Does Worship Exist in North Korea?

Download 31 Prayer points for NK Mar-Apr 08 PDF 31KB

Indeed it does. In fact North Koreans are masters at worshipping and their lives of worship will rebuke anyone that tries to compare. I only visited the country once but this was the lasting impression I got from my trip. Each morning I found the exit door to my hotel building to be an entranceway to a draped city of slogans and praises to the great North Korean leaders. On stepping out I could immediately see a massive stone statue with bold red letters reading: “Hail 21st century Sun, General Kim Jong Il!” Just a turn of the head and another sign reads, “Hail legendary hero General Kim Jong Il!” And with just one more turn I could see an over-powering tower with the words: “Great Leader Kim Il Sung’s spirit is with us forever.” I’ve learned 200 similar monuments have been erected throughout the country since Kim Il Sung’s passing.

North Korea’s sky is an endless canvas of praises. In every room you enter, every hallway you walk through, and every lobby you sit in, you will see pictures, paintings, and slogans revering their ideology to no end. I even noticed all the soldiers and officials have a pin with a picture of Kim Il Sung fixed to their clean, ironed out jackets close to their hearts, and you cannot help but notice the beat of their marching steps which drum to the rhythm of discipline and commitment. It is a discipline and commitment to serving their leaders with the whole of their lives.

Imagine seeing a framed picture of your president hung in every home, school, workplace, and public institution you visit. For me, imagining the face of President George W. Bush plastered on every wall is a pretty funny thought. He is far more featured and made fun of in satirical, critical political cartoons than revered and honored in the average American home – how little respect we have for our leader. Inside North Korea, I even noticed that instead of 2007, their calendars refer to the year as 95 – they consider 1912, the birth year of Kim Il Sung, as Year 1. It is no question whom they serve; and the object of their worship has been integrated into every facet of their lives.

One day during my visit I was able to visit the local bookstore and was surprised to see shelves filled with books just about Kim Il Sung and his Juche (“joo-chay”) ideology. Possibly all the books, children’s picture books included, were on these topics. I could not help but purchase one as a souvenir: “Kim Il Sung The Brilliant Banner of Juche”. The first five chapters are as follows: The Brightest Name, The Great Leader, The Great Thinker and Theoretician, The Outstanding Leader, and Performer of Miracles. And just to give you a taste, here is a short excerpt:

“Comrade Kim Il Sung is a great leader. Have you met him? Scores of distinguished personalities and international figures have met Comrade Kim Il Sung. And yet he is to be met. Yes, he deserves being met.

He meets everyone – workers and peasants and the old. A worker from thousands of miles away, from Africa also met him. Kim Il Sung is a man of the people…

Meet Kim Il Sung. He is reasonably identical. A handsome lover. A humanitarian. Full of peace. Full of physical and mental health. A cogitator. A leader. A commander and indeed father of the great nation of Korea. This is what I found in him. Indeed there are all sorts of greatness that you know in Kim Il Sung that I met…

The DPRK led by the great leader is a democratic country …

Thanks to the respected and beloved leader the Korean people are enjoying democracy in the real sense of the word. The DPRK owes its existence to the great leader. .” (Kim Il Sung The Brilliant Banner of Juche, page 8).

While there are volumes and volumes of books about the greatness of Kim Il Sung, an outsider does not necessarily have to read them to understand how the country reveres its leader. It is written on the walls of the nation, the fabric of every life, and on the hearts of all its people. And I can give example after example of how the North Koreans worship. The list is endless.

As I reflect on my own life I wonder just how good of a worshipper I am compared to the North Koreans. Do I give my God the whole of my life? Is every facet of my life and being surrendered to His service? Is it clear to everyone who it is that I serve? Does my life clearly reflect the greatness and goodness of my God? Sadly, I think my worship pales in comparison to the North Koreans’. And yet I profess my God is the way, the truth, and the life. There is much to learn and reflect on regarding North Korea and their life of worship.

Psalm 115: 1-9

Not to us, O Lord, not to us
But to your name be the glory,
Because of your love and faithfulness.
Why do the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Our God is in heaven;
He does whatever pleases him.
But their idols are silver and gold,
Made by the hands of men.
They have mouths, but cannot speak,
Eyes, but they cannot see;
They have ears, but cannot hear,
Noses, but they cannot smell;
They have hands, but cannot feel,
Feet, but they cannot walk;
Nor can they utter a sound with their throats.
Those who make them will be like them,
And so will all who trust in them.
O house of Israel, trust in the Lord –
He is their help and shield.

Download 31 Prayer points for NK Mar-Apr 08 PDF 31KB