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There are no known [[official statistics]] of '''religions in North Korea'''. Officially, [[North Korea]] is an [[state atheism|atheist state]], although its constitution guarantees free exercise of religion, provided that religious practice does not introduce foreign forces, harm the state, or harm the existing social order. Based on estimates from the late 1990s<ref name="Chryssides, Geaves. 2007. p. 110">Chryssides, Geaves. 2007. p. 110</ref> and the 2000s,<ref name="Religious Intelligence UK"/><ref name="thearda.com">Association of Religion Data Archives: [http://www.thearda.com/internationalData/countries/Country_123_2.asp North Korea: Religious Adherents, 2010]. Data from the World Christian Database.</ref> [[North Korea]] is mostly irreligious, with the main religions being [[Korean shamanism|Shamanism]] and [[Chondoism]]. There are small communities of [[Korean Buddhism|Buddhists]] and [[Christianity|Christians]]. Chondoism is represented in politics by the [[Chondoist Chongu Party|Party of the Young Friends of the Heavenly Way]],{{sfn|Baker|2008|p=146}} and is regarded by the government as Korea's "[[ethnic religion|national religion]]"<ref name="Chondoism, National Religion"/> because of its identity as a ''[[minjung]]'' (popular){{sfn|Lee|1996|p=110}} and "revolutionary [[anti-imperialism|anti-imperialist]]" movement.{{sfn|Baker|2008|p=146}}
There are no known [[official statistics]] of '''religions in North Korea'''. Officially, [[North Korea]] is an [[state atheism|atheist state]], although its constitution guarantees free exercise of religion, provided that religious practice does not introduce foreign forces, harm the state, or harm the existing social order. Based on estimates from the late 1990s<ref name="Chryssides, Geaves. 2007. p. 110">Chryssides, Geaves. 2007. p. 110</ref> and the 2000s,<ref name="Religious Intelligence UK"/><ref name="thearda.com">Association of Religion Data Archives: [http://www.thearda.com/internationalData/countries/Country_123_2.asp North Korea: Religious Adherents, 2010]. Data from the World Christian Database.</ref> [[North Korea]] is mostly irreligious, with the main religions being [[Korean shamanism|Shamanism]] and [[Chondoism]]. There are small communities of [[Korean Buddhism|Buddhists]] and [[Christianity|Christians]]. Chondoism is represented in politics by the [[Chondoist Chongu Party|Party of the Young Friends of the Heavenly Way]],{{sfn|Baker|2008|p=146}} and is regarded by the government as Korea's "[[ethnic religion|national religion]]"<ref name="Chondoism, National Religion"/> because of its identity as a ''[[minjung]]'' (popular){{sfn|Lee|1996|p=110}} and "revolutionary [[anti-imperialism|anti-imperialist]]" movement.{{sfn|Baker|2008|p=146}}

==History==
===Before 1945===
In ancient times, most [[Koreans]] believed in their [[indigenous religion]] socially guided by ''[[mu (shaman)|mu]]'' (shamans). [[Buddhism]] was introduced from the Chinese [[Former Qin]] state in 372 to the northern Korean state of [[Goguryeo]],<ref name="Korea, 300 to 600 CE">Asia For Educators: ''[http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/tps/300ce_ko.htm#buddhism Korea, 300 to 600 CE]''. Columbia University, 2009.</ref> and developed into [[Korean Buddhism|distinctive Korean forms]]. At that time, the [[Korea]]n peninsula was divided into [[Three Kingdoms of Korea|three kingdoms]]: the aforementioned Goguryeo in the north, [[Baekje]] in the southwest, and [[Silla]] in the southeast. Buddhism reached Silla only in the 5th century, but it was made the state religion only in that kingdom in the year 552.<ref name="Korea, 300 to 600 CE"/> In Goguryeo the Korean [[indigenous religion]] remained dominant, while Buddhism became more widespread in Silla and Baekje (both areas comprehended in modern South Korea).

In the following unified state of [[Goryeo]] (918–1392), that developed from Goguryeo incorporating the southern kingdoms, Buddhism flourished even becoming a political force.<ref>Vermeersch, Sem. (2008). ''The Power of the Buddhas: the Politics of Buddhism during the Koryŏ Dynasty (918–1392)''. p. 3</ref> In the same period, the influence of Chinese [[Confucianism]] penetrated the country and led to the formation of [[Korean Confucianism]] that would have become the state ideology and religion of the following [[Joseon]] state.

The Joseon kingdom (1392–1910), strictly [[Neo-Confucianism|Neo-Confucian]], harshly suppressed Buddhism<ref name="Grayson, 2002. pp. 120-138">Grayson, 2002. pp. 120–138</ref><ref name="Tudor, 2012">Tudor, 2012.</ref> and Shamanism.<ref name="Joon-sik Choi, 2006. p. 15"/> Buddhist monasteries were destroyed and their number dropped from several hundreds to a mere thirty-six; Buddhism was eradicated from the life of towns as monks and nuns were prohibited from entering them and were marginalised to the mountains.<ref name="Tudor, 2012"/> These restrictions lasted until the 19th century.<ref>Grayson, 2002. p. 137</ref>
[[File:Sorae korea church 1895.jpeg|thumb|150px|A Protestant church at Sorae (now [[Ryongyon County]], [[South Hwanghae Province]]) in 1895.]]

