North Korea: A Brutal regime 

 

North Korea is a republic in the northern part of the Korean peninsula, bordering China and Russia to the north and South Korea to the south. 

Until the Second World War, North Korea was part of Korea. After the country was divided in 1945, Kim Il-sung became leader. Power has since passed to his son, Kim Jong-il, and later to his grandson, Kim Jong-un. 

The border between North and South Korea is the most heavily militarised in the world. North Korea is a very closed and isolated country. 

North Korea is officially an atheist state, although there are groups of Buddhists, Confucianists and some Christians, as well as other small religious communities. The small, officially sanctioned churches are for "display" only. Most Christians belong to banned house churches, which the regime is trying to stamp out. Many Christians end up in prison camps as Christianity is seen as dangerous to the atheist regime, which worships its supreme leader as a deity. 

North Korean refugees caught in China are ruthlessly sent back to North Korea. 

 

Stefanus Alliance partners:

Korea Future Intitiative: Documenting abuses 

Our partner, Korea Future Initiative, has documented human rights abuses in North Korea through interviews with defectors and refugees. They are actively engaged in political advocacy to raise awareness of the ongoing human rights abuses in the country and to push for change. 

They investigate, advocate for change and support defectors. They interview refugees and defectors and document violations of religious freedom. The situation is particularly severe for Christians, but followers of shamanism are also persecuted. 

The Stefanus Alliance supports the political advocacy work of Korea Future. Our funds have contributed to their efforts to improve the language (e.g. by including a gender perspective) in the UN Human Rights Council resolution on North Korea in March 2024. Korea Future is also working on proposing human rights-based sanctions to certain countries against representatives of the North Korean regime.

 

 

Support for underground believers 

One of our partners in South Korea supports underground believers and their families in the dictatorship of North Korea. 

The North Korean class system classifies religious people as enemies of the state. Being religious is a crime, which puts North Korean believers under greater pressure than other citizens. If someone is found with a Bible or a belief in Jesus, they are labelled a traitor and sent to political prison camps where they face hard labour or torture. Many are publicly executed as a warning. And it is not just the believers themselves who face imprisonment or death; up to three generations of their family members can be punished and persecuted. 

Underground believers and their families are forced to live on the lowest rung of the social ladder, experiencing extreme poverty and hunger. Many are denied food rations or the means to buy food, leading to severe malnutrition. 

Those who survive the camps often suffer health problems as a result of torture. Access to medical care is generally very poor in North Korea, but underground believers are even more vulnerable, with many illnesses and injuries going untreated. 

Our partner in South Korea is working to help underground Christians inside North Korea by smuggling financial aid into the country. The aim is to help underground believers and their families by providing funds for food and medicine to treat severe malnutrition and injuries. The project supports around 20 families of underground believers each year, some of whom are relatives of martyred believers. 

Providing financial assistance to underground believers and their families is vital for several reasons. First, it alleviates suffering by providing the means to buy food and medicine. But perhaps more importantly, it gives these believers encouragement and strength to persevere in their faith. The financial support shows them that they are not alone or forgotten. Believers around the world remember them, pray for them and want to support them.