DOCSLIB.ORG

A Prison Without Bars

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Prison Without Bars A P R I S O N WITHOUT BARS Refugee and Defector Testimonies of Severe Violations of Freedom of Religion or Belief in North Korea UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM A PRISON WITHOUT BARS Refugee and Defector Testimonies of Severe Violations of Freedom of Religion or Belief in North Korea Update on Religious Freedom Conditions in North Korea and New Interviews with Former North Korean Security Agents MARCH 2008 UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON U N I T E D S TAT E S CO M M I S S I O N O N INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM I NTERN ATION A L R E L I G I O U S F R E E D O M Commissioners Staff Chair Patricia Carley, Acting Deputy Director for Policy Michael Cromartie David Dettoni, Deputy Director for Outreach Vice Chairs Judith Ingram, Director of Communications Preeta D. Bansal Carmelita Hines, Director of Administration Dr. Richard D. Land Dwight Bashir, Senior Policy Analyst Dr. Don Argue Elizabeth Cassidy, International Legal Specialist Imam Talal Y. Eid Catherine Cosman, Senior Policy Analyst Felice D. Gaer Deborah DuCre, Receptionist Leonard A. Leo Scott Flipse, Senior Policy Analyst Dr. Elizabeth H. Prodromou Kody Kness, Legislative Assistant Nina Shea Bridget Kustin, Communications Specialist John V. Hanford, III, ex officio,nonvoting member Mindy Larmore, East Asia Researcher Tiffany Lynch, Researcher North Korea Study Team Jacqueline A. Mitchell, Executive Assistant Jae Chun Won, J.D., Lead Researcher and Field Writer Danielle Simms, Assistant to the Deputy Director for Policy Byoung Lo Ph. D (Philo) Kim, Research Manager Stephen R. Snow, Senior Policy Analyst PREFACE U.S. Commission on International venues and used them to gain international prestige and Religious Freedom foreign currency. In December 2005, the U.S. Commission on Internation- In place of North Korea’s once flourishing religious al Religious Freedom published a report entitled Thank communities, the Kim family created and imposed a quasi- You Father Kim Il Sung: Eyewitness Accounts of Severe Violations religious personality cult to venerate Kim Il Sung. ThankYou of the Freedom of Thought, Conscience, and Religion in North Father Kim Il Sung contains details about the rites, require- Korea. That report, based on extensive interviews with ments, and rituals of this state ideology known as Juche or North Korean refugees who fled through China to South KimIlSungism. All North Koreans are required to attend Korea from 1999 – 2003, was the first of its kind to draw weekly meetings and to keep pictures of the Kim family in on testimony from refugees to provide a much needed their homes, and there are specific penalties for those who window on religious freedom conditions inside North refuse to follow the required rituals. From those inter- Korea and the consequences for refugees who are forced views it was learned that even the infamous “Yodok” prison to return. The North Koreans interviewed for that re- camp has a special shrine where inmates, despite living in port provided compelling eyewitness accounts of public appalling conditions, are required to keep a special pair executions of religious believers and the torture and im- of socks for entry. KimIlSungism is not merely a method of prisonment of refugees repatriated from China, particu- social control, but the ideological basis of the Kim family’s larly those suspected of having converted to Christianity political legitimacy. Independent religious practice is con- or having had contact with South Korean missionaries or sidered a direct political threat. aid workers. Thank You Father Kim Il Sung presented valuable in- In addition, the interviews provided information formation about religious freedom conditions in North about the survival of both Christian and traditional reli- Korea for the widest possible audience of policymakers, gious practices, such as Shamanism, in North Korea de- diplomats, journalists, religious leaders, and researchers spite over fifty years of intense repression. Before 1945, on religious freedom and related human rights in North the Christian population in the northern regions of Korea Korea. The findings from that report were conveyed to was significant enough that the city of Pyongyang was senior U.S. Administration officials, Members of Con- termed the “Jerusalem of the East”; Chondokyo (the Re- gress, relevant UN agencies including the UN Special ligion of the Heavenly Way) and Buddhism also had many Rapporteur on North Korea, and a variety of think tanks adherents. However, while religious life was flourishing in Washington, New York, Rome, and Seoul. That report in South Korea, Kim Il Sung was systemically eliminating has been translated into Korean and is available on the virtually all public observance of religion, substituting Commission’s Web site, http://www.uscirf.gov/countries/ the state’s own monolithic ideology in its place. What region/east_asia/northkorea/NKwitnesses.pdf. religious practice survived was either conducted clan- destinely or under close supervision of the state. In the Updating and Expanding Upon Thank You Commission’s report, refugees noted the existence of a Father Kim Il Sung Roman Catholic and two Protestant churches in Pyong- The Commission asked a team of researchers to conduct yang, but testified that the state strictly controlled these additional interviews with North Korean refugees. The team interviewed 32 refugees who fled to China from The accounts presented by the former security agents Refugees and its 1967 Protocols, to which China is a Continued Strength of KimIlSungism 2003 – 2007 and six former North Korean security suggests that the repression