Kim Korean Religious Culture and Its Affinity to Christianity the Rise of Protest Ant Christianity...

8/6/2019 Kim Korean Religious Culture and Its Affinity to Christianity the Rise of Protest Ant Christianity in South Korea

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Sodo/ogy of Re/ /g /on 20 00, 61 :2 117-133K o r e a n R e l ig i o u s C u l tu r e a n d its A f fin i ty toC h r i s t i a n i t y : T h e R i s e o f P r o t e s t a n tC h r i s t i a n i t y i n S o u t h K o r e a

A n d r e w E . K i m *Korea Un/ve n~

This s tudy o f f ers an analys i s o f the a f f in i t y between Korean t rad i t ional re l i ,~ous cu l ture andPro te s t an t Ch ris t ian i t y in order to br ing in to sharper re l i e f several inh tmrmnt po in t s o f c on tact tha ts t r en g t h er ~ t h e @ p ea l o f t h e i m p o rt ed f a i n S o u t h Ko r ea . I n p a r ti cu l ar , Ko r ea n S h a m a n t heendur ing core o f K orean re li~ous and cu l tura l thought, i s ~ ve n specia l a t t en t ion in order to exp la inthe prom inence o f i t s wo r ldview and practi ces in the un iquely Ko rean forro o f Pro tes tan t ism. Th epaper also e x amines the w ~ in which speci f ic Protestan t doctr ines and pracaces were modi f i ed o faccentua ted to su i t the d i spasi tion o f the K orean people . W ha t th is s tudy revea ls i s tha t Ch r i s t ian con -vers ion in Sou th Kore a d id no t invo lve ah exclus ivi s ti c change o f re l i~rus a f f il ia t ion , mea ning tha t i rdid not rexluire the reput l iation of tradi t ionaUy held bel iefs . Instead , m iUions of S ou th K oreans eagerlyembraced Chr i s t ian i t y p r e a s e b because the ne w fa i th w as advar~. .ed as an ex tens ion o f con t inuat ionof K orean re l i~ous t rad it ion .

An est imated 73 mill ion Protestant Christ ians l ive in Asia, comprisingabout 2 percent of the total Asian population. While Protestant Christ ians areto be found in virtually every A sian country, it is Sou th K orea that has witnessedthe most spectacular and sociologically significant Protestant expansion. Sinceits introduction in 1884, Protestant Christianity had proceeded to becomeafter Bu ddh ism m the largest religion in the country. By 1989, nearly on e fourthof Sou th K orea's 40 m ill ion p eople w ere Protestant Ch rist ian. Th e gr ow th wasparticularly pronounced from the ea rly 1960s to the end o f the 1980s, the periodof the coun try's remarkable m odernization. Sin ce the ea rly 1960s, when Sou thKorea's Protestants scarcely topped the on e m illion mark, the num ber of Protest-ant Christ ians increased faster than in any other coun try, m ore than doublingevery decad e. M oreover, by 1989, there w ere 29,82 0 Protestant churches an d55,989 pastors, mak ing the Protestant Church in South Korea one o f the m ost

Direct correspondence to An dre~ E . Kim, Kore an Smdies, Grad uate School o[ Internat ional Studies , KoreaUniversiry, S u ~ g u A n a m -d o ng 5 -g a 1 , S e o d, K o r e a 1 3 6 -7 0 1 . The au thor w/shes to thank Roger O'Toole,]oseph 8r~a nt, Okori Unek e, Paula M ata'u ~, and ]ohn Simtnon the# helpful comm ents on earl ier draf ts of thist~ er . A word o f a l~ecia t ion 91 lso dm to the edi tor and two anon'ymous revieuers of the Socioio~ of R el i~ n. Theircommerm and su~gesaons have i , l r o t~ the paper comiderab~.

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11 8 SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION

vital and dynamic in the world. This is a[t the more astonishing given the factthat only about 2 percent of the Asian populat ion is Protestant Ch ris t ian (SouthKorea alone accounted for over 14 percent of the total Protestant populat ion inAsia in 1989), and that Christ iani ty, both Catholic and Protestant , has fai led tostrike roots in Japan m a neighbouring co un try with strikingly similar socialorganizat ion and shared cul tural t radi t ions n where less tha n one percent of thepopulat ion has conve rted to Christ iani ty.

Despite the imp ortance o f addressing the "C hrist ia n quest ion" in i ts As iancontext , there has to date been but l imi ted social sc ient i f ic a t tent ion to thesubject; m ost glaringly, the sociology of religion has yet to tu rn its research focuson the remarkable spread of Protestant Chris t iani ty in South K orea. There haveof course been num erous imp ortant special ist studies (Kang 1997; Paik 1971;M in 1982; Clark 1971 ; M offett 196 2; Gra yso n 1985), b ut these offer essentiallyhistorical t reatm ents. In ah at tem pt to redress this imbalance, this study offers ananalysis of the affini ty between Korean rel igious cul ture and Protestant ism inorder to br ing into re l ief various points of con tact that s t rengthened the appealof the imported fai th in the host society. It is argued here that the dram atic pro-gress of Protestant ism in Sou th [


