Religion in North Korea is not simply discouraged; it is actively repressed by a regime that views any spiritual belief as a threat to its ideological control.
Since its establishment, the North Korean government has implemented systematic measures to suppress religion, particularly Christianity, which is viewed as a tool of foreign influence and potential subversion.
The regime promotes the state ideology of Juche, which places the Kim family at the center of all political and spiritual loyalty, demanding absolute devotion from its citizens.
In the mid-2000s, the State Security Department intensified its efforts by producing anti-religious educational materials to reinforce the regime’s stance.
These efforts reflect the broader struggle to maintain ideological purity and prevent the infiltration of religious beliefs that the regime believes could undermine the socialist state.
Through videos containing internal images of North Korea and detailed content, this essay reveals the evidence of the regime's efforts to eradicate religion, delving into the harsh punishments and propaganda campaigns designed to root out any form of spiritual dissent.
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| Translation: Let’s promptly report anything unusual in people's words and actions. |
[Translated Full Text of the Video]
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| Translation: Falling into religion and superstition is the path of betrayal |
"Falling into Religion and Superstition is the Path of Betrayal."
Even in today’s world, where science and technology have advanced, many people around the globe are still unable to free themselves from religion and superstition, despite knowing their futility.
This is because they lack a spiritual pillar of belief and reliance in their hearts.
However, in our country, all people are encouraged to embrace the great Juche ideology, which teaches that individuals are the masters of their own fate and that the driving force for revolution and construction lies within the masses.
Guided by the great General's military-first leadership, the people have rallied in the struggle to build a powerful socialist nation.
The enemies, foolishly, are trying to erode the spiritual strength of our people’s unity—something that cannot be broken even with nuclear weapons—through religion and superstition.
Recently, the Party has taken revolutionary measures to heighten the revolutionary vigilance of all people and intensify the struggle against religion and superstition more than ever before.
How Can We Crush the Enemy’s Schemes to Spread Religion and Superstition?
First, we must ensure that all people clearly recognize the reactionary and harmful nature of religion and superstition.
Religion and superstition are reactionary ideologies that suggest people’s fates are determined by gods or spirits, making people submissive to fate and encouraging them to serve deities for happiness in the afterlife.
This breeds submission and foolishness, making people mentally weak and prone to opposing the Party and revolution.
This is the essence of anti-revolutionary religious propaganda that our enemies have attempted to infiltrate into our society.
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| Image of the Bible in Korean |
The enemies are intensifying their efforts to spread religious propaganda without the noise of bombs or gunfire, aiming to weaken our revolutionary spirit.
They are carrying out persistent campaigns to penetrate our people’s consciousness with religious superstition, in hopes of dulling our revolutionary resolve and weakening our ideological stronghold.
Without firmly holding the faith in our Party's Juche ideology and the invincibility of socialism, people may easily fall prey to anti-revolutionary ideologies like religious superstition, ultimately leading them down the path of ruin.
Case Study: Cha Deok Sun
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| Case Study: Cha Deok Sun |
Cha Deok Sun, a university graduate from Eunwoo-dong, Sariwon City, was well aware of the harmful and reactionary nature of religion and superstition.
However, during the Arduous March, when temporary hardships arose in her life, she began seeking fortune-tellers, hoping for a lucky break.
One day, a fortune-teller told her that if she traveled northwest, she would meet a benefactor who would help her, and no matter what sins she had committed, she would not die.
In reality, the cunning fortune-teller knew that Cha Deok Sun had an uncle living in a neighboring country and concocted this lie to encourage her to illegally cross the border.
Believing the fortune-teller's words, Cha Deok Sun interpreted this as a sign that she could safely visit her uncle in the neighboring country and return without incident.
On a winter’s day, she secretly crossed the border into the neighboring country.
However, her uncle had already passed away, and his children had left for other regions in search of work.
With nowhere to go, Cha Deok Sun wandered through the cold, snowy streets of a foreign land, facing rejection and humiliation, and her tears never dried.
Two years later, while wandering the streets, she heard the faint sound of a bell ringing in the distance.
Unknowingly, she followed the sound to Seotap Church.
Seotap Church was operated by South Korean intelligence agents disguised as pastors.
They targeted defectors, giving them anti-North Korean ideological education and transforming them into spies.
Cha Deok Sun, weak in her faith and spirit, was swayed by their sermons and became a devout religious fanatic, eventually becoming an agent for the South.
