North Korea is widely regarded as one of the world’s most hostile states toward religion, with the Kim regime all but eradicating traditional faiths like Christianity and Buddhism during its seven decades of totalitarian rule.

But the DPRK state has also found limited uses for religion throughout its history, and arguably no religion has played a more prominent role in the country than the relatively little-known faith of Chondoism.

Chondoism is a homegrown religion that blends traditional Korean shamanism with Confucianism and other influences, and the North Korean state has found common ground in the faith’s emphasis on Korean unification