North Korean Christians keep faith in underground churches to avoid persecution
- North Korea has previously arrested South Korean and American missionaries for allegedly attempting to build underground church networks or overthrow its government
These accounts from interviews provide a small window into how underground Christians in North Korea struggle to maintain their faith amid persistent crackdowns.
The North’s treatment of Christians could become a bigger issue if North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s expected second summit with President Donald Trump produces significant progress, and if Pope Francis follows through on his expressed willingness to take up Kim’s invitation to visit North Korea.
Most of North Korea’s underground Christians do not engage in the extremely dangerous work of proselytising, according to defectors and outside experts. Instead, they largely keep their beliefs to themselves or within their immediate families. But even those who stay deep underground face danger, defectors say.
North Korea has previously arrested South Korean and American missionaries for allegedly attempting to build underground church networks or overthrow its government. Only a small number of North Korean believers risk trying to win converts, defectors say.
One woman interviewed said she converted about 10 relatives and neighbours and held secret services before defecting to the South.
“I wanted to build my church and sing out as loud as I could,” said the woman, who is now a pastor in Seoul. She insisted on only being identified with her initials, H.Y., because of serious worries about the safety of her converts and family in the North.