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120 S O C I O L O G Y O F R E L I G IO Nmag ica l r e lig io n , accen tu a t in g th e p r esen t an d th i s -wo r ld ly r ewards . T h e u to p th a t was emp h as ized b y a v as t ma jo r i ty o f P ro te s t an t ch u rch es in So u th Ko reawas a mater ia l and economic parad ise to be rea l ized in th is l i fe , no t in the nex t(Ryu 1965; Yun 1964; Lee 1977) . Korean churches a lso exaggera ted the impres-s io n o f Go d ' s ab i l i ty to imp ro v e l iv in g co n d i t io n s , a ro u sin g ex p ec ta t io n s s imi la rt o t h o s e p r o v o k e d b y t h e c o n c e p t i o n o f m a g ic a l p o t e n c y . M u c h e m p h a s is w a sacco rd ed to th e th i s -wo r ld ly a sp ec t o f th e K in g d o m o f Go d , p ro jec t in g a so c ie tyin wh ich th e wi l l o f G o d is d o n e an d in wh ic h a b o u n teo u s l i f e wo u ld b e a p r i-v i l eg e fo r a l l . 4 Wh i le th ese a t e th e id ea l s wh ich Ko rean ch u rch es caUed u p o nad h eren t s to s t r iv e to a t t a in wi th an u n d iv id ed d ev o t io n , to o o f t en th ese id ea l swere u n d e rs to o d to b e a p ro mise th a t P ro te s t an t C h r i s t i an i ty wo u ld c r ea te su ch aco m m u n i ty for i ts mem b er s.Th is s t ress on G od 's gmce in g ran t ing peop le ' s mater ia l i s tic wishes was espe-c iaUy consp icuous in serm ons. For examp le , in h is analys is o f co l lec ted sermo nsb y t h i r t y l e a d i n g p a s t o r s i n S o u t h K o r e a , D a e g o n K i m ( 1 9 8 3 ) f o u n d t h a t t h et h e m e o f m a t e ri a l bl es s in g s u p o n a c c e p ti n g G o d a s t h e s a vi or w a s t h e p r e d o m i -n a n t f o cu s o f th e i r se rmo n s , an d th a t th e in s t an ces o f mi r acles in th e B ib le wereg iv en a p a r ti cu la r a t t en t io n . A co m p e l l in g ex amp le o f suc ia emp h as i s o n G o d ' sma te r i a l b l ess in g s in th e p r esen t l if e was fo u n d in th e cen t r a l messag e o f Pau lYo n gg i C h o , th e p a s to r o f th e C en t r a l Fu l l Go sp e l C h u rc h in Seo u l , t h e w o r ld ' sl a rg es t ch u rch wi th 5 0 0 ,0 0 0 memb er s in 1 9 8 9 . Th e ch u rch ' s s lo g an th a t a t t r ac -t ed la rg e au d ien ces - - an d in sp i red o th e r ch u rch es to emu la te w was th e th r ee -fo ld b less ings o f Chr is t , i . e . , hea l th , p rosper i ty , and sa lva t ion , con ta ined wi th inth e seco n d v e r se o f th e th i rd ep i s t l e o f Jo h n . P reach in g th e " th eo lo g y o f p ro -s p e r i t y , " C h o a n d h i s i m i t a t o r s a d v a n c e d t h e i d e a t h a t t h e a c c e p t a n c e o f t h eHo ly Sp i r i t can mean th a t o n e i s , b es id es b e in g b le ssed wi th sa lv a t io n in th enex t l ife, g raced wi th h ea l th and m ater ia l is t ic successes in th is wor ld . In ad d i t iont o t h e th r e e f o l d b l es s S o u t h K o r e a n p a s t o rs a ls o s t re s s e d e i g h t o t h e rb le ss in g s o f C h r i s t f r o m th e B o o k o f Mat th ew (5 : 3 -1 0 ) , e sp ec ia l ly th o se p ass -ages w i th m a te r ia l i s ti c im p l i cat io n s (Pa rk 1 9 8 2 : 3 8 -3 9 ) : "B lessed a r e th e meek ,fo r th ey w i ll i n h e r i t t h e ea r th " ( l it e r al ly in te rp re ted a s g a in in g l an d o wn er sh ip ) ;an d "B lessed a r e th o se w h o h u n g er an d th i r s t f o r r igh teo u sn ess , f o r th e y wi l l b ef il led ." T h e y a lso m a in ta in e d th a t iUn ess , p o v e r ty , b u s in ess fa i lu r e , o r an y o th e rmisfor tune i s s imply due to s in and sp i r i tua l im pur i ty .Su ch emp h as i s o n m a te r ia l r ewards b y K o rean c le rg y was p a ra l le l ed b y th eeq u a l ly en th u s ia s t i c th i s -wo r ld ly in c l in a t io n o f Ko rean Pro te s t an ts . A cco rd in g toth e 1 9 84 Ko rea Ga l lu p Po l ls ( 1 9 8 4 : 4 0 ) , f o r ex am p le , n ea r ly 5 5 p e rce n t o f th ePro te s t an t r e sp o n d en t s (N = 3 3 4 ) ag reed th a t h eav en o r p a r ad i se i s n o t to b e

4 A th is -workt ly tenden cy was so pervas ive tha t even nam es of the Kotean church es carr ied termst rad it ionally associated wi th consp icuous mater ia l wishes , such as p len ty (e .g ., "The Ch urch of P hn ~" ) ,blessing (e.g., "The Ch urc h of the Blessed"), happiness , and ho pe.


