DPRK Forum

Before the posting for today, I would like to extend a happy holiday and a happy new year if you happen to celebrate it. On this day, people are most likely celebrating with family, friends and whatever other traditions they may use. However, in North Korea, even if people do celebrate, they cannot because it is like any other day.

No, this posting is not promoting Christianity. This posting is about having basic human rights such as freedom of religion of whatever flavor one chooses. North Koreans do not have a choice. There is only one “religion”, and that is Juche. If somebody chooses Juche, that is fine, but when droves are forced to love only the leaders or else, that is not very good. Take the time and read this story even if you are not religious, because it is more than just religion. It is about basic human rights.

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There are no fairy lights, no Christmas dinner, or, any kind of carol service for the followers of Jesus Christ in North Korea at Christmas. In fact, the scarcity of any kind of electrical light, food or joy leaves vast swathes of this country shrouded in darkness, hunger and gloom most days of the year. Christmas day in North Korea is like any other.

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Brother Simon, who co-ordinates the work of Open Doors from a secret location in China says, “Of course Christians reflect on the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas but being a Christian in North Korea is a lonely business.”

I agree it must be a lonely business indeed, not just for religious, but political and ideology. Let us be thankful for what we have, because after all, it could be worse.

One could be living in North Korea.

Update: Also found this story from the DailyNK:

Yanji, China — According to a testimony from a source inside the North, some underground churches operating in the North are, in fact, fake churches which take orders from the National Security Agency and whose mission is to unmask underground Christians.

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The source revealed a shocking reality, saying, “Some security agents disguise themselves as defectors and deliberately approach those Korean churches operating in China. From the churches, the agents receive money and bibles. Then, the agents establish a fake church.” The source added, “While taking money from the Korean churches in the name of financial support for missionary work, the agents devote themselves to hunting down domestic underground churches connected to the churches in China.”

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The source said that the security agency runs the fake church not only to crack down Christians but also to make money. Many Christian organizations in the South provide financial support for pastors engaged in missionary work for North Koreans in the China-North Korea border areas. The source said that those security agents operating the fake underground church make a decent living thanks to the money they receive from the South’s Christian organizations.

“Unless the churches of the South tightly manage their supporting activities for underground churches and Christians of the North, their activities might end up enriching the security agents and causing harm to underground Christians,” the source said.

In the North, the act of missionary work is considered a felony, and individuals convicted of the felony are either sent to a political concentration camp or executed in public.

That also must be pretty scary, but as people may die for their beliefs, no government can break the human spirit.