and academics estimate there may be up to several hundred thousand underground Christians in the country. Others question the existence of a large-scale underground church or conclude that no reliable estimate of the number of underground religious believers exists. Individual underground congregations are reportedly very small and confined to private homes. At the same time, some NGOs report that the individual churches are connected to each other through well-established networks. The regime has not allowed outsiders the access necessary to confirm such claims.
There were an estimated 300 Buddhist temple
s. Most were regarded as cultural relics, but religious activity was permitted in some. A few Buddhist temples and relics have been renovated or restored in recent years under a broad effort aimed at "preserving the Korean nation's cultural heritage." In October 2005 tourists from the Republic of Korea (ROK) and other international tourists were permitted to view the reconstruction of the Shingye or Singyesa (or Holy Valley) Temple, which was destroyed during the Korean War
of 1950-53. The reconstruction was funded by the ROK Government and foreign tourists and was expected to be completed in 2007. A South Korean monk, the first to permanently reside in North Korea, has lived at the temple since 2004, but was expected to serve primarily as a guide for visiting tourists rather than as a pastor caring for Buddhists living in the area.
According to the country's media accounts, renovation of the Ryongthong temple in Kaesong was completed in early 2005. A restoration ceremony was held in October 2005 with participants from North and South Korea and Japan. Foreign diplomats in Pyongyang who visited the site were told that the two monks living there may be joined by more. The Government announced in June 2007 that 500 monk
s and Buddhist followers were making day-long pilgrimages to the temple strictly for religious purposes. Plans were being made for 2,000 more Buddhist followers from South Korea to make the pilgrimage later in the year. State-controlled press reported on several occasions that Buddhist ceremonies had been carried out in various locations. Official reporting also linked descriptions of such ceremonies with the broader theme of Korean unification.
The Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church
opened in Pyongyang on August 13, 2006. The church was reportedly commissioned by Kim Jong-il after he visited an Orthodox cathedral
in Russia
in 2002. According to a Russian press report, a Russian priest served the cathedral, and a religious leader who traveled to the country confirmed that the church was run by a priest of North Korean origin who had studied in Russia. The purported aim of the church was primarily to provide pastoral care of Russians in the country, but one religious leader with access to the country speculated that the church likely extended care to all Orthodox Koreans as well. As with other religious groups, no reliable data exists on the number of Orthodox believers in the country.
Several foreigners residing in Pyongyang attended Korean-language services at the Christian churches on a regular basis. Some foreigners who had visited the country stated that church services appeared staged and contained political content supportive of the regime, in addition to religious themes. Foreign legislators attending services in Pyongyang in previous years noted that congregations arrived at and departed services as groups on tour buses, and some observed that they did not include any children. Other foreigners noted that they were not permitted to have contact with congregants. Foreign observers had limited ability to ascertain the level of government control over these groups, but it was generally assumed they are monitored closely. According to the 2006 Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU) White Paper, there was no evidence that any of the central religious organizations maintained branches in the provinces.
Overseas faith-based aid organizations have been active in responding to the country's food and humanitarian crises. However, many such organizations report that they are not allowed to proselytize, their contact with nationals is limited and strictly monitored, and they are accompanied by government escorts at all times.
In March 2007 the Barnabas Fund
, a Christian charity, helped to open a bakery in Songbong. A South Korean Buddhist group, Join Together Society (JTS), continued to operate a factory in the Rajin-Sonbong Free Trade Zone to produce food for preschool children, which it has done since 1998. Catholics of the Seoul archdiocese continued to operate a noodle factory that they opened in 2001.
The regime has allowed a number of high-profile religious leaders to visit the country. In March 2007 Bishop Lazarus You Heung-sik of Daejeon
, president of Caritas
Corea, led a 10-member team on a visit to the country in the fifth such visit since September 2006. Following the March trip, Caritas reached an agreement with local officials to continue and expand aid for medical and food-producing facilities, according to press reports. According to the agreement, in 2007 Caritas will provide medical equipment for a hospital, equipment for a seed-potato production facility, and medical support for clinics in a rural area. In May 2007, as part of this project, a Catholic delegation visited 17 pediatric hospitals in Pyongyang and Nampo, among other areas, where they delivered medication for tuberculosis
.
In early February 2007 more than 140 members of the Korean Catholic Farmers' Movement from 15 South Korean dioceses met at Mt. Kumgang for the group's annual general assembly meeting, according to a press report. Officials managing Mt. Kumgang's special tourism zone had suggested a project in which the North would provide farmland and workers while the Farmers' Movement would provide technology.
Pastor Rick Warren
announced in 2006 that he had been invited by the Government to preach to 15,000 Christians in the country in March 2007. His 2006 planning trip was postponed following the Government's July 4–5 missile launches. In February 2007 he announced that he would pursue a later date for the trip.
Some South Korean religious groups visited the country to promote reunification. In May 2007 a South Korean interfaith delegation visited Pyongyang where it met with the North Korean Government's Council of Religionists to discuss reunification of the peninsula. Following instructions from the Vatican, the Catholic members of the delegation refrained from celebrating mass to avoid giving the Eucharist to North Koreans posing as Catholics.
In April 2006 the Catholic archdiocese of Seoul sent a 61-member delegation to the country, led by Mgr. Thomas Aquinas Choi Chang-hwa, the director of the National Reconciliation Committee. During the visit the Catholic Association of North Korea proposed a joint visit to the Vatican
with the Seoul
archdiocese, which the association said it hoped would lead to an audience with the Pope
. The Vatican has thus far discouraged such a visit, citing ongoing concerns about the juridical and canonical status of the state-founded Catholic Association of North Korea.
