The Koreans of North Korea

The Koreans of North Korea, numbering approximately 26,120,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Korean Peninsula, today forming the dominant populations of South Korea and North Korea, with a large global diaspora. They mostly adhere to Agnosticism and Korean is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Korean

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: East Asian Peoples
Country: North Korea
People Cluster: Korean
Primary Language(s): Korean (kor)
Primary Religion(s): Agnosticism
Population: 26,120,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG007583
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Koreans of North Korea

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Agnosticism
Religious Affiliation: Unaffiliated

95%
%
Agnosticism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Korean
Language Family: Koreanic

100%
%
Korean Speakers

Media Resources in Korean:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

4 films

Bible Resources in Korean:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Korean Bible Version✓
Korean Revised✓
New Korean Revised Version✓
Chosun Bible✓✓✓
Sanuri Bible✓

5 entries

Or check out the Korean bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Koreans are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Koreans:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Koreans of North Korea

The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.
readMatthew 4:16

Pray that those living in darkness and the shadow of death will see a great light and turn to the Lord for salvation.

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.
readIsaiah 55:6

Pray that the lost will seek the Lord while He may be found and call upon Him while He is near, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
readPsalm 119:105

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will meditate daily on the Word of God so that, through it, they might have wisdom for the big and small decisions they face every day.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
read2 Peter 3:9

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will patiently endure hardships as they share the gospel, knowing that the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise.

Korean Across Countries (ROP3 - 105225) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

35 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▼CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
KoreansKoreansUnited States1,095,000No Longer UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansKazakhstan133,000No Longer UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansKyrgyzstan4,100No Longer UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansTurkmenistan5,300No Longer UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansUzbekistan257,000No Longer UnreachedRussianAtheism
KoreansKoreansGuatemala15,500No Longer UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansHonduras150No Longer UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansPanama325No Longer UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansSpain2,900No Longer UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansIran17,500No Longer UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansCanada163,000No Longer UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansArgentina35,000No Longer UnreachedKoreanUnaffiliated
KoreansKoreansNew Zealand38,000No Longer UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansSouth Korea50,290,000No Longer UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansMongolia2,800Engaged yet UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansNorthern Mariana Islands1,600No Longer UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansGuam4,300No Longer UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansHong Kong8,600No Longer UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansSingapore24,500No Longer UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansGermany45,000No Longer UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansNetherlands8,800Engaged yet UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansUnited Kingdom41,000No Longer UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansRussian Federation182,000Engaged yet UnreachedRussianAtheism
KoreansKoreansTaiwan7,000No Longer UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansChina2,460,000Engaged yet UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansJapan795,000Engaged yet UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansNorth Korea26,120,000Engaged yet UnreachedKoreanAgnosticism
KoreansKoreansFrance29,000No Longer UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansThailand20,500No Longer UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansMadagascar18,500No Longer UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansMozambique36,500No Longer UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansBrazil48,500No Longer UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansParaguay8,000No Longer UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansAustralia167,000No Longer UnreachedKoreanAtheism
KoreansKoreansDominican Republic750No Longer UnreachedKoreanAtheism

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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