文／HuSir

　　在我们的世界上，有些地方的信仰是自由的选择，而在另一些地方，信仰意味着用生命作代价。朝鲜半岛北部——今日的北朝鲜——便是这样一个极端的存在：一个曾经被称为“东方耶路撒冷”的城市，如今却成为全球最严重迫害基督徒的土地之一。这种剧烈的反差，不仅是历史的悲剧，也是对“社会主义极权体制”真实面貌的深刻揭露。

一、曾经的光明：从“东方耶路撒冷”到信仰兴盛的年代

　　基督教传入朝鲜半岛（此时在地理上包括如今的南、北朝鲜）较早，天主教在18世纪末传入，19 世纪末与 20 世纪初，基督教在朝鲜北部发展迅速。尤其是 1907 年的《平壤大复兴》，被誉为亚洲基督教史上的里程碑。那时的平壤教堂林立、信徒众多、热情洋溢，以至于被西方 missionary 称作 “The Jerusalem of the East”。
　　1907年《平壤复兴运动》（1907年平壤复兴运动）是一个显著里程碑：许多信徒因公开忏悔、祷告而加入教会，新教理念在当时有较大发展（维基百科）。

　　家族信主、公众忏悔、祈祷会遍布城市——那是一个充满灵性活力的年代，也是一个民族精神觉醒的年代。在日本殖民统治（1910-1945）期间，基督教与民族解放运动有一定关联，这使得教会在社会改革与教育领域具影响力。

　　然而，这一切随着社会主义政权的建立而戛然而止。

二、黑暗降临：极权体制下的系统性消灭信仰

　　1945 年朝鲜半岛分裂后，北朝鲜建立了以“党—领袖”为信仰核心的社会主义极权体系。在政权早期，许多基督徒、教会因“西方宗教势力”或“帝国主义工具”的指控遭受迫害。1948 年以后，北朝鲜政府通过土地改革、产业国有化，对教会财产与组织实施大规模控制和清理。1950-53 年朝鲜战争及其后重建时期，教会建筑被毁、信徒散离。政府将宗教活动严格限制、监控。从上世纪50至70年代，大规模公开的教会活动几乎消失，基督徒只能转入地下（维基百科）。在这种体制中，任何高于国家、超越领袖的信仰都会被视为敌对力量。于是，基督教成了政府首要清除的对象：

• 教堂被没收或拆毁
• 圣经禁止、私藏即犯罪
• 基督徒被监控、拘留、殴打
• 许多人被送往劳改营、甚至遭到处决

　　朝鲜社会主义体制下的宗教政策有一个共同逻辑：不是宗教的问题，而是宗教让人拥有不属于国家的忠诚。这就是极权的本质：它容不下任何独立于国家之外的思想、信仰或人格。

　　自1980年代起，北朝鲜政府为国际形象与外交需要，在平壤少数地点设立“官方教会建筑”（如 奉壽教会 Bongsu Church 建于1988年）以示宗教自由。然而，虽然存在这些建筑，许多外界观察者认为这类教会多为政府控制、象征性开放，而真正信仰自由仍受极大限制。

三、幸存者的声音：地下信徒的血泪与不灭的福音

　　为了理解极权的残酷，我们必须倾听那些从黑暗中走出的人。

1. Ji Hyeona 的见证：只因信神就可能被处决

　　Ji 在访谈中说，在北朝鲜：“你若相信除了金家政权以外的神，就可能被送进劳改营，甚至被处决。”她几次被捕，经历审问、劳役、饥饿，却依然坚持信仰——因为她说：“在那种地方，只有神能给人活下去的理由。”

2. Timothy Cho 的故事：四次入狱的“叛国子女”

　　Cho 因父母逃离而被贴上“叛国分子家庭”的标签，终身不能上大学、不能工作。他四次被监禁，但在监狱中遇见了秘密信徒，从他们那里知道：
　　信仰不是逃避，而是在绝望中维持人性的力量。