In this environment, [[Christianity]] began to rapidly gain foothold since the late 18th century, due to an intense missionary activity that was aided by the endorsement at first by the ''[[Silhak]]'' and ''[[Seohak]]'' intellectual parties, and then at the end of the following century by the [[king of Korea]] himself and the intellectual elite of the crumbling Joseon state, who were looking for a new social factor to invigorate the Korean nation.<ref>Grayson, 2002. pp. 155–161</ref> In the late 19th century, the Joseon state was politically and culturally collapsing.<ref name="Grayson, 2002. p. 155">Grayson, 2002. p. 155</ref> The [[intelligentsia]] was looking for solutions to invigorate and transform the nation.<ref name="Grayson, 2002. p. 155"/> It was in this critical period that they came into contact with Western [[Protestantism|Protestant]] missionaries who offered a solution to the plight of Koreans.<ref name="Grayson, 2002. p. 155"/> Christian communities already existed in Joseon, however it was only by the 1880s that the government allowed a large number of Western missionaries to enter the country.<ref>Grayson, 2002. p. 157</ref> Protestant missionaries set up schools, hospitals and publishing agencies.<ref name="Grayson, 2002. pp. 157-158">Grayson, 2002. pp. 157–158</ref> The [[king of Korea]] and his family tacitly supported Christianity.<ref name="Grayson, 2002. p. 158"/> From the late nineteenth century, the northwest of Korea, and [[Pyongyang]] in particular, became a stronghold of Christianity.<ref>{{cite book| title = Korea's Twentieth-Century Odyssey | url = https://archive.org/details/koreastwentieth00robi | url-access = registration | last = Robinson | first = Michael E | year = 2007 | publisher = University of Hawaii Press | location = Honolulu | isbn = 978-0-8248-3174-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/koreastwentieth00robi/page/113 113]}}</ref> As a result, Pyongyang was called the "Jerusalem of the East".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/GC16Dg03.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050318052905/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/GC16Dg03.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=18 March 2005|last=Lankov|first=Andrei|title=North Korea's missionary position|work=Asia Times Online|date=16 March 2005}}</ref>

At the dawn of the 20th century, almost the totality of the population of [[Korea]] believed in the [[Korean shamanism|indigenous shamanic religion]] and practiced [[Confucian]] rites and [[jesa|ancestral worship]].<ref name="Pyong Gap Min, 2014">Pyong Gap Min, 2014.</ref> [[Korean Buddhism|Buddhism]] was nearly dead, reduced to a tiny and weak minority of monks, despite its long history and cultural influence, because of 500 years of suppression by the ruling Neo-Confucian [[Joseon]] kingdom,<ref name="Pyong Gap Min, 2014"/> which also disregarded traditional cults.<ref name="Joon-sik Choi, 2006. p. 15">Joon-sik Choi, 2006. p. 15</ref>

During the [[Korea under Japanese rule|absorption of Korea into the Japanese Empire]] (1910–1945) the already formed link of Christianity with [[Korean nationalism]] was strengthened,<ref name="Grayson, 2002. pp. 158-161">Grayson, 2002. pp. 158-161</ref> as the Japanese tried to impose [[State Shinto]] and Christians refused to take part in Shinto rituals.<ref name="Grayson, 2002. pp. 158-161"/> At the same time, numerous [[Korean shamanism#Branchings|religious movements]] that since the 19th century had been trying to reform the Korean indigenous religion, notably [[Chondoism]], flourished.<ref name="Carl Young 2013. pp. 51-66"/> Christianity became widespread especially in the north of the peninsula,<ref name="Grayson, 2002. p. 158">Grayson, 2002. p. 158</ref> as did [[Chondoism]]<ref name="Carl Young 2013. pp. 51-66">Carl Young. ''Into the Sunset: Ch’ŏndogyo in North Korea, 1945–1950''. On: ''Journal of Korean Religions'', Volume 4, Number 2, October 2013. pp. 51–66 / 10.1353/jkr.2013.0010</ref> which aimed to counter Christian influence.{{sfn|Lee|1996|p=105}}

North Korean revolutionary leader [[Kim Il-sung|Kim Il Sung's]] writings address religion in the context of the national liberation struggle against Japan.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Boer |first=Roland |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1078879745 |title=Red theology : on the Christian Communist tradition |date=2019 |publisher=[[Haymarket Books]] |isbn=978-90-04-38132-2 |location=Boston |pages=218–229 |oclc=1078879745}}</ref> Kim argued stated that if a religion "prays for dealing out divine punishment to Japan and blessing the Korean nation" then it is a "patriotic religion" and its believers are patriots and that in the context of a struggle for national salvation against Japan, religionists who share the agenda of liberation must be welcomed into the ranks.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Boer |first=Roland |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1078879745 |title=Red theology : on the Christian Communist tradition |date=2019 |publisher=[[Haymarket Books]] |isbn=978-90-04-38132-2 |location=Boston |pages=221 |oclc=1078879745}}</ref> Kim criticized the protestant Christian creed, stating that while "[t]here is no law preventing religious believers from making the revolution," the lack of action led to "non-resistance" and psalms alone could not block the Japanese guns when "decisive battles" were necessary.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Boer |first=Roland |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1078879745 |title=Red theology : on the Christian Communist tradition |date=2019 |publisher=[[Haymarket Books]] |isbn=978-90-04-38132-2 |location=Boston |pages=225 |oclc=1078879745}}</ref>

===After the division===
{{update|section|date=August 2022}}
[[File:2013 Temple of Modern Buddhism Group in North Korea (10390588824).jpg|thumb|150px|Delegation of the group "Modern American Buddhism", of [[Korean American]]s in [[New York City]],<ref>Uri Tours: [http://uritours.com/blog/entry/buddhist-temple-tour-in-north-korea Exclusive Buddhist Temple Tour of North Korea]</ref> at [[Pohyonsa]] in 2013.]]

