Archon News

Terror, Execution, Imprisonment: Why North Korea Hates Christianity

The State Department report on religious freedom in North Korea says that “authorities held 50,000 to 70,000 citizens in prison for being Christian.” Even Christians who were not imprisoned “experienced persecution that was ‘violent and intense.’” The report stated that “life for Christians … is a constant cauldron of pressure; capture or death is only a mistake away.”

“Terror, Execution, Imprisonment: Why North Korea Hates Christianity, the Bible,” by Billy Hallowell, Faith Wire, October 2, 2024:

A persecution watchdog is sounding the alarm about the grim and dire conditions for Christians inside North Korea.

The hermit nation has long been one of the most diabolical Christian persecutors, but a new report from Christian Solidarity Worldwide, “North Korea: We Cannot Look Away,” underscores the true gravity of the deteriorating conditions inside the hermit nation….

“Christian groups and other folks in the country that practice traditional Korean religion … they are executed, they’re exiled, and they’re sent to jail for the possession of a Bible, for holding church services,” Simpson said. “It’s one of the most radical things that people can do in that country and it’s seen [as being a] traitor … and treachery to the government.”

Simpson said Christianity, in particular, is targeted for a variety of reasons. One issue centers on the help North Korean refugees able to escape receive from Christian missionaries in China and South Korea, two bordering nations.

“Chinese missionaries take extreme risks to help North Koreans,” he said. “So, it’s common for the first people in the outside world for North Koreans to have contact with are Christians. So, Christians are the one[s] who are telling them, ‘You’ve been sold a lie and you’re living in a hermit, isolated kingdom, and this is what the real world’s like.’”

This obviously isn’t seen as a positive by North Korean government officials looking to continue their horrific rule. Beyond that, Simpson said South Korea has a very large Christian population as does the U.S. With both nations standing as enemies of North Korea, this plays a role in views on the faith.

Third, the underground Christian church in North Korea has reportedly been growing and is seen as “completely undermining the authority and the rule” of the government….

Subscribe to our mailing list

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

More Posts

Share