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K O R E A N R E L I G IO U S C U L T U R E A N D I TS AF FI NI TY T O C H R I S T I A N I T Y 121fo u n d in th e o th e r wo r ld b u t in th i s wo r ld . 5 Fu r th e rmo re , th e y r eg a rd ed th i s -wor ld ly va lues as be ing more s ign i f ican t than those of re ligious o r doc t r ina l ones:1 9 .8 p e rcen t o f th e r e sp o n d en t s id en t i f i ed h ea l th an d 1 6 .7 p e rcen t se l ec tedm o n ey an d w ea l th a s th e m o s t imp o r tan t ma t t e r s in li fe , wh i l e o n ly 1 3 .1 p e r -c e n t , 6 .6 p e r c e n t , a n d 5 .9 p e r c e n t o f t h e r e s p o n d e n t s r e c o g n iz e d t ru t h a n dh o n es ty , lo v e , an d t r u s t a s th e h ig h es t v a lu es , r e sp ec t iv e ly (Ko rea Ga lh p Po l l s1 9 84 : 4 0 ) . A su rv ey o f th e ad h e ren t s o f th e C en t r a l Fu l l G o sp e l C h u rc h in Seo u la l s o d e m o n s t r a t e d t h e p r i m a c y o f a t h i s - w o r l d l y o r i e n t a t i o n a m o n g K o r e a nP r o t e s t a n t s . W h e n a s k e d t o i d e n t i f y m o t i v a t i o n s f o r b e l i e v i n g i n P r o t e s t a n tC h r i s t ia n i t y , 3 0 . 6 p e r c e n t o f 9 2 1 r e s p o n d e n t s i d e n t if i e d h e a l i n g w h i l e 3 7 .6p e rcen t r eco g n ized ma te r i a l b l e ss in g s a s p r imary r easo n s fo r tu rn in g to th eimp o r ted f a i th (D . K im 1 9 81 : 9 4 ) . Th i s was s ig n if ican t ly h ig h e r th an th e r e sp on -den ts ' r e lig ious m ot ives , suc ia as sa lva t ion (16 .9 percen t ) and e te m al l ife (7 per -cen t ) . I n th e same su rv ey , a m a jo r ity o f mem b ers ex p ressed th a t th e i r co n v e r s io nto P ro te s t an t ism ac tu aUy re su k ed in a m o re en r i ch in g an d p ro spe ro u s l if e (4 1 .2p e r c e n t o f t h e r e s p o n d e n t s s a i d t h a t t h e i r a t t e n d a n c e a t c h u r c h r e s u l t e d i n abet te r l iv ing s tandard) .Th e th i s -wo r ld ly t en d en cy o f Ko rean Pro te s t an t s was a l so r e f l ec ted in th eway ma ny C hr is t ian s associa ted the purpose o f o ffer ings wi th secu lar b lessings . Agood exam ple of th is i s the p rac t ice o f sowonhongeum o r th e "o f fe r in g o f p e t i t io n "i n w h i c h C h r i s t i a n s r e g u l a r l y d e d i c a t e d , i n a n e n v e l o p e , m o n e y a n d a l i s t o fwishes to be praye d for . G a m s a h o n g e u m or the "of fering of g ra t i tude " a lso exem -p l th e th i s -wo r ld ly n a tu r e o f C h r i s t i an l if e, a s Ko rean C h r i s t i an s co n t r ib u tedmo n ey to th e i r c h u rch es w h en e v e r "g o o d fo r tu n es" o ccu r red ( e .g ., b i r th o f so ns ,s o n s a n d d a u g h t e r s p a s s i n g t h e u n i v e r s i t y e n t r a n c e e x a m i n a t i o n , p r o s p e r o u sb u sin ess , o r th e r e tu rn o f h ea l th ) , a l l i n an a t t em p t to d i sp lay th e i r g r a t i tu d e toG o d a n d t o e n s u r e t h e c o n t i n u a t i o n o f G o d ' s b le s si ng . S u r v e y r es u lt s co n s is -t en t ly su b s tan t i a t e K o rean C h r i s t i an s ' g en e ra l t en d en c y to a sso c ia te th e o f f e rin gw i th wish - fu l f ilmen t . Acco rd in g to Ko rea Ga l lu p Po l ls ( 1 9 8 4 : 4 9 ) , 3 4 .8 p e rcen to f t h e C h r i s t i a n r e s p o n d e n t s ( N = 3 3 4 ) a g r ee d w i t h t h e s t a t e m e n t t h a t " o n ew h o o ff er s m o n ey to th e ch u rch wi l l b e b le ssed wi th mo re p ro sp e r i ty in r e tu rn ."In th e fo l lo w-u p su rv ey in 1 9 8 9 , 3 4 .2 p e rcen t o f th e r e sp o n d en t s (N = 3 8 3 )co n cu r r ed wi th th e same s t a t emen t (Ko rea GaUu p Po l l s 1 9 8 9 : 1 5 2 ) . S imi la r ly ,Joonggi Kim et a l . ( 1 9 8 2 : 1 0 1 ) fo u n d th a t 6 8 .9 p e rcen t o f P ro te s t an t C h r i s t i anresp o n d en t s (N = 1 ,2 3 4 ) id en t i fi ed " th e g r a t itu d e fo r G o d ' s b le ss in g s" a s th e i rreason for g iv ing th e of fer ing. AII o f th is p rom pted J ingyong C hu ng ( 1977: 42) ,t h e n o t e d K o r e a n t h e o l o g i a n , t o c l a i m t h a t " K o r e a n C h r i s t i a n s ' a t t e n d a n c e a tch u rch , an d th e i r en th u s ia sm fo r d aw n p ray e rs an d g en e ro s i ty in o f fe r in g to th echu rch are a l l in t imate ly l inked to the i r des ire fo r th is-wor ld ly wish- fu l f i lme nt . "

5 A later survey by the Ko rea Gallup Polls in 1989 produced similar results: 52.2 percent o f theProtestant respondents (N = 383) concurred that heaven is not to be found in the other world but in thiswor[d.


