Although it is apparent that the Workers’ Party of Korea consider the implications of religion extensive, the measures taken to instill fear and intimidation amongst DPRK citizens fall under the same description, notably through the use of its social class taxonomy. In order to provide the reader with an understanding of the use of songbun in the State’s rejection of religion, the caste system will first be explained with particular emphasis on the significance of songbun to the individual. The DPRK state utilizes a caste system known as songbun in which each North Korean citizen is placed into a “heredity-based class and socio-political rank over which the individual exercises no control but which determines all aspects of his or her life.”