3. 地下教会的现实：没有墙的教堂，没有名字的信徒

　　Open Doors 和多家援助组织估计，北朝鲜有近 40 万名地下信徒。他们没有教堂，只能：

• 在森林、河边、地窖里祷告
• 将圣经拆成纸片分散藏匿
• 用低语传福音
• 在死亡风险下举行聚会

　　在极权体制中，信仰是一件需要用生命去承担的事。

四、社会主义极权的真实本质：消灭灵魂、削弱人格、奴役意志

　　北朝鲜只是社会主义极权的极致体现。它的特点不是偶然，而是制度本性：

1. 权力必须独占人心

　　极权不能容忍“另一个神”。基督教的核心是“真理使你得自由”，社会主义极权的核心是“服从使你安全”。二者天然对立。

2. 体制必须消灭独立精神

　　无论是知识分子、自由思想者，还是基督徒，只要在思想上不属于国家，就会被清除。

3. 社会主义口号下的“人道主义”，实际是最残忍的控制

　　北朝鲜表面宣称平等、幸福、共同体，然而底层人民却在饥饿、贫困、劳改营中挣扎。
　　这揭示了社会主义极权一贯的矛盾：它声称拯救人民，却总是在摧毁人民。它声称给予平等，却实践最极端的不平等。它声称代表正义，却压制真理与自由。

五、信仰如何在极权之下存活？

　　尽管政权试图消灭信仰，但福音在黑暗中依旧流传——悄无声息，却越压越深。因为信徒知道：神的国不属于世界，也不受世界统治。即使在铁幕之下，灵魂仍然能向光伸展。

　　这正是社会主义极权最害怕的：一个自由的人心。

结语：光无法被黑暗吞灭

　　北朝鲜的基督徒，用他们的生命证明了一件事：真理可以被囚禁，但不能被毁灭。信徒可以被压迫，但信仰不会被消失。社会主义极权可以控制土地、枪械、媒体、学校，但控制不了人的灵魂。在那片最黑暗的土地上，福音却以最秘密、最微弱、最纯粹的方式存活下来。这是对极权最大的反抗——也是对自由最大的见证。为依旧生活在极权国家的基督徒祷告！

Standing Firm in Faith Amid Darkness:

A Centennial Overview of Christianity in North Korea and the Face of Totalitarian Rule
By HuSir

In our world, there are places where faith is a free choice, and others where faith costs one’s life. Northern Korea—the region known today as North Korea—is one such extreme example: a land once called the “Jerusalem of the East,” now becoming one of the most severely persecuted places for Christians in the world. This stark contrast is not only a tragedy of history, but also a profound revelation of the true nature of the socialist totalitarian system.

I. Once There Was Light: From the “Jerusalem of the East” to an Era of Spiritual Flourishing

Christianity entered the Korean Peninsula (geographically including today’s South and North Korea) relatively early—Catholicism arrived in the late 18th century. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Christianity developed rapidly in the northern region. The 1907 Pyongyang Revival became a milestone in Asian Christian history. At that time, Pyongyang was filled with churches, believers, and spiritual enthusiasm—so much so that Western missionaries called it “The Jerusalem of the East.”

The 1907 Pyongyang Revival was a remarkable turning point: many believers joined the church through public confession and prayer, and Protestant theology gained significant influence (Wikipedia).
Families came to faith, citywide prayer meetings multiplied—those were years full of spiritual vitality and the awakening of a nation’s conscience.

During the Japanese colonial period (1910–1945), Christianity was also linked to national liberation movements, which further increased the church’s influence in social reform and education.

However, all of this came to an abrupt end with the establishment of the socialist regime.

II. Darkness Descends: Systematic Eradication of Faith Under Totalitarian Rule

After the division of the Korean Peninsula in 1945, North Korea established a socialist totalitarian system centered on loyalty to “the Party and the Leader.” In the early years of the regime, many Christians and churches were persecuted under accusations of being “Western religious forces” or “tools of imperialism.”

After 1948, the North Korean government implemented land reform and nationalized industries, seizing church properties and dismantling religious organizations. During the Korean War (1950–53) and the reconstruction that followed, church buildings were destroyed and believers scattered. Religious activities were strictly restricted and monitored.

From the 1950s to the 1970s, large-scale public church activities virtually vanished, and Christians were forced to go underground (Wikipedia).

