Religions in Korea
Before I study Korean, I have met a lot of Korean friends, and a lot of them are Protestantism, a branch of Christian. However, I did not expect that protestants made up 45% of the religious population, followed by Buddhists which has 35%, and Catholics with 18%. My language partner, Brenda Lim, also believes in Christianity. According to Brenda, she grew up in a very Christian family. Her grandparents from both sides are pastors and her parents are really committed to their religion. Brenda’s grandparents from her father's side used to be a pastor in Korea, and after they moved to the U.S, they became pastor in LA. Brenda’s grandparents from her mom's side were a missionary, and they moved to Argentina and also became pastor there. From my side of understanding, because Korea used to have a tight connection with China hundreds of years ago, just like my family was influenced by Confucianism and Buddhism, a lot of Korean families are also influenced by Confucianism and Buddhism. My language partner told me Protestantism was brought to Korea during the late 19th century by North American missionaries and was spread through school education and medical services, and it is still the largest religious population. However, Protestantism’s population has been declining in the past decade because the generation gap and the youth population has become more independent. Even though Protestantism is the most popular religion in Korea, Confucianism has been more influential than another religion because it arrived at the very beginning of Korea. Confucianism was more of a code of ethical conduct that stressed the importance of loyalty, filial piety, and ancestor worship, and it is a very big part of the Korean culture.
Park Geun-hye cult
The cult is also very popular in Korean culture. Korea’s previous president Park Geun-hye was involved with cult scandal. During former president Park Geun-hye’s presidency, many of her decision was influenced by Choi Soon-sil, the daughter of a shaman-esque cult leader Choi Tae-min. During Park’s presidency, she regime exercised power over the media and had established a commission to harass and prosecute social media critics. Former President Park Geun-hye was impeached, arrested, and now is in prison.
Shincheonji Church of Jesus
Shincheonji is the largest cult in Korea right now with more than 300,000 followers. In my research, many families were separated by this cult in Korea. This cult brainwashes its followers through regular bible study, but during the bible study, the meaning of the bible and twisted. Shincheonji cult was also caused by the major COVID 19 outbreak in Korea. During the pandemic, they hosted a public gathering in Daegu. After the gathering, the case number suddenly increased in the city and suspected jumped up to 544 among the cult followers. One of the cult leaders even became an internet meme about he saying nobody will be infected by the virus Hallejuya. and the cult has become more controversial than ever.
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