The God of Pyongyang: How Christianity Built North Korea | #125

The God of Pyongyang: How Christianity Built North Korea | #125

How was North Korea, a state that famously mandates atheism, built on a foundation of Christian fervor? In this episode, I sit down with Jonathan Cheng, the Wall Street Journal's China Bureau Chief, to discuss his new book, Korean Messiah: Kim Il Sung and the Christian Roots of North Korea's Personality Cult.

We trace the journey of Pyongyang from the "Jerusalem of the East" to the center of the world's most rigid cult of personality. From the collapse of the Joseon Dynasty's caste system and the arrival of missionaries like Samuel Moffett to Kim Il Sung's own Christian upbringing, we explore how the linguistic and structural tools of the church were co-opted to create a "God on Earth." We cover the Pyongyang Revival and the "Mystical" texts of early Korean Christianity. How the oppression of the Joseon era made the peninsula fertile ground for a new faith. The "Exodus South" and the influential figures like Cho Man-sik. Why Kim Il Sung remains the most pivotal—and misunderstood—figure in modern Korean history.

The Book: https://koreanmessiah.com/

Find Jonathan onlie

Twitter: @jchengwsj

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-cheng-546b703/

Discussion Outline

0:00 Introduction

5:15 The Joseon Dynasty

11:25 The Erasure of Kija

14:45 Christianity's Arrival in Korea

19:25 Samuel Moffett and the Jerusalem of the East

30:00 The Figures of Pyongyang's Church

37:15 Jeonggamnok (정감록, 鄭鑑錄)

43:50 Kim Il Sung's Christian Upbringing

50:00 Cho Man Sik (조만식) - the Gandhi of Korea

56:00 The Legend of Kim Il Sung

59:40 The Christian Exodus South

1:04:25 Cults in Modern Korea

1:16:25 Recommendations

Thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell, Sara B Cooper, Anne Brennels, Ell, Johnathan Filbert, Daniela Körppen

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

David A. Tizzard has a PhD in Korean Studies and lectures at Seoul Women's University and Hanyang University. He writes a weekly column in the Korea Times, is a social-cultural commentator, and a musician who has lived in Korea for nearly two decades. He can be reached at datizzard@swu.ac.kr.

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(138)

Korean Women on Mental Health, Beauty, and the Pressure to Be Perfect

Korean Women on Mental Health, Beauty, and the Pressure to Be Perfect

A lot is said about Korea online. In fact, one of the easiest ways to attract attention on social media these days seems to be to feature Korea in your content. This has been good for the country in m...

15 Okt 1h 4min

Koryo-saram and the Korean Diaspora (with Nathalie M Kwon) #137

Koryo-saram and the Korean Diaspora (with Nathalie M Kwon) #137

Nathalie Marver-Kwon is a visiting researcher at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies who studies inbound immigration from the Korean diaspora. Nathalie's substack: https://nathaliemk.substack.com/ Di...

12 Sep 1h 6min

Jeju Island and the Haenyeo of Korea (Kylie Genter) #136

Jeju Island and the Haenyeo of Korea (Kylie Genter) #136

Korea is a country of skyscrapers and semiconductors, but if you go south, far south, you find a different version of the country. you find Jeju Island and the Haenyeo (해녀). They are women who have ou...

6 Sep 1h 5min

How Taoism Helps You Escape Yourself | Dr. Alexander Douglas #135

How Taoism Helps You Escape Yourself | Dr. Alexander Douglas #135

Dr. Alexander Douglas serves as a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of St. Andrews. His work navigates Eastern and Western thought, focusing on the philosophy of religion, Spinoza, and e...

27 Aug 1h 10min

The Goryeo Dynasty and the Samguk Yusa | Dr. Remco Breuker #134

The Goryeo Dynasty and the Samguk Yusa | Dr. Remco Breuker #134

Dr. Remco Breuker, one of the world's leading scholars of pre-modern Korea, joins us to explore the Samguk Yusa, a treasure trove of Korean myth, history, and folklore. We dive into the kingdom of Gor...

10 Aug 1h 19min

South Korea's First Five Presidents Explained | Jihoon Suk

South Korea's First Five Presidents Explained | Jihoon Suk

South Korea's first presidents are often remembered as either heroes or villains. But history is rarely that simple. Historian Jihoon Suk joins Korea Deconstructed to explore the country's first five ...

24 Juli 1h 46min

Why Confucianism Isn't a Religion (And Why That Matters for Korea) | Dr. David Tizzard #132

Why Confucianism Isn't a Religion (And Why That Matters for Korea) | Dr. David Tizzard #132

When we think of Confucianism in the West, we often box it into a category alongside world religions like Christianity or Buddhism: a neat, systematic philosophy created by a single figure. But as I'v...

25 Juni 37min

Myths, Stories, and the Origins of Korean Civilization and History | Dr. Minsoo Kang #131

Myths, Stories, and the Origins of Korean Civilization and History | Dr. Minsoo Kang #131

Dr. Minsoo Kang is a historian and writer. Currently, he is an associate professor of European intellectual history in the Department of History at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. Find Minsoo an...

30 Maj 2h

Populärt inom Vetenskap

p3-dystopia
dumma-manniskor
allt-du-velat-veta
rss-ronden
kapitalet-en-podd-om-ekonomi
angestpodden
rss-ai-med-jonas-benjamin
rss-mottagningen
medicinvetarna
det-morka-psyket
halsorevolutionen
sexet
rss-vetenskapsradion-2
rss-experimentet
rss-spraket
ufo-sverige
rss-vetenskapsradion
bildningskomplexet
bildningspodden
svd-nyhetsartiklar