North Korea's Messianic Cause
About
What if North Korea was understood less as a nuclear-armed nation state and more as a religious society, one built around worship of the Kim family? It's not as far-fetched as you think. Pyongyang is already the center of one of human history's greatest personality cults: One populated by thousands of statues, busts, mosaics, obelisks, museums and monuments dedicated to state founder Kim Il Sung and his son and grandson, Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un. But before Pyongyang was known as the capital of the Kim dynasty, it was better known as the "Jerusalem of the East," the most thoroughly Christianized city in all of Asia. Among the earliest and most fervent converts to the brand of American Presbyterianism that arrived in the city in the late nineteenth century were the very parents and grandparents of Kim Il Sung. Kim grew up in a devout home, attending church every Sunday, teaching Sunday school, performing in church plays and learning to play the organ. The doctrine and ritual he imbibed as a young boy helped him shape the core of the state that he would rule, beginning at age 33 in 1945, until his death a half century later.Jonathan Cheng is the China bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, overseeing coverage of the world's second-largest economy across politics, economics, business, technology, and society. Jonathan leads a team of two dozen correspondents and researchers in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, and New York, with responsibility for the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. Previously, Jonathan was the Korea bureau chief for The Journal, running coverage of North Korea and South Korean politics and business. He began his career as an intern in The Journal's Hong Kong bureau and also worked as a markets reporter in The Journal's New York office. Jonathan speaks English, Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese, French, and Korean. A native of Toronto, Jonathan graduated from Princeton University with a degree in history. He lives in Beijing and has traveled to North Korea twice.
