In 2017, the world was shaken by the assassination of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. He was killed in a Malaysian airport by DPRK operatives using a nerve agent in broad daylight. The act was ruthless, audacious, and terrifying but for many, it reinforced a long-standing narrative: that North Korea is a rogue state run by monsters. But is this really the whole truth? The headlines focus on nuclear tests, military parades, and totalitarian leadership but rarely do they consider the souls behind the uniforms, the suffering behind the propaganda, and the people behind the regime.
As Christians, we must see deeper. The real tragedy is not only what the regime has done, but how the rest of the world including many believers has responded: with hatred, mockery, and a willingness to see an entire population as disposable enemies. We must reclaim a biblical view of human dignity. We must learn to separate the people from their rulers and commit ourselves to a vision of peace, truth, and gospel hope even in the darkest places.
To understand North Korea, we must begin with history. After Japan's surrender in World War II, the Korean Peninsula once a unified nation was divided by the Allied powers along the 38th parallel. The Soviet Union installed a communist government in the North, while the United States supported a capitalist system in the South. This artificial division, made without the consent of the Korean people, sparked a tragic civil war from 1950 to 1953. The war claimed over 3 million lives and left the peninsula in ruins. It ended not in peace, but in an armistice an uneasy ceasefire that technically means the war continues to this day.
The Cold War hardened this divide. Generations grew up on both sides seeing the other as evil. The North developed into a dynastic totalitarian state; the South flourished economically under a democratic system. But the pain of separation lingers still. Families were torn apart. The scars of the war remain open. “Blessed are the peacemakers,” Jesus said (Matthew 5:9), but for decades, peacemaking has been drowned out by political posturing and military buildup.
Few today realize that Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, was once known as the “Jerusalem of the East.” In the early 20th century, it was a center of vibrant Christian revival, largely driven by Presbyterian and Methodist missionaries. Churches, seminaries, and schools flourished. By the 1930s, over 3,000 churches dotted the northern half of the peninsula. The legacy of those revivals shaped generations of Korean Christians and even contributed to Korea’s independence movement.
But after the Korean War, Christianity was systematically eradicated in the North. Believers were branded as traitors. Churches were closed. Thousands were imprisoned or executed. Many fled to the South, where Christianity continues to flourish today. In the North, only a few showcase churches remain heavily controlled by the state and used for propaganda to impress foreign visitors. According to testimonies from defectors and underground missionaries, real Christians must worship in secret, knowing that discovery could mean death.
Scripture reminds us, “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them” (Hebrews 13:3). The persecuted church in North Korea is not a distant issue, it is our family. These believers worship in basements, whisper hymns, and memorize Scripture because paper Bibles can get them executed. Their theology is not compromised by prosperity or fame, it is shaped by suffering. And yet, their faith stands as a rebuke to the comfort and apathy of much of the Western church.
It’s easy to hate what you don’t understand. The Western media often portrays North Koreans as brainwashed drones or robot-like soldiers. But that is a shallow and dehumanizing view. North Koreans are not our enemies, they are human beings trapped in a regime they did not choose. They are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), just like you and me. Many of them are deeply indoctrinated from birth, taught to worship the Supreme Leader and view the outside world with suspicion and fear. But that doesn’t make them evil, it makes them victims.
Defectors tell harrowing stories of starvation, forced labor, and public executions. And yet, even after escaping, many struggle with guilt, confusion, and trauma. They were told their entire lives that their country was a paradise and the outside world was full of demons. To leave is to betray their family, their identity, their very selves. And yet they do because the hunger for freedom is stronger than fear.
As Christians, we are called to a higher ethic. Jesus said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). That doesn’t mean we excuse evil or ignore injustice. It means we respond not with hate, but with compassion. When we dehumanize an entire people, we do the devil’s work, not Christ’s.
The Cold War may be over in name, but its logic still dominates policy in Asia. The U.S., Japan, and South Korea often view North Korea and China through a lens of containment, suspicion, and military escalation. War games are held near the DPRK border. Sanctions are tightened. Missiles are tested. Every provocation leads to retaliation, and the cycle continues. In this logic, peace seems impossible because peace requires risk, dialogue, and mutual trust.
But the gospel teaches a different kind of power. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). The solution to tyranny is not more tyranny. The solution to fear is not more fear. Instead, we must speak the truth, protect the innocent, and pursue reconciliation. Imagine what could happen if, instead of preparing for war, we prepared to welcome defectors, fund humanitarian aid, and support underground pastors. Imagine if the church, not just governments, took the lead in shaping policy.
Remember no army can defeat a people so indoctrinated that they are willing to die for their leader. Bombs may destroy buildings, but they cannot break ideology. Only truth can do that. Only love. Only the gospel. This is why the church must care about North Korea, not just for political reasons, but for spiritual ones. Souls are at stake.
Millions of North Koreans have never heard the name of Jesus without distortion. They have been taught that the Supreme Leader is their god, that their lives belong to the state, and that freedom is a foreign lie. But we believe in a gospel that breaks chains. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17).
Let us pray boldly. Let us support ministries like Voice of the Martyrs and Open Doors. Let us advocate for the rights of defectors and pressure our governments to pursue peace over propaganda. And let us raise a generation that is not poisoned by Cold War hatred but transformed by gospel compassion.
In the end, we must ask: Do we really believe that North Korean lives matter? Do we believe they are made in God's image? If so, then we must live like it. We must preach it. We must pray for it. Because the gospel does not belong to any one nation. It is not Western or Eastern. It is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe (Romans 1:16) whether in Seoul or Pyongyang, Kota Kinablu, Texas or Kaesong.
North Korea is not just a political problem. It is a spiritual battlefield. And our weapons are not bombs, but truth, gospel, faith, and love. “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4). The church has the power to change history not by force, but by faithful witness.
So let us reject the mindset of war. Let us see the people, not just the politics. Let us lift up those in chains as if we were chained with them. And let us believe that even in the darkest places, the light of Christ still shines.
Barnett, M. (2020). The Underground Church in North Korea: Faith and Resistance. InterVarsity Press.
BBC News. (2017, February 13). Kim Jong-nam: Brother of North Korea leader killed in Malaysia. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-38947999
Central Intelligence Agency. (2024). The World Factbook: North Korea. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/korea-north/
Choi, J. (2019). Religious persecution and underground churches in North Korea. Journal of Church and State, 61(4), 659–676. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcs/csy063
Cumings, B. (2010). The Korean War: A History. Modern Library.
Han, J. (2013). North Korean Christianity under pressure: Its legacy and ongoing persecution. International Bulletin of Missionary Research, 37(2), 91–95.
International Crisis Group. (2023). The Korean Peninsula: A roadmap to peace. https://www.crisisgroup.org
Open Doors. (2024). World Watch List: North Korea. https://www.opendoors.org/en-US/persecution/countries/north-korea/
Pekkanen, R., & Thayer, B. A. (2018). North Korea’s Nuclear Crisis and the Prospects for Peace. Brookings Institution Press.
Smith, H. (2015). North Korea: Markets and Military Rule. Cambridge University Press.
United Nations Human Rights Council. (2014). Report of the commission of inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/coi-dprk/report
Yeo, A. (2019). State, Society and Markets in North Korea: Economic Reforms and Authoritarian Resilience. Cambridge University Press.
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