In such a system, any loyalty higher than the state and any faith beyond the leader was viewed as a hostile force. Thus Christianity became the regime’s primary target for elimination:

• Churches were confiscated or demolished
• Bibles were banned—possession was a crime
• Christians were surveilled, detained, and beaten
• Many were sent to labor camps or executed

The religious policy of North Korean socialism reveals a consistent logic:
The problem is not religion itself,
but that religion allows people to have loyalty that does not belong to the state.

This is the essence of totalitarianism:
It cannot tolerate any idea, belief, or personality independent of the state.

Beginning in the 1980s, for the sake of international image and diplomacy, the North Korean government established a small number of “official churches” in Pyongyang—such as Bongsu Church (built in 1988)—to showcase supposed religious freedom. However, observers widely agree these churches are tightly controlled, symbolic, and that genuine religious freedom remains severely restricted.

III. Voices of Survivors: The Blood, Tears, and Unquenchable Gospel of Underground Believers

To understand the cruelty of totalitarianism, we must listen to those who walked out of the darkness.

1. Testimony of Ji Hyeona: Believing in God Could Mean Execution

In her interviews, Ji said:
“If you believe in any god other than the Kim regime, you could be sent to a labor camp—or executed.”

She was arrested several times, endured interrogation, forced labor, hunger—yet she continued in her faith. She said:
“In that kind of place, only God gives you a reason to stay alive.”

2. The Story of Timothy Cho: A ‘Traitor’s Child’ Imprisoned Four Times

Because his parents fled North Korea, Cho was labeled a member of a “traitor family,” banned for life from higher education and employment. He was imprisoned four times, but in prison he met secret believers who showed him:

Faith is not an escape—
it is the strength that preserves one’s humanity in utter despair.

3. The Underground Church: Churches Without Walls, Believers Without Names

Open Doors and other aid organizations estimate that North Korea has nearly 400,000 underground Christians. They have no buildings and must:

• Pray in forests, by rivers, or in cellars
• Tear the Bible into pages and hide them separately
• Whisper the gospel
• Hold gatherings at the risk of death

In a totalitarian system, faith is something carried at the cost of one’s life.

IV. The True Essence of Socialist Totalitarianism:

Destroying the Soul, Weakening the Person, Enslaving the Will
North Korea is simply the most extreme manifestation of socialist totalitarianism. Its characteristics are not accidental—they arise from the nature of the system itself.

1. Power Must Exclusively Possess the Human Heart

Totalitarianism cannot tolerate “another God.”
The core of Christianity is: “The truth shall make you free.”
The core of socialist totalitarianism is: “Obedience shall keep you safe.”

These two are fundamentally opposed.

2. The Regime Must Eliminate Independent Thought

Whether intellectuals, free thinkers, or Christians—
as long as their minds do not belong to the state,
they must be removed.

3. The ‘Humanitarianism’ of Socialism Is in Fact the Cruelest Form of Control

North Korea outwardly proclaims equality, happiness, and community,
yet the masses suffer hunger, poverty, and imprisonment in labor camps.

This exposes the enduring contradiction of socialist totalitarianism:

It claims to save the people,
yet always destroys the people.
It claims to give equality,
yet practices the most extreme inequality.
It claims to represent justice,
yet suppresses truth and freedom.

V. How Does Faith Survive Under Totalitarianism?

Although the regime attempts to annihilate faith, the gospel continues to spread quietly, deeper and deeper—because believers know:

The Kingdom of God does not belong to this world,
nor is it ruled by this world.

Even behind the Iron Curtain,
the soul still reaches for the light.

This is what socialist totalitarianism fears most:
a free human heart.

Conclusion: Light Cannot Be Overcome by Darkness

Christians in North Korea have proven with their lives:

Truth can be imprisoned,
but not destroyed.
Believers can be oppressed,
but faith will not disappear.

Socialist totalitarianism may control land, weapons, media, and schools—
but it cannot control the human soul.

In that darkest land, the gospel still survives—
quietly, faintly, but purely.

This is the greatest defiance of totalitarianism—
and the greatest testimony to freedom.

Pray for all Christians still living under totalitarian rule.