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1 2 2 S C ~ I O L O G Y O F R E L IG I O NIn ad d i t io n to th e a r t i cu la t io n o f in d iv id u a l ma te r i a l in t e r e s t s , an o th e rfea ture o f Ko rean Ch r is t ian i ty , re f lec t ing th is-wor ld ly inc l ina t ion , per ta ins tot h e n a t i o n . M a n y p a s t o r s a n d C h r i s t i a n l e a d e r s a d v a n c e d t h e n o t i o n t h a t t h ees tab [ i sh men t an d p ro sp e r ity o f Ko rean ch u rch e s a s we[ l a s th e C h r i s t i an iza t io n

of the na t io n is a pa t r io t ic an d assured m eans to save the co untry f rom a l l soc ia li l l s . I r Ko rea were to b eco me a C h r i s t i an n a t io n , th ey a rg u ed , Go d wo u ld inr e tu rn b less th e n a t io n , b r in g in g p ro sp e r i ty an d n a t io n a l s t r en g th . Th i s v iew fig-u r e d p r o m i n e n t ly i n t h e s e rm o n s o f m a n y c l e r g y m e n t h r o u g h o u t t h e h i s t o r y o fPro te s t an t i sm in Ko rea , p a r t icu la r ly s in ce th e 1 9 50 s ( Ju ng 1 9 8 6 : 1 9 -2 6 ) . 6 Afavor i te passage f rom th e Bib le in th is regard was "Righteousness exal ts a na t io n"(Pro v erb s 1 4: 3 4 ) , an d ah ex ten s iv e u se was mad e o f th e O ld Tes t am en t h i s to ryd e p i c t i n g h o w Y a h w e h b r o u g h t p r o s p e r i t y t o t h e H e b r e w n a t i o n w h e n i t w a so b e d ien t an d n a t io n a l ca lam i ty wh e n th e p eo p le id o lizec l o th e r g o ds : 'q q o w i fy o u o b e y m e f ul ly a n d k e e p m y c o v e n a n t , t h e n o u t o f al l n a t io n s y o u w i ll b e m yt r easu red p o ssess io n " (Ex o d u s 1 9 : 5 ) ; an d "B | e ssed i s th e n a t io n wh o se Go d i sth e Lo rd , th e p eo p le h e ch o se fo r h i s in h e r i t an ce" (Psalms 3 4 : 1 2 ) . U n d o u b ted lyt h i s e m p h a s i s o n t h e n a t i o n a l s a l v a t i o n , o f t e n l i n k e d w i t h s e c u l a r n a t i o n a le n r i c h m e n t a n d e m p o w e r m e n t , h e l p e d K o r e a n c h u r c h e s t o c a p i t a l i z e o n t h ep a t r io t i c sen t im en t o f So u th Ko rean s , p a r t i cu la rly in th e a f t e rm a th o f Jap an eseco lon ia l ru | e and th e Ko rean c iv i l war .7T h e K o r e a n p eo p l e, t h e re f o re , w h o l o n g e m b r a c e d S h a m a n i s m i n ho p e s o fr e so lv in g a th i s -wo r ld ly f ru s t r a t io n th ro u g h th e p r ay e r an d r i t e s , ad o p ted th eC h r i s t i an f a i th fo r th e v e ry same r easo n , th e r eb y r ep lac in g , in e f f ec t, t h e t r ad i-t io n a l f o r r a o f mag ica l r e l ig io n wi th a n ew o n e . Th e n o t io n th a t ma te r i a l p ro -sp e r i ty an d sp i ri tu a l co m fo r t were a to k en o f Go d ' s b le ss in g fo r o n e ' s g o o d f a i thap p ea led s t ro n g ly to m an y co n v er t s . Fo r th e emerg in g K o rean mid d le- c la ss wi thi t s eminent ly mater ia l concerns , th is mater ia l i s t gospel seems to have of fered ahirresist ible at traction .T H E C O N C E P T O F H A N A N I M

T h e a d o p t i o n o f t h e t r a d i t i o n a l l y r e v e r e d c o n c e p t o f Hananim ( "g o d inh e a v e n " ) w a s a n o t h e r w a y K o r e an P r o t e s ta n t i s m r e s o lv e d t h e p o t e n t i a l i n c o n -g ru i ty b e tween th e n ew d o c t r in e an d th e co re v a lu es o f th e Ko rean p eo p le . I t i sn o acc id en t th a t th e ea r ly Ko rean Pro te s t an t s ad o p ted Han an /m as th e su p reme6 Korean clergymen boasted about th e remarkable econom ic success of South Korea in th e past threedecades as an evidence of God's benediction.7 This theme of nat iona l Ch engendered a tendency among Korean Chris t ians to v i e wKorea as the chosen nation , as "new lsrael." Echoing this popular ~ .ntiment, Harold H ong (1983: 181) wrote:"W e stmngly believe tha t w e a r e n o w t h e chosen pe0ple o f Go d and that w e a re u n d e r t h e special prov

o f Gr This strong faith has actually made the Korean ~ the most rapidly growing chu n:h in the world."As ma extension o f this belief, some K orean Christians even speUed the traditional terna for Korea as Ch0sen inEnglish, rather than the c onve ntiona l Choson.


