The Korean Christian Federation is a Protestant body in North Korea founded in 1946. The federation is based in the capital city Pyongyang . The current secretary general is O Kyong-u . The federation has come to play an important role in international relations involving North Korea and religious organizations in South Korea and abroad.
6-582: The federation was founded on 28 November 1946 by Christians who had joined the ranks of the new communist administration. Immediately, it declared that it would support the country's leader Kim Il Sung and oppose the formation of the South Korean state. Back then, the organization was led by Kim Il Sung 's mother's cousin Kang Ryang-uk . Although Christians in North Korea were mostly anti-communist, about
12-769: A third of them joined the Korean Christian Federation. Christian leaders who refused to join were imprisoned. In 1972, the organization reopened Pyongyang theological college. It published Bible translations and a hymnal in 1983 and oversaw the construction of two new church buildings (via state funds) in 1988. Following the dissolution of the USSR, the federation has come to play an important role in international relations involving North Korea and religious organizations in South Korea and abroad, particularly in procuring international aid. For example, it has successfully called on
18-873: The Pyongyang Theological Seminary . The current secretary general of the organization's central committee is O Kyong-u . Leader of North Korea The supreme leader of North Korea ( Korean : 최고령도자 ; MR : Ch'oego Ryŏngdoja ) is the de facto hereditary leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea , the state and the Korean People's Army . Each individual North Korean leader have assumed different offices and positions, and different titles were used in North Korean propaganda that could be translated from Korean as "Great Leader", "Dear Leader", or "Supreme Leader". "Supreme Leader"
24-720: The World Council of Churches to organize aid for North Korea. The federation has also been involved in promoting Korean reunification, including a 2014 joint north and south church service organized around themes of peace and reunification. The federation is "under close government supervision". The federation itself restricts certain Christian activities. Officially, the institution comprises 10,000 North Korean Christians. The federation oversees North Korea's two Protestant churches: Bongsu and Chilgol Church , in Pyongyang . It also operates
30-473: Was first called "Supreme Leader" in a North Korean newspaper article dated October 3, 2020, with the frequency increasing since then, including sometimes "great Supreme Leader". He was the first to be frequently called "Supreme Leader" while still alive, and at the relatively young age of 37. The 2020 newspaper article was part of the official preparations to appoint Kim Jong Un as the General Secretary of
36-416: Was originally a designation used for Kim Il Sung only, and only after his death. During his lifetime he was known as "Great Leader" ( 위대한 수령 ), a title to this day that only refers to him. His son, Kim Jong Il, was known as "Dear Leader" ( 친애하는 령도자 ) during his lifetime, and only after death did North Korean media begin calling him "Supreme Leader", in the tradition of his father. The grandson, Kim Jong Un,
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