Escaping North Korea

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 18 July 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

North Korea is considered one of the most secretive countries in the world. It is officially an atheist state. The ruling party sees religion as a threat to its authority. Instead North Koreans are expected to show complete devotion to the ruling Kim family, who many view as godlike. There are believed to be a small number of Christians practicing in secret inside the hermit kingdom, but entire families can be sent to prison camps for practicing religion. Even owning a Bible can lead to detention or even death. There are an estimated 33,000 North Korean defectors living in South Korea. The exact number of North Korean Christians living in the south is unknown, but it is believed that a significant number of defectors now identify as Christians. BBC Correspondent Danny Vincent travels to the South Korean capital of Seoul to meet a family of defectors he first met a decade earlier while fleeing Northern China.

Transcript

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0:00.0	A decade ago, I travelled with North Korean defectors on the run.
0:10.0	They crossed over into China from North Korea during the dead of nights, over a frozen river
0:16.0	that borders the country. Desperate to reach South Korea, they travelled across China, risking all to
0:23.3	reunite with family members who defected years earlier. I documented this journey.
0:30.5	They faced almost certain death if caught.
0:42.1	This is the documentary from the BBC World Service.
0:46.0	I'm Danny Vincent, the BBC's correspondent in Hong Kong.
0:52.5	And in this episode of Heart and Soul, which explores personal approaches to spirituality from around the world,
0:55.5	I'm meeting Christian, North Korean defectors.
1:10.2	This is a country for the people. North Korea is not a country for the people. In North Korea, they talk about the people,
1:14.6	but in reality, they take advantage of the people. We didn't know the difference. Ah, Kim Il-Song, Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un.
1:34.1	The road is almost like a runway at an airport.
1:36.9	So many sparkling lights.
1:40.1	It's amazing. It's so amazing. The world's not to be able to sit there. religion in North Korea is hard to measure. North Korea is considered one of the most
1:57.9	most secretive and repressive countries on earth.
2:01.1	Officially, it's an atheist state.
2:03.7	The regime sees religion as a threat to its control.
2:07.4	Instead, North Koreans are expected to show devotion to the ruling Kim family,
2:12.4	who are seen as godlike.
2:14.7	A small number of Christians are believed to practice in secret, but entire families can be sent
2:20.7	to labour camps for even practising religion. Even a Bible can lead to detention or death.
2:32.7	In 2014, I first met Miss Park, an elderly housewife with her son in a Chinese North Korean border town.
	...

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