An account of real Christian persecution in North Korea
While North Korea is very secretive and won't admit such treatment, defectors/refugees (those who are lucky to escape N. Korea alive) often share accounts of the horrific reality of propaganda-laden concentration camps. Copied/pasted from my friend Nate in S. Korea:
Here is an account of Sun Ok Lee, a former concentration camp inmate in North Korea, an excerpt written in Juche: A Christian Study of North Korea's State Religion written by Thomas J. Belke, pp. 321-323.
I have seen the execution of Christians at least once a month. At the rehabilitation center, prisoners were given one day of rest each month. However, instead of allowing rest, the warden always used this time for political and "religious" propaganda of Juche Ideology, which is the worship designed by Kim Il Sung. The first target groups for this rehabilitation were always the Christians in the camp. At our center, there were about 6,000 prisoners, with at least 30 to 40 Christians at any given time. Prison officers brought out these Christians and made them sit face-down on the ground, circled by other prisoners. Then they were asked to deny their belief in heaven and God in heaven. They were told that if they said they did not believe in Jesus or God in heaven, then they would have better treatment in the prison. I did not know about their belief in heaven, or that a God in heaven refers to the Christian faith until I came to South Korea. While I was in prison these years, I did not see a single Christian deny his faith. When these Christians were silent, the officer became furious and started to kick the Christians' stomach, back, face, and any place where it really hurt. Some Christians died.
Many Christians were killed by the death squad, which was made up of young men in their early twenties who were brutal. I could not describe their cruelty well enough. These executioners did not work regularly, but came only for the executions. On the day of the execution, they would usually take a drug to cause them to act like some hungry animal. The executions were conducted in public, and all prisoners were called to observe them. After the bloody executions, all prisoners were made to go around the dead body to say a word of hate to the dead victim and to remind themselves to live with the Communist Party's propaganda. This event created fear among prisoners and much trembling. They could not sleep for many nights. At the time, I could not understand why these Christians risked their lives when they could have said, "I do not believe," and accept what the officer insisted. I even saw some who would call the singers "crazy" and take them to the electric treatment room. I saw none come out alive. When they sang these songs, I thought they were really crazy until I escaped to South Korea and heard hymns in church. I never knew what these prisoners were singing until I became a Christian.
Because inmates were forbidden to talk in the rehabilitation center, I never had a chance to talk to a Christian. However, I now remember hearing "Amen." Christians who came to the Kae-Chun Rehabilitation Center were treated differently, and were often assigned to do the human excrement. The men worked in front of the furnace used for casting iron where temperatures exceed 1,000 C.
One day I witnessed the killing of Christians with molten iron poured out of a furnace. On that day, eight Christian prisoners were forced to lie on the ground face-down. Officers accused them and punished them unreasonably. The officers became angry and poured hot iron from the furnace on them. I was so shocked watching that I could not believe it. The smell of burning was terrible, yet as they died the Christians were quiet and peaceful.
Please remember to keep all the North Koreans in your prayers, especially those who are horrifically persecuted for openly admitting belief in God.
Here is an account of Sun Ok Lee, a former concentration camp inmate in North Korea, an excerpt written in Juche: A Christian Study of North Korea's State Religion written by Thomas J. Belke, pp. 321-323.
I have seen the execution of Christians at least once a month. At the rehabilitation center, prisoners were given one day of rest each month. However, instead of allowing rest, the warden always used this time for political and "religious" propaganda of Juche Ideology, which is the worship designed by Kim Il Sung. The first target groups for this rehabilitation were always the Christians in the camp. At our center, there were about 6,000 prisoners, with at least 30 to 40 Christians at any given time. Prison officers brought out these Christians and made them sit face-down on the ground, circled by other prisoners. Then they were asked to deny their belief in heaven and God in heaven. They were told that if they said they did not believe in Jesus or God in heaven, then they would have better treatment in the prison. I did not know about their belief in heaven, or that a God in heaven refers to the Christian faith until I came to South Korea. While I was in prison these years, I did not see a single Christian deny his faith. When these Christians were silent, the officer became furious and started to kick the Christians' stomach, back, face, and any place where it really hurt. Some Christians died.
Many Christians were killed by the death squad, which was made up of young men in their early twenties who were brutal. I could not describe their cruelty well enough. These executioners did not work regularly, but came only for the executions. On the day of the execution, they would usually take a drug to cause them to act like some hungry animal. The executions were conducted in public, and all prisoners were called to observe them. After the bloody executions, all prisoners were made to go around the dead body to say a word of hate to the dead victim and to remind themselves to live with the Communist Party's propaganda. This event created fear among prisoners and much trembling. They could not sleep for many nights. At the time, I could not understand why these Christians risked their lives when they could have said, "I do not believe," and accept what the officer insisted. I even saw some who would call the singers "crazy" and take them to the electric treatment room. I saw none come out alive. When they sang these songs, I thought they were really crazy until I escaped to South Korea and heard hymns in church. I never knew what these prisoners were singing until I became a Christian.
Because inmates were forbidden to talk in the rehabilitation center, I never had a chance to talk to a Christian. However, I now remember hearing "Amen." Christians who came to the Kae-Chun Rehabilitation Center were treated differently, and were often assigned to do the human excrement. The men worked in front of the furnace used for casting iron where temperatures exceed 1,000 C.
One day I witnessed the killing of Christians with molten iron poured out of a furnace. On that day, eight Christian prisoners were forced to lie on the ground face-down. Officers accused them and punished them unreasonably. The officers became angry and poured hot iron from the furnace on them. I was so shocked watching that I could not believe it. The smell of burning was terrible, yet as they died the Christians were quiet and peaceful.
Please remember to keep all the North Koreans in your prayers, especially those who are horrifically persecuted for openly admitting belief in God.