North Korea #1 on WWL ten years running
Why is North Korea #1 on the World Watch List yet again? What makes it so difficult to be a Christian in North Korea? The nation of North Korea has topped the World Watch List yet again, now ten years in a row, as the worst country in the world to be living as a Christian. In no other country are Christians so severely persecuted for their faith.
North Korea scored a total of 88 points out of a possible 100. The only reason why the country did not get the maximum score is because of its constitution. Officially, there is freedom of religion in North Korea. But in practice, things are very different, and civilians don't have any rights.
The state's attitude towards Christians is extremely hostile, and as far as the state is concerned, Christians should not exist.
The communist religion of North Korea was built around the founder of the country, Kim Il Sung. Anyone with "another god" is automatically persecuted, leaving the 200-400,000 Christians in the country to remain deeply underground with their faith.
The anti-Christian campaign in North Korea is so strong, that even North koreans born today whose grandparents were Christian are earmarked for low level jobs.
What does persecution look like in North Korea?
- There is no freedom to build churches or to worship in homes (An estimated 400,000 Christians practise their faith in underground networks)
- Possession of a Bible or Christian materials is illegal and punishable by death
- The proclamation of the Gospel is strictly forbidden. Christian parents can't even share their beliefs with their children until they are old enough to understand the dangers
- Christians are viewed as a "danger to society" or "spies of the traitorous West." Each year, Christians are arrested, tortured, sent to labour camps and/or executed.
- Children play a key part in discovering secret Christian activity in their homes. Their teachers instruct them at school to investigate and report back if their parents read from a black book.
- There are 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.
Pray for North Korea