Church in North Korea

Definition and Meaning

The church in North Korea refers to the Protestant faith community within the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). In the narrow sense, the term denotes the Korean Christian Federation (abbreviated in Korean as Jogeuryeon), the only Protestant organization officially recognized in North Korea, and the churches under its oversight. In a broader sense, the term is sometimes used to include the church tradition of the northern part of the peninsula before the division of Korea. The Korean Christian Federation maintains a Central Committee in Pyongyang. Below it, the federation is reported to have an organizational structure extending through provincial federations, city and county federations, and house worship sites (places of worship that meet in believers' homes).

Biblical and Historical Background

Scripture contains no passage that deals directly with the church in North Korea. However, prayer meetings and sermons on reunification in South Korean churches sometimes cite passages such as Ezekiel 37:15-17, in which two sticks become one.

Immediately after liberation in 1945, the northern region was home to many churches that carried on the tradition of the Great Pyongyang Revival. When the People's Committee elections were held on Sunday, November 3, 1946—the Lord's Day—they provoked opposition from Protestants. Around this time, the Soviet military administration proposed to Kim Ik-du and other Christian leaders that they form an organization friendly to the authorities. As a result, on November 28 of that year, the North Korean Christian Federation was founded under the leadership of the Rev. Kang Ryang-uk, a maternal relative of Kim Il Sung.

The federation largely disappeared from public view around 1960 but reemerged in 1974. It is reported to have adopted its current name in 1999. Its subsequent activities include the following:

• Publication of the New Testament and a hymnal in 1983, and of the Old Testament in 1984
• Establishment of Bongsu Church in Pyongyang in 1988, followed by Chilgol Church
• Participation in the reestablishment of the Pyongyang Theological Seminary in 1972; after a period of suspension, the school reportedly reopened in September 2000

The community has been reported to consist of two churches, some 500 house churches, and about 13,000 adherents, but these figures are uncertain.

Practice in Korean Churches

Contact between South Korean churches and the Korean Christian Federation increased from the 1990s onward. Humanitarian aid to North Korea in particular opened the way for exchanges such as joint inter-Korean worship services and the exchange of joint prayers.

Views of the Korean Christian Federation and the church in North Korea differ from camp to camp:

• Proponents of exchange: Mainly progressive churches, such as those affiliated with the National Council of Churches in Korea. They accept the church in North Korea as a reality and hold that dialogue and exchange should continue.
• Critics: Conservative churches, centered on the Christian Council of Korea. They regard the Korean Christian Federation, along with Bongsu and Chilgol churches, as showpieces used by the North Korean regime for external propaganda.
• The federation's self-understanding: The Korean Christian Federation presents itself as the body representing North Korean Christians and has served as a channel for exchanges with the outside world.