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Protestant body in North Korea
Korean Christian Federation
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/04/Korean_Christian_Federation_seal.jpg/220px-Korean_Christian_Federation_seal.jpg) Seal of the Central Committee of the Korean Christian Federation
|
Formation
| 28 November 1946
; 77 years ago
(
1946-11-28
)
|
---|
Purpose
| Represents
Protestant Christians
|
---|
Headquarters
| Pyongyang
,
North Korea
|
---|
Secretary General
| O Kyong-u
|
---|
The
Korean Christian Federation
is a
Protestant
body in
North Korea
founded in 1946.
[1]
The federation is based in the capital city
Pyongyang
.
[2]
The current secretary general is
O Kyong-u
. The federation has come to play an important role in international relations involving North Korea and religious organizations in South Korea and abroad.
History
[
edit
]
The federation was founded on 28 November 1946
[3]
[4]
by Christians who had joined the ranks of the new communist administration.
[5]
Immediately, it declared that it would support the country's
leader
Kim Il Sung
and oppose the formation of the
South Korean
state.
[6]
Back then, the organization was led by
Kim Il Sung
's mother's cousin
Kang Ryang-uk
.
[7]
Although Christians in North Korea were mostly anti-communist, about a third of them joined the Korean Christian Federation.
[8]
Christian leaders who refused to join were imprisoned.
[6]
In 1972, the organization reopened Pyongyang theological college. It published Bible translations and a hymnal in 1983 and oversaw the construction of two new church buildings (via state funds) in 1988.
[9]
Following the dissolution of the USSR, the federation has come to play an important role in international relations involving North Korea and religious organizations in South Korea and abroad, particularly in procuring international aid.
[10]
For example, it has successfully called on the
World Council of Churches
to organize aid for North Korea.
[11]
The federation has also been involved in promoting Korean reunification, including a 2014 joint north and south church service organized around themes of peace and reunification.
[12]
Organization
[
edit
]
The federation is "under close government supervision".
[13]
The federation itself restricts certain Christian activities.
[14]
Officially, the institution comprises 10,000 North Korean Christians.
[1]
The federation oversees North Korea's two Protestant churches:
Bongsu
and
Chilgol Church
, in
Pyongyang
.
[1]
It also operates the
Pyongyang Theological Seminary
.
[15]
The current secretary general of the organization's central committee is
O Kyong-u
.
[16]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Tan, Morse (2015).
North Korea, International Law and the Dual Crises: Narrative and Constructive Engagement
. Oxon: Routledge. p. 73.
ISBN
978-1-134-12243-1
.
- ^
The Europa World Year: Kazakhstan ? Zimbabwe
. London: Europa Publications. 2004. p. 2483.
ISBN
978-1-85743-255-8
.
- ^
Nahm, Andrew C. (1996).
Korea: Tradition & Transformation : a History of the Korean People
. 한림출판사. p. 525.
ISBN
978-1-56591-070-6
.
- ^
Belke, Thomas Julian (1999).
Juche: A Christian Study of North Korea's State Religion
. Bartlesville: Living Sacrifice Book Company. p. 124.
ISBN
978-0-88264-329-8
.
- ^
"A Moment of Forgiveness and a Moment of Grace"
(PDF)
.
oikoumene.org
. World Council of Churches. 2017. p. 1. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 2017-08-12
. Retrieved
2017-08-11
.
- ^
a
b
Wi Jo Kang (1997).
Christ and Caesar in Modern Korea: A History of Christianity and Politics
. Albany: State University of New York Press. p. 158.
ISBN
978-1-4384-0832-3
.
- ^
Armstrong, Charles K. (2003). "The Cultural Cold War in Korea, 1945-1950".
The Journal of Asian Studies
.
62
(1): 94.
doi
:
10.2307/3096136
.
JSTOR
3096136
.
- ^
Charles K. (2013).
Tyranny of the Weak: North Korea and the World, 1950?1992
. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. p. 1946.
ISBN
978-0-8014-6893-3
.
- ^
Boer, Roland (2019).
Red theology : on the Christian Communist tradition
. Boston:
Haymarket Books
. pp. 232?233.
ISBN
978-90-04-38132-2
.
OCLC
1078879745
.
- ^
Boer, Roland (2019).
Red theology : on the Christian Communist tradition
. Boston:
Haymarket Books
. pp. 233?234.
ISBN
978-90-04-38132-2
.
OCLC
1078879745
.
- ^
Boer, Roland (2019).
Red theology : on the Christian Communist tradition
. Boston:
Haymarket Books
. p. 233.
ISBN
978-90-04-38132-2
.
OCLC
1078879745
.
- ^
Boer, Roland (2019).
Red theology : on the Christian Communist tradition
. Boston:
Haymarket Books
. p. 234.
ISBN
978-90-04-38132-2
.
OCLC
1078879745
.
- ^
Baker, Donald L. (2008).
Korean Spirituality
. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. p. 145.
ISBN
978-0-8248-3233-9
.
- ^
United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Immigration (2003).
Examining the plight of refugees: the case of North Korea : hearing before the Subcommittee on Immigration of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred Seventh Congress, second session, June 21, 2002
. U.S. G.P.O.
ISBN
9780160702693
.
- ^
Do, Kyung-ok; Kim, Soon-am; Han, Dong-ho; Lee, Keum-soon; Hong, Min (2015).
White Paper on Human Rights in North Korea 2015
(PDF)
. Seoul: Korea Institute for National Unification. p. 221.
ISBN
978-89-8479-802-1
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 2018-02-20
. Retrieved
2018-02-20
.
- ^
"Religionists Blame U.S., S. Korea for Escalating Tension on Korean Peninsula"
. KCNA. 22 April 2013. Archived from
the original
on 26 January 2015.
External links
[
edit
]