In June 2005 Venerable Bubjang, head of the Jogye Order
, the largest Buddhist sect in the ROK, and at the time the chair of the national council on religious leaders in that country, traveled to Pyongyang to mark the fifth anniversary of the June 2000 inter-Korean summit.
In October 2005 a delegation from the state-controlled Korean Christian Federation (DPRK) attended an international solidarity meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, sponsored by the Evangelical Church in Germany
, according to a government media report.
Several schools for religious education exist in the country. There are 3-year colleges for training Protestant and Buddhist clergy
. A religious studies program also was established at Kim Il-sung University in 1989; its graduates usually worked in the foreign trade sector. In 2000 a Protestant seminary was reopened with assistance from foreign missionary groups. Critics, including at least one foreign sponsor, charged that the Government opened the seminary only to facilitate reception of assistance funds from foreign faith-based NGOs. The Chosun Christian Federation, a religious group believed to be controlled by the Government, contributed to the curriculum used by the seminary. In September 2003 construction reportedly was completed of the Pyongyang Theological Academy, a graduate institution that trains pastors affiliated with the Korean Christian Federation. In December 2005 citizens who were expected to staff Pyongyang's Russian Orthodox Cathedral traveled to Vladivostok for training in ordination and other rituals.
s. Article 14 of the 1948 constitution noted that "citizens of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea shall have the freedom of religious belief
and of conducting religious services." Article 54 of the 1972 constitution, however, stated that "citizens have religious liberty and the freedom to oppose religion" (also translated as "the freedom of antireligious propaganda"). Some observers argued that the change occurred because in 1972 the political authorities no longer needed the support of the much-weakened organized religions. In the 1992 constitution, Article 68 grants freedom of religious belief and guarantees the right to construct buildings for religious use and religious ceremonies. The article also states, however, that "No one may use religion as a means by which to drag in foreign powers or to destroy the state or social order." North Korea has been represented at international religious conferences by state-sponsored religious organizations such as the Korean Buddhists' Federation, the Korean Christian Federation
, and the Ch'ndogyo Youth Party
.
Despite these official religions, much more attention is paid to the personalities of the deceased "Great Leader" Kim Il-sung
and today's "Dear Leader", his son Kim Jong-il
. Their portraits are omnipresent in streets, schools, public buildings and all private homes. The ideological statements and scriptures produced by the two leaders are the main basis of education for both children and adults. The story of the Kims' descent is surrounded with mythology. At public events, songs are sung that depict the leaders as saviours of the country as well as of each individual citizen.
This cult of personality
, together with the doctrine of juche
(self-reliance), has resulted in a deliberate replacement of the religions that flourished in the North before the rise of stalinism
. According to human rights
observers, this change of regime put an end to free religious activities, as the government only sponsors selected religious groups to create an illusion of religious freedom. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kn.html It is unlikely that the annulment in 1992 of a constitutional clause which explicitly prohibited religious activities and endorsed the opposition of religion, brought any actual change in the situation.
Earlier restrictions of religion were enforced by the Japan
ese, who occupied the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945. A similar reason for intolerance existed in that time - the Japanese imperial cult
.
One interpretation has held that all open religious activity in DPRK Korea was persecuted and eradicated after Kim Il Sung took power, only to be revived in the present as part of a political show. Another interpretation has held that religion survived and has genuinely been revived in the past few decades.
Kim Il Sung criticized religion in his writings, and North Korean propaganda in literature, movies and other media have presented religion in a negative light. The Juche philosophy often took the place of religion and taught Koreans to see religion as an unscientific delusion. Kim Il Sung's attack on religion was strongly based on the idea that religion had been used as a tool for imperialists in the Korean peninsula. He criticized Christians for collaborating with the UN forces against him during the Korean war, although he praised Christians who supported him.
Accounts from the Korean war speak of harsh persecution of religion by Kim Il Sung in the areas he controlled. Prior to the war, the Christian community in the Korean peninsula was most heavily concentrated in the North and with the war being fought, many of these Christians fled to the South. Some interpretations have considered that the Christian community in the DPRK were often of a higher socio-economic class than the rest of the population, which may have prompted their departure for fear of persecution for this reason.
The large-scale destruction caused by the massive US air raids and the suffering experienced by North Koreans during the Korean War helped foster a burning hatred of Americans, and Christianity was targeted as being the American religion.
Religion was attacked in the ensuing years as an obstacle to the construction of communism, and many people abandoned their former religions in order to conform to the new reality.
On the basis of accounts from the Korean war as well as information from defectors, an interpretation has held that the DPRK was the only state in the world to have completely eradicated religion by the 1960s.
Buddhism was thought to have been eradicated, under this interpretation and its reappearance later was thought to be a show. ‘The Federation of Korean Christians’ in DPRK Korea (the umbrella organization of Christians in DPRK Korea, which began in 1970), under this interpretation, has been considered a ‘fake’ organization meant to present a favourable image to the outside world. Other interpretations have thought that perhaps they do represent a genuine faith communities in the DPRK that survived the persecutions.
