Living as Christians in North Korea

CHRISTIANITY IS THE ONLY religion in North Korea that is considered to be strictly a foreign religion. North Korea considers Christianity to be the forefront of American imperialism. The country is taught that Christian missionaries in the 19th century came to Korea to indoctrinate the people with Western civilization. Then, in the Korean War, the U.S. soldiers who massacred their people were depicted as Christian crusaders. To fan these flames, the largest group of Koreans who opposed communism when the government was established in 1945 was the Christians. Therefore, in North Korea, Christians are likened to spies, foreign imperialists, and anti-government traitors.

Despite this, Christianity has been allowed to persist in North Korea. The vast majority of churches were destroyed during the early years of communism in North Korea, but in 1989 Kim Il Sung brought life back to Christianity by rebuilding the home church of his mother. Since then, two other state churches have been erected: one additional Protestant church and one Catholic church.

In summer 2013, my husband and I hosted our first foreign visitors in our Pyongyang home, friends of the family and supporters of our work. They share our Christian faith. One day, this visiting couple was riding in a car with us as one of our North Korean guides explained the history of the city. All of a sudden he blurted out, “Pyongyang is the birthplace of Christianity in Korea. It was known as the Jerusalem of the East.” We were shocked! Was this North Korean guide actually admitting that Christianity in Korea began in Pyongyang?

As foreigners in North Korea, we have freedom to worship in our own home. So far, no Protestant or Catholic church has been established for foreigners, but foreigners are allowed to attend the services at the officially recognized state churches. We have attended the state churches on practically a weekly basis. These churches have been ridiculed by foreigners as being façades of a church. Foreigners think that the people go through the motions of worship because they are ordered to by the government and not because they choose to believe. However, we are convinced that among the church members, there is a degree of genuine faith.

North Korea is infamous for its lack of religious freedom. But there is a new spirit of religious freedom entering the land. This freedom is primarily for foreigners living in North Korea, but I believe it is a start to something new. In this atheist land, a small crack is beginning to form, broadening tolerance and understanding for people with different cultures, views, and faith. A remnant of religious followers still exists in this communist regime.