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ASTD155

Wikipedia Assignment

Ebony Lewis

Korean Religions: Christianity

Out of the various religions in Korea, Christianity has been on the rise throughout the turns of history. Covering the introduction of Christianity, the rise of Christianity, and the Comparisons that shares with the other religions that exist in Korea in the present time all influence the development and evolution of Korea in its modernization stages.

Introduction of Christianity

Christianity was introduced to the country of Korea in 1884. When missionary work began to come from the western countries. Horace Newton Allen was the first missionary to gain entrance to Korea in September of 1884. The missionary work was the driving force to help spread the message of Christ to the Korean people. In accordance with the time of the century the missions set out for educational, evangelical, and medicinal purposes. Not for wartime purposes unlike some of the Buddhists viewpoints that were being practiced at that time. The education was set so that it could teach the people how to read. Reading classes were held to help educate the people and the subject was the bible. It was said that Missionaries and local adherents steadily gained popular support as they became identified with progressive political reforms. It was said the Christianity came “At a time when Korea was struggling to cope with imminent threats from imperial forces and find ways to build a modern nation-state, Protestant Christianity offered an alternative belief system and worldview that were clearly distinguished from those of Confucianism, the system of ethics and governing rules that dominated during the Chosŏn dynasty (1392–1910) (Choi, Hyaeweol, 2020).

The Rise of Christianity

Protestant Christianity after its introduction in the 1800s was on a steady rise. As of 2015 the number of South Koreans who identify as a protestant Christian was 9,675,761 (19.7 percent of the population), making the protestant faith the most popular religion in the country (Choi, Hyaeweol,2020). It was ahead of the previously dominated religious practices of Buddhism which second in the country at 15.5 percent of the population practicing. In present day Korea, Seoul, the capital is the site to 18 mega churches in the country. Christianity has been an extremely critical force in shaping virtually every aspect of Modern Korea. An effect to the rise of Christianity in Korea, it took a very prominent role in global Christianity. So much so that some Korean Christian missionaries, represented by the University Bible Fellowship, target white Americans for conversion, reversing the conventional direction of evangelical activities, which had been dominated by white Western missionaries targeting nonwhite, colonized subjects (Choi, Hyaeweol, 2020).

Comparisons of Christianity, Buddhism, Confucianism

Understanding the differences of the dynamics and what role each of the three prominent religions that molded Korea throughout history and focused on serious issues that have historically challenged the relations between the three religions from the Goryeo period to the present and the responses of each. For Christianity, the early prominent Protestant missionaries and Korean Christian leaders were not militant fundamentalists determined to destroy traditional religions but moderate evangelicals who were open-minded enough to seek points of contact between Christianity and traditional Korean religions (Min, Anselm, 2016). Although, Confucianism was the official state ideology, philosophy, and religion of the Yi Dynasty (1392–1910) in Korea, the people found a way to combine and Confucianism and Christianity to fit the mold.

Resources

Choi, H. (2020). The Sacred and the Secular: Protestant Christianity as Lived Experience in Modern Korea: An Introduction. Journal of Korean Studies 25(2), 279-289. https://www.muse.jhu.edu/article/772662.

Anselm K. Min. (2016). Korean Religions in Relation: Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity. SUNY Press.