THE JUCHE RELIGION

The Religion of North Korea

History

Shortly after the infamous Korean War (1953) between the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (North Korea), Kim Il-Sung came in power of North Korea. He began to teach the citizens of North Korea that he was The Sun of the Nation & could do no wrong. Kim Il-Sung then created the Juche religion. The practical effect of Juche was to cut the country off from virtually all foreign trade to be entirely self reliant.

Kim Il-Sung eventually began to teach the North Koreans that there is no god and instead he must be worshipped.
Once Kim Il-Sung died in 1994, his son, Kim Il-Jong, whom he chose to be his successor, was in power of North Korea. He added to the Juche religion and stated that his father must be worshipped along with himself as The Son of God. North Koreans now refer to him as their Dear Leader & Eternal President.

Laws/Beliefs

In 2005, David Hawke, a human rights investigator, interviewed 40 escapees from North Korea & questioned them about Juche.

Some quotes were:

"Juche is the only religion North Korean people can have. "Religious freedom is not allowed in North Korea because it will ruin the deification of Kim Il Sung. "We must hang [Kim Il Sung's] pictures. The pictures indicate that Kim Il Sung is god, as we hang the pictures for the purpose of reminding ourselves that we depend on him. "Having faith in God is an act of espionage. Only Kim Il Sung is a god in North Korea. Juche is the ideal towards which the life of every North Korean is meant to be focused. Juche is a political communist ideology utilized in North Korea. Although it isnt exactly a religion, it is practiced as one.

North Korea

North Korea is the only country in the world that is entirely a communist country and does not allow its citizens to leave.

The border between North & South Korea (who are technically still at war) is the most heavily guarded border in the world.
Migration is strictly forbidden in North Korea. Anyone who tries to escape will either be killed or sent to concentration camps. Foreign contact from the outside world is also forbidden. Immigration to North is banned as well. South Korea had chose to become a democratic country and has now become one of the most economically successful countries in the world. North Korea has not been listed in the HDI (Human Development Index) of 2011 due to lack of information from the country. Many escapees have stated that human trafficking and public executions are the norm in North Korea.

North Korean Famine

The 1995-1998 North Korean famine starved approximately 2,000,000 North Koreans to death. (10% of the population). This shook faith in the Juche religion. Many North Koreans went in search of food to the North Korean-Chinese border. Risking their lives, they snuck past guards and swam across the Tumen River. In China, the Koreans discovered a world far more technologically advanced than their own.

Any North Koreans found in China would be sent back to North Korea

Kim Jong Il determined that nuclear weapons will serve him more than the "wavering" or "hostile" people, and decided to feed just the "loyal" class, leaving the rest to somehow fend for themselves.

North Korean Christians

As North Koreans began realizing the Juche religion to be false, they automatically converted into Christian. North Koreans would smuggle bibles into North Korea from China. Why Christians only? North Korean officials believe that one day Christianity will defeat Juche. Being a Christian in North Korea is a capital offense known as evangelizing (The act of converting or bringing a Christian religion into a foreign country.) All Christians are to be immediately executed, or sent to life long labour in concentration camps. Bibles are also forbidden in North Korea. Based on this, 100% of the North Korean population is openly a follower of the Juche religion. The others have either been executed, or secretly follow the Christian religions. Persecutions of Christians began right after the North Korean war. Those who respected the Juche religion and committed to serving Kim Il-Sung were spared, the rest were tortured & executed.

North Korean Concentration Camps

North Korean concentration camps are used to hold prisoners. In North Korea, the act of disobeying or disrespecting the laws and speeches of Kim Il-Sung/Kim Il-Jong or knowing about their private life was enough to be sent to concentration camp. If one member of the family is to commit a crime, the entire family (mother, father, brother/sister) must also be sent to concentration camp for up to three generations. Rape/Molestation, torture, forceful abortion, and murder are the norm in these camps. People are also used to test nuclear weapons. There are approximately 14 concentration camps in North Korea today. With a total of 14 million prisoners.

Anyone who is forced to be executed must have their family members watch.

Story of an Escapee
Young Soon Kim was sent to prison camp because she was friends with one of Kim Jong-Ils mistresses. This is her overview on camp:

- We woke up at 3:30 in the morning to go to work by 4:30am, and the labour

was from sun up until sun down. - Meals had to be provided by ourselves, through self-sufficiency. - The forced manual labour was beyond anyone's imagination, and in case of falling short of work goals, the whole group was punished. - There were so many dead bodies, enough to fill up a field. - My three sons, one daughter, father and mother, died from starvation; there were no coffins so their bodies were rolled in a straw mat and buried. - One of my sons, who was 9 years old at the time, drowned to death in Ryongyung River, which is near the prison camp. - My daughter was given away for adoption, after our release; to this day, I do not know about her whereabouts, whether she is alive or dead. - My youngest son was publicly executed by firing squad for trying to escape North Korea after his release and attempting to go to South Korea, in 1993 at the age of 23. Young Soon Kim was also secretly Christian.

Summary
Official Definition of Juche: The Juche Idea is the official state ideology of North Korea. It teaches that "man is the master of everything and decides everything.

Juche is a religion used to control citizens.

It is practiced in only one country; North Korea

It is believed to unite you with The Eternal Leader in heaven Kim Il-Sung was the founder & Kim Jong-Il was its successor. Kim Il-Sungs words was this religions sacred text. There is no statistic proving how many North Koreans practice Juche.

North Korea is a command economy controlled by the Eternal President, Kim Jong-Un (Son of Kim Jong-Il)
Everything is controlled by the government.

Migration/emigration is strictly forbidden in North