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K O R E A N R E L IG I O U S C U L T U R E A N D I TS A FF IN IT Y T O C H R I S T I A N I T Y 123God of thei r new found fa i th , for they percept ively recognized that the termreferred to the highest dei ty in the rel igious cul ture of Korea from primit ivet imes, and that ! t s use as the supreme dei ty in Protestant i sm would prepareKoreans to accept the imported fa i th wi th ease . The ear ly missionaries a l soappreciated Hananim as a dis t inctive Korean dei ty suited to th ei r own image ofGo d (G rayson 1985: 137) .

T h e K o r e a n s a l w ay s h a v e h a d Hananim, a n a m e w h i c h c o v e r s t h e i d e a o f t h e o n e s u p r e m em i n d , o n e G o d . T h i s G o d o f t h e K o r e a n s is s i m i la r t o t h e G o d o f t h e J e w i s h O l d T e s t a m e n t . .. . O n d a is d e e p -s e a t e d m o n o t h e i s m t h e C h r i s t i a n m i s s io n a r y h a s b u i l t t h e a m a z i ng su c c es s(Scott 1920: 699).

Simi lar to the Chris t ian concep t ion of Go d, Koreans long understood Hananimas the supreme G od presiding over the affa irs of heav en and ear th , and con-trol ling the la te o f hum an beings.The power o f Hananim is considered absolute: he is almighty, omnipotent ,and om niscient . 8 Vir tual ly every Korean knows an d bel ieves in th e exis tenceand power of Hananim. Hananim, l ike Yahw eh of old, is bel ieved to have createdhum an beings and the world, giving l i fe to the Korean people and founding theircivilization. Hananim i s a l so bel ieved to have ah a l l -embracing sympathy, toanswer people 's prayers, and to l iberate people from suffering. In t imes ofweakness, Ko reans prayed to Hananim for his m ercy and cha rity as well as for hispower to o vercom e adversit ies beyon d th e reacia of hu m an wi ll . K oreans a lsobel ieved that Hananim punished unfai l ingly those who commit ted cr imes andsins against the public interest: wicked persons or misdeeds were believed to be"visi ted" by divine punishments or "H eaven 's vengeance." For Protestant i sm inKorea, therefore , the adopt ion of the term Hananim as the Supreme God wasfundamental ly s igni f icant in providing a point of contact between the Koreanreligious cul ture an d the imported fai th, thereby al lowing for a sm ooth transi t ionfrom the nat ive con cept of God to that of the Chris t ian image (Ryu 1965: 37; C.Kim 1945).

The s ign i f i cance o f t h i s t e rmino log ica l cons i s t ency cannot be under -est imated, p art icularly in l ight of the fact tha t in the annals o f missionary historyal l around the world, confl icts between nat ive rel igious concepts and those ofthe new (Chris t iani ty) were commonplace, ser iously const ra ining missionaryefforts. In the Korean context , however, terminological confl icts never existed;in fact, the exact use of the nat ive term for the Supreme D ei ty in the Chris t ian

8 A sa polytheistic religion, Korean Sham anism d oes worship large numbers of spirits, but the s u p r e m eGo d in i ts panth eon is Hanardm. In K orean Shamanism,/-/anan/m i s b e l i e v e d t o g o v e m the universe andcontrol the l i v e s of the people through th e powers entm sted to lesser godg ranked acc.o~ding o their functions(Jo 1983: 94-103 ). Following Hanan/m in the ranking a nd p o w e r a t e o t h e r heaven ly gods, including the sun,the moon, an d the star . Ne xt in the ranking ate gods of the earth, the r iver, and th e m ountain, while thes p i r i t s of the underground wodd ate at the lowest rank.


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124 SOCIOLOGYOF RELIGIONguise no t on ly gained accep tance among~~the nat ives but also help ed win n ewconverts . The remarkable growth of Protestant i sm in South Korea can be thuspart ly explained by the fact that the shamanical ly- incl ined Koreans found am irror image of thei r ow n supreme G od in the imported fa i th . Koreans ' fami l i-ar i ty wi th the conc ept a l lowed for a smoo th t ransi t ion from the nat ive co nceptof G od to th at o f the C hris t ian understanding. In th is sense, the te rm H a n a n i mcan be understood as a symbol of the l ink between Korean shamanic t radi t ionand Protestant Chris t iani ty , of asa symbol ic of actual cont inuat ion of the for-m er in the latter's disguise.T H E IM A G E O F G O D A S T H E " S A V I O R "

Th e terminological or conceptual congrui ty afforded by the C hris t ian adop-t i o n o f H a n a n i m was fur ther s t rengthened by the church 's insis tence on thefunct ional equivalence o f H a n a n i m within the old and the new religions. Koreanclergy advanced the bel ief that Chris t iani ty , a sa fa i th tha t believes in th e om ni-po tence o f H a n a n i m , is a religion tha t wo uld yield prosperi ty in this world an dspi r i tual sa lvat ion in the next world . Accordingly, H a n a n i m and Jesus Chris tcarne to be tho ug ht of as "favor-dispensing ma chines," l ike the gods of Sham an-ism. Like H a n a n i m of old , the Supreme G od of Chris t iani ty was portrayed a samerci ful god who at tends to a l l k inds of human need. For many Chris t ians ,moreover, this emphasis on the fulfi lment of material wishes through fai th inH a n a n i m carne to repre sent th e essence of th e new religion.In the history of Kore an P rotestant ism, Go d, besides being portrayed as thecreato r and the sustainer of the universe, was most conspicuously characterizedas the magical ruler, dispensing graces at his wil l . Indeed, the bel ief that GodwiU intervene miraculously to help those in need was widely popular amongKorea n Protestants. Suc h an image of G o da s the Savior was emphasized throug hreferences to the o mn iscience and om nipoten ce of God : through th e pow er orgm ce of Go d, on e can be l iberated from suffering, at tain salvat ion, be healed, ofreceive consolat ion. N ot surpris ingly , Ko rean prayer books depicted G o d a s anen ti ty one turns to in t imes of need; he is an "enti ty" hum an beings man ipulatein order to have their wishes fulfi l led (Biematzki et al. 1975: 6). Just l ike the irancestors did, m any K orean Protestants learned to manipulate divine power inhopes of control l ing the eve nts of everyday l ife.