and ill-treatment of anyone party. Such action should begin immediately as China In interviews conducted for this report, refugees contin- agents who defected to South Korea during the past eight suspected of conducting clandestine religious activity in prepares to host the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. ued to testify to the strength and scope of KimIlSungism. years. The purpose of these supplementary interviews North Korea is an officially approved policy, and thus, Absolute reverence for the Kim family continues to be was to determine if religious freedom conditions had likely to continue, particularly as cross-border contact New and Surviving Religious Practices: indoctrinated into every North Korean through schools, changed, if repressive government policies uncovered with China increases. Buddhism, Christianity, Shamanism media, and the workplace. Enthusiastic veneration can in the first report remained in force, and if repatriated advance careers and ensure access to daily necessities, 1 The recent interviews indicate that despite decades refugees continue to face harsh treatment at the border. The Plight of Forcibly Repatriated Refugees while disinterest, “complaints,” or “wrong thoughts” can, These new refugee interviews are the basis of this report of repression, anti-religious propaganda, and the KimIlSungism in some cases, lead to the imprisonment of up to three entitled A Prison Without Bars. Recent refugee testimony provides further evidence that promulgation of , remnants of Buddhism, North Koreans face a well-founded fear of persecution Christianity, and traditional folk beliefs such as Shaman- generations of one’s family in the notorious political pris- if repatriated from China and therefore require protec- ism persist in North Korea. For example, there was on labor camps (kwanliso). The penalties for challenging Targeting Christianity as a Security Threat tion as refugees under the international 1951 Convention substantial eyewitness testimony that Buddhist temples KimIlSungism are well known, but new refugee testimony Interviews with former North Korean Security Agents Relating to the Status of Refugees. The forcible repatria- are preserved as “heritage” sites by so-called “monks” also provided some new information about individual provided unusual and valuable insight into police tac- tion of refugees from China remains an issue of special paid by the Korean Workers’ Party. However, despite private rebellions, lax enforcement of some rituals, and tics aimed at curtailing clandestine religious activities. concern, particularly because those repatriated are the reported existence of Buddhist religious venues, dissatisfaction with the personality cult’s requirements. The Commission’s research team interviewed former singled out for harsher punishment if they are suspected only two refugees interviewed for this report witnessed National Security Agency (NSA, or bowibu) and Public of having had close and ongoing contact with South Ko- any religious practice occurring there—and what they Conclusion Security Agency (PSA, or anjeobu) officers, whose tes- reans or religious groups. Refugee interviews confirm witnessed was conducted secretly. As with Christianity, Clearly, religious freedom and other human rights condi- timony confirms that refugees are routinely subjected that repatriated North Koreans are interrogated repeat- Korea’s rich Buddhist history has been thoroughly re- tions in North Korea remain among the world’s most to extensive interrogation about their religious contacts edly about their religious affiliations and associations in pressed, reduced largely to clandestine worship at what repressive, as the testimony of interviewees confirms. and affiliations once they are repatriated from China. China. If it is discovered that they have either converted are largely religious tourist attractions. There continues to be a pressing need on the
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Effective Evangelistic Strategies for North Korean Defectors (Talbukmin) in South Korea
    ABSTRACT Effective Evangelistic Strategies for North Korean Defectors (Talbukmin) in South Korea South Korean churches eagerness for spreading the gospel to North Koreans is a passion. However, because of the barriers between the two Koreas, spreading the Good News is nearly impossible. In the middle of the 1990’s, numerous North Koreans defected to China to avoid starvation. Many South Korean missionaries met North Koreans directly and offered the gospel along with necessities for survival in China. Since the early of 2000’s, many Talbukmin have entered South Korea so South Korean churches have directly met North Koreans and spread the gospel. However, the fruits of evangelism are few. South Korean churches find that Talbukmin are very different from South Koreans in large part due to the sixty-year division. South Korean churches do not know or fully understand the characteristics of the Talbukmin. The evangelism strategies and ministry programs of South Korean churches, which are designed for South Koreans, do not adapt well to serve the Talbukmin. This research lists and describes the following five theories to be used in the development of the effective evangelistic strategies for use with the Talbukmin and for use to interpret the interviews and questionnaires: the conversion theory, the contextualization theory, the homogenous principle, the worldview transformation theory, and the Nevius Mission Plan. In the following research exploration of the evangelization of Talbukmin in South Korea occurs through two major research agendas. The first agenda is concerned with the study of the characteristics of Talbukmin to be used for the evangelists’ understanding of the depth of differences.
