[Prayer] The portrait of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il pulled down in foreigner-only hotels in North Korea
The large portrait of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il hanged in the lobby of the Chonmassan Hotel in Chongjin City, the Namsan Hotel and the Wonjo hotel in Rason City, was replaced with a landscape painting. The reason is that North Korean tour guides could not prevent so-called “disrespectful” actions of tourists such as smoking or yelling in front of the portrait. In other words, the North Korean authorities removed the portrait of Kim’s family, which has been treated as a sanctuary, for attracting tourists.
We pray that starting with portraits, various symbols of idolization such as statues, monuments, movies, publications will fade away in the land of North Korea.
“Some pour out gold from their bags and weigh out silver on the scales; they hire a goldsmith to make it into a god, and they bow down and worship it. They lift it to their shoulders and carry it; they set it up in its place, and there it stands. From that spot it cannot move. Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer; it cannot save them from their troubles.”
Isaiah 46:6-7
