North Korean Christians endure another year of worship to country’s ‘living god’ on founder’s birthday
from Premier:
Although the founder of North Korea died in 1994, an escapee tells Premier that Christians still have to bow to Kim Il-Sung every year, something he remembers doing himself.
The current leader Kim Jong-Il’s grandfather was born on 15th April 1912 and is praised publicly each year for founding the state, although this year it was marked with mask-clad dancers in the capital Pyongyang.
A escapee from North Korea has told Premier that for Christians, it is a reminder of how they are not allowed to worship their own God.
Although the country is officially atheist, Kim Il-Sung is worshipped like a ‘living god’, it is a public holiday called ‘The Day of the Sun’ and treated like Christmas.
People bow to statues of Kim Il-Sung, bring flowers and clean the monuments, cartoons and TV broadcasts all tell stories about how he was undefeated in war and how he brought about the culture and society they have today.
However, religious freedom charity Open Doors estimates that around 50-70,000 Christians are in prison or in labour camps, with any sign of commitment to Christ being a punishable offence.
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