    [Show full text]
  • Thank You, Father Kim Il Sung” Is the First Phrase North Korean Parents Are Instructed to Teach to Their Children
    “THANK YOU FATHER KIM ILLL SUNG”:”:”: Eyewitness Accounts of Severe Violations of Freedom of Thought, Conscience, and Religion in North Korea PPPREPARED BYYY: DAVID HAWK Cover Photo by CNN NOVEMBER 2005 UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM Michael Cromartie Chair Felice D. Gaer Vice Chair Nina Shea Vice Chair Preeta D. Bansal Archbishop Charles J. Chaput Khaled Abou El Fadl Dr. Richard D. Land Dr. Elizabeth H. Prodromou Bishop Ricardo Ramirez Ambassador John V. Hanford, III, ex officio Joseph R. Crapa Executive Diretor NORTH KOREA STUDY TEAM David Hawk Author and Lead Researcher Jae Chun Won Research Manager Byoung Lo (Philo) Kim Research Advisor United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Staff Tad Stahnke, Deputy Director for Policy David Dettoni, Deputy Director for Outreach Anne Johnson, Director of Communications Christy Klaasen, Director of Government Affairs Carmelita Hines, Director of Administration Patricia Carley, Associate Director for Policy Mark Hetfield, Director, International Refugee Issues Eileen Sullivan, Deputy Director for Communications Dwight Bashir, Senior Policy Analyst Robert C. Blitt, Legal Policy Analyst Catherine Cosman, Senior Policy Analyst Deborah DuCre, Receptionist Scott Flipse, Senior Policy Analyst Mindy Larmore, Policy Analyst Jacquelin Mitchell, Executive Assistant Tina Ramirez, Research Assistant Allison Salyer, Government Affairs Assistant Stephen R. Snow, Senior Policy Analyst Acknowledgements The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom expresses its deep gratitude to the former North Koreans now residing in South Korea who took the time to relay to the Commission their perspectives on the situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and their experiences in North Korea prior to fleeing to China.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter Two: Love in Utter Agony Anti-Japanese and Japanese Loathing
    Chapter two: Love in Utter Agony Tradition and technology—COMPAQ, foreign-capital computer manufacturer’s ad featuring Korean shamanism Anti-Japanese and Japanese loathing Korean grudge and Japanese resignation An emotion underlying the Korean people’s thinking is a kind of hate called han. In her book, Ms. O Sonfa1, a commentator from Korea, explains “han”: “Han is not just hate, but it comes from a certain kind of frustration or vexation born within oneself when one cannot achieve what one wants or ought to accomplish. When one does not have a concrete target, it comes out as lamentation against oneself and when one finds a concrete target, it comes out as frustration. What matters is that it is regarded as a virtue to dissolve such frustration and then it can become beautiful.” (Sukaato no Kaze [Wind to Skirt]. Sanko-sha.) Professor Furuta Hiroshi at Tsukuba University traces the psycho-cultural origin of “han” to the historical Korean hierarchy and defines han as: “Following the traditional model, under the circumstances where one cannot transfer responsibility to others, han is the accumulated frustration of those placed at the bottom of Korean hierarchical order, and a wish to dissolve it.” (Chosen Minzoku o Yomitoku [Read the Korean People]. Chikuma-shobo.) During the Joseon Dynasty, the traditional classes were, from the upper stratum, the royal family, followed by the yangban (officials), the “upper-middle class”, ordinary citizens and servants. Outside of these strata were the Baekjeong (untouchables). While Japan’s system of Shi--No--Ko--Sho (Samurai—farmers—craftsmen—merchants) was strongly based on occupation, the Korean hierarchy looks a lot like the Indian caste system.