An interpretation has considered that these religious communities may have been genuine believers who genuinely adhered to Marxist-Leninism and the leadership of Kim Il Sung, thus ensuring their survival. This interpretation has been supported by recent evidence gathered that has shown that the DPRK may have tolerated the existence of up to 200 pro-communist Christian congregations during the 1960s, and by the fact that several high ranking people in the DPRK’s government were Christians and they were buried with high honours (Kang Yang Wook
was a Presbyterian minister who served as vice president of the DPRK from 1972 to 1982, and Kim Chang Jun was a Methodist minister who served as vice chairman of the Supreme People’s Assembly ).
Differing interpretations often agree on the disappearance of religion under Kim Il Sung in the first few decades of his rule. The DPRK never made an open public policy statement about religion, leading to unresolved speculation among scholars as to what exactly the government’s position was at any point in time.
, with which it formed one country until 1948. Most of the country's population consisted of Buddhists and Confucianists, though there were sizeable minorities of Christian
s and followers of the syncretic Chondogyo (religion of "the Heavenly Way").
is practiced under the auspices of the official Korean Buddhist Federation. There are some 300 Buddhist temples in the country (e.g. Pohyonsa
), but they are viewed as cultural relics from Korea's past rather than places of active worship. Officially, there is a three-year college for training Buddhist clergy. Whether or not these institutes teach traditional Buddhist values has not been verified, however. Religious freedom observers assume the places are used to instruct students to deploy Buddhist teaching merely as a vehicle for the juche ideology.
A limited revival of Buddhism is apparently taking place. This includes the establishment of an academy for Buddhist studies and the publication of a twenty-five-volume translation of the Korean Tripitaka, or Buddhist scriptures, which had been carved on 80,000 wooden blocks and kept at the temple at Myohyang-san
in central North Korea. A few Buddhist temples conduct religious services; 62% of North Korea is buddhist.
, Confucianism
, Taoism
, and Catholicism. It is the only religion in North Korea which has a corresponding party representing it: the Chondoist Chongu Party
.
and Taoism
in Korea, shamanism has been influenced by both.
with Western countries in 1881. By that time, Protestant missionaries began entering Korea during the 1880s. They established schools, universities, hospitals, orphanages, and played a significant role in the modernization of the country. Before 1948 P'yongyang was an important Christian center, one-sixth of its population of about 300,000 residents were Christians.
In the first half of the 20th century, Pyongyang
was the centre of Christianity on the Korean peninsula. A spiritual revival took place in 1907 (following the 1903 Wonsan Revival), and by 1945, 13% of the population was Christian. Because of these figures, the city used to be called the Jerusalem of the East. Japanese occupation suppressed Christian activity, but did not wipe it out. The effect of the 1948 communist revolution was more drastic.
Between 1945, when Soviet forces first occupied the northern half of the Korean Peninsula
and the end of the Korean War
in 1953, many Christians, considered "bad elements" by North Korean authorities, fled to South Korea to escape the socialist regime's antireligious policies. By the late 1980s, it became apparent that North Korea was beginning to use the small number of Christians remaining in the country to establish contacts with Christians in South Korea and the West. Such contacts are considered useful for promoting the regime's political aims, including reunifying the peninsula. In 1988, for the first time since the Korean war, Christian communities were allowed to hold worship services in the open in churches. In this year three new churches, the Protestant Pongsu and Chilgol Churchs and the Roman Catholic Changchung Cathedral
, were opened in Pyongyang.
Other signs of the regime's changing attitude toward Christianity include holding the International Seminar of Christians of the North and South for the Peace and Reunification of Korea in Switzerland
on November 1988, allowing papal representatives to attend the opening of the Changchung Cathedral in that same year, and sending two North Korean novice priests to study in Rome
. A Protestant seminary in Pyongyang taught future leaders of the DPRK. A new association of Roman Catholics was established in June 1988. A North Korean Protestant pastor
reported at a 1989 meeting of the National Council of Churches
in Washington, D.C., that his country has 10,000 Protestants and 1,000 Catholics who worship in 500 home churches. In March–April 1992, American evangelist Billy Graham
visited North Korea to preach and to speak at Kim Il Sung University.
The North Korean government considers Christianity
(especially Protestantism
) to be closely connected with the Western world
and heavily suppresses it. The facts and figures concerning Christianity published by the DPRK's government,http://www.korea-dpr.com/faq-christian.htm like those concerning Buddhism http://www1.korea-np.co.jp/pk/069th_issue/98111103.htm, are disputed by almost all foreign observers. Although independent verification is impossible, it is assumed that there are a large amount of underground Christian groups. Many defectors from North Korea have attested that any form of adherence to the Christian faith, even the mere possessing of a Bible
, can be considered a reason for arrest and deportation to a DPRK prison camp
.
In Pyongyang there are four church buildings. One of them (the Changchung "Cathedral") is officially said to be Catholic
although it has no functioning priest
, and the other two are Protestant. Two of these churches were inaugurated in 1988, in the presence of South Korea
n church officials. A Russian Orthodox
church was consecrated in August 2006 (see http://www.korea-is-one.org/article.php3?id_article=2775). Religious freedom advocates say the buildings were constructed for propaganda purposes only. Foreigners, always guarded by state minders, can attend religious services. Eye-witnesses report that the sermons mix political and religious messages glorifying the DPRK, and that some of the pastors seem to have had no genuine religious training http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4431321.stm. Christianity in North Korea is officially represented by the Korean Christian Federation
, a state-controlled body responsible for contacts with churches and governments abroad.
