Religion in North Korea

context: en: Christianity (Korean: 그리스도교; MR: Kurisudogyo) became very popular in northern Korea from the late 18th century to the 19th century. The first Catholic missionaries arrived in 1794, a decade after the return of Yi Sung-hun, a diplomat who was the first baptised Korean in Beijing. He established a grassroots lay Catholic movement in the peninsula. However, the writings of the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci, who was resident at the imperial court in Beijing, had been already brought to Korea from China in the 17th century. Scholars of the Silhak ("Practical Learning"), were attracted to Catholic doctrines, and this was a key factor for the spread of the Catholic faith in the 1790s. The penetration of Western ideas and Christianity in Korea became known as Seohak ("Western Learning"). A study of 1801 found that more than half of the families that had converted to Catholicism were linked to the Silhak school. Largely because converts refused to perform Confucian ancestral rituals, the Joseon government prohibited the proselytisation of Christianity. Some Catholics were executed during the early 19th century, but the restrictive law was not strictly enforced.
qas: question: zh_tw: 何時基督教在朝鮮受到青睞？
answers: en: text: late 18th century to the 19th century

context: en: In ancient times, most Koreans believed in their indigenous religion socially guided by mu (shamans). Buddhism was introduced from the Chinese Former Qin state in 372 to the northern Korean state of Goguryeo, and developed into distinctive Korean forms. At that time, the Korean peninsula was divided into three kingdoms: the aforementioned Goguryeo in the north, Baekje in the southwest, and Silla in the southeast. Buddhism reached Silla only in the 5th century, but it was made the state religion only in that kingdom in the year 552. In Goguryeo the Korean indigenous religion remained dominant, while Buddhism became more widespread in Silla and Baekje (both areas comprehended in modern South Korea).
qas: question: zh_tw: 中國古代秦朝把佛教傳播到哪個國家？
answers: en: text: Goguryeo

context: en: The Joseon kingdom (1392–1910), strictly Neo-Confucian, harshly suppressed Korean Buddhism and Korean shamanism. Buddhist monasteries were destroyed and their number dropped from several hundreds to a mere thirty-six; Buddhism was eradicated from the life of towns as monks and nuns were prohibited from entering them and were marginalised to the mountains. These restrictions lasted until the 19th century.
qas: question: zh_tw: 佛教被消滅的主要原因是什麼？
answers: en: text: monks and nuns were prohibited from entering them and were marginalised to the mountains.

question: zh_tw: 除了朝鮮的薩滿教，還有別的宗教被禁？
answers: en: text: Korean Buddhism

context: en: There are no known official statistics of religions in North Korea. Officially, North Korea is an atheist state. Based on estimates from the late 1990s and the 2000s, North Korea is mostly irreligious, with the main religions being Korean shamanism and Chondoism. There are small communities of Buddhists and Christians. Chondoism is represented in politics by the Party of the Young Friends of the Heavenly Way, and is regarded by the government as Korea's "national religion" because of its identity as a minjung (popular) and "revolutionary anti-imperialist" movement.
qas: question: zh_tw: 北韓有哪些宗教團體？
answers: en: text: small communities of Buddhists and Christians