Cheondoism - Cheondoism Today

Cheondoism Today

As of 2005, Cheondoism had about 1.13 million followers and 280 churches in South Korea. However, in 2011, MK Business News reported it to have about 100,000 followers in South Korea.

Very little is known of the current numbers or activities of Cheondoists in North Korea. According to official statistics, Cheondoism had 2.8 million adherents in North Korea (12.9% of the total population) as of 2000, and Cheondoists are nominally represented in North Korean politics by the minor Cheondoist Chongu Party. However, independent religious activity of any kind is not tolerated by the North Korean government, and large numbers of Cheondoist believers fled to South Korea during the Korean War. By 1956, the last year for which any independent figures are available, there were probably no more than 10,000 practicing Cheondoists left in the north. Since 1959, when its original Cheondoist leadership was purged, the Cheondoist Chongu Party has been merely a satellite party of the ruling Worker's Party of Korea intended to appeal to South Korean Cheondoists (the current leader is Ryu Mi Yong, a South Korean Cheondoist who defected to the North) and maintain an illusion of religious freedom and multi-party democracy. The party leadership are appointed by the North Korean government and never oppose the WPK on any issue.