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
primarily consists of Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
and Confucianism
Confucianism
Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...
and to a lesser extent Korean shamanism
Korean shamanism
Korean shamanism, today known as Muism or sometimes Sinism , encompasses a variety of indigenous religious beliefs and practices of the Korean people and the Korean area...
and syncretic Chondogyo. Since the arrival of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
ans in the 18th century, there is a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
minority. According to the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
, since the rise of the Workers' Party of Korea
Workers' Party of Korea
The Workers' Party of Korea is the ruling Communist party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , commonly known as North Korea. It is also called the Korean Workers' Party...
, free religious activities no longer exist as the government sponsors religious groups only to create an illusion of religious freedom. North Korea is officially an atheist state in which much of the population is nonreligious. North Korea sees organised religious activity as a potential challenge to the leadership.
Religious demography
The country has an area of approximately 47000 square miles (121,729.4 km²) and a population estimated at 22.7 million. The number of religious believers was unknown but was estimated by the government to be 10,000 Protestants, 10,000 Buddhists, and 4,000 CatholicCatholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
s. Estimates by South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n and international church-related groups were considerably higher. In addition, the Chondogyo Young Friends Party
Chondoist Chongu Party
The Chondoist Chongu Party is a united front party in North Korea and is labeled as democratic by the government of the country. The party was founded on February 5, 1946, by a group of followers of the Chondogyo religion...
, a government-approved group based on a traditional religious movement, had approximately 40,000 practitioners, according to the Government. According to a South Korean press report, in 2002 the chairman of the Association of North Korean Catholics stated that the Catholic community in the country had no priests but held weekly prayer services at the Changchung Catholic Church in Pyongyang
Pyongyang
Pyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255,388. The city was...
. However, some doubt that all of those attending Mass were Catholic. According to state-controlled media reports, following the death of Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
in April 2005, a memorial service was held at this church, and services were also held at family worship places across the country.
In Pyongyang there were reportedly three state-controlled Christian churches: two Protestant churches under lay leadership—the Bongsu and Chilgol churches—and the Changchung Roman Catholic Church. One of the Protestant churches is dedicated to the memory of former leader Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung was a Korean communist politician who led the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from its founding in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of Prime Minister from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to his death...
's mother, Kang Pan-sok, who was a Presbyterian deaconess. The number of congregants regularly worshiping at these churches is unknown.
The Presbyterian Church of Korea
Presbyterian Church of Korea
The Presbyterian Church of Korea or PCK is a mainline Protestant denomination based in South Korea and currently has the second largest membership of any Presbyterian denomination in the world...
in the South is partnering with the Christian Association in North Korea to rebuild Bongsu Church. In the fall of 2006, a delegation of 90 Christians from South Korea visited the Bongsu church to celebrate completion of its first phase of renovation, according to press reports. According to religious leaders who travel to the country, there were Protestant pastors at these churches, although it was not known if they were resident or were visitors.
In its July 2002 report to the U.N. Human Rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
Committee, the country reported the existence of 500 "family worship centers." The country did not define the term; however, observers stated that "family worship centers" were part of the state-controlled Korean Christian Federation
Korean Christian Federation
The Korean Christian Federation is a state-controlled Protestant body of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea that was founded in 1946. This institution today comprises twelve thousand North Korean Christians, and acts as an inter-denominational organization by playing an important liaison...
, while "underground churches" were not part of the Federation and were not recognized by the Government. Some NGOs and academics estimate there may be up to several hundred thousand underground Christians in the country. Others question the existence of a large-scale underground church or conclude that no reliable estimate of the number of underground religious believers exists. Individual underground congregations are reportedly very small and confined to private homes. At the same time, some NGOs report that the individual churches are connected to each other through well-established networks. The regime has not allowed outsiders the access necessary to confirm such claims.
There were an estimated 300 Buddhist temple
Temple
A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
s. Most were regarded as cultural relics, but religious activity was permitted in some. A few Buddhist temples and relics have been renovated or restored in recent years under a broad effort aimed at "preserving the Korean nation's cultural heritage." In October 2005 tourists from the Republic of Korea (ROK) and other international tourists were permitted to view the reconstruction of the Shingye or Singyesa (or Holy Valley) Temple, which was destroyed during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
of 1950-53. The reconstruction was funded by the ROK Government and foreign tourists and was expected to be completed in 2007. A South Korean monk, the first to permanently reside in North Korea, has lived at the temple since 2004, but was expected to serve primarily as a guide for visiting tourists rather than as a pastor caring for Buddhists living in the area.
According to the country's media accounts, renovation of the Ryongthong temple in Kaesong was completed in early 2005. A restoration ceremony was held in October 2005 with participants from North and South Korea and Japan. Foreign diplomats in Pyongyang who visited the site were told that the two monks living there may be joined by more. The Government announced in June 2007 that 500 monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s and Buddhist followers were making day-long pilgrimages to the temple strictly for religious purposes. Plans were being made for 2,000 more Buddhist followers from South Korea to make the pilgrimage later in the year. State-controlled press reported on several occasions that Buddhist ceremonies had been carried out in various locations. Official reporting also linked descriptions of such ceremonies with the broader theme of Korean unification.
The Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
opened in Pyongyang on August 13, 2006. The church was reportedly commissioned by Kim Jong-il after he visited an Orthodox cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in 2002. According to a Russian press report, a Russian priest served the cathedral, and a religious leader who traveled to the country confirmed that the church was run by a priest of North Korean origin who had studied in Russia. The purported aim of the church was primarily to provide pastoral care of Russians in the country, but one religious leader with access to the country speculated that the church likely extended care to all Orthodox Koreans as well. As with other religious groups, no reliable data exists on the number of Orthodox believers in the country.
Several foreigners residing in Pyongyang attended Korean-language services at the Christian churches on a regular basis. Some foreigners who had visited the country stated that church services appeared staged and contained political content supportive of the regime, in addition to religious themes. Foreign legislators attending services in Pyongyang in previous years noted that congregations arrived at and departed services as groups on tour buses, and some observed that they did not include any children. Other foreigners noted that they were not permitted to have contact with congregants. Foreign observers had limited ability to ascertain the level of government control over these groups, but it was generally assumed they are monitored closely. According to the 2006 Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU) White Paper, there was no evidence that any of the central religious organizations maintained branches in the provinces.
Overseas faith-based aid organizations have been active in responding to the country's food and humanitarian crises. However, many such organizations report that they are not allowed to proselytize, their contact with nationals is limited and strictly monitored, and they are accompanied by government escorts at all times.
In March 2007 the Barnabas Fund
Barnabas Fund
The Barnabas Fund is an international, interdenominational Christian aid agency that supports Christians who face discrimination or persecution as a consequence of their faith...
, a Christian charity, helped to open a bakery in Songbong. A South Korean Buddhist group, Join Together Society (JTS), continued to operate a factory in the Rajin-Sonbong Free Trade Zone to produce food for preschool children, which it has done since 1998. Catholics of the Seoul archdiocese continued to operate a noodle factory that they opened in 2001.
The regime has allowed a number of high-profile religious leaders to visit the country. In March 2007 Bishop Lazarus You Heung-sik of Daejeon
Daejeon
Daejeon is South Korea's fifth largest metropolis and the provincial capital of Chungnam. Located in the center of the country, Daejeon had a population of over 1.5 million in 2010. It is at the crossroads of Gyeongbu railway, Honam railway, Gyeongbu Expressway, and Honam Expressway. Within the...
, president of Caritas
Caritas (charity)
Caritas Internationalis is a confederate of 164 Roman Catholic relief, development and social service organisations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide....
Corea, led a 10-member team on a visit to the country in the fifth such visit since September 2006. Following the March trip, Caritas reached an agreement with local officials to continue and expand aid for medical and food-producing facilities, according to press reports. According to the agreement, in 2007 Caritas will provide medical equipment for a hospital, equipment for a seed-potato production facility, and medical support for clinics in a rural area. In May 2007, as part of this project, a Catholic delegation visited 17 pediatric hospitals in Pyongyang and Nampo, among other areas, where they delivered medication for tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
.
In early February 2007 more than 140 members of the Korean Catholic Farmers' Movement from 15 South Korean dioceses met at Mt. Kumgang for the group's annual general assembly meeting, according to a press report. Officials managing Mt. Kumgang's special tourism zone had suggested a project in which the North would provide farmland and workers while the Farmers' Movement would provide technology.
Pastor Rick Warren
Rick Warren
Richard Duane "Rick" Warren is an American evangelical Christian minister and author. He is the founder and senior pastor of Saddleback Church, an evangelical megachurch located in Lake Forest, California, currently the eighth-largest church in the United States...
announced in 2006 that he had been invited by the Government to preach to 15,000 Christians in the country in March 2007. His 2006 planning trip was postponed following the Government's July 4–5 missile launches. In February 2007 he announced that he would pursue a later date for the trip.
Some South Korean religious groups visited the country to promote reunification. In May 2007 a South Korean interfaith delegation visited Pyongyang where it met with the North Korean Government's Council of Religionists to discuss reunification of the peninsula. Following instructions from the Vatican, the Catholic members of the delegation refrained from celebrating mass to avoid giving the Eucharist to North Koreans posing as Catholics.
In April 2006 the Catholic archdiocese of Seoul sent a 61-member delegation to the country, led by Mgr. Thomas Aquinas Choi Chang-hwa, the director of the National Reconciliation Committee. During the visit the Catholic Association of North Korea proposed a joint visit to the Vatican
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
with the Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
archdiocese, which the association said it hoped would lead to an audience with the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
. The Vatican has thus far discouraged such a visit, citing ongoing concerns about the juridical and canonical status of the state-founded Catholic Association of North Korea.
In June 2005 Venerable Bubjang, head of the Jogye Order
Jogye Order
The Jogye Order, officially the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism is the representative order of traditional Korean Buddhism with roots that date back 1,200 years to Unified Silla National Master Doui, who brought Seon and the practice taught by the Sixth Patriarch, Huineng, from China about 820...
, the largest Buddhist sect in the ROK, and at the time the chair of the national council on religious leaders in that country, traveled to Pyongyang to mark the fifth anniversary of the June 2000 inter-Korean summit.
In October 2005 a delegation from the state-controlled Korean Christian Federation (DPRK) attended an international solidarity meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, sponsored by the Evangelical Church in Germany
Evangelical Church in Germany
The Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of 22 Lutheran, Unified and Reformed Protestant regional church bodies in Germany. The EKD is not a church in a theological understanding because of the denominational differences. However, the member churches share full pulpit and altar...
, according to a government media report.
