This article is missing information about the history of the persecution of Christians in the country, including the disappearance of
Francis Hong Yong-ho and persecutions during the
Korean War. Please expand the article to include this information. Further details may exist on the
talk page.(July 2022)
In 2002, it was estimated that there were 12,000
Protestants,[11] and 800
Catholics in North Korea, but South Korean and international church-related groups gave considerably higher estimates, such as 406,000 Christians.[12][13][14]
In a study of 117 North Koreans who had been affected by
religious persecution which was conducted by the
Korea Future Initiative, it was found that Christians made up about 80% of the people who were surveyed.[16][1]
Imprisonment
Christian Solidarity Worldwide says that there are numerous reports of people being sent to
prison camps[17] and subjected to
torture and inhuman treatment because of their faith.[18] The family members of reported Christians are also said to be targeted, including children. The youngest of these recorded detainees was two years old at the time of their arrest.[19]
According to interviews which have been given by refugees, if the North Korean authorities discover that
North Korean refugees who were deported from
China have converted to
Christianity, they are subjected to harsher treatment, torture, and prolonged imprisonment.[22]
Executions
According to
AsiaNews, during Kim Il Sung's administration, all non-foreign Catholic priests were executed,[23] and Protestant leaders who did not renounce their faith were purged as "American spies."[24] The
martyrdom of the
Benedictine monks of
Tokwon Abbey was documented[25] as the process of
beatification was initiated for them.[26]
Public executions
There are reports of
public executions of Christians,[27][28] with a
North Korean defector reporting that one Christian was publicly executed in front of a thousand people.[1] For example, Ri Hyon-ok was allegedly publicly executed in
Ryongchon on June 16, 2009, for giving out Bibles, while her husband and children were deported to the
Hoeryong political prison camp.[29]
Situation of churches
From 1949 to the mid-1950s, under the rule of
Kim Il Sung, all churches were closed.[24][30][31] However, since 1988, four church buildings have been erected in
Pyongyang with foreign donations:[32]one Catholic, two Protestant and
one Russian Orthodox. The services are used to bring in foreign currency from foreign visitors, including South Koreans. It is claimed that the churches are solely there for
propaganda purposes.[9][33][34] Defectors to South Korea claim that most North Koreans are unaware the churches exist.[35]
Bibles
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,[29] while other reports state that they have their own translated Bible.[36][37][38]
In 2014, an American citizen,
Jeffrey Edward Fowle, was detained for several months for
proselytism after authorities discovered him leaving a Bible behind in a public restroom during his vacation in the country.[39]
Several pastors, priests, and missionaries who have been campaigning against the persecution have been detained by the North Korean government, for periods ranging from a couple weeks to more than two years, including:
In 2023, the country was scored zero out of 4 for religious freedom;[41] as of May 2021,
Christian Solidarity Worldwide estimated that almost 200,000 people were held in prison camps, mainly due to their Christian beliefs.
In the same year, the country was ranked as the worst place in the world to be a Christian.[42]
^Alton, 2013. p. 79. As of 2005 the agency "Religious Intelligence UK" estimated 3,846,000 believers of Korean shamanism, 3,245,000 Chondoists, 1,082,888 Buddhists, 406,000 Christians, and the rest non-believers.
^
abAndrei Lankov (March 16, 2005).
"North Korea's missionary position". Asia Times. Archived from the original on March 18, 2005. Retrieved August 4, 2012.{{
cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link)