The re a te two w ays in which G od's image as savior had been susta ined inKorean Protestant ism. O ne way was the Chris t ians ' in t imate und erstanding andacceptance of the miracles in the Bible and of the om nipotence of God. Surveysof Korean Christ ians repeatedly showed their fai th in miracles and th e p oten t ialre-enac tm ent in th e present . For example, in a survey of 1,231 Protestan t Ch rist-ians from church es across Sou th Korea, Joonggi K im et a l. (19 82: 75) found that84.5 percent of the respondents bel ieved in the bibl ical accounts of miracles,whi le an overwhelming 99.4 percent perceived them posi t ively . Simi lar ly , a


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KOREAN RELIGIOUSCULTUREAN D ITS AFFINITYTO CHRISTIANITY 125survey by the Ch r i s t i an Ins t i tu te for the S tudy of Jus ti ce and Dev e lopme nt(1982: 56) found tha t 94.6 percen t of the respondents expressed thei r bel ief inthe miraculous deeds of Jesus Chris t . In th e same survey ( 1982: 59- 60 ), more-over , 63 .6 percen t o f the r esponden t s vo iced the i r f a i th in God ' s power toresolve a l l the problems of the churches in South Korea, demonstra t ing thei rconv ict ion in G od 's om nipotence. Later surveys condu cted by the Korea Gal lupPolls (1984, 1989) also indicated s imilar tendencies" 83.9 pe rce nt o f the Ch ris t-ian responden ts in 1984 (N = 334) and 88.8 percent of thei r counterpar ts in1989 (N = 383) expressed their belief in miracles.The idea of Godas the Savior was a lso re inforced through cons tant refer -ences to the verses in the Bible that i l lustrate Godas the messiah and the l ibera-tor: for example, "When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors , hewil l send the m a savior and defender , and h e wi l l rescue them " ( Isaiah 19:20);"Th e Lord is my s t ronghold, my refuge and m y savior - - f rom violent men yousave me" (2 Sam uel 22:2-3); "Pu t your hop e in God, for I wil l yet praise him, m ysavior and my G od " (Psalms 42:5, 42:11, 43:5); and "I wil l ma ke y our oppressoreat thei r ow n f lesh; they wi ll be drunk o n thei r own blood, as wi th wine. Th ena l l mankind wi l l know tha t I , t he Lord , am your Sav ior " ( I s a iah 49 :26) .Re i t e ra ted th rou gh these verses , the image o f G o d a s the Sav ior se rved as a"sel l ing point" par excellence for Korean clergy. The masses , for whom theentreaties to H a n a n i m or spiri ts ha d be en tradit ionally l ink ed w ith the ir m aterialwishes, ident if ied the Chr is t ian G od as the supreme dei ty wh o can l iberate themfrom thei r miser ies , grant them mater ia l wishes , and br ing them happiness . Inthis sense, Protes tant ism in the South Korean context can be said to have beentransformed in to a form of mi l lenar ianism or messianism, throu gh wh ich m anyKorean Chr is t ians , par t icular ly the social ly underpr ivi leged classes , securedhopes and insp i r a t ion to f ace the har sh r ea l i ty o f con temporary soc ie ty .M oreover , b iblical accounts of miracles - - and the assumed poss ibil ity of thei rre-enac tme nt in contem porary c ircumstances m at t racted m il lions of conver tswh o who lehear tedly embraced Chr is t iani ty 's promise of a bet ter l i fe in the nearfuture.F A I T H . H E A L I N G A N D E X O R C I SI N G F U N C T I O N SO F K O R E A N C L E R G Y

Disease-curing and exorcis ing o f evil spir its are two o f the four mo st impor-tant funct ions - - the o ther two being pr ies tly and prophe t ic roles - - of shamansin Korean Sham anism . In this sense, Ch ris t ian accoun ts of the miraculous powerof Jesus C hris t c orrelate remarkab ly well w ith the indigeno us folk belief in themagical power of shamans . M any K oreans, brought up in a cul ture th at exul tedthe exorcis ing and he al ing powers of shamans , found the supernatural e lementsof the Scr ipture , i .e ., fa i th-heal ing and cas t ing out de m on ic spi ri ts , nei th er


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126 S O C I O L O G Y O F R E L IG I O Nd i f fi cu l t no r su rp ri s ing . I n f ac t, t h i s e l em en t o f en ch an tm en t p rove d to beem inen t ly f avou rab le to the sp read o f Ch r i s t i an i ty in S ou th Korea.