Several schools for religious education exist in the country. There are 3-year colleges for training Protestant and Buddhist clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
. A religious studies program also was established at Kim Il-sung University in 1989; its graduates usually worked in the foreign trade sector. In 2000 a Protestant seminary was reopened with assistance from foreign missionary groups. Critics, including at least one foreign sponsor, charged that the Government opened the seminary only to facilitate reception of assistance funds from foreign faith-based NGOs. The Chosun Christian Federation, a religious group believed to be controlled by the Government, contributed to the curriculum used by the seminary. In September 2003 construction reportedly was completed of the Pyongyang Theological Academy, a graduate institution that trains pastors affiliated with the Korean Christian Federation. In December 2005 citizens who were expected to staff Pyongyang's Russian Orthodox Cathedral traveled to Vladivostok for training in ordination and other rituals.
Conflict with state ideology
Different official attitudes toward organized religion are reflected in various constitutionConstitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
s. Article 14 of the 1948 constitution noted that "citizens of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea shall have the freedom of religious belief
Freedom of religion
Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...
and of conducting religious services." Article 54 of the 1972 constitution, however, stated that "citizens have religious liberty and the freedom to oppose religion" (also translated as "the freedom of antireligious propaganda"). Some observers argued that the change occurred because in 1972 the political authorities no longer needed the support of the much-weakened organized religions. In the 1992 constitution, Article 68 grants freedom of religious belief and guarantees the right to construct buildings for religious use and religious ceremonies. The article also states, however, that "No one may use religion as a means by which to drag in foreign powers or to destroy the state or social order." North Korea has been represented at international religious conferences by state-sponsored religious organizations such as the Korean Buddhists' Federation, the Korean Christian Federation
Korean Christian Federation
The Korean Christian Federation is a state-controlled Protestant body of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea that was founded in 1946. This institution today comprises twelve thousand North Korean Christians, and acts as an inter-denominational organization by playing an important liaison...
, and the Ch'ndogyo Youth Party
Chondoist Chongu Party
The Chondoist Chongu Party is a united front party in North Korea and is labeled as democratic by the government of the country. The party was founded on February 5, 1946, by a group of followers of the Chondogyo religion...
.
Despite these official religions, much more attention is paid to the personalities of the deceased "Great Leader" Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung was a Korean communist politician who led the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from its founding in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of Prime Minister from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to his death...
and today's "Dear Leader", his son Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il, also written as Kim Jong Il, birth name Yuri Irsenovich Kim born 16 February 1941 or 16 February 1942 , is the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea...
. Their portraits are omnipresent in streets, schools, public buildings and all private homes. The ideological statements and scriptures produced by the two leaders are the main basis of education for both children and adults. The story of the Kims' descent is surrounded with mythology. At public events, songs are sung that depict the leaders as saviours of the country as well as of each individual citizen.
This cult of personality
Cult of personality
A cult of personality arises when an individual uses mass media, propaganda, or other methods, to create an idealized and heroic public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise. Cults of personality are usually associated with dictatorships...
, together with the doctrine of juche
Juche
Juche or Chuch'e is a Korean word usually translated as "self-reliance." In the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , "Juche" refers specifically to a political thesis of Kim Il-sung, the Juche Idea, that identifies the Korean masses as the masters of the country's development...
(self-reliance), has resulted in a deliberate replacement of the religions that flourished in the North before the rise of stalinism
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
. According to human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
observers, this change of regime put an end to free religious activities, as the government only sponsors selected religious groups to create an illusion of religious freedom. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kn.html It is unlikely that the annulment in 1992 of a constitutional clause which explicitly prohibited religious activities and endorsed the opposition of religion, brought any actual change in the situation.
Earlier restrictions of religion were enforced by the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese, who occupied the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945. A similar reason for intolerance existed in that time - the Japanese imperial cult
Imperial cult
An imperial cult is a form of state religion in which an emperor, or a dynasty of emperors , are worshipped as messiahs, demigods or deities. "Cult" here is used to mean "worship", not in the modern pejorative sense...
.
History of Anti-Religious Campaign
It is very difficult for outside observers to know what has happened to North Korean religious bodies over the past 60 years due to the extreme isolation of the state, and as a result significantly differing interpretations exist among academics about what has happened.One interpretation has held that all open religious activity in DPRK Korea was persecuted and eradicated after Kim Il Sung took power, only to be revived in the present as part of a political show. Another interpretation has held that religion survived and has genuinely been revived in the past few decades.
Kim Il Sung criticized religion in his writings, and North Korean propaganda in literature, movies and other media have presented religion in a negative light. The Juche philosophy often took the place of religion and taught Koreans to see religion as an unscientific delusion. Kim Il Sung's attack on religion was strongly based on the idea that religion had been used as a tool for imperialists in the Korean peninsula. He criticized Christians for collaborating with the UN forces against him during the Korean war, although he praised Christians who supported him.
Accounts from the Korean war speak of harsh persecution of religion by Kim Il Sung in the areas he controlled. Prior to the war, the Christian community in the Korean peninsula was most heavily concentrated in the North and with the war being fought, many of these Christians fled to the South. Some interpretations have considered that the Christian community in the DPRK were often of a higher socio-economic class than the rest of the population, which may have prompted their departure for fear of persecution for this reason.
The large-scale destruction caused by the massive US air raids and the suffering experienced by North Koreans during the Korean War helped foster a burning hatred of Americans, and Christianity was targeted as being the American religion.
