© 2026 KUNR
Illustration of rolling hills with occasional trees and a radio tower.
Serving Northern Nevada and the Eastern Sierra
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Alexa devices are currently experiencing technical difficulties with streaming KUNR. Our team is actively working on a solution.
For continued listening, stream KUNR right here on KUNR.org or click here to download the KUNR app.

'Korean Messiah': Book details how North Korea historically intertwined politics and faith

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom
Published April 29, 2026 at 9:02 AM PDT
The cover of "Korean Messiah" and author Jonathan Cheng. (Courtesy of Penguin Random House and Gilles Sabrié)
Courtesy of Penguin Random House and Gilles Sabrié
The cover of "Korean Messiah" and author Jonathan Cheng. (Courtesy of Penguin Random House and Gilles Sabrié)

In his new book “Korean Messiah: Kim Il Sung and the Christian Roots of North Korea’s Personality Cult,” Jonathan Cheng tells the history of North Korea through the Kim Dynasty and how it has so successfully intertwined politics and faith. It also looks at how Christianity was so dominant in Pyongyang that the city was known as the “Jerusalem of the East.”

Here & Now‘s Scott Tong speaks with Cheng, who is Beijing bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2026 WBUR
Here & Now Newsroom