P u t f o r t h a s a d e m o n s t r a t i o n o f G o d ' s l o v e a n d p o w e r , t h e m i r a c u l o u shea l ing in the B ib le was advanced by a vas t m a jo r ity o f Ko rean c le rgy to thelevel o f magica l po tency . By mak ing rep eated references to the b ib l ica l accountsof Jesus Ch r is t ' s hea l ing deeds - - fo r exam ple , the cur ing of leprosy (M at t . 8 :2-3 ;Luke 17 :14 ) , the b l ind and mu te (Mat t . 12 :22 ) , the dea f (Mark 7 :32 -35 ) , thelame and th e cr ipp le d (M at t . 15 :30 ; Luk e 13 :13; Joh n 5 :9), an d "e very d iseaseand s i ckness" (M at t . 4 :23 , 9 :35 ) m Ko rean pasto ra au th en t i c a ted the hea l ingpo ten t i a l o f G od and o f Chr i s t i an be li e f. Th e b ib li ca l na rr a tives o f Je sus chas ingaway dem on ic sp i r it s , i nc lud ing those t ha t cause seizu res (M at t . 18 :15 -18 ) ,s h r i e k i n g a n d f o a m i n g a t t h e m o u t h ( L u k e 9 : 3 7 - 4 2 ; M a t t . 8 : 2 8 - 3 2 ) , a n dmadness (Luke 8 :2 7-3 6) , were a lso pu t to ef fec t ive use in cap tur ing th e rel ig iousi m a g i n a t io n o f p o t e n t i a l c o n v e r t s. S u c h e m p h a s i s o n t h e p r i m a c y o f f a it h -hea l ing by K orean c le rgy was dem ons t r a ted in a su rvey o f ove r 1 ,300 se rmons a tt e n l e a d i n g P r o t e s t a n t c h u r c h e s i n S o u t h K o r e a b e t w e e n 1 9 7 8 a n d 1 9 8 5( C h r i s t i a n A c a d e m y 1 9 86 : 2 5 - 4 4 ) . T h e s t u d y f o u n d t h a t t h e t o p i c o f f a it h -h e a l i n g , a l o n g w i t h o t h e r m i r a c u l o u s d e e d s o f J es us , c o m p r i s e d t h e m o s tprominent p lace in the i r sermons, whi le e th ica l o r pedagogica l themes remainedr e la t iv e l y i n c o n sp i c u o u s ( C h r i s t i a n A c a d e m y 1 98 6: 3 5 - 3 6 ) . T h i s w a s m o r emarked for the pastora o f larger chu rches or o f those tha t g rew re la t ive ly fas t.

Th e sa l ience o f the them e o f f a i th -hea l ing in the se rmons was pa ra l le l ed by,as shown ear l ie r , Korean Pro tes tan ts ' widespread bel ief in the b ib l ica l accountso f m i ra c le s , m a n y o f w h i c h h a d t o d o w i t h h e a l i n g . T h e c e n t r a l i t y o f f a it h -heal ing in the K orean Pro te s tan t l ife was a lso ind ica ted in num erous surveys. Forexample , the 1984 Korea Gal lup Pol ls found tha t 38 .1 percen t o f the Pro tes tan tr e sponden ts (N = 334 ) pe r sona lly expe r ienced f a i th -hea ling , wh i l e 37 .6 pe rcen tin the 1989 su rvey (N = 38 3) expe r ienced the same . A necdo tes o f f a i th -hea l ing(Ko 1982 , 1988) , re to ld in tes t imonia ls a t p rayer meet ings and rev ivals , thusbecame ah imp or tan t "d rawing ca rd" fo r Korean c le rgy wh o advanc ed the m asev idence o f one o f many th i s-wor ld ly r ewards o f conver t ing to C hr i s t i an i ty . I t isno t su rp r i s ing then tha t the pas to ra o f many l ead ing chu rches who pe r fo rmedfa i th -hea l ing were cons ide red m odem -day shamans wi th a mag ica l power . 9 Th eyused hypno t i sm, cha n te d incom prehens ib le words (comparab le to the pheno m -eno n o f speak ing in tongues in Chr i s t i an i ty ) , and spoke to the ev i l supposed lyresiding in th e aff l icted person. A ll of thes e, of course, parallel th e c harac ter ist icso f Korean sham an ic r i te s in hea l ing and exo rc is ing . By pe f fo rming the hea l ingr i t e s du r ing Sunday Se rv ices and r ev iva l mee t ings , Korean pas to ra tu rned the

9 Even in the Buddhist-inclined understanding of God tha t is basic to the religious values of Koreans,the n ot ion of Go d as savior is prom inent (S . Kim 198 3; see also Ko 1987 ) . On the level of popularunderstanding and practice, Korean Buddhism paraUels Christian ity in projecting the compassion a nd power ofBuddha in ameliorating hum an suffering and answering people's prayers.


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K O R E A N R E L IG I O U S C U L T U R E A N D I TS AF F I NI TY T O C H R I S T I A N I T Y 127two occasions into , in essence, sha m anic rituals that typic ally feature d disease-curing exorcism. 10 In parallel with the popular conce ptualization of the role ofshamans in South Korea, moreover, gifted pastors were expected to have thecapacity to communicate with the spiritual world and to possess a mysteriouspower to exorcise diseases.11 Such an emphasis on healing led to the wide popu-larity of revivalists who specialized in healing and of churches that were mini-stered by pastors w ho supposedly had healing capacities. 12 In addition, Ko reanChristians themselves valued experiences that manifest shamanic imprints. Forexample , the receiving of or exper iencing the Holy Spir i t , ca l led songnyongchehom, w hich is very m uch like the sham anic sp irit possession (shinduUim),trance , or ecstasy, is exulted by Ko rean C hristians in the belief th at it is a meansthrough which speaking in tongues, seeing visions, and healing can be achieved.C E N T R A L I T Y O F E T H I C S A N D F A M IL Y V A L U E S