Religion was attacked in the ensuing years as an obstacle to the construction of communism, and many people abandoned their former religions in order to conform to the new reality.
On the basis of accounts from the Korean war as well as information from defectors, an interpretation has held that the DPRK was the only state in the world to have completely eradicated religion by the 1960s.
Buddhism was thought to have been eradicated, under this interpretation and its reappearance later was thought to be a show. ‘The Federation of Korean Christians’ in DPRK Korea (the umbrella organization of Christians in DPRK Korea, which began in 1970), under this interpretation, has been considered a ‘fake’ organization meant to present a favourable image to the outside world. Other interpretations have thought that perhaps they do represent a genuine faith communities in the DPRK that survived the persecutions.
An interpretation has considered that these religious communities may have been genuine believers who genuinely adhered to Marxist-Leninism and the leadership of Kim Il Sung, thus ensuring their survival. This interpretation has been supported by recent evidence gathered that has shown that the DPRK may have tolerated the existence of up to 200 pro-communist Christian congregations during the 1960s, and by the fact that several high ranking people in the DPRK’s government were Christians and they were buried with high honours (Kang Yang Wook
Kang Yang Wook
Kang Lyanguk was a North Korean Protestant Minister and Chairman of the Christian Federation during the 1950s.Kang Lyanguk was the maternal uncle of North Korean dictator Kim Il Sung. In his early years he was a school teacher...
was a Presbyterian minister who served as vice president of the DPRK from 1972 to 1982, and Kim Chang Jun was a Methodist minister who served as vice chairman of the Supreme People’s Assembly ).
Differing interpretations often agree on the disappearance of religion under Kim Il Sung in the first few decades of his rule. The DPRK never made an open public policy statement about religion, leading to unresolved speculation among scholars as to what exactly the government’s position was at any point in time.
Religions
Traditionally, religious life in North Korea is similar to that in South KoreaReligion in South Korea
The predominant religions in South Korea are the traditional Buddhist faith and a large and growing Christian population...
, with which it formed one country until 1948. Most of the country's population consisted of Buddhists and Confucianists, though there were sizeable minorities of Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s and followers of the syncretic Chondogyo (religion of "the Heavenly Way").
Buddhism
Government sources say that currently there are about 13.7 million practicing Buddhists in the DPRK. BuddhismBuddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
is practiced under the auspices of the official Korean Buddhist Federation. There are some 300 Buddhist temples in the country (e.g. Pohyonsa
Pohyonsa
Pohyon-sa is a Korean Buddhist temple located in Hyangsan county in North Pyongan Province, North Korea. It is located within the famous Myohyang Mountains. Founded under the Koryo dynasty at the start of the 11th century, the temple flourished as one of the greatest centers of Buddhism in the...
), but they are viewed as cultural relics from Korea's past rather than places of active worship. Officially, there is a three-year college for training Buddhist clergy. Whether or not these institutes teach traditional Buddhist values has not been verified, however. Religious freedom observers assume the places are used to instruct students to deploy Buddhist teaching merely as a vehicle for the juche ideology.
A limited revival of Buddhism is apparently taking place. This includes the establishment of an academy for Buddhist studies and the publication of a twenty-five-volume translation of the Korean Tripitaka, or Buddhist scriptures, which had been carved on 80,000 wooden blocks and kept at the temple at Myohyang-san
Myohyang-san
Myohyang-san is a mountain in North Korea . The mountain is named after the mystic shapes and fragrances found in the area....
in central North Korea. A few Buddhist temples conduct religious services; 62% of North Korea is buddhist.
Chondogyo
Chondogyo ("Heavenly Way") religion grew out of the Tonghak movement during the 19th century. It stresses the divine nature of all people and contains elements found in Buddhism, shamanismShamanism
Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
, Confucianism
Confucianism
Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...
, Taoism
Taoism
Taoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao , which is the mechanism of everything that exists...
, and Catholicism. It is the only religion in North Korea which has a corresponding party representing it: the Chondoist Chongu Party
Chondoist Chongu Party
The Chondoist Chongu Party is a united front party in North Korea and is labeled as democratic by the government of the country. The party was founded on February 5, 1946, by a group of followers of the Chondogyo religion...
.
Shamanism
Shamanism is the oldest religion in Korea still around. Since the arrival of BuddhismBuddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
and Taoism
Taoism
Taoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao , which is the mechanism of everything that exists...
in Korea, shamanism has been influenced by both.
Christianity
The first Christian missionary (a Catholic) arrived in Korea in 1785. Because the spread of Christianity was prohibited by the government, the number of Roman Catholics did not rise beyond 23,000 by 1863. Korean Christians were persecuted by the government until the country launched its Open Door PolicyOpen Door Policy
The Open Door Policy is a concept in foreign affairs, which usually refers to the policy in 1899 allowing multiple Imperial powers access to China, with none of them in control of that country. As a theory, the Open Door Policy originates with British commercial practice, as was reflected in...
with Western countries in 1881. By that time, Protestant missionaries began entering Korea during the 1880s. They established schools, universities, hospitals, orphanages, and played a significant role in the modernization of the country. Before 1948 P'yongyang was an important Christian center, one-sixth of its population of about 300,000 residents were Christians.
