Here’s a fascinating and terrifying interview with author and BBC journalist John Sweeney from Religion News Service. For his latest book, North Korea Undercover: Inside the World’s Most Secret State, Sweeney and his wife posed as international academics studying life inside of the reclusive country. Along with disturbing findings about the living conditions, political oppression and complete control of the authoritarian regime, Sweeney said one of the most disturbing aspects of the culture, is how the government has brainwashed the public into literally worshipping the country’s ruling family:
This is a zombie state ruled by a zombie, the only necrocracy in the world. Kim il-Sung is the reigning president, even though he’s been dead since 1994. I met people who talk about the joy of meeting Kim Il-sung. He presided over a famine where 3 million people died and yet he’s venerated. We went to where his body is interned and were asked to bow in front of a dead man, a waxwork. It’s hideous. I have respect for other people’s belief in God, but I found this to be foul.
In the interview, Sweeney also noted that Christians are some of the primary ones leading efforts to stand up to the regime. “There are Christians in North Korea whose true story, when it can be written, will be a great and moving testimony of courage” …