The Korean Peninsula was [[division of Korea|divided into two states]] in 1945, the [[history of North Korea|communist north]] and the [[history of South Korea|capitalist south]]. Most of the Korean Christians, that had been until then in the northern half of the peninsula,<ref name="Grayson, 2002. p. 158, p. 162">Grayson, 2002. p. 158, p. 162</ref> fled to South Korea.<ref name="Grayson, 2002. p. 163">Grayson, 2002. p. 163</ref> By contrast, most of Korean Chondoists remained in the newly formed North Korea.<ref name="Carl Young 2013. pp. 51-66"/> At the time of the partition they were 1.5 million, or 16% of North Korea's population.<ref>Park, 2009. p. 346</ref> They participate to the [[politics of North Korea]] through the [[Chondoist Chongu Party|Party of the Young Friends of the Heavenly Way]].

North Korean leader [[Kim Il-sung|Kim Il Sung]] attributed the relative lack of religious practice the north in part as a result of the bombing campaigns of the United States in the [[Korean War]], which destroyed places of worship, crucifixes, icons, and Bibles: "believers were killed and passed into the world beyond."<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Boer |first=Roland |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1078879745 |title=Red theology : on the Christian Communist tradition |date=2019 |publisher=[[Haymarket Books]] |isbn=978-90-04-38132-2 |location=Boston |pages=227 |oclc=1078879745}}</ref> Kim recounted that believers saw their places of worship destroyed by Christians, and that Koreans in the north found their faith "powerless in shaping the destiny of human beings."<ref name=":0" /> In his analysis, Kim stated that Koreans in the north focused on rebuilding the country rather than churches, and additionally that the younger generation simply did not believe paradise could be obtained through worship and simply chose not to embrace religion.<ref name=":0" />

After the war, Christians generally organized in house churches or small congregations.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Boer |first=Roland |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1078879745 |title=Red theology : on the Christian Communist tradition |date=2019 |publisher=[[Haymarket Books]] |isbn=978-90-04-38132-2 |location=Boston |oclc=1078879745}}</ref> In the 1960, the government permitted two hundred informal congregations in former centers of Christianity.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Boer |first=Roland |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1078879745 |title=Red theology : on the Christian Communist tradition |date=2019 |publisher=[[Haymarket Books]] |isbn=978-90-04-38132-2 |location=Boston |pages=222 |oclc=1078879745}}</ref>

According to some estimates<ref name="Religious Intelligence UK"/><ref name="Chryssides, Geaves. 2007. p. 110"/><ref name="thearda.com"/> in 2005 in North Korea there are 3,846,000 (16% of the total population) believers of [[Korean shamanism|Shamanists]], 3,245,000 (13.5%) [[Cheondoism|Chondoists]], 1,082,000 (4.5%) [[Buddhism|Buddhists]], and 406,000 (1.7%) [[Christians]].

In 1994 the Central Guidance Committee of the Korean Chondoist Association organised an impressive ceremony at the newly constructed Mausoleum of [[Dangun]] (mythical founder of the Korean nation) near [[Pyongyang]].<ref>Corfield, 2013. p. 208</ref>In 2007 there were approximately 800 Chondoist churches throughout the country and a large central building in Pyongyang, 60 Buddhist temples (maintained more as cultural relics than places of worship), and 5 Christian churches—three Protestant churches, one Catholic church, and one Russian Orthodox church, all of which located in Pyongyang.{{sfn|Baker|2008|pp=145–146}}

In 2014, the Korea Conference of Religions for Peace held an inter-Korean meeting at [[Mount Kumgang]], North Korea, and another is planned in 2017 in Pyongyang.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nknews.org/2017/06/june-15-committee-granted-permission-to-contact-north-korea/|title=June 15 Committee granted permission to contact North Korea|author=JH Ahn|website=NK News|date=1 June 2017}}</ref>


==Religion and politics==
==Religion and politics==

Revision as of 14:37, 8 February 2023

Religion in North Korea (2020)[1]

  No religion (71.30%)
  Other religions (including chondoism and Korean religion) (12.90%)
  Folk religions (12.30%)
  Christianity (2.00%)
  Buddhism (1.50%)

Religion in North Korea (2005)[2]

