A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of Warwick Permanent WRAP URL: http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/86997 Copyright and reuse: This thesis is made available online and is protected by original copyright. Please scroll down to view the document itself. Please refer to the repository record for this item for information to help you to cite it. Our policy information is available from the repository home page. For more information, please contact the WRAP Team at: [email protected] warwick.ac.uk/lib-publications University of Warwick Centre for Cultural Policy Studies PhD Thesis Religion and Cultural Policy in North Korea: The Significance of Protestantism in Politics, Culture and International Relations from the 1970s to the early 1990s By Seong Lim Noh Word Number: 99893 i For my parents and grandmother ii Acknowledgement I would like to express my sincere thanks to the following people: Oliver Bennett for his thoughtful guidance that has enlightened me to a new world since my MA year, Richard Perkins for his support and friendship, and my family for their endless encouragement. iii Declaration I declare that the present thesis is the result of my own work. I would also like to confirm that neither the thesis nor parts of it has ever been submitted before for a degree at another university. iv Abstract This thesis explores the significance of Protestantism in North Korean politics, culture and international relations from the 1970s to the early 1990s. It focuses on the activities of the Korean Christian Federation (KCF), against the background of inter-Korean and international relations as well as domestic changes in the Protestant sphere. In the early 1970s, in pursuit of an advantageous position over the South Korean government on issues surrounding inter- Korean relations, the North Korean government began to demonstrate a certain degree of flexibility in foreign policy. However, in the mid-1970s, long-running disputes on inter- Korean issues in the UN General Assembly ended in stalemate, with no clear plan for achieving a generally acceptable compromise. At this point, the DPRK regime turned its attention towards international non-governmental organisations. In order to form a united front against the South Korean government, the DPRK government established several non- governmental organisations, of which the KCF was an example, in order to make contact with these external groups. Two main findings emerged from my analysis of the KCF’s policies. First, the revival of the KCF and Protestant community in North Korea was based on political necessity. In other words, the KCF’s exchange activities with Protestants outside North Korea were political despite their religious identity. Through examining the exchanges between the KCF, overseas Korean Protestants, the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the National Council of Churches in [South] Korea (NCCK), this thesis provides evidence that the DPRK government revived the KCF for the political purpose of gaining the upper hand over the South Korean v government in dealing with inter-Korean issues. In particular, what the North Korean regime expected to gain from the KCF’s exchanges with Protestant organisations outside North Korea was moral ascendancy over the South Korean government. Second, from an ecumenical standpoint, the thesis also argued that the political association between the KCF and other Protestant organisations outside North Korea was made possible thanks to their common Protestant identity. In order to associate the KCF with Protestant organisations outside North Korea, the DPRK regime understood that the authenticity of North Korean Protestantism must first be acknowledged by the outside world. To establish the ties of religious kinship, the DPRK not only revived a proper ecclesiastical form, including the establishment of two churches in western style, but also made changes to its legal regulations and even to the national Juche culture, in order to accommodate Protestant activities in North Korea. In this thesis, Gramsci’s theory of hegemony was employed as a research framework to reveal how the DPRK’s policies towards Protestantism were confined not only to the religious sphere, but were often intertwined with politics. Religious policies are therefore considered as a form of implicit cultural policy; that is, an intangible political strategy that produces relevant normative values for stabilising a political regime. vi Abbreviations CCA: Christian Conference of Asia CCC: Canadian Church Council CCIA: Commission of the Churches on International Affairs CCK: Christian Council of [South] Korea (Hanguk Kidokgyo Chong Yeonmaeng) CCP: Chinese Communist Party CPAJ: Catholic Priests Association for Justice [in South