Religious Conflict in North Korea

These pictures are from a BBC photo article named In Pictures: Unseen Korea. These pictures will give you an understanding of the true living conditions that the citizens of North Korea go through on a daily basis. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/05/asia_pac_unseen_north_korea/html/8.stm)

Many countries in the world that are off-limits to American tourists and citizens are regarded as mysterious or exotic by the American media. Newspaper and television reports of countries such as Cuba and Iran often contain forbidding pictures or describe their cultural and political practices as inferior to U.S. customs and laws. Perhaps no country in the world is regarded with more suspicion by the American media than North Korea.

A recent news article, “Christian Executed in North Korea” by the Associated Press (AP) supports this picture of mysterious North Korea. According to the author, a Christian woman who had been involved in anti-government activities by passing out Bibles in North Korea was executed and her husband, children and parents were sent to a political prison. Additionally, the woman was suspected of being a spy for South Korea and the United States and organizing dissident groups against the North Korean government.

To present a strong argument that North Korea is a country full of hardships for its citizens, the AP report describes that religious worship, though guaranteed by the country’s Constitution, is severely restricted by the government. In fact, the article reports that only four churches in the country exist and they are open only to foreigners living in North Korea. To further highlight the restrictive nature of the government, the report states that the capital, Pyongyang, was originally called the “Jerusalem of the East” before the “cult” government of Kim Sung Il and his son Kim Jong Il became the state religion. Thus, western Christianity was effectively closed to followers in North Korea. By describing this drastic change in religious practices due to the two Kim’s political power, the reader can be persuaded into believing that the current North Korean government feels no sympathy for people who believe in Christianity. A quote included in the article by a South Korean activist, Do Hee-yeon, supports this idea: “North Korea appears to have judged that Christian forces could pose a threat to its regime.”

The reporter who submitted the article portrays the North Korean government in a very unsympathetic manner by including numerous phrases such as “the regime severely restricts religious observance,” “the cult of personality created by national founder Kim Il-Sung,” and “a harsh turn in the crackdown on religion.” Anyone outside of North Korea who would read this information would be frightened to visit such a strange country. Thus, the use of this type of language helps to confirm the mysterious image of North Korea that is reported in the western media.

To provide credibility to the report, many of the people quoted throughout this article are related to some official organization such as The U.S. State Department, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, and the South Korean Rights Report. Using such experts rather than quoting the “average guy on the street” seemingly allows the evidence supporting the claims in the article to be credible. However, these experts only comment on the restrictive nature of religious practice in North Korea; none of them confirm that the execution has taken place and the official North Korean Central News Agency does not mention the incident. The only experts who report the execution are unnamed South Korean “activists.” Thus, even though the reader of this article believes that the execution took place because of all the experts quoted, in reality the careful reader does not really know if the incident occurred. The reporter should have provided more credible sources about the execution. At the end of the article, the author also cites a South Korean Rights Report that relates that the North Korean government arrested and tortured another Christian who was spying at a nuclear site for South Korean and the United States governments.

This example provides a basis of support towards the main incident in the article because the alleged crimes and punishment are similar. Through these examples, the reader will be able to see how the North Korean government harshly treats its citizens.

This article has substantial, credible support and structure to help persuade the public into believing that the North Korean government has a bias against religion, particularly Christianity. However, these credible sources do not comment about the main incident of the woman’s execution. In fact, the article never does include a credible source that the execution took place. Although I have my own thoughts on the likelihood of this incident happening, the fact is that the only sources quoted are unnamed South Korean activists. The report would have been more credible if other sources had verified that the incident took place.