    [Show full text]
  • Violations of Freedom of Religion Or Belief in North Korea
    Total denial: violations of freedom of religion or belief in North Korea September 2016 FOR PUBLIC USE Be a voice for the voiceless www.csw.org.uk Contents Executive summary 3 Recommendations 4 Christian Solidarity Worldwide and North Korea 5 Methodology 5 Freedom of religion or belief in theory 6 International law vs North Korean law on freedom of religion or belief 6 Ideological foundation vs concept of religious freedom 7 Freedom of religion or belief in practice 8 Persecution of Christians 9 Political prison camps (kwanliso) 10 Discrimination against Buddhism and Shamanism 11 Detention in China 12 Repatriation from China 13 Engagement with international faith groups and organisations 14 Conclusion 15 ‘There is almost complete denial of the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion as well as the right to freedom of opinion, expression, information and association’ UN Commission of Inquiry report on North Korea, 2014 Cover image: Statue in North Korea Photo: CSW extermination, enslavement/forced labour, forcible Executive summary transfer of population, arbitrary imprisonment, torture, persecution, enforced disappearance, rape and sexual The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), violence, and other inhumane acts. Documented incidents also known as North Korea, remains a uniquely isolated against Christians include being hung on a cross over a and repressed state in an increasingly interconnected fire, crushed under a steamroller, herded off bridges, global community. The isolation is maintained by and trampled underfoot. A policy of guilt by association multi-faceted aspects of the security and political applies, meaning that the relatives of Christians are also situation, and confines the people of North Korea to a detained regardless of whether they share the Christian monolithic system of control by the dynastic Kim family.
    [Show full text]
  • Living on the Edge: Buraku in Kyoto, Japan
    Nataša Visočnik: Living on the edge: Buraku in Kyoto, Japan Living on the edge: Buraku in Kyoto,- Japan Nata{a Viso~nik University of Ljubljana, [email protected] Abstract This article deals with the two districts in the southeast of the Kyōto city, which are known to have been settled by people who are marginalised for various reasons. The research is based on a short fieldwork focuses on two main groups living in the Kyōto buraku and near it: burakumin (eta people) and zainichi Koreans. It also presents their ways of living as marginal communities and the ways they cope with discrimination. The article also considers in greater detail the developments within the life in buraku, focusing particularly on the critical role of machi-zukuri in liberation movements over the course of the 20th to the 21st century. KEYWORDS: marginality, buraku, burakumin (eta people), zainichi Koreans, machi- zukuri Introduction As we move into the 21st century, we might ponder the pithy and insightful epigram by Talleyrand, who asserted that the more things changed, the more they remained the same (in Dennis 2005), which means that despite the ideological and social structural tendencies of the evolving 21st century, where many of the inequities against the weak would weaken or disappear, not much has changed since previous centuries. In this fractured world, many remain unprotected or semi-protected: members of oppressed ethnic groups, women, the young, the old, the impoverished, the lower castes, outcastes or members of suppressed religions, and those who are otherwise persecuted. Marginalised communities face problems all over the world, including in Japan.
    [Show full text]
  • Australian Female Volunteerism in Modern Korea (1889–1941): an Enlightenment Campaign*
    Australian Female Volunteerism in Modern Korea (1889–1941): An Enlightenment Campaign* David Kim** Introduction The Australian diplomatic relationship with the People’s Republic of China began in Decem- ber 1972, when Gough Whitlam, together with Richard Nixon of the United States, ceased to recognize the government of Chiang Kai-shek (the leader of the Republic of China between 1928 and 1975). However, the foreign relationship between Australia and the Republic of South Korea was launched a decade earlier under the international economic policy of the Menzies government in May 1963. Since that time they have become close trading partners in the Asia-Pacific region. Korea is a key market for Australian minerals, energy, travel and educa- tion services, and Australia is a major market for Korean vehicles, petroleum, and electronic goods and parts. The economic relationship received a boost on 8th April 2014 with the signing of the Korea Australia Free Trade Agreement (KAFTA). The countries have also been engaged in important regional activities as active members of the G20, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) the East Asia Summit (EAS), and used to be non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). What, then, could have precipitated this early and steady rise of official diplomacy and forged the sound economic relationship be- tween the two nations? In this regard, it cannot be denied that decades earlier, there were many Australian females (as well as males) involved in non-government activities in modern Korea (1889–1941). For example, an aunt of the 12th Australian Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies spent 33 years (between 1891 and 1924) in Korea as a volunteer.1 How did female ** This research work was supported by the Korea Foundation (KF).
