Let’s wind the clock back to early 2007. An article written by Kim Song A of Daily NK discusses about the violation of religious freedom in North Korea. While Kim Jung-Il regime has taken away religious freedom, it has kept denying its religious persecution. Excerpt from the article:
He (Pastor Isaac Lee of Cornerstone Ministries International, a Korean-U.S. missionary based organization) said, “Rather than arresting spies, greater focus is placed on capturing Christians” and explained, “It is estimated that approximately 20,000 detainees are being imprisoned in North Korean gulags. Some reports have suggested that more than half these prisoners have been detained for religious reasons. Other reports claim this figure to be at least 10% or 20,000 prisoners in custody.”
Additionally, he said, “There is a large number of Christians who die in the gulags or experience greatest torture as they are the ones to express their faith.”
Regarding the Bongsu Church and Chilgol Church created by North Korean authorities, he said, “I do not doubt that these churches are mere puppets fabricated by the North Korean government…It is a controlled show by the Chosun Christian Alliance to fill the spaces in this movement.”
Bongsu Church in Pyeongyang
The “Bongsu Church and Chilgol Church” mentioned by Pastor Lee refer to two of the three state-created church buildings in Pyeongyang.
However, it is evident that, according to Pastor Lee and many other North Korean defectors, the three churches in Pyeongyang and the state’s apparent respect for religious freedom are merely a “controlled show” that is intended to implant positive images about North Korea to foreigners. It is also evident that behind the scenes hundreds of thousands of people are suffering from religious persecution by the regime.
The article continues:
A North Korean missionary organization revealed that about 1,000 undergrounds existed in North Korea, totaling 135,000 members nationwide.
…
Pastor Lee said, “When I visited a U.S. missionary organization in 1984, they already had a list of 3,500 names and addresses” and estimated, “There will most probably be about 1,000 underground churches in North Korea today.”
The fact that there are numerous underground churches in which people practice their religious free-will sounds rather hopeful. It shows that even with its physically harsh religious persecution, the dictatorial regime holds no power to make its people mentally succumb to the idolization of the ‘Dear Leader’ Kim Il-Sung and his son Kim Jong-Il.
The shortcoming of religious oppression in North Korea: Individual free-will can’t be overpowered by the will of the state.
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