Tue, 08 Sept
|Asia Society Hong Kong Center
Power, Belief and Nuclear Weapons: North Korea and the Kim Personality Cult
[ASHK Program] Join WSJ chief Jonathan Cheng as he uncovers North Korea's shocking Christian roots and how a boy from the "Jerusalem of the East" built a cult that demands everything.
Time & Location
08 Sept 2026, 6:30 pm – 7:45 pm
Asia Society Hong Kong Center, 9 Justice Dr, Admiralty, Hong Kong
About the event
⊹ This is a public ASHK program offering complimentary tickets to ELA students.
Power, Belief and Nuclear Weapons: North Korea and the Kim Personality Cult
“How do personality cults take hold? What happens when leaders mix politics and faith to demand immense sacrifices? Jonathan Cheng’s magnificent tale poses questions about the world far beyond North Korea. This utterly eye-opening history deciphers a defining pattern of global politics in the 21st century.”
—Evan Osnos, New Yorker staff writer, National Book Award-winning author of Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China.
In KOREAN MESSIAH: Kim Il Sung and the Christian Roots of North Korea’s Personality Cult(Alfred A. Knopf), Jonathan Cheng, the Beijing-based China bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, tells the story of North Korea's state founder Kim Il Sung and his upbringing in a devout Presbyterian family in Pyongyang, a city so thoroughly Christianized that it was known a century ago as the "Jerusalem of the East."
Cheng, who started his career in Hong Kong and served as the Journal's Korea bureau chief before moving to Beijing, will trace how Kim's deep religious background came to underpin the extraordinary cult of personality he built around himself—and then handed off to his son and later his grandson, Kim Jong Un. Just as important as its nuclear arsenal, Cheng argues, is the grip that the Kim dynasty has on its people—one rooted in the faith that American missionaries first introduced to the Kim family more than a century ago.
⊹ This activity will be conducted in English.
About Jonathan Cheng (click to expand)
Jonathan Cheng is the China Bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, overseeing coverage of the world’s second-largest economy across politics, economics, business, technology, and society. Jonathan leads a team of two dozen correspondents and researchers in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, and New York, with responsibility for the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.
Previously, Jonathan was the Korea bureau chief for The Journal, running coverage of North Korea and South Korean politics and business. He began his career as an intern in The Journal’s Hong Kong bureau and also worked as a markets reporter in the Journal’s New York office.
Jonathan speaks English, Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese, French, and Korean. A native of Toronto, Jonathan graduated from Princeton University with a degree in history. He lives in Beijing and has traveled to North Korea twice.
About David S. Lee (click to expand)
David S. Lee is an award-winning professor at HKU Business School, University of Hong Kong, focusing on corporate governance, ethics, fintech, leadership, and the politics and economics of the Korean peninsula. His writing and commentary have been featured in the Harvard Business Review, Nikkei Asia, and other mainstream and academic publications. Before entering academia, he worked in law and finance, beginning his career at Goldman Sachs.
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Activity Time 活動時間 : 6:30pm - 7:45pm
Venue 地點: Asia Society Hong Kong Center, Admiralty 金鐘亞洲協會香港中心
(Please arrive at the event venue/assembly point 15 minutes before the event start time. 參加者在活動時間前 15 分鐘於指定地點集合。)
REMINDER 溫馨提示
Please bring along your ELA passport. 請帶備ELA 通行證。
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