  No religion (64.3%)
  Shamanism (16%)
  Chondoism (13.5%)
  Buddhism (4.5%)
  Christianity (1.7%)
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There are no known official statistics of religions in North Korea. Officially, North Korea is an atheist state, although its constitution guarantees free exercise of religion, provided that religious practice does not introduce foreign forces, harm the state, or harm the existing social order. Based on estimates from the late 1990s[3] and the 2000s,[2][4] North Korea is mostly irreligious, with the main religions being Shamanism and Chondoism. There are small communities of Buddhists and Christians. Chondoism is represented in politics by the Party of the Young Friends of the Heavenly Way,[5] and is regarded by the government as Korea's "national religion"[6] because of its identity as a minjung (popular)[7] and "revolutionary anti-imperialist" movement.[5]

Religion and politics

Further information: Freedom of religion in North Korea

Although its constitution guarantees freedom of religion in Article 68, the principle is limited by the requirement that religion may not be used as a pretext to harm the state, introduce foreign forces, or harm the existing social order.[8][9]

North Korean anti-religion campaigns and contrary views

It is very difficult for outside observers to know what has happened to North Korean religious bodies over the past 60 years due to the extreme isolation of the state. One interpretation has held that all open religious activity in North Korea was persecuted and eradicated after Kim Il-sung took power, only to be revived in the present as part of a political show.[10] Another interpretation has held that religion survived and has genuinely been revived in the past few decades.[10]

Kim Il-sung criticized religion in his writings, and North Korean propaganda in literature, movies and other media have presented religion in a negative light. Kim Il-sung's attack on religion was strongly based on the idea that religion had been used as a tool for imperialists in the Korean peninsula. He criticized Christians for collaborating with the United Nations' forces against him during the Korean War, although he praised Christians who supported him.

Accounts from the Korean War speak of harsh persecution of religion by Kim Il-sung in the areas he controlled.[10] Prior to the war, the Christian population of the Korean peninsula was most heavily concentrated in the north; during the war, many of these Christians fled to the South. Some interpretations have considered that the Christian community was often of a higher socio-economic class than the rest of the population, which may have prompted its departure for fear of persecution.[10] The large-scale destruction caused by the massive air raids and the suffering experienced by North Koreans during the Korean War helped foster hatred of Christianity as being the American religion.[10] It was seen by many Koreans in the north as the religion of the imperialists.[11]

According to a study by Ryu Dae Young, however:[12]

Contrary to the common western view, it appears that North Korean leaders exhibited toleration to Christians who were supportive of Kim l Sung and his version of socialism. Presbyterian minister Gang Ryang Uk served as vice president of the DPRK from 1972 until his death in 1982, and Kim Chang Jun, an ordained Methodist minister, became vice chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly. They were buried in the exalted Patriots' Cemetery, and many other church leaders received national honors and medals. It appears that the government allowed the house churches in recognition of the Christians' contribution to the building of the socialist nation.

Religion was attacked in the ensuing years as an obstacle to the construction of communism, and many people abandoned their former religions in order to conform to the new reality.[10] On the basis of accounts from the Korean War as well as information from defectors, an interpretation has held that the North Korea was the Second state in the world state to have completely eradicated religion by the 1960s.[10]

Other interpretations have thought that they do represent genuine faith communities that survived the persecutions. An interpretation has considered that these religious communities may have been believers who genuinely adhered to Marxism–Leninism and the leadership of Kim Il-sung, thus ensuring their survival.[10] This interpretation has been supported by recent evidence gathered that has shown that the North Korean government may have tolerated the existence of up to 200 pro-communist Christian congregations during the 1960s, and by the fact that several high-ranking people in the government were Christians and they were buried with high honours (for instance Kang Yang Wook was a Presbyterian minister who served as vice president of North Korea from 1972 to 1982, and Kim Chang Jun was a Methodist minister who served as vice chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly[10]). Differing interpretations often agree on the disappearance of religion under Kim Il-sung in the first few decades of his rule. The government never made an open public policy statement about religion, leading to unresolved speculation among scholars as to what exactly the government's position was at any point in time.[10]

Main religions

Cheondoism

Main article: Cheondoism

Chondoism (천도교 Ch'ŏndogyo) or Cheondoism (South Korean spelling) is a religion with roots in Confucianised indigenous shamanism. It is the religious dimension of the Donghak ("Eastern Learning") movement that was founded by Choe Je-u (1824–1864), a member of an impoverished yangban (aristocratic) family,[13] in 1860 as a counter-force to the rise of "foreign religions",[14] which in his view included Buddhism and Christianity (part of Seohak, the wave of Western influence that penetrated Korean life at the end of the 19th century).[14] Choe Je-u founded Chondoism after having been allegedly healed from illness by an experience of Sangje or Haneullim, the god of the universal Heaven in traditional shamanism.[14]

The Donghak movement became so influential among common people that in 1864 the Joseon government sentenced Choe Je-u to death.[14] The movement grew and in 1894 the members gave rise to the Donghak Peasant Revolution against the royal government. With the division of Korea in 1945, most of the Chondoist community remained in the north, where the majority of them dwelled.[15]

Chondoism is the sole religion to be favoured by the North Korean government.[5] It has political representation as the Party of the Young Friends of the Heavenly Way,[5] and is regarded by the government as Korea's "national religion"[6] because of its identity as a minjung (popular)[7] and "revolutionary anti-imperialist" movement.[5]