After receiving a mission to return to North Korea and establish an underground religious network, she re-entered the country and falsely confessed her crimes to the authorities.
Despite receiving leniency from our Party’s generous policy of forgiveness, Cha Deok Sun mistook this as a blessing from God rather than the Party’s grace, and she exploited this leniency to fervently carry out her spy mission.
She used economic hardship as an excuse to travel to various regions such as Hamhung, Jongjin, and Hyesan, where she sought out disillusioned individuals, sick people, and those who had previously believed in religion and superstition, as well as their children.
She bribed them with money and goods while spreading religious doctrine.
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| Translation: The place where the underground church network was organized. |
In Sariwon City, she established an underground religious network, recruiting her family, friends, and individuals who had long been religious believers, such as Ri Gi-chang, son of a deacon at the Gyodong Church, and Kim Suk-nyeo, daughter of the deacon of Jaeryong Church.
She also gathered other disaffected individuals into her group.
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| An image capturing Cha Deok Sun and the underground church members in prayer. |
Each Sunday, even during the busy farming season, she would gather believers for prayer sessions, hymns, and religious study, holding regular secret Sunday meetings.
A photo captured Cha Deok Sun organizing these meetings at a secluded spot on Mt. Gyeongam, out of sight from others.
Her religious fanaticism, attempting to build a fictitious heavenly kingdom, was eventually exposed by vigilant citizens.
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| Translation: Evidence used in religious activities by her group |
Ongoing Struggle Against Religion and Superstition
We must continue to intensify our struggle to root out religion and superstition.
Most importantly, we must raise our revolutionary vigilance to prevent the enemy’s religious propaganda from infiltrating our ranks.
The enemy is attempting to spread religious doctrine among our people abroad, and they have inserted their spies among foreigners and overseas Koreans entering our country to spread religious superstition.
Therefore, our citizens traveling abroad must avoid churches and religious events unless absolutely necessary.
If anyone engages in religious propaganda or criticizes our socialist system, they must be dealt with decisively, defending the dignity of Kim Il Sung's nation and the honor of Juche Korea.
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| Translation: Let’s prevent any foreign elements that undermine the socialist system from infiltrating in the slightest. |
We must also remain vigilant against foreigners and overseas Koreans, including those from South Korea, who attempt to spread religious superstition.
If they distribute religious materials, such as Bibles or items containing religious content in hotels, restaurants, or parks, these should be immediately collected and handed over to the security authorities.
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| Translation: Everyone must rise up as one in the struggle to eliminate religious superstition. |
All people must rise together in the struggle to eliminate religious superstition.
Our Republic’s law strictly punishes those who engage in or promote superstitious activities according to the severity of the offense.
Every citizen must raise their revolutionary vigilance, carefully monitoring their surroundings for any signs of religious proselytizing, such as people using religious language, singing religious songs, or engaging in odd behavior like murmuring prayers before meals.
If even the smallest sign is detected, it must be reported immediately to the security authorities.
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| Article 267 of the Criminal Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (Crime of Superstitious Acts): Anyone who engages in superstitious acts multiple times in exchange for money or goods shall be sentenced to up to two years of reform through labor. In more serious cases, the individual shall be sentenced to up to five years of correctional labor. |
Let us all work together to thoroughly crush the enemy's vile attempts to infiltrate our country with anti-Republican religious superstition, thereby solidifying the political security of our people-centered socialist system and further enhancing the invincible power of our great nation under the guidance of Songun!
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| Translation: It must be turned over to the security agency immediately upon discovery. |
Faith Under Siege: North Korea’s War Against Religion
The North Korean regime treats religion not merely as a personal belief system but as an existential threat to its totalitarian control and ideological purity.
Religion, particularly Christianity and other forms of spiritual belief, is seen as a foreign tool of subversion designed to undermine the state’s absolute authority.
Through a combination of brutal surveillance, public executions, imprisonment, and ideological brainwashing, the regime has effectively stifled any open expression of faith.
The state promotes the Juche ideology as the only acceptable form of belief, one that elevates loyalty to the ruling Kim dynasty as a quasi-religious duty.
Any deviation from this is met with harsh consequences, often resulting in the targeting of entire families and the establishment of underground religious networks.
Despite the ongoing suppression, small groups persist, reflecting the resilience of spiritual belief even in the face of extreme adversity.
Ultimately, North Korea’s crackdown on religion underscores the regime’s reliance on fear, control, and unwavering loyalty to preserve its grip on power, ensuring that no belief system other than state ideology takes root within its borders.
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