Chrześcijaństwo w Korei Północnej – polityczne wyzwanie dla komunistycznego państwa dżucze

Abstract

This paper briefly examines the issue of Christianity in the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea, also known as North Korea. The prevailing foundational ideology of the North Korean state is Juche, which means “self-reliance.” The North Korean regime has harshly repressed the Christian religion because it is perceived as having the potential to challenge many of the Juche ideology’s orthodox assumptions. Additionally, the North Korean authorities regard Christianity as anathema because it is thought to be a conduit for outside influences, particularly from the West. Christianity had a struggle gaining a foothold in Korea during the nineteenth century, but ultimately became part of the Korean religious environment. Protestant Christianity, in particular, played a central role in the early cultural nationalist opposition to Japanese occupation (1910–1945). Ironically, parts of present-day North Korea had very large Protestant Christian populations prior to the establishment of the Communist regime in 1948. Currently, the official total Christian population of the country is over 12,000 faithful, though some Christian organizations outside North Korea estimate the real number to be much higher, with many Christians rumored to be worshipping in secret. Beginning in the 1940s, the North Korean regime began its suppression of Christians and has continued to do so up to the present, though the North Korean Constitution technically allows for freedom of religion. The Juche ideology was permanently enshrined in the 1972 North Korean Constitution as the country’s unitary ideology related to all fields of endeavor. Juche is often described by North Koreans as a creative application of MarxistLeninist principles adapted to the unique characteristics of Korea, and its creation is attributed to the founder of the North Korean state, Kim Il Sung. Kim Jong Il, Kim Il Sung’s son who inherited the leadership of North Korea after his father’s death in 1994, is the ideology’s authoritative theorist. The Juche ideology has both a foreign policy and domestic relevance. It can be argued, however, that the domestic application, particularly the ideology’s role in nurturing loyalty to the state and to Kim Jong Il, has become the dominant axis of use by the regime. The repression of Christianity inside North Korea is only a part of the picture. The quasi-religious characteristics of Juche, which is often referred to as civic or political religion, makes the persecution of a small Christian minority all the more intriguing. North Korea’s protracted economic difficulties have caused thousands of North Koreans to illegally cross the border into China and live in Korean communities. Since the 1990s, South Korean Protestant missionaries operating in the part of Manchuria where Koreans are the dominant ethnic group have assisted hundreds of North Koreans to travel through China and escape to third countries, usually in Southeast Asia, before defecting to South Korea. In the last decade, there have continued to be unsubstantiated reports of a Christian religious revival in North Korea, with rumors of Christianity spreading through the North Korean Armed Forces. This story, with its religious and political elements and implications intertwined, is still being written