Korean shamanism

Main article: Korean shamanism

Korean shamanism, also known as "Muism" (무교 Mugyo, "mu [shaman] religion")[16] or "Sinism" (신교 Singyo, "religion of the shin (Hanja: 神) [gods]"),[17] is the ethnic religion of Korea and the Koreans.[18] Although used synonymously, the two terms are not identical:[18] Jung Young Lee describes Muism as a form of Sinism – the shamanic tradition within the religion.[19] Other names for the religion are "Sindo" (신도 "Way of the Gods") or "Sindoism" (신도교 Sindogyo, "religion of the Way of the Gods").[20][note 1]

In contemporary Korean language the shaman-priest or mu (Hanja: 巫) is known as a mudang (Template:Hangul Hanja: 巫堂) if female or baksu if male, although other names and locutions are used.[18][note 2] Korean mu "shaman" is synonymous with Chinese wu, which defines priests both male and female.[19] The role of the mudang is to act as intermediary between the spirits or gods, and the human plain, through gut (rituals), seeking to resolve problems in the patterns of development of human life.[22]

Central to the faith is the belief in Haneullim or Hwanin, meaning "source of all being",[23] and of all gods of nature,[19] the utmost god or the supreme mind.[24] The mu are mythically described as descendants of the "Heavenly King", son of the "Holy Mother [of the Heavenly King]", with investiture often passed down through female princely lineage.[25] However, other myths link the heritage of the traditional faith to Dangun, male son of the Heavenly King and initiator of the Korean nation.[26]

Korean Muism has similarities with Chinese Wuism,[27] Japanese Shinto, and with the Siberian, Mongolian, and Manchurian religious traditions.[27] As highlighted by anthropological studies, the Korean ancestral god Dangun is related to the Ural-Altaic Tengri "Heaven", the shaman and the prince.[28][29] The mudang is similar to the Japanese miko and the Ryukyuan yuta. Muism has exerted an influence on some Korean new religions, such as Chondoism in North Korea. According to various sociological studies, many Christian churches in Korea make use of practices rooted in shamanism as the Korean shamanic theology has affinity to that of Christianity.[30]

In the 1890s, the twilight years of the Joseon kingdom, Protestant missionaries gained significant influence, and led a demonisation of the traditional religion through the press, and even carried out campaigns of physical suppression of local cults.[31] The Protestant discourse would have had an influence on all further attempts to uproot Muism.[31]

There is no knowledge about the survival of Korean shamanism in contemporary North Korea.[32] Many northern shamans, displaced by war and politics, migrated to South Korea.[32] Shamans in North Korea were (or are) of the same type of those of northern and central areas of South Korea (kangshinmu).[32]

Minor religions

Buddhism

Buddhist service at Pohyon Temple, at Mount Myohyang in Hyangsan County, North Pyongan Province. Note that the lay participants are members of a Korean American Buddhist group visiting the temple.
Main article: Korean Buddhism

Buddhism (불교 Pulgyo) entered Korea from China during the period of the three kingdoms (372, or the 4th century).[33] Buddhism was the dominant religious and cultural influence in the Silla (668–935) and subsequent Goryeo (918–1392) states. Confucianism was also brought to Korea from China in early centuries, and was formulated as Korean Confucianism in Goryeo. However, it was only in the subsequent Joseon kingdom (1392–1910) that Korean Confucianism was established as the state ideology and religion, and Korean Buddhism underwent 500 years of suppression,[34][35] from which it began to recover only in the 20th century.

Buddhists are a minority in North Korea, and their traditions have developed differently from those of South Korean Buddhists after the division of the country. Buddhism in North Korea is practiced under the auspices of the official Korea Buddhist Federation, an organ of the North Korean state apparatus. North Korean Buddhist monks are entirely dependent on state wages for their livelihood as well as state authorization to practice.[36] As of 2009, the leader of the Korean Buddhist Federation is Yu Yong-sun.[37]

There are only 60 Buddhist temples in the country, and they are viewed as cultural relics from Korea's past rather than places of active worship.[38] Also, there is a three-year college for training Buddhist clergy. A limited revival of Buddhism is apparently taking place. This includes the establishment of an academy for Buddhist studies and the publication of a twenty-five-volume translation of the Korean Tripitaka, or Buddhist scriptures, which had been carved on 80,000 wooden blocks and kept in the Buddhist temple, Pohyonsa which is located at Myohyangsan in central North Korea. Recently, South Korean Buddhist leaders have been allowed to travel to North Korea and participate in religious ceremonies or give aid to civilians.[39]

Despite the North Korean government's official stance on religion, Buddhism along with Confucianism both still have an effect on cultural life in North Korea as they are traditional religions of traditional Korean culture.[40][41]

Christianity

Main article: Christianity in Korea
Further information: Roman Catholicism in North Korea and Persecution of Christians in North Korea
Changchung Cathedral, seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pyongyang.
Church of the Life-Giving Trinity of the Russian Orthodox Church in Pyongyang.
Attendees at the Protestant Bongsu Church in Pyongyang.

