North Korea

The so-called “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” or “DPRK” is often recognized as the world’s most isolated state;[ref]https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2022/09/media-statement-un-special-rapporteur-situation-human-rights-democratic-peoples[/ref] a fascistic, total suppressor of basic human rights and freedoms, subverting all social, civic and political life to the maintenance of pervasive (but ultimately fragile) illusions of grandeur.[ref]https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2023/country-chapters/north-korea[/ref]

In 2014, a UN Commission of Inquiry stated that:[ref]https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/co-idprk/reportofthe-commissionof-inquiry-dprk[/ref]

“Throughout the history of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, among the most striking features of the state has been its claim to an absolute information monopoly and total control of organized social life. Based on witness testimonies, the Commission finds that there is almost complete denial of the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion as well as of the rights to freedom of opinion, expression, information, and association.”

As a result, it is not possible to estimate the country’s religious composition. However, the UN Commission of Inquiry quoted the government’s own statistics that those reporting to adhere to a religious belief has dropped from 24% in 1950 to 0.016% in 2002. Religious groups are thought to include Buddhists, Christians, Cheondoists, and practitioners of Shamanism, among others.

Constitution and government Education and children’s rights Family, community, society, religious courts and tribunals Freedom of expression advocacy of humanist values
Complete tyranny precludes all freedoms of expression and thought, religion or belief
Quasi-divine veneration of a ruling elite is enforced, or a single-party regime holds uncontested power, subject to severe punishment
Religious or ideological indoctrination is utterly pervasive in schools
It is illegal to register an explicitly Humanist, atheist, secularist or other non-religious NGO or other human rights organization, or such groups are persecuted by authorities
Expression of core Humanist principles on democracy, freedom and human rights is brutally repressed
Concerns that secular or religious authorities interfere in specifically religious freedoms
Constitution and government
Complete tyranny precludes all freedoms of expression and thought, religion or belief
Quasi-divine veneration of a ruling elite is enforced, or a single-party regime holds uncontested power, subject to severe punishment
Education and children’s rights
Religious or ideological indoctrination is utterly pervasive in schools
Family, community, society, religious courts and tribunals
It is illegal to register an explicitly Humanist, atheist, secularist or other non-religious NGO or other human rights organization, or such groups are persecuted by authorities
Freedom of expression advocacy of humanist values
Expression of core Humanist principles on democracy, freedom and human rights is brutally repressed
Concerns that secular or religious authorities interfere in specifically religious freedoms
Use of Conscientious Objection clauses resulting in the denial of lawful services to women and LGBTI+ people
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in all or most state-funded schools with no secular or humanist alternative
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report

Countries: Kazakhstan

The state is secular, with separation of religious and political authorities, not discriminating against any religion or belief
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
No fundamental restrictions on freedom of expression or advocacy of humanist values
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report

Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition

No condition holds in this strand
No condition holds in this strand

Countries: Andorra

No condition holds in this strand
Religious courts or tribunals rule directly on some family or ‘moral’ matters; it is legally an opt-in system, but the possibility of social coercion is very clear
No condition holds in this strand

Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition

Localised or infrequent but recurring and widespread social marginalisation or prejudice against the non-religious

This condition is unusual in that it is applied in cases where there is some social discrimination, but it is not pervasive or nationwide. This condition is applied when there is sufficient background evidence to warrant the assertion that discrimination is not anomalous but widespread, and this condition may be applied for example even where if there is no legislative discrimination or where the non-religious may have legal recourse against such discrimination. However, societal discrimination (i.e. discrimination by peers, as opposed to state or legal discrimination) is not easily measured, and for this reason the Report does not currently have similar more severe boundary conditions to capture higher levels of social discrimination per se. In principle these may be introduced in future. However, we consider that countries with actual higher levels of social discrimination against the non-religious will generally already meet other higher level (more severe) boundary conditions under this thematic strand.

Countries: Botswana, Greece, Serbia, United States of America

The dominant influence of religion in public life undermines the right to equality and/or non-discrimination

Applied when the influence of religion on public life undermines others’ rights, such as SRHR, women’s rights, LGBTI+ rights.

May be applied when the influence is overt (i.e. when religious laws are applied to undermine others’ rights) or covert (i.e. where religious pressure groups exert influence to affect policy)

Countries: Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brunei Darussalam, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Croatia, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Eswatini, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Liberia, Lithuania, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Oman, Paraguay, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, Zambia

The non-religious are persecuted socially or there are prohibitive social taboos against atheism, humanism or secularism
Complete tyranny precludes all freedoms of expression and thought, religion or belief

Applied when overriding acts of oppression by the State are extreme, to the extent that the question of freedom of thought and expression is almost redundant, because all human rights and freedoms are quashed by authorities.

