The Religious Cult Behind North Korea’s Power (#303)

About this episode

Jonathan Cheng discusses how North Korea operates more like a religion than a traditional dictatorship.

We think of North Korea as a communist dictatorship. But Jonathan Cheng, the Wall Street Journal’s China Bureau Chief and former Korea Bureau Chief, says that misses the real story. He argues North Korea functions more like a religion - complete with rituals, worship, and a ruling family treated like immortals. Once you hear it, you can’t unsee it. His new book is Korean Messiah.

People in this episode

Host: Lynn Thoman

Guest: Jonathan Cheng

Topics covered

• North Korea
• religion
• politics
• dictatorship
• cultural analysis

Keywords

• North Korea
• religion
• communism
• Jonathan Cheng
• Korean Messiah
• political analysis
• dictatorship

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Wall Street Journal

Books & works: Korean Messiah

Places: North Korea, China

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