Christianity (Korean: 그리스도교; MR: Kurisudogyo) became very popular in northern Korea from the late 18th century to the 19th century. The first Catholic missionaries arrived in 1794, a decade after the return of Yi Sung-hun, a diplomat who was the first baptised Korean in Beijing.[42] He established a grassroots lay Catholic movement in the peninsula. However, the writings of the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci, who was resident at the imperial court in Beijing, had been already brought to Korea from China in the 17th century. Scholars of the Silhak ("Practical Learning"), were attracted to Catholic doctrines, and this was a key factor for the spread of the Catholic faith in the 1790s.[43] The penetration of Western ideas and Christianity in Korea became known as Seohak ("Western Learning"). A study of 1801 found that more than half of the families that had converted to Catholicism were linked to the Silhak school.[44] Largely because converts refused to perform Confucian ancestral rituals, the Joseon government prohibited the proselytisation of Christianity. Some Catholics were executed during the early 19th century, but the restrictive law was not strictly enforced.

Protestant missionaries entered Korea during the 1880s and, along with Catholic priests, converted a remarkable number of Koreans, this time with the tacit support of the royal government.[45] Methodist and Presbyterian missionaries were especially successful. They established schools, universities, hospitals, and orphanages and played a significant role in the modernisation of the country.[46] During the Japanese colonial occupation, Christians were in the front ranks of the struggle for independence. Factors contributing to the growth of Catholicism and Protestantism included the decayed state of Korean Buddhism, the support of the intellectual elite, and the encouragement of self-support and self-government among members of the Korean church, and finally the identification of Christianity with Korean nationalism.[45]

A large number of Christians lived in the northern half of the peninsula (it was part of the so-called "Manchurian revival")[45] where Confucian influence was not as strong as in the south.[47] Before 1948, Pyongyang was an important Christian center: The city was known as the "Jerusalem of the East".[48]

Many Korean Communists came from a Christian background; Kim Il-sung's mother, Kang Pan-sok, was a Presbyterian deaconess. He attended a mission school and played the organ in church. In his memoir With the Century, he wrote: "I do not think the spirit of Christianity that preaches universal peace and harmony contradicts my idea advocating an independent life for man".[49] In 1945, with the establishment of the communist regime in the north, however, most Christians fled to South Korea to escape persecution.[50] Christianity came to be discouraged by the North Korean government because of its association with America.[51]

In the 1980s, North Korea produced its own translation of the Bible, which has since been used by Southern missionaries attempting to evangelize the North.[52][53][54] By the late 1980s, it became apparent that Christians were active in the governmental elite.[51] In those years, three new churches, two Protestant and one Catholic, were opened in Pyongyang.[55] The number of churchgoing North Korean Christians more than doubled between the 1980s and the early 2000s, with a total of thirty ministers and 300 church officials.[55] Proselytizing is prohibited based on the theory that it opens North Korea to impermissible foreign influence and the increase in churchgoing Christians is attributable to an active search for North Koreans who previously practiced privately or in small home congregations.[55]

Other signs of the regime's changing attitude towards Christianity included holding the "International Seminar of Christians of the North and South for the Peace and Reunification of Korea" in Switzerland in 1988, allowing papal representatives to attend the opening of the Changchung Cathedral of Pyongyang in that same year, and sending two North Korean novice priests to study in Rome. A Protestant seminary in Pyongyang taught future leaders of the North Korean government.[10] A new association of Roman Catholics was established in June 1988. A North Korean Protestant pastor reported at a 1989 meeting of the National Council of Churches in Washington that his country had 10,000 Protestants and 1,000 Catholics who worshiped in 500 home churches. Today, the total number of Christians in North Korea is liberally estimated to be no more than somewhere between 12,000 and 15,000.[56] In 1992 and 1994, American evangelist Billy Graham visited North Korea. He met Kim Il-sung, giving him a Bible, and preached at Kim Il-sung University. In 2008, his son Franklin Graham visited the country.[57][49] In 1991, North Korea invited the Pope to visit.[58] In 2018, the government invited Pope Francis to visit.[59] In late 2018, Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev of the Russian Orthodox Church visited North Korea, meeting with officials and leading a service at the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in Pyongyang.[60]

North Korean Christians are officially represented by the Korean Christian Federation, a state-controlled body responsible for contacts with churches and governments abroad. In Pyongyang there are five church buildings:[38] the Catholic Changchung Cathedral, three Protestant churches inaugurated in 1988 in the presence of South Korean church officials, and a Russian Orthodox church consecrated in 2006.[61]

The internationally-supported Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, which opened in 2010, operates with a Christian ethos.[62] Christian aid groups, including the American Friends Service Committee, the Mennonite Central Committee, the Eugene Bell Foundation, and World Vision, are able to operate in the country, but not allowed to proselytize.[63][64][65]

In 2016, Christmas was celebrated in North Korea, but with the religious overtones downplayed.[66] In 2018, the North Korean Council of Religionists sent a Christmas message to South Korea that expressed the wish that believers on both sides "go hand in hand towards peace and unification, filled with blessings by Christ the Lord".[67]

North Korea is number two on Open Doors’ 2022 World Watch List, an annual ranking of the 50 countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution. [68]

