Cultural Heritage Diaries: Religious @ Korea

Religious Beliefs in South Korea

Rank	Belief System	Share of Contemporary South Korean Population
1	Korean Buddhism	22.8%
2	Protestant Christianity	18.3%
3	Traditional Folk or Shamanistic Beliefs	14.7%
4	New Folk or Shamanistic Beliefs	14.2%
5	Korean Confucianism	10.9%
6	Roman Catholic Christianity	10.9%
7	Atheism or Unaffiliated	6.7%

Korean Buddhism

Buddhism was first introduced to Korea from China in 372 AD during Korea's Three Kingdoms Period.
Korean Buddhism kept the fundamental teaching of Buddha, and it absorbed the Korean Shamanism belief of the three spirits of Sanshin, Toksong and Chilsong. There are special shrine for these spirits in many Buddhist temples.
Buddhism was the state ideology under the Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392) but was very suppressed under the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). During the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945) the Japanese uplifted the position that Buddhism had in Korea.
Buddhist temples in South Korea are traditionally confined to the mountainous regions of the country. In Korean Buddhism, there are six essential practices includes bowing, Seon (Zen) meditation, Yeombul (recitation of the Buddha’s name), Mantra practice, and Sutra practice (reading, reciting and transcribing by hand).

Protestant Christianity

Protestant Christianity was first briefly introduced to South Korea in 1832 by German Protestant missionary Karl Gutzlaff (1803-1851), but it was the second Protestant missionary to ever visit the country, Welshman Robert Jermani Thomas (1839-1866), who had a lasting impact that still is felt today.
Thomas worked as an interpreter on the American schooner General Sherman and he handed out bibles to the locals. During the disputed General Sherman incident that happened in July of 1866, the schooner was sunk by the Koreans and Thomas is alleged to have jumped overboard during the firefight and handed out bibles to angry Koreans watching on shore before one of them executed him.
The General Sherman incident was one of the major events that led to the 1871 States expedition to Korea and eventually led to the 1882 Treaty of Amity and Trade between Korea and America, which included a clause that missionaries would be protected.
The Christian concept of individual worth has found expression in a lengthy struggle for human rights and democracy in Korea. Christians regarded the emperor as a mere man who was as much under God's authority as were his subjects, and Christian values favored the social emancipation of women and children.

Traditional Folk and Shamanistic Beliefs

Traditional Korean Shamanism has been around in Korea since times immemorial, dating back in prehistoric times to at least 40,000 BC. Korean Shamanism took root within ancient, long forgotten cultures.
The religion has played a key role since Korean civilization developed back during the early, mythical part of the founding of Korea's first kingdom of Gojoseon by Dangun Wanggeom in 2333 BC.
Before the introduction of Buddhism and Confucianism traditional Korean Shamanism was the dominant religion in Korea. Historically the religion has played a role in protecting people from attacks by evil spirits and helping to assist people to achieve health, peace and spiritual wellbeing.
There are a number of diverse communities under the umbrella of Korean shamanism, but like the other shamanic traditions in the region, they all typically have shamans or priests, a variety of nature gods and spirits, a complex mix of often shared myths, and rituals that often involve sacrifice, ancestor worship, divination, and concepts of purity.

New Folk and Shamanistic Beliefs

Choe Je-u (1824-1864) founded the Donghak Movement. The goal of Donghak was to reform Korea, revive Confucianism, and drive out Western influences. Je-u was executed in 1864 but his movement lived on, culminating in the Donghak Peasant Rebellion (1894-1895).
In the years following this event the third patriarch of the Donghak movement, Son Byong-hi (1861-1922), decided to change the name of Donghak to Cheondogyo, often referred to as Cheondoism, with the goal of trying to modernize the religion and bring it into a new era.
King Gojong (1852-1919), the second to last emperor of the Joseon Kingdom, even adopted the religion and helped to added Buddhist influences to it to give the religion a formal organizational hierarchy.
Other new folk and shamanistic beliefs include Taejonggyo, a religion whose central creed is worshiping Dangun the mythical founder of Korea and Chungsanggyo, which is a religion that focuses on magical practices and the creation of a paradise on Earth.

