Christianity Shaped North Korea’s Cult of Personality

Kim Song Ju, the man who would become Kim Il Sung, was born to devout Presbyterian parents. Billy Graham’s wife was born to christian missionaries in China and went to high school in Pyongyang. American protestants once spread the gospel in northwest Korea and found fertile ground for their gospel message. Kim listened, learned, and used those teachings to shape a cult of personality that rules North Korea to this day.On this episode of Angry Planet I’m joined by Wall Street Journal China bureau chief Jonathan Cheng to talk about his new book Korean Messiah. Cheng’s work is an exploration of the origins of North Korea and Kim’s deep ties to American Christianity.ShareAngry Planet as dress rehearsalBilly Graham in the Hermit Kingdom19th century Protestant missionaries in KoreaPresbyterians in the untamed northwestUntangling the history of a self-made godkingThe Kim Song Ju nativityWomen without namesAttending church during the Fire and Fury periodThe Soviet eraLeading from beyond the graveKim bombs his first public appearanceBuy Korean MessiahSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.