Korean Messiah: Kim Il Sung and the Christian Roots of North Korea’s Personality Cult

Wall Street Journal China bureau chief Cheng traces the history of Christianity in North Korea and explores its influence on the late president Kim Il-sung (1912–94). From the late 19th century, American Methodist and Presbyterian missionaries—notably Samuel Moffett, who arrived in Pyongyang in 1890—established a strong Christian presence in Korea, and the faith became widespread; Kim’s parents were both devout Christians, and he was raised in the church. After Japan annexed Korea in 1910, Kim’s family fled to Manchuria to escape persecution, and Kim later became involved in communist movements in China and the Soviet Union. Returning to North Korea in 1945, he quickly recognized the need to either coopt or suppress Christian groups in order to consolidate power in his Soviet-backed regime. Cheng argues convincingly that, while crafting his cult of personality, Kim nevertheless drew on the Christian lessons, rituals, and models of devotion that he learned at church from childhood.