Countries: North Korea

Expression of core Humanist principles on democracy, freedom and human rights is brutally repressed
Expression of non-religious views is severely persecuted, or is rendered almost impossible by severe social stigma, or is highly likely to be met with hatred or violence
There is significant social marginalisation of the non-religious or stigma associated with expressing atheism, humanism or secularism
Religious or ideological indoctrination is utterly pervasive in schools
There is a nominal state church with few privileges or progress is being made toward disestablishment

Countries: Bulgaria, Norway, Peru, Rwanda

The non-religious are barred from some government offices (including posts reserved for particular religions or sects)
‘Apostasy’ is outlawed and punishable with a prison sentence

Countries: Bahrain, Comoros, Jordan, Kuwait

‘Apostasy’ or conversion from a specific religion is outlawed and punishable by death
Some religious courts rule in civil or family matters on a coercive or discriminatory basis
Religious authorities have supreme authority over the state

Countries: Iran

State legislation is partly derived from religious law or by religious authorities
Preferential treatment is given to a religion or religion in general

This condition is applied where there are miscellaneous indicators that organs of the state offer various forms of support for a religion, or to religion in general over non-religious worldviews, suggesting a preference for those beliefs, or that the organs of that religion are privileged.

Countries: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burundi, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Tunisia, Turkey, Tuvalu, United Kingdom, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Zimbabwe

There is a pattern of impunity or collusion in violence by non-state actors against the nonreligious
State-funded schools provide religious education which may be nominally comprehensive but is substantively biased or borderline confessional
Religious or ideological instruction in a significant number of schools is of a coercive fundamentalist or extremist variety

This condition highlights countries where schools subject children to fundamentalist religious instruction with no real opportunity to question fundamentalist tenets, or where lessons routinely encourage hatred (for example religious or ethnic hatred). The wording “significant number of schools” is not given a rigid quantification (sometimes the worst-offending schools are unregistered, illegal, or otherwise uncounted); however the condition is not applied in cases where only a small number of schools meet the description and may be anomalous, as opposed to being indicative of a widespread problem.

Countries: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia

State legislation is largely or entirely derived from religious law or by religious authorities
Anomalous discrimination by local or provincial authorities, or overseas territories
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in at least some public schools (without secular or humanist alternatives)
‘Blasphemy’ or criticism of religion is outlawed and punishable by death
Government figures or state agencies openly marginalize, harass, or incite hatred or violence against the non-religious
Government authorities push a socially conservative, religiously or ideologically inspired agenda, without regard to the rights of those with progressive views
It is illegal to advocate secularism or church-state separation, or such advocacy is suppressed
Prohibitive interreligious social control (including interreligious marriage bans)
Quasi-divine veneration of a ruling elite is enforced, or a single-party regime holds uncontested power, subject to severe punishment
Legal or constitutional provisions exclude non-religious views from freedom of belief
It is illegal to register an explicitly Humanist, atheist, secularist or other non-religious NGO or other human rights organization, or such groups are persecuted by authorities
There is a religious tax or tithing which is compulsory, or which is state-administered and discriminates by precluding non-religious groups
The non-religious are barred from holding government office
Some concerns about children's right to specifically religious freedom

This condition may apply if specifically religious education, religious materials, or specific religious denominations are so tightly controlled that children are in fact over-protected from exposure to religion and are likely unable to explore or construct their own worldview in accordance with their evolving capacities. This condition helps us to classify states (perhaps with secular constitutions) which have criminalized specifically religious beliefs or practices. This condition is not applied if the restricted beliefs or practices are found to be outlawed due to their being of an extremist variety. While this condition does not directly reflect discrimination against non-religious persons or non-religious ideas, it does represent an overall threat to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief; such restrictions could spill over to affect non-religious beliefs later; and they pose a risk of backlash against over-zealous secular authorities or even against non-religious individuals by association.

Countries: China, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guyana, Italy, Kazakhstan, Laos, Madagascar, Mexico, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Tajikistan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe

It is illegal or unrecognised to identify as an atheist or as non-religious
It is made difficult to register or operate an explicitly Humanist, atheist, secularist or other non-religious NGO or other human rights organization
Legend
 
Grave Violations
Mostly Satisfactory
More information about rating table

Constitution and government

There is no freedom of religion or belief in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (“North Korea”). All freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief is systematically and severely violated by the North Korean government. Although technically guaranteed by Article 68 of the Constitution,[ref]https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Peoples_Republic_of_Korea_1998[/ref] the free exercise of one’s freedom of religion or belief is contingent upon religion not being used “as a pretext for drawing in foreign forces or for harming the State and social order.”