In the first half of the 20th century, Pyongyang
Pyongyang
Pyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255,388. The city was...
was the centre of Christianity on the Korean peninsula. A spiritual revival took place in 1907 (following the 1903 Wonsan Revival), and by 1945, 13% of the population was Christian. Because of these figures, the city used to be called the Jerusalem of the East. Japanese occupation suppressed Christian activity, but did not wipe it out. The effect of the 1948 communist revolution was more drastic.
Between 1945, when Soviet forces first occupied the northern half of the Korean Peninsula
Korean Peninsula
The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.Until the end of...
and the end of the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
in 1953, many Christians, considered "bad elements" by North Korean authorities, fled to South Korea to escape the socialist regime's antireligious policies. By the late 1980s, it became apparent that North Korea was beginning to use the small number of Christians remaining in the country to establish contacts with Christians in South Korea and the West. Such contacts are considered useful for promoting the regime's political aims, including reunifying the peninsula. In 1988, for the first time since the Korean war, Christian communities were allowed to hold worship services in the open in churches. In this year three new churches, the Protestant Pongsu and Chilgol Churchs and the Roman Catholic Changchung Cathedral
Changchung Cathedral
Changchung Cathedral is the nominal cathedral of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Pyongyang, North Korea, located in the Changchung neighborhood of Songyo-guyok, Pyongyang...
, were opened in Pyongyang.
Other signs of the regime's changing attitude toward Christianity include holding the International Seminar of Christians of the North and South for the Peace and Reunification of Korea in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
on November 1988, allowing papal representatives to attend the opening of the Changchung Cathedral in that same year, and sending two North Korean novice priests to study in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. A Protestant seminary in Pyongyang taught future leaders of the DPRK. A new association of Roman Catholics was established in June 1988. A North Korean Protestant pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
reported at a 1989 meeting of the National Council of Churches
National Council of Churches
The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA is an ecumenical partnership of 37 Christian faith groups in the United States. Its member denominations, churches, conventions, and archdioceses include Mainline Protestant, Orthodox, African American, Evangelical, and historic peace...
in Washington, D.C., that his country has 10,000 Protestants and 1,000 Catholics who worship in 500 home churches. In March–April 1992, American evangelist Billy Graham
Billy Graham
William Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian evangelist. As of April 25, 2010, when he met with Barack Obama, Graham has spent personal time with twelve United States Presidents dating back to Harry S. Truman, and is number seven on Gallup's list of admired people for...
visited North Korea to preach and to speak at Kim Il Sung University.
The North Korean government considers Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
(especially Protestantism
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
) to be closely connected with the Western world
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
and heavily suppresses it. The facts and figures concerning Christianity published by the DPRK's government,http://www.korea-dpr.com/faq-christian.htm like those concerning Buddhism http://www1.korea-np.co.jp/pk/069th_issue/98111103.htm, are disputed by almost all foreign observers. Although independent verification is impossible, it is assumed that there are a large amount of underground Christian groups. Many defectors from North Korea have attested that any form of adherence to the Christian faith, even the mere possessing of a Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, can be considered a reason for arrest and deportation to a DPRK prison camp
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
.
In Pyongyang there are four church buildings. One of them (the Changchung "Cathedral") is officially said to be Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
although it has no functioning priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, and the other two are Protestant. Two of these churches were inaugurated in 1988, in the presence of South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n church officials. A Russian Orthodox
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
church was consecrated in August 2006 (see http://www.korea-is-one.org/article.php3?id_article=2775). Religious freedom advocates say the buildings were constructed for propaganda purposes only. Foreigners, always guarded by state minders, can attend religious services. Eye-witnesses report that the sermons mix political and religious messages glorifying the DPRK, and that some of the pastors seem to have had no genuine religious training http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4431321.stm. Christianity in North Korea is officially represented by the Korean Christian Federation
Korean Christian Federation
The Korean Christian Federation is a state-controlled Protestant body of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea that was founded in 1946. This institution today comprises twelve thousand North Korean Christians, and acts as an inter-denominational organization by playing an important liaison...
, a state-controlled body responsible for contacts with churches and governments abroad.
Freedom of religion
See also
- Human rights in North KoreaHuman rights in North KoreaThe human rights record of North Korea is extremely hard to fully assess due to the secretive and closed nature of the country. The North Korean government makes it very difficult for foreigners to enter the country and strictly monitors their activities when they do...
- Persecution of ChristiansPersecution of ChristiansPersecution of Christians as a consequence of professing their faith can be traced both historically and in the current era. Early Christians were persecuted for their faith, at the hands of both Jews from whose religion Christianity arose, and the Roman Empire which controlled much of the land...
- Religion in South KoreaReligion in South KoreaThe predominant religions in South Korea are the traditional Buddhist faith and a large and growing Christian population...
- Religion in KoreaReligion in KoreaReligion in Korea encompasses a number of different traditions. Traditional Buddhism, Mugyo with a background of Korean Confucianism and later Christianity all play a role in Korea's religious tradition...
External links
- Nautilus Institute on religious freedom in DPRK
- Religion in North Korea: Country Studies
- Culture of North Korea - everyculture.com
- Jangchung Catholic Church
- Jongbaek Russian Orthodox Church in Pyongyang
- Video of a Pyongyang Protestant Church
- Video of a Pyongyang Protestant Church
- Video of a Pyongyang Protestant Church
- Video of a Pyongyang Russian Orthodox Church
- Video of a Pyongyang Russian Orthodox Church
- Video of a Pyongyang Roman Catholic Church