    [Show full text]
  • Korea, a Pitiful Third-Rate Nation
    Korea, a Pitiful Third-Rate Nation Even First-Rate Korean Newspapers Are Plagued with Anti-Japanese Fundamentalism By Nishimura Kohyu, journalist/critic Calling the Emperor “Japanese King” is the Greatest Insult The illegal landing on Takeshima conducted by South Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak on August 10 sounded like a big fanfare heralding a war against Japan by specific Asian nations. From this day on, especially from September 11 through 18, anti-Japanese riots spread throughout China. Today, the East Asian situation surrounding Japan is getting tougher and tougher. Recent anti-Japanese riots broke out in at least 108 cities and regions across China, including medium to small ones, and have become the largest xenophobic upheavals since the establishment of normalized relationship between Japan and China forty years ago—possibly even since the Boxer Rebellion or the North Qing Incident in 1900. On August 15, the anniversary marking the end of the War, anti-Japanese activists from Hong Kong aboard a fishing vessel broke into the waters around the Senkaku Islands and 10 Chinese, including a TV crew managed to land on one of the Islands, despite Japanese efforts to prevent them. On the previous day, August 14, the Republic of Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak reportedly told an audience during a symposium held at Korea National University of Education that if the Japanese King (the Koreans dishonorably use these words when referring to the Emperor) “wants to visit Korea, he should sincerely apologize for the victims of the independence movements,” according to an August 14 article from the Jiji Press, demonstrating his view that it is necessary to apologize to activists of the independence movements of the Colonial Era before an Imperial visit can be realized.
    [Show full text]
  • Elite Ethnic Koreans in Japanese-Dominated Manchukuo: a Case Study Based on the Thomas Gregory Song Papers Research Thesis Pres
    Elite Ethnic Koreans in Japanese-Dominated Manchukuo: A Case Study Based on the Thomas Gregory Song Papers Research Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the requirements for graduation with research distinction in History in the undergraduate college of The Ohio State University By Yasuhiro Aihara [email protected] Undergraduate Program in History The Ohio State University July 2020 Thesis Advisor: Christopher A. Reed, Department of History Copyright by Yasuhiro Aihara 2020 ii Table of Contents Vita…………………………………………………………………………………..iv Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………..v I. Introduction………………………………………………………………………...1 II. The Song Family’s Elite Status……………………………………………………3 III. The Song Family’s Interaction with Empire……………………………………..11 IV. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………….....27 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………29 iii Vita September 24, 1997: Born, Tokyo, Japan June 2016: H.S. Diploma (equivalent), Chongqing No.1 International Studies School in Chongqing, PRC August 2020: Bachelor of Arts, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA. Fields of Study Main Field: History and International Relation (East Asian) iv Acknowledgement I would like to express my sincerest appreciation to Professors Christopher A. Reed, Philip C. Brown, and Ann Marie L. Davis for their helpful suggestions, criticism, and patience throughout the writing process. I would also like to extend my deepest gratitude to Anastasia Song, who donated Thomas Gregory Song’s Papers to The Ohio State University Libraries, and to Thomas Song, whose story not only provided the inspiration for this thesis, but also prompted me to rethink my own experience of transnational migration. Furthermore, I am grateful to Joseph Henares, Dr. Jing Zhao, and Patrick Nash who proofread multiple drafts of this project and offered encouragement. Of course, any remaining errors are my own.