The complete denial of freedom of thought is enforced through the regime’s totalitarian control of almost every aspect of life in pursuit of ideological unity.

Citizens are subject to the Ten Principles for Establishing a Monolithic Leadership System.[ref]http://9bri.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Ten-Great-Principles-of-the-Establishment-of-the-Unitary-ideology.pdf[/ref] Established in 1974, they consist of ten principal clauses with 65 accompanying sub-clauses that establish the specific attitudes, thoughts, and behaviors required of all North Korean citizens. Due to the document’s calls for absolute obedience to the ideas of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, it shapes both the laws and their implementation in practice, and represents the highest authority of law, above even the Constitution.[ref]https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/2022-07/2022%20North%20Korea%20Report.pdf[/ref] The fourth clause states: “Accept the Great Leader Comrade KIM Il Sung’s revolutionary thought as your belief and take the Great Leader’s instructions as your creed.”

National fantasy

The state imposes a compulsory veneration of the ruling Kim family and its ideology of nationalist self-reliance (Juche). The state largely suppresses mainstream global religions, at least their proselytization or mass celebration in public. However, a mythology or ‘cult of personality’ which might be described as quasi-religious attaches to the hereditary Kim rulers.

In 2011 the state news agency KCNA reported that strange phenomena were witnessed and that “nature is in mourning,” following the death of former leader Kim Jong-il. The supposed reports included unusual snow storms, a mysterious glow on a revered mountain top, and the cracking of ice on a famous lake “so loud, it seemed to shake the Heavens and the Earth.”[ref]https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16297811; https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/dec/22/kim-jong-il-north-korean-media[/ref] The regime had previously declared Kim Jong-il a “genius.” Similar myths are propagated by the government about his successor King Jong-un.

Submission to the state and its ideology is enforced through an extensive government network of control, including secret surveillance and informants, which intrudes upon virtually every aspect of life in North Korea. Any hint of independent thought—including lack of enthusiasm for the state ideology, complaints, or “wrong thoughts”—is liable to be severely punished. Punishments include life imprisonment in labour camps, torture and death.[ref]https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2023/country-chapters/north-korea[/ref] There is complete impunity for crimes perpetrated by the state.[ref]https://seoul.ohchr.org/en/node/503[/ref]

In 2014, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry (COI) into human rights in North Korea released a detailed report that concluded that:[ref]https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/co-idprk/reportofthe-commissionof-inquiry-dprk[/ref]

“there is no effective freedom of religious belief in the DPRK. Such belief is treated as basically incompatible with, and hostile to, the state‐sponsored personality cult surrounding Kim Il‐sung and his descendants. Countless numbers of persons in the DPRK who attempt to practise their religious beliefs have been severely punished, even unto death.”

In July 2022, the UN Secretary-General confirmed the ongoing relevance of the inquiry’s findings stating, “the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion [in North Korea] also continues to be denied, with no alternative belief systems tolerated by the authorities.”[ref]https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/reports/a77247-report-secretary-general-situation-human-rights-democratic-peoples[/ref]

Education and children’s rights

To summarize as clearly as possible: the North Korean regime brainwashes children from an early age to believe in the Kims as godlike leaders, to instil loyalty and commitment to the leader, and hatred towards “enemies” of the nation.

This intention is made plain in Article 43 of the Constitution, which states:

“The State shall put the principles of socialist education into practice and raise the new generation to be steadfast revolutionaries who will fight for society and the people, to be people of a new communist type who are knowledgeable, morally sound and physically healthy.”

The misuse of educational institutions to promote the national ideology is a key component in sustaining the national ideology. From 1977, in “Theses on Socialist Education”, these words are attributed to Kim Il Sung:[ref]countrystudies.us/north-korea/42.htm[/ref]

“Political and ideological education is the most important part of socialist education. Only through a proper political and ideological education is it possible to rear students as revolutionaries […] And only on the basis of sound political and ideological education will the people’s scientific and technological education and physical culture be successful.”

