Christianity Shaped North Korea’s Cult of Personality
Angry Planet8 Touko

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.

Share


  • Angry Planet as dress rehearsal
  • Billy Graham in the Hermit Kingdom
  • 19th century Protestant missionaries in Korea
  • Presbyterians in the untamed northwest
  • Untangling the history of a self-made godking
  • The Kim Song Ju nativity
  • Women without names
  • Attending church during the Fire and Fury period
  • The Soviet era
  • Leading from beyond the grave
  • Kim bombs his first public appearance


Buy Korean Messiah

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(502)

If You Must Fight a Trade War, Fight to Win

If You Must Fight a Trade War, Fight to Win

The world I grew up in no longer exists. The decades after World War II were boom times for free trade lovers. During the Pax Americana it seemed that most diplomatic problems could be solved by expor...

3 Heinä 54min

Iran Won Because America Is Stuck in the ‘Smart Bomb Trap’

Iran Won Because America Is Stuck in the ‘Smart Bomb Trap’

Recorded in May. Join angryplanetpod.com to hear episodes early and commercial free.America’s war against Iran has gone on for more than two months and the United States has achieved none of its polit...

19 Kesä 1h

Navigating Reality and War During the Age of AI Propaganda

Navigating Reality and War During the Age of AI Propaganda

On the morning of April 21, Trump posted an image of eight women on Truth Social, claimed they were Iranian dissidents set to be executed, and demanded that Tehran release them. Detractors, and severa...

5 Kesä 59min

Making the Case America Was Winning in Iran

Making the Case America Was Winning in Iran

Recorded March 24, 2026. Subscribe at angryplanetpod.com to hear episodes first and commercial free.Last week an article published in Al Jazeera by an academic at the University of Doha in Qatar propo...

10 Huhti 1h 3min

Neutralizing Iran’s Nuclear Material During a War Is ‘Nearly Mission Impossible’

Neutralizing Iran’s Nuclear Material During a War Is ‘Nearly Mission Impossible’

America went to war in Iran, we’re told, because the idea of the country developing nuclear weapons was intolerable. Nukes are complicated and technical weapons that require scientists and experts to ...

27 Maalis 54min

The ‘AI as Nuclear Weapons’ Obsession

The ‘AI as Nuclear Weapons’ Obsession

AI enthusiasts love to say that the technology is as revolutionary and important as nuclear weapons. Even the Trump administration has adopted the metaphor. The President and the Department of Energy ...

13 Maalis 1h 2min

A Killer True Crime Fandom & Islamic State’s Digital Caliphate

A Killer True Crime Fandom & Islamic State’s Digital Caliphate

Things have gotten very surreal in the dark corners of the internet. AI-generated prophets are preaching jihad in Facebook groups, Minecraft servers host digital caliphates, and school shooting fandom...

4 Maalis 1h 22min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

aikalisa
uutiscast
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
rss-seksicast
rss-podme-livebox
otetaan-yhdet
tervo-halme
aihe
politiikan-puskaradio
linda-maria
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
rss-kovin-paikka
rss-girls-finish-f1rst
rikosmyytit
mtv-uutiset-polloraati
rss-sveriges-radio-finska
rss-fingo-podcast
rss-raha-talous-ja-politiikka