I. Introduction: Faith as a Crime
In North Korea, religion is not simply restricted—it is criminalised. Practising faith outside of state-sanctioned boundaries is considered an existential threat to the regime’s absolute control. Christians, Buddhists, and adherents of traditional spiritual practices face imprisonment, torture, or execution for acts as simple as owning a Bible or gathering in secret prayer groups. The state’s war on religion has transformed spiritual practice into a life-threatening act of resistance, pushing many believers to flee in search of survival and freedom.

II. The Cult of the Kim Dynasty
Religion is viewed as incompatible with the state’s enforced ideology of loyalty to the Kim dynasty. The regime promotes a quasi-religious cult of personality around its leaders, demanding absolute devotion. Any competing spiritual belief is treated as disloyalty, punishable by imprisonment or execution. This system ensures that religious identity is seen as treasonous by default.

III. Criminalisation of Christianity
Christians in North Korea are the most severely persecuted religious group. Owning a Bible, attending underground worship, or even discussing Christianity can lead to immediate arrest. Entire families are often imprisoned or executed, reinforcing the regime’s strategy of collective punishment. Testimonies from defectors confirm that executions for Christian worship are not isolated incidents but part of systematic policy.

IV. Persecution of Other Faiths
While Christianity is most heavily targeted, Buddhism and traditional Korean spiritual practices such as shamanism are also repressed. Temples and shrines are maintained primarily as propaganda sites for foreign visitors, stripped of their authentic religious functions. Those caught privately practising these traditions risk imprisonment or forced labour, with punishments escalating to death for repeat offenders.

V. Underground Churches and Secret Faith
Despite the risks, underground religious networks persist. Small groups meet in secrecy, often at night, to read smuggled scriptures or pray together. The danger of infiltration by
state informants is ever-present, and arrests frequently follow betrayals within these fragile networks. Nevertheless, the persistence of underground worship testifies to the resilience of faith in the face of brutality.

VI. Torture and Executions
Defectors recount harrowing accounts of torture and public executions carried out against religious believers. Methods of execution include hanging and firing squad, intended to terrorise communities into silence. Those spared execution are often sent to political prison camps, where forced labour, starvation, and abuse lead to slow deaths.

VII. The Targeting of Families
North Korea’s system of guilt by association ensures that relatives of religious practitioners are also punished. Children, spouses, and extended family members are imprisoned or executed alongside the accused. This collective punishment deters individuals from practising their faith and inflicts generational trauma.

VIII. Gender-Based Persecution
Women believers are particularly vulnerable to gender-based violence. Female detainees accused of religious activity report sexual violence, forced abortions, and gendered humiliation. This adds an additional layer of suffering for women practising faith in secrecy.

IX. Forced Repatriation from China
North Koreans who escape to China in search of religious freedom face the constant risk of repatriation. Chinese authorities often return defectors, who upon re-entry are interrogated and punished harshly if religious materials are discovered. For religious defectors, repatriation often results in execution.

X. International Condemnation
Human rights organisations and the United Nations have repeatedly condemned North Korea’s religious persecution as crimes against humanity. Despite this condemnation, limited access to the country makes accountability difficult, and executions continue largely in secrecy. International sanctions and advocacy have done little to deter the regime’s policies.

XI. Faith as a Catalyst for Migration
For many North Koreans, practising religion is impossible without risking death. Migration becomes the only viable path for those determined to live their faith openly. Asylum seekers
frequently cite religious persecution in their applications, seeking refuge in countries that protect freedom of belief.

XII. Conclusion: Faith in Defiance of Death
Religious practice in North Korea is punished with imprisonment, torture, and death, yet underground communities continue to worship in defiance of the regime. This defiance demonstrates the enduring human need for faith and freedom, even in the world’s harshest dictatorship. Until the regime ends its violent repression, migration will remain the only path for religious minorities to survive and worship without fear.