Korean Confucianism

Confucianism was first introduced into Korea from China during the Three Kingdoms period, around the same time that Buddhism was first introduced into the country. In 372 AD King Sosurim of the Kingdom of Koguryô (37 BC-668 AD) created what may have been the first Confucian university in Korea.
In the Kingdom of Silla (57 BC-935 AD), Confucianism was at first rejected but it eventually became a force that led to the Silla Kingdom unifying Korea from 668 to 935. During the Kingdom of Goryeo, Buddhism was the dominant religion but Neo-Confucianism managed to stick around, grow and give rise to new ideas.
Under the Joseon Dynasty Korean Confucianism flourished, becoming the state religion and embedding its self into many aspects of Korean live. During the Japanese occupation of Japan, Confucianism was repressed in favor of promoting the Japanese religion of Shintoism and uplifting the position of Buddhism.
Following the Japanese occupation the religion struggled to recover in the face of western influences and the erasing of Korean culture. Korean Confucianism has been making a recovery with young, new scholars and has been trying to reevaluate itself within a global context.
Key among its ideals are the importance of a virtuous life, filial piety, and ancestor worship, as well as emphasize on the necessity for benevolent and frugal rulers with a high moral standing (the importance of inner moral harmony).

Roman Catholic Christianity

Roman Catholic Christians first made contact with Koreans in 1593 when a Portuguese Jesuit priest named Father Gregorious de Cespedes (1551-1611) arrived in Korea to proselytize among the small Japanese community living there. At the time, it was illegal to proselytize among Korean citizens themselves. During the 1600s, the Silhak School was formed as a response to the uneven balance of power in Korean society.
It was also during the 1600s and 1700s that Roman Catholic Christianity grew in Korea as a native lay movement that developed in communal fashion, as opposed to a hierarchical structure. In 1784 Yi Sung-hun (1756-1801) established the first prayer-house in Korea in the city of Pyongyang.
Throughout most of the 1800s, Catholics were persecuted and killed by the Korean government as the Joseon Dynasty did not accept the religion and saw it as being in direct conflict with Korean Confucian society.
Similar to the Protestant Christian community in Korea, the Roman Catholics were also involved in supporting Korean independence during the Japanese occupation. The sacraments of Communion and confession are important in the Roman Catholic Church. Catholics also differ from most Protestants in emphasizing veneration of the saints, especially Mary, the mother of Jesus, and seeking the intercession of the saints (praying to them so that they will in turn pray to God).

Atheism

The numbers of atheists and people unaffiliated with religion in South Korea is a tricky figure to calculate, as there is considerable overlap between the non-Christian religions in the country, and those who follow Confucianism may not be considered as following a religion, as it is often instead considered to be a philosophy.
This is however little stigma or persecution attached to not being religious in South Korea since non-religious people do not feel the need to make themselves known.
South Korea is following the trend of many other developed nations in that the number of people are say that they are atheist or unaffiliated with a religious is rising, particularly among young people.

Other Religions

Other smaller religious groups in South Korea include Islam, Hindus, and Jews.

For the most part, many religious groups in South Korea coexist peacefully, and religious freedom is not only provided for in the country’s constitution, but is actively protected by the government, with many religious leaders also actively working to promote religious harmony.

The diversity in religious life makes South Korea now as rapidly on its way to becoming a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and multi-religious society, Korea protects religious diversity by law. People in Korea are free to lead a religious life according to their own choice and convictions.

References

1999-2018 KOCIS. Department Global Communication and Contents Division. Retrieved from http://www.korea.net/AboutKorea/Korean-Life/Religion

April 10, 2015. A Brief Guide to the Main Religious Beliefs in South Korea. Retrieved from http://www.expatfocus.com/c/aid=1944/articles/south-korea/a-brief-guide-to-the-main-religious-beliefs-in-south-korea/

Gregory Sousa (2017, April 25). Religious Beliefs in South Korea. Retrieved from https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/religious-beliefs-in-south-korea.html