Students are required to attend classes such as ‘The Childhood of Our Supreme Leader Kim Il-Sung’, ‘Revolutionary History of Our Great Leader Kim Jong Il’, ‘Kim Jong-Un’s Revolutionary History’, ‘Socialist Morality’ and ‘Law and Current Government Policy’. The distortion of history, along with idolization of the leadership, constitutes a kind of ideological indoctrination, designed to maintain the dictatorship.[ref]foreignpolicynews.org/2017/02/23/inside-north-koreas-education-system/; http://pscore.org/life-north-korea/forced-to-hate/[/ref]

Students are reportedly taught the “evils” of religious beliefs and their adherents, including reports of textbooks that describe Christians as luring children into churches in order to conduct rituals such as sacrifices and blood-letting.[ref]https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/2022-07/2022%20North%20Korea%20Report.pdf[/ref]

Although children receive most of their education through the North Korean school system, it is also mandatory for them to join the Young Pioneer Corps at age nine and then move on to the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League between the age of 14 and 16.[ref]nknews.org/2014/11/we-grow-as-we-learn-youth-indoctrination-in-north-korea/[/ref]

Family, community and society

As a result of the government’s tight control over society, it is widely reported that adherents of religion or belief are forced to keep their beliefs secret, even from those closest to them for fear of state-sponsored retaliation. Such reports are largely derived from defectors’ witness testimony. Reports indicate that such retaliation can include forced labor and imprisonment, violence and other degrading treatment, and in some cases execution.[ref]https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/co-idprk/reportofthe-commissionof-inquiry-dprk; https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/north-korea/[/ref]

The 2014 UN COI makes plain that those who exercise their right to freedom of religion or belief are deemed to be subversive influences in society, and will likely be subject to crimes against humanity; the country’s Christian community is particularly noted as vulnerable.

The Criminal Code[ref]https://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/The%20Criminal%20Law%20of%20the%20Democratic%20Republic%20of%20Korea_2009_%20(1).pdf[/ref] renders “superstitious activities” punishable by forced labor for up to five years in cases of grave violations (Article 267). While anyone deemed to have encouraged another to engage in such activities may face up to seven years of forced labor (Article 268).

Caste-based Discrimination

Contrary to Article 65 of the Constitution which guarantees equal rights to all, North Korea uses songbun, a socio-political classification system that groups people into “loyal,” “wavering,” or “hostile” classes based on their family’s history of perceived loyalty to the government, and justifies discriminating against lower classes of people in employment, residence, or schooling.[ref]https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/07/05/north-koreas-caste-system[/ref] Religious adherents are reportedly categorized to belong in the “hostile” classes.[ref]https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/north-korea/[/ref]

According to Human Rights Watch, “[a] 1995 article in the government outlet Rodong Sinmun explained the contortion neatly. ‘Socialist human rights are not supra-class human rights that grant freedom and rights to hostile elements,’ it stated.”[ref]https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/07/05/north-koreas-caste-system[/ref]

Rights of Women

The Constitution makes clear that the consolidation of the family as the basic unit of society is of the utmost importance to the state (Article 78).

According to Human Rights Watch:[ref]https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/12/21/submission-rights-women-and-girls-north-korea-special-rapporteurs-report-52nd-human[/ref]

“Traditional Confucian patriarchal values remain deeply embedded in North Korea. Confucianism is an ethical and philosophical system that is strictly hierarchical and values social harmony. In such a society, a woman’s position in society is lower than a man’s and her reputation depends largely on maintaining an image of “sexual purity” before marriage and obeying the men in her family.”

As a result, discrimination against women and girls is accepted as an inevitable part of everyday life, with constant exposure to stereotyped gender roles beginning in infancy. Women and girls therefore suffer a range of sexual and gender-based abuses that the authorities fail to take seriously.

Abortion is reportedly banned in order to reverse the country’s falling birth rate.[ref]https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/338768/factsheet-dpr%20korea-eng.pdf?sequence=4&isAllowed=y[/ref]

Freedom of expression, advocacy of humanist values

With no freedom of expression, and no independent press or access to the internet, ordinary North Koreans are denied any opportunity to explore ideas or news from outside government sources, while the outside world is largely (apart from the reports of occasional “defectors”) denied access to opinions and news from any individuals or non-government sources in North Korea.[ref]https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2023/country-chapters/north-korea#c299de[/ref]

In 2014, a UN General Assembly committee approved a resolution condemning the North Korean leadership for decades for crimes against humanity, which paved the way for Kim Jong Un to be referred to the international criminal court. This referral stems from numerous human rights abuses that include brainwashing, torture, deliberate starvation, executions and infanticide.[ref]https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/787306?ln=en[/ref]

As freedom of assembly is not respected, associations or organizations other than those created by the state are illicit or extremely limited in their independence. Strikes, and other labor activities are illegal.[ref]freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2015/north-korea[/ref]