7. Communism in North Korea

All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Acts 2:44-45

Today North Korea is a communist state. Communism started with Marx and Engels in Germany when they wrote The Communist Manifesto in 1848. Marx believed that all history is an economic struggle between the haves and the have-nots, the rich and the poor. In this class struggle, the workers will finally win, equality among all will reign, and utopia will be realized. Russia was the first nation to become communist. In the 1940s during the Japanese occupation of Korea, Kim Il-Sung was in Russia, being trained and prepared to play a leading role in post-war Korea. The Soviet Union helped him gain power in North Korea after World War II.

In communism, the Party reflects the will of the people, which is what the North Korean government claims that the Workers’ Party does. The history of communism in Europe and Asia, however, is somewhat different. In most of the European countries, communism was imposed on them from outside (ie, by the Soviet Union). In China and North Korea, communism appealed to nationalism among the people. “Under communism, let us band together as a nation against Japan! Let us together save our nation against the Imperialists!” Then the “imperialists” were the Japanese; today in North Korea, the imperialists are the United States and its “puppets.”

After the nationalistic emphasis in the North, Kim Il-Sung began to include Juche values into the communist thought, creating Kim Il-Sung-ism (this is a synonym for Juche in the DPRK). These philosophical values form the basis for what North Korea and its government is today.(16)

• Pray that the true communal living and sharing of the early church, concepts which were borrowed and incorporated into communist ideology, would be lived out in a godly way in North Korea.

• Pray that the Chosun government will truly reflect the will of the people and work for their good.

• Pray that the Christians in the DPRK will be good Christians and good citizens of that country.