Islam

See also: Islam in Korea § Islam in North Korea

The Pew Research Center estimated that there were 3,000 Muslims in North Korea in 2010, an increase from the 1,000 Muslims in 1990.[69] There is a mosque in the Iranian embassy in Pyongyang called Ar-Rahman Mosque, the only mosque in the country. The mosque was likely built for the embassy staff, but visits by other foreigners are deemed possible, too.[70]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Cognates of Japanese Shinto and Chinese Shendao.
  2. ^ Another term is dangol (Template:Hangul). The word mudang is mostly associated, though not exclusively, to female shamans due to their prevalence in the Korean tradition in recent centuries. Male shamans are named baksu mudang ("healer mudang"), shortened baksu, in Pyongyang shamanism. It is reasonable to believe that the word baksu is an ancient authentic designation for male shamans.[21]

References

  1. ^ "Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050". www.pewforum.org. Archived from the original on April 11, 2015. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
  2. ^ a b Alton, 2013. p. 79. As of 2005 the agency "Religious Intelligence UK" estimated 3,846,000 believers of Korean shamanism, 3,245,000 Chondoists, 1,082,888 Buddhists, 406,000 Christians, and the rest non-believers.
  3. ^ Chryssides, Geaves. 2007. p. 110
  4. ^ Association of Religion Data Archives: North Korea: Religious Adherents, 2010. Data from the World Christian Database.
  5. ^ a b c d e Baker 2008, p. 146.
  6. ^ a b KCNA: Chondoism, National Religion. North Korea Economy Watch 5/23/2007.
  7. ^ a b Lee 1996, p. 110.
  8. ^ "DPRK Socialist Constitution". www.naenara.com.kp. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  9. ^ Boer, Roland (2019). Red theology : on the Christian Communist tradition. Boston: Haymarket Books. p. 216. ISBN 978-90-04-38132-2. OCLC 1078879745.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Ryu, Dae Young (2006), "Fresh wineskins for new wine: a new perspective on North Korean Christianity", Journal of Church and State, 48 (3): 659–675, doi:10.1093/jcs/48.3.659.
  11. ^ Boer, Roland (2019). Red theology : on the Christian Communist tradition. Boston: Haymarket Books. p. 232. ISBN 978-90-04-38132-2. OCLC 1078879745.
  12. ^ Ryu, D. Y. (2006-06-01). "Fresh Wineskins for New Wine: A New Perspective on North Korean Christianity". Journal of Church and State. 48 (3): 659–675. doi:10.1093/jcs/48.3.659. ISSN 0021-969X.
  13. ^ Lee 1996, p. 109.
  14. ^ a b c d Lee 1996, p. 105.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference Carl Young 2013. pp. 51-66 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Used in: Chang Soo-kyung, Kim Tae-gon. Korean Shamanism – Muism. Jimoondang, 1998.
  17. ^ Used in: Margaret Stutley. Shamanism: A Concise Introduction. Routledge, 2003.
  18. ^ a b c Lee 1981, p. 4.
  19. ^ a b c Lee 1981, p. 5.
  20. ^ Lee Chi-ran, p. 13
  21. ^ Lee 1981, pp. 3–4.
  22. ^ Joon-sik Choi, 2006. p. 21
  23. ^ Lee 1981, p. 18.
  24. ^ Lee 1981, p. 17.
  25. ^ Lee 1981, pp. 5–12.
  26. ^ Lee 1981, p. 13.
  27. ^ a b Lee 1981, p. 21.
  28. ^ Sorensen, p. 19-20
  29. ^ Lee 1981, p. 17-18.
  30. ^ Andrew E. Kim. Korean Religious Culture and Its Affinity to Christianity. Korea University, Sociology of Religion, 2000.
  31. ^ a b Kendall, 2010. pp. 4–7
  32. ^ a b c Walter, Fridman. 2004. p. 654
  33. ^ Cite error: The named reference Korea, 300 to 600 CE was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  34. ^ Cite error: The named reference Grayson, 2002. pp. 120-138 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  35. ^ Cite error: The named reference Tudor, 2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  36. ^ "Another Korea Buddhism in North Korea". Buddhist channel TV. 2007-01-15. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  37. ^ Jeong, Yong-soo (5 January 2009). "Buddhist leader gets North's South policy spot". JoongAng Ilbo. Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
  38. ^ a b Baker 2008, pp. 145–146.
  39. ^ "Buddhists from both Koreas hold ceremony on Mt. Kumgang, North Korea". KR: Hani. 2012-10-15. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  40. ^ "Culture of North Korea – Alternative name, History and ethnic relations". Countries and Their Cultures. Advameg Inc. Archived from the original on 5 August 2009. Retrieved 4 July 2009.
  41. ^ Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs (February 2009). "Background Note: North Korea". U.S. State Department. Retrieved 4 July 2009.
  42. ^ Choi Suk-woo. Korean Catholicism Yesterday and Today. On: Korean Journal XXIV, 8, August 1984. pp. 5–6
  43. ^ Kim Han-sik. The Influence of Christianity. On: Korean Journal XXIII, 12, December 1983. pp. 5–7
  44. ^ Kim Ok-hy. Women in the History of Catholicism in Korea. On: Korean Journal XXIV, 8, August 1984. p. 30
  45. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Grayson, 2002. p. 158 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  46. ^ Cite error: The named reference Grayson, 2002. pp. 157-158 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  47. ^ Cite error: The named reference Grayson, 2002. p. 158, p. 162 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  48. ^ Andrei Lankov (9 September 2013). "North Korea's irreconcilable relationship with Christianity". NK News – North Korea News. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
  49. ^ a b Richardson, Christopher (23 June 2017). "Revolution and Revival: Ideology and Faith in North Korea". SinoNK.
  50. ^ Cite error: The named reference Grayson, 2002. p. 163 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  51. ^ a b Ryu, Dae Young (2006), "Fresh wineskins for new wine: a new perspective on North Korean Christianity", Journal of Church and State 48 (3).
  52. ^ "VOM Korea uses Bibles translated by the North Korean government". Mission Network News. June 24, 2021.
  53. ^ Tertitskiy, Fyodor (6 June 2016). "The good things in North Korea: Taking a moment to recognize good art, good scholarship and good people". NK News.
  54. ^ Dillmuth, Timothy (14 May 2014). "Where Did Our North Korean Bible Translation Come From?". Do the Word.
  55. ^ a b c Boer, Roland (2019). Red theology : on the Christian Communist tradition. Boston: Haymarket Books. p. 233. ISBN 978-90-04-38132-2. OCLC 1078879745.
  56. ^ "Episode 137: Christianity in North Korea". NK News. 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-07-20. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  57. ^ Billy Graham Evangelistic Association: Janet Chismar, The Graham Family Legacy in North Korea. July 30, 2008.
  58. ^ "Prominent Defector on N.Korea's Relationship with Religion". Chosun Ilbo. 25 May 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  59. ^ Sherwood, Harriet (19 October 2018). "Pope Francis willing to visit North Korea, Vatican official says". The Guardian.
  60. ^ Rinna, Anthony (3 December 2018). "Why Moscow sent a top Orthodox Church official to Pyongyang". NK News.
  61. ^ The Church of the Life-Giving Trinity consecrated in Pyongyang. The Russian Orthodox Church delegation on a visit to the KPDR, China: Orthodox Church in China.
  62. ^ "Pyongyang University of Science and Technology: President's Welcome". Archived from the original on 2016-08-04.
  63. ^ Bagherzadeh, Nazanin (14 March 2017). "True believers: Faith-based NGOs in North Korea". NK News.
  64. ^ Zwirko, Colin (21 March 2019). "Mennonite Central Committee granted sanctions exemption to bring metals into DPRK". NK News.
  65. ^ Valentino, Andrea (4 September 2019). "Sowing the seeds of improving agriculture: Quakers in North Korea". NK News.
  66. ^ Talmadge, Eric (2016). "Christmas in N. Korea: Lights and trees, but void of Jesus". AP.
  67. ^ Lee, Wooyoung (26 December 2018). "North Korea sends Christmas greeting in video". UPI.
  68. ^ "North Korea is number 2 on the World Watch List".
  69. ^ "Table: Muslim Population by Country". Pew Research Center. 27 January 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  70. ^ Chad O'Carroll (22 January 2013). "Iran Build's Pyongyang's First Mosque". NKNews. Retrieved 29 July 2015.

