Religion in Korea - Religion in North Korea

Religion in North Korea

Traditionally religion in North Korea primarily consisted of Buddhism, Confucianism and Korean shamanism. Since the arrival of Europeans in the 18th century, there was a significant Christian population in the North of Korea, with Pyongyang as an important Christian center. With the split of Korea most of the Northern Christians fled to the South. New religions have arisen during the last century, the most prominent one being Cheondoism, based on traditional shamanism with the incorporation of traditional Buddhist and Daoist philosophies. North Korea is officially an atheist state in which much of the population is nonreligious. Although North Korea largely sees organised religious activity as a potential challenge to the leadership, Buddhists in North Korea reportedly fare better than other religious groups, particularly Christians, who are said to face persecution by the authorities. In fact, Buddhists are given limited funding by the government to promote the religion, because Buddhism has played an integral role in traditional Korean culture.