Results of a recent survey show that Protestant Christianity is chosen at a greater rate than other religions by North Korean defectors in Korea. The North Korean Socialist Constitution clearly guarantees freedom of faith, following its revision in 2012 after Kim Jung-un took power. It has been revealed, however, that religious oppression continues.
A “White Paper on North Korean Freedom of Religion 2017” was published on December 13 by the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB, director: Kim Ung-gi), affiliated with the North Korea Human Rights Records Preservation House. According to this report, among the 11,765 North Korean defectors who have entered South Korea since 2017, Protestant Christianity ranked at the top in their religious affiliations (41.7%), followed by no religious affiliation (28.0%), Buddhism (10.1%), and Catholic Christianity (9.5%).
As for where they began their religious activity, 33.9% named the National Intelligence Service, while many named China (30.6%) as well as Hanawon (Resettlement support center for North Korean defectors, 29.0%).
The survey report also noted that religious activities in the North continue to be restricted. When asked, “Is religious activity guaranteed in North Korea?” 99.6% of the respondents answered, “It is not guaranteed.” It is noteworthy that religious oppression is still severe even after the North’s constitution was revised. Asked about punishment for religious activities, 50.9% of respondents indicated “sent to political prisoners’ camp” as the highest-level penalty.
An Hyeon-min, an NKDB researcher, explained, “In the NK Socialist Constitution, Article 68 of Chapter 5 (Basic rights and duties of the people) reads, 'The people have the freedom of faith.’ The fact that former residents who escaped NK in 2013 and 2014 were still reporting cases of religious oppression is circumstantial evidence that religious oppression continues even after the constitutional amendment in 2012.”
Reporter Yang Minkyeong (grieg@kmib.co.kr), with Yeara Ahn-Park (yap@kmib.co.kr)
Graphic by Young Eun Lee
Original Article in Korean:
탈북민이 가장 많이 믿는 종교는 기독교: ‘2017 북한종교자유백서’ 발간
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2017-12-15 17:10
