Why is North Korea number one?

One would have to create a new language to put into words the cruelties of the North Korean regime. In no other country are Christians so severely persecuted. Tens of thousands live and (ultimately) die in concentration camps. Even the possession of a Bible is reason enough to be killed or locked up with your family for the remainder of your life. Why are the approximately 400,000 Christians hunted like animals?

Imagine a country where the state decides where you live, what profession you choose, what sports you practice, what food you eat and if you eat. Imagine a country without any color in people's clothing and buildings, except for the propaganda images that decorate concrete flats, houses and monuments. Imagine a country where the Great Leader has been dead for 16 years, but is still president and where his starving followers must worship him as a god. This is the dark reality of North Korea.

This communist country ranks number one on Open Doors' World Watch List for 2010. It has been first for 9 years. For decades nobody knew exactly how the Church was doing after the Korean War. In the nineties Open Doors found a way to contact the underground Christians and it turned out the Church was very much alive. She was also bleeding. Open Doors' research makes plain to what extraordinary lengths the state goes to hunt, capture and even kill Christians.

On the World Watch List North Korea scored 90.5 out of a possible 100 points. The only reason why North Korea doesn't get the maximum score is because of its constitution. Officially there is freedom of religion in North Korea. In practice, civilians don't have any rights. The state's attitude towards Christians is extremely hostile: they should not even exist. There is no freedom to build churches or to worship in homes. Possession of Christian materials is illegal and punishable by death.

Infamous labor camp

In May 2010 a group of 23 Christians was discovered. The police found Bibles and other Christian literature. Three people were publicly executed, and the others disappeared within the infamous camp Yodok. This vast labor camp is in the province of South Hamkyung, and its location in the mountains makes escape almost impossible.  In places where a prisoner might have a chance of escaping, tall fences with barbed wire have been erected. Some sections are electrified. Besides this, there are minefields and other deadly snares. Every two kilometers, there is a seven-meter tall watchtower. Anyone trying to escape is shot down. "The prisoners are treated worse than cattle. I saw people dying of hunger and sickness. I saw executions. Those who are alive look like walking ghosts. We were stripped from our identity. The whole system made me desperate," says a former prisoner.

Hundreds of Christians were arrested in 2010 and several brought to death. Open Doors can't disclose any specifics about these cases, because that would increase the risks of the arrested Christians who are still alive. It is estimated that between 50,000 and 70,000 Christians suffer in prison camps. It's the only place where they have some value for the 'Democratic People's Republic of Korea'.

Exposed

North Korea does everything in its power to expose Christians. Children are an important instrument to discover secret Christian activity. Their teachers instruct them at school to investigate if their parents read from a black book. Open Doors has spoken to children who told their teacher that their mothers and fathers indeed read from a book like that. They were complimented for their contribution to the fatherland. Proudly the children went home, only to find an empty house. Their parents had been taken. The children were condemned to a bitter hard life on the streets.

Another way to expose 'criminal  business' is through the weekly critique sessions, in which both children and adults have to participate. North Koreans have to report bad behavior of themselves and of other people. "We all felt very guilty about having to say these things about each other", says refugee Park Joo-Chan. "But we didn't have a choice. And yet this caused a breach in our friendships. Some relationships were broken for good. Even though the system is so destructive, we did not doubt the usefulness of it. This was our way of life."

Then there are the random house searches to detect if people are listening to the right radio stations, if the portraits of the leaders are kept clean and if there is any forbidden literature in the house or apartment. Probably in no other place in the world are so many Bibles hidden underground. The Word of God covered in dirt. It makes the Christians feel guilty, but what choice do they have?

Singled out

It's true that the whole population of North Korea is suffering, but Christians are definitely singled out.
"Like many other people from North Korea I fled to China. There I was arrested and sent back by train", says refugee Han-me. "Some other defectors had been arrested before. They told me: 'When you are interrogated there are two questions you should never answer with 'yes'. The first one is: have you been in touch with Christians? The second one is: have you read in the Bible?' It turned out to be true. The interrogators in prison tied me to a chair and beat me with chains and a wooden stick wrapped up in a newspaper. They pressed me to confess I had been in contact with Christians. I told them I hadn't met any Christians while in China. It was a lie, but I wanted to survive. It was all I could think of. Even though I didn't believe in God yet, I prayed to be rescued. My prayer was heard."

Targeted

But why are Christians so targeted? There are several reasons. A former employee of the current leader Kim Jong-Il declared that the 'Dear Leader' watched on television how his friend Nicolae Ceauşescu was executed. According to the employee, Kim Jong-Il blamed the Christians for the fall of the Romanian president and the collapse of the Eastern bloc.

However, to fully understand the Christian persecution one has to understand the North Korean mindset. 'Heaven' installed Kim Il-Sung as the leader of the Korean people. He liberated his country from the Japanese occupiers and turned it into the first 'real paradise on earth'. After the Korean War in the fifties God was declared dead. His followers were killed, sent to labor camps or banished to remote and hostile regions. Many went underground. Propaganda was poured out over the people day in, day out. Kim Il-Sung's status was raised to that of a god. Under the direction of the Great Leader the state took control over every aspect of life.

But the mind is the hardest field to conquer. Many North Koreans grew to love Kim Il-Sung. They literally worshipped him. Christians are different. They may perform outward duties, but they worship Jesus Christ. Their mind is not filled with North Korea's ideology of self-reliance. They care for the sick, the orphans and the hungry when no one else does. These criminal acts of 'loving your neighbor' – of 'not fitting in' – make them political enemies.

Christians are also a target because Christianity is the religion of North Korea's foes, the United States and South Korea. Christian networks are seen as attempts to undermine the state.

Open Doors' work in North Korea

This is why Open Doors' work with the Persecuted Church in North Korea is so risky. The distribution of biblical literature, the biblical trainings, the work for refugees in China and even Open Doors' food aid are carried out in deepest secret. "Your love and continuous support help us survive", one underground church leader told Open Doors recently. The Lord is doing a wonderful work in North Korea. Christians are sharing the little food they have with neighbors. They care for the sick and for orphans. With every prayer we can be part of establishing the Kingdom of Heaven in North Korea.

One day Pyongyang will become the 'Jerusalem of the East' again. It's the dream and hope of every North Korean Christian. Open Doors and her contacts are already preparing for a possible turn around in the country. We train and invest in future church leaders. Nobody knows when North Korea will open up and drop from the World Watch List. But imagine a country where idols are replaced by church buildings. Imagine a Church that survived decades of persecution. Imagine hundreds of thousands of Christians who will openly testify about Jesus' love in the deepest possible darkness. Imagine the joy in heaven.