Persecution in North Korea Christians in North Korea must practice their faith in secret. They can't meet together to worship or tell others about Jesus. If they are caught with a Bible, singing a hymn, or praying, they can face up to 15 years in a labor camp. Life in the camps is unbearable.
The Bible is reported to have been banned in North Korea and several incidents have emerged in which Christians were arrested or executed for possessing and/or selling the book, while other reports state that they have their own translated Bible.
Officially North Korea is an atheist state, however according to most recent estimates, some religions do exist. These are the Korean religions of Shamanism and Chondoism, as well as Christianity & Buddhism. The North Korean constitution officially guarantees freedom of religion but in reality this is not the case.
North Korea is considered an atheist state, where it is reported that the government continues to interfere with individual's ability to practice a religion, even though the Constitution guarantees "freedom of religious beliefs." The regime reportedly continues to repress the religious activities of unauthorized ...
While South Korea's constitution guarantees freedom of religion and separation of church and state, the government has been sympathetic to Christianity. It considers the religion to provide some ideological protection against their Communist neighbor.
Persecution in North Korea
Christians in North Korea must practice their faith in secret. They can't meet together to worship or tell others about Jesus. If they are caught with a Bible, singing a hymn, or praying, they can face up to 15 years in a labor camp. Life in the camps is unbearable.
Christianity came to be discouraged by the North Korean government because of its association with America. In the 1980s, North Korea produced its own translation of the Bible, which has since been used by Southern missionaries attempting to evangelize the North.
In its public pronouncements, Pyongyang has called for accelerated population growth and encouraged large families. According to one Korean American scholar who visited North Korea in the early 1980s, the country has no birth control policies; parents are encouraged to have as many as six children.
North Korea is an atheist state where public religion is discouraged. Based on estimates from the late 1990s and the 2000s, North Korea is mostly atheist and agnostic with the religious life dominated by the traditions of Korean shamanism and Chondoism.
South Korea also has the 5th largest population of atheists in the world, according to a 2012 Gallup International poll, which found that 15% of South Koreans were "convinced atheists." According to a 2021 Gallup Korea poll, 60% identify with no religion, 17% with Protestantism, 16% with Buddhism, 6% with Catholicism, ...
North Korean citizens usually cannot freely travel around the country, let alone travel abroad. Emigration and immigration are strictly controlled.
Since 2001, the DPRK has been designated as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 for having engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom.
Nearly all of North Korea's Internet traffic is routed through China. Since February 2013, foreigners have been able to access the Internet using the 3G telecommunications network provided by Koryolink. Permission to access the Internet remains tightly restricted.
This is a common misconception especially for westerners. The only nationalities restricted from travel to North Korea are tourists travelling on South Korean (Republic of Korea) and United States of America (USA) passports. All other nationalities are legally allowed to visit the DPRK.
North Korea has strict laws about what you can bring into the country. It's illegal to bring in religious, pornographic or political items. Declare all published material and electronic devices when you arrive. It's also illegal to knowingly or unknowingly possess items that breach North Korean law.
Over the past four decades, Christianity has grown faster in China than anywhere else in the world. Daryl Ireland, a Boston University School of Theology research assistant professor of mission, estimates that the Christian community there has grown from 1 million to 100 million.
The Japanese religious tradition is made up of several major components, including Shinto, Japan's earliest religion, Buddhism, and Confucianism. Christianity has been only a minor movement in Japan.
The Chinese Communist Party is officially atheist, but it recognizes five religions: Buddhism, Catholicism, Daoism, Islam, and Protestantism. Authorities tightly monitor registered and unregistered groups.
The formulas are: if your birthday has passed: Korean age = your age + 1. if your birthday has not passed: Korean age = your age + 2.
There are no laws against public drinking, although of course it's not allowed to drink (or smoke) around political or revolutionary sites. During holidays and Sundays you'll find North Koreans in public parks and at the beach, drinking, singing, dancing or even putting on standup comedy routines.
The constitution of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which cites the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), states that citizens “enjoy freedom of religious belief” but limits protections for religious practice to “normal religious activities,” without defining “normal.” The government recognizes five ...
Caritas Internationalis has operated in North Korea, running hospitals and other humanitarian projects. "Proselytism" is strictly forbidden, with customs seizing religious texts upon entry.
Dear God, I lift up the people of North Korea in prayer today. You know their pain and their suffering. And while, of course, we want the persecution to stop, we understand that often it's during the times of worst persecution that the church grows the most and Your people draw closest to You.