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North Koreans forced to celebrate Kim Jong-un's grandmother's birthday instead of Christ's this Christmas
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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's grandmother, Kim Jong-suk, was born on Christmas Eve in 1919. Instead of celebrating the birth of Christ, the dictator demanded the country celebrate her birthday.
Highlights
Catholic Online (https://www.catholic.org)
12/29/2016 (7 years ago)
Published in Asia Pacific
Keywords: North Korea, Kim Jong-suk, birthday, Christmas
LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Kim Jong-suk was an anti-Japanese guerilla and Communist activist in her youth. She eventually became the wife of North Korea's first dictator, Kim Il-sung.
Kim Jong-suk died September 22, 1949, at only 29-years-old.
No one is sure how she passed - even her official biography refrains from sharing the reason for her death. Officially, North Korea claims she died due to "the hardships she had endured during the years as a guerrilla fighter," but some believe she died in childbirth while delivering a stillborn baby. Others claim she succumbed to tuberculosis or was shot and died from blood loss.
Regardless of the mystery surrounding her death, the supreme leader of North Korea decided it would be better for his people to celebrate Kim Jong-suk's birthday instead of Christ's.
Christmas and all Christmas-related decorations were banned, including trees in the capital of Pyongyang.
Any trees erected in shops or restaurants were decorated with non-religious symbols to keep within the strict guidelines imposed on the country.
To celebrate Kim Jong-suk, also called the "Sacred Mother of the Revolution," many paid homage by visiting her tomb.
Christians have been severely persecuted in the communist nation, with activists claiming up to 70,000 Christians remain imprisoned in North Korean prisons simply for their religious beliefs.
Please pray for change and freedom in North Korea. Even when things seem impossible, remember nothing is impossible for God.
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