Korea] CPKI: The Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence DPRK: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) DFRF: Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland FETZ: Free Economic Trade Zone in Rajin-Sonbong ICCC: International Council of Christian Churches ICCPR: International Covenant on Civil and Political Right ICNDK: International Christian Network for Democracy in Korea KBF: [North] Korean Buddhist Federation KCF: [North] Korean Christian Federation KDP: Korean Democratic Party KWP: Korean Workers’ Party NAE: National Association of Evangelicals NCC Japan: National Council of Churches in Japan NCCK: National Council of Churches in [South] Korea NCCUSA: National Council of Churches in USA NKCA: North Korean Christian Association NKPPC: North Korea Provisional People’s Committee ROK: Republic of Korea (South Korea) UDHR: Universal Declaration of Human Rights USCIRF: the US Commission on International Religious Freedom WCC: World Council of Churches WEF: World Evangelical Fellowship WFB: World Federation of Buddhists YFP: Young Friends’ Party vii List of Tables Table 1: Characteristics of Protestant Churches as Agents of Implicit Cultural Policies Table 2: The Regional Distribution of the Western Missionaries in the Korean Peninsula in the 1920s Table 3: Political and Administrative Group Founded by Protestants after Liberation Table 4: Political & Administrative Roles Held by the KCF’s Staff Table 5: the KCF members came from Ham-Kyong Province Table 6: Distribution of Protestants in North Korea between 1960s and 2002 Table 7: A Comparison between the Principles of the NKCA (1946) and the KCF (1972) Table 8: Comparison of DPRK’s Definitions on Religion Table 9: Comparison of DPRK’s Definitions for Each Religion Table 10: Class Numbers of Religious Believers Table 11: Change in Definition of Revolutionary Arts and Culture Table 12: The KWP’s Tracts for Anti-Religious Propaganda Published in 1959 Table 13: International Academic Conferences on the Juche Idea and Christianity Table 14: Comparison of Approaches to Reunification Between the Two Koreas (the 1950s – 60s) Table 15: ‘Dialogue between North Korean and Foreign Christians Abroad from the Fatherland’s Unification’ Table 16: Resolutions from the First Dialogue between North Korean and Foreign Christians Abroad from the Fatherland’s Unification Table 17: Tozanso Conclusions Table 18: The NCCK’s Statement of Principles for Peaceful Reunification List of Charts Chart 1: The Political Power Structure in the North Korean Religious Organisations Chart2: The power structure in the legislative system in the DPRK List of Diagrams Diagram 1: The Category of Roles of the KCF in Gramscian terms viii Table of Contents Overview of the Thesis Purpose of the Thesis 1 Research Questions 6 Research Methods 8 Original Contribution of the Thesis 13 Thesis Structure 14 Chapter 1. The Research Framework: Gramsci’s Theory of Hegemony Introduction 18 Literature Reviews 19 Theory of Hegemony 23 a) The Concept of Historic Bloc 26 A National-Popular Collective Will 28 An Active Leadership 29 An Organic Cohesion 29 b) Philosophy (Ideology) and Common Sense 31 c) Civil Society and the State 33 d) Intellectuals 37 Hegemony in the International Relations 38 Summary 40 ix Chapter 2. Conceptualising Religion, Culture and Cultural Policy in Gramscian Terms Introduction 44 Literature Reviews 46 Chapter 2.1 Gramsci’s Perspective on Culture, Cultural Policy, and Religion 55 The Concept of Culture 56 The Concept of Cultural Policy 57 Explicit and Implicit Cultural Policies in Gramsci’s Concept 60 The Concept of Religion 68 Chapter 2.2 Strategies of Religious Institutions Towards Secular Society 79 Religion as an Overlooked Element in Societal Structure 79 Different Spheres, Different Languages 81 Strategies of Religious Institutions towards Secular Society 86 a) Ethical Leadership 86 b) Propagating Religious Dogma as Common Sense in Popular Language 87 c) Combining with Political Ideologies and Activities 88 Summary 90 Chapter 3. Protestantism in North Korea: The Revival of Protestant Organisation and Legal Changes Introduction 93 Literature Reviews 96 Chapter 3.1 The DPRK’s Religious Sphere before the Korean War and the x Establishment of the KCF 103 The Protestant Sphere of the DPRK before 1945 104 The Political Sphere of North Korea after Decolonisation 113 Hegemonic Conflicts between the Communists and the Pro-American Protestants 118 Was There Pro-Communist Protestants in North Korea? 124 Chapter 3.2 The Korean Christian Federation 132 The Emergence of the KCF with Elite Protestants in North Korea 134 The KCF as an Ecclesiastical Organisation 139 The Political-Economic Status of North Korean Protestants 147 Why the DPRK Revived the Protestant Organisation? 149 The KCF as Political