Sources

  • Alton, David. Building Bridges: Is There Hope for North Korea?. Lion Hudson, 2013. ISBN 0745955983
  • Baker, Donald L. (2008). Korean Spirituality. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0824832575.
  • Choi, Joon-sik . Folk-Religion: The Customs in Korea. Ewha Womans University Press, 2006. ISBN 8973006282
  • Chryssides, George D.; Geaves, Ron. The Study of Religion: An Introduction to Key Ideas and Methods. Continuum International Publishing Group, 2007. ISBN 0826464491
  • Corfield, Justin. Historical Dictionary of Pyongyang. Anthem Press, 2013. ISBN 0857282344
  • Grayson, James H. Korea – A Religious History. Routledge, 2002. ISBN 070071605X
  • Kendall, Laurel. Shamans, Nostalgias, and the IMF: South Korean Popular Religion in Motion. University of Hawaii Press, 2010. ISBN 0824833988
  • Lee, Chi-ran. Chief Director, Haedong Younghan Academy. The Emergence of National Religions in Korea.
  • Lee, Jung Young (1981). Korean Shamanistic Rituals. Mouton De Gruyter. ISBN 9027933782.
  • Lee, Sang Taek (1996). Religion and Social Formation in Korea: Minjung and Millenarianism. Walter de Gruyter & Co. ISBN 3110147971.
  • Park, Young. Korea and the Imperialists: In Search of a National Identity. Author House, 2009. ISBN 1438931409
  • Min, Pyong Gap. Development of Protestantism in South Korea: Positive and Negative Elements. On: Asian American Theological Forum (AATF) 2014, VOL. 1 NO. 3, ISSN 2374-8133
  • Sorensen, Clark W. University of Washington. The Political Message of Folklore in South Korea's Student Demonstrations of the Eighties: An Approach to the Analysis of Political Theater. Paper presented at the conference "Fifty Years of Korean Independence", sponsored by the Korean Political Science Association, Seoul, Korea, July 1995.
  • Tudor, Daniel. Korea: The Impossible Country. Tuttle Publishing, 2012. ISBN 0804842523
  • Walter, Mariko N.; Eva J. Neumann Fridman. Shamanism: An Encyclopedia of World Beliefs, Practices, and Culture. ABC-CLIO, 2004. ISBN 1576076458
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