    [Show full text]
  • Call for Papers General Information
    January 2006 Published by the American Academy of Religion Vol. 21, No. 1 2006 2006 r embe M ar alend CALL FOR C e 2 e pag Se PAPERS Annual Meeting Call for Papers General Information ........................................................................3 Deadlines ........................................................................................3 Religious Studies News is the newspaper of record Guidelines for Submitting Proposals ..................................................3 for the field especially designed to serve the pro- fessional needs of persons involved in teaching Methods of Submission ....................................................................4 and scholarship in religion (broadly construed to include religious studies, theology, and sacred Sections ..........................................................................................5 texts). Published quarterly by the American Academy of Religion, RSN is received by some Groups............................................................................................7 10,000 scholars and by libraries at colleges and universities across North America and abroad. Participant Forms ........................................................................8, 9 Religious Studies News communicates the impor- tant events of the field and related areas. It pro- Seminars ......................................................................................16 vides a forum for members and others to examine critical issues in education, pedagogy (especially
    [Show full text]
  • Building the Nation: the Success and Crisis of Korean Civil Religion
    religions Article Building the Nation: The Success and Crisis of Korean Civil Religion Andrew Eungi Kim 1 and Daniel Connolly 2,* 1 Division of International Studies, Korea University, Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02841, Korea; [email protected] 2 Division of International Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Seoul 02450, Korea * Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: Civil religion refers to a country’s beliefs, symbols, and rituals that bolster national unity and strengthen its citizens’ sense of identity and belonging. However, the literature on civil religion is divided between those who attribute it to bottom-up cultural spontaneity and those who see it as an ideological top-down construction. Moreover, there has been a relative lack of scholarly attention to Korean civil religion. This paper addresses both issues by arguing that a strong civil religion indeed exists in the country and that it has been an important part of the “nation-building” process since the founding of the Republic of Korea in 1948. The paper highlights how a succession of authoritarian regimes (1948–1987) successfully mobilized a strong civil religion for political purposes. The resulting civil religion targeted economic growth as the national goal to overcome all social ills, focused on the country’s ethnic and cultural homogeneity to boost national confidence and pride, exalted its traditional religions, especially Confucianism, as repositories of Korean traditional culture, and rendered sacred meanings to national symbols such as the flag and national anthem. Even after democratization, Korean civil religion remains largely ideological, as the Korean government is heavily involved in framing, planning, sponsoring, and promoting the country’s civil religion.
    [Show full text]
  • The Religious Phenomenon of Juche Ideology As a Political Tool
    HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies ISSN: (Online) 2072-8050, (Print) 0259-9422 Page 1 of 7 Original Research The religious phenomenon of Juche ideology as a political tool Authors: This study aims to determine the motive that led to the establishment of Juche by Kim Il 1 Fransiskus I. Widjaja Sung amidst the influence of communism and its transformation into religion in North Noh I. Boiliu2 Irfan F. Simanjuntak1 Korea. North Korea is a communist country dictated by Kim Jong-Un of the Kim dynasty and Joni M.P. Gultom1 known for its cruelty. The country underwent several changes from Marxism-Leninism to Fredy Simanjuntak1 familism to determine its strength in Juche. This ideology that acts as a religion was influenced and strengthened Kim Jong Il to Kim Jong-Un and built by shifting the concept of marxism- Affiliations: 1Graduate School, Faculty of Leninism to construct a new understanding of Juche. It will be demonstrated that this Theology, Real Theological ideology was influenced by Confucianism, Christianity, Nationalism, Chinese Communism, Seminary Batam (STT Real and Russian Communism. In the modern era, imperialism was used as an ideological tool to Batam), Batam, Indonesia restrict backwardness. This theory allegedly helped Kim Il-Sung establish a unitary, one- 2Christian Religious person rule over North Korea. ‘It will be examined whether Juche ideology is a tool the state Education, Teacher Training has used to convince people of their government. Pronouncements, an intentional religion in and Education, Christian which the people were to believe that their Ruler (Kim Il Sung) was a supreme human or an University of Indonesia, ideology that morphed into a religion’.
    [Show full text]
  • NORTH KOREA: Religious Freedom Non-Existent, but Much Still Unknown
    FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway http://www.forum18.org/ The right to believe, to worship and witness The right to change one's belief or religion The right to join together and express one's belief This article was published by F18News on: 29 March 2006 NORTH KOREA: Religious freedom non-existent, but much still unknown By Magda Hornemann, Forum 18 News Service <http://www.forum18.org> Two recent reports based on testimony from North Korean refugees - one by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom - have confirmed earlier findings that religious freedom does not exist in North Korea, that local people are aware of state-sponsored acts of religious persecution and that the only state-approved religion is Juche, or self-reliance, which is closely allied to the cult of the deceased leader Kim Il-Sung. Some interviewees claimed they had witnessed or heard of extreme punishments, even death, meted out to religious believers, others recounted how some religious believers were spared such punishments. Christian organisation Open Doors has noted that North Koreans arriving in China are usually very opposed to religion in general and Christianity in particular as a result of the long-term and regular state indoctrination to which they had been subjected. Visitors to Pyongyang have told Forum 18 News Service that no regular worship takes place at the three official Christian churches in the city and that Buddhist monasteries elsewhere are neglected cultural relics. Given the draconian restrictions on individual freedoms in North Korea, the most reliable knowledge available on religious freedom and other human rights in the country has to be based on insights garnered from North Korean nationals outside the country, interviews with refugees from North Korea - most recently those conducted by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom - and informed foreigners who have visited the country.
    [Show full text]