Th e m oral and social values of Con fucianism figure prom inently in the m en-tal landscape of Koreans, and the h igh m oral code taugh t by the Protestants con-verged with what many Confucian-minded Koreans fe l t and thought . S implyput, Pro testan t ethic al values con ce m ing the basic teach ings of a way of l ifeagreed with the Confucian-centered moral values of Koreans . The Church 'steachings against dishonesty, political corruption, m oral depravity, the abuse ofpower by the eli te, and even gambling, l icentiousness, and drunkenness werelargely con gruen t w ith Con fucian ideals. Mo reover, l ike Con fucianism , C hristi-anit y is m ore t ha n a set of beliefs to be accep ted, for it is a w ay of life to abide by.A frequently quoted text is found in the bo ok of M atthew (7:21): "No t everyonewho says to me, 'Lord , Lord, ' will enter the k ingdom of heaven, but only he w hodoes the will of my Fathe r who is in he ave n." Th e early missionaries and Koreanclergy also stressed the similarit ies betw een Ch ristian a nd C onfu cian teachingson the m atter o f pract ica l moral i ty and e th ics . For example , th ey em phat ically

10 Inspired by the narrat ives o f healing deeds in the Bible , three meth ods hav e been u t i l ized mo st oftenby Korean clergy to cure diseases: prayer (James 5: 15), laying on of hand s (M ark 6: 5, 16: 18; Luke 4: 40), andconsecrated wate r (John 7:3 7-3 8) (Tak 1971) . An oth er popular m ethod of hea l ing involves the comb ina t ionof prayer and fast ing, w hic h has be en usually emplo yed by pastors or revivalists w ho them selves have beencured of sickness by th e same procedure.

11 I t i s a l so worth n ot ing tha t the r i te of hea l ing was not l imi ted to the w eekly se rvice , for manychurches in So uth Korea operated their ow n prayer centers, know n as g/dowon, wh ere fai th-hea ling pract iceswere sus tained wi th regular ity. In addi t ion , the re w ere hr ge numbers of inde pen den t prayer cente rs ~whichprovided healing services for the sick and the men tal ly i ll . A ll together there were mo re tha n 500 ~ by1989.

12 A no the r way the ro le of orda ined pastors and shamans converged was the fac t Korean pas torsperformed many cer em onies that paral le l thos e of shamans, such as presidi ove r a mem orial service for deadparents a t Ch rist ian hom es or dedicat ing a service for a t roubled business, a new ly buil t hou se, or a newlyestablished business.


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128 SOCIOLOGYOF RELIGIONargued that e ve n for thoro ugh ly Co nfucian ized Koreans, there is l i t t le to give upi n ac c ep ti ng t h e T e n Co m m a n d m e n t s . T h e f if th co m m a n d m e n t m " H o n o r y o urfathe r and yo ur mo the r" m was part icularly stressed, for f il ial piety has been thesupreme m oral obligation for Koreans.

P ro tes tan t Chr i s t i an i ty was a l so advanced as shar ing the same va lues asConfuc ian i sm regard ing the f ami ly (Park 1966) . In an a t t empt to be moreacceptable to the Korean people , proponents of Chr is t iani ty compromised wi ththe native social customs regarding family values. In the process, certain Chris-t ian pr inciples were given prominence, uns een elsewhere . A s me nt ion ed above,the f i l ia l p ie ty of Confucianism was shown to have i t s counterpar t in Jesus 'scommand to honor one 's parents , and the lesson on obedience to one 's parentshad been a sa l i en t theme of se rmons and Sunday schoo l p rograms in Sou thKorea. Fur thermore, to encourage obed ience to the m other- in- law, as the t radi -t ional custom dem ande d, Korean churches s tressed the s tory of Ru th, in wh ichher ded ica t ion to the ca re o f her m other - in - law is r ecoun ted . Th e Confuc ianideal of the subordinat ion of wife to husband was a lso emphasized as beingconsis tent w i th the Ch r is t ian exal ta t ion of wife 's submission to husb and, as in:"W ives, submit to y our husbands as to t he Lord. For the husb and is the h ead ofthe wife as Ch r i s t is the he ad o f the chu rch" (Ephes ians 5 :22 -23) . Even inregards to t he s ta tus of wo me n in general , Korean C hr is t iani ty conformed to theconve nt ions of the ho st socie ty . Al th ou gh the to le of the C hu rch in improvingwomen's social status in Korean society cannot be underest imated, i t st i l l main-ta ined a conservat ive in terpreta t ion c onc erning th e r ights of wo m en in re la t ionto men . The C hu rch he ld , in congruence wi th the cen tu ri es-o ld male hegem onyof Buddhism and Confucianism, tha t w om en are to obey men, the reby making i tjusti fiable for the exis tence of inequal i ty between me n and w om en. The se i llu-s t r a t ions a lone r evea l how the Korean Church endeavoured to s t r ess the con-servative features of C hrist ian ity in order to reconcile i ts ideals with those of thehost cul ture . In a ddi t ion, fo ra society tha t accorded the e lder ly a d ist inguishedsocial status, C hris t ian values that be stow reverence for the elderly and autho ri tyfor m en were comfo rtably accepted by large numbers of Koreans w ho viewed thetwo tradit ions as st ipulat ing th e same v alues.

A no the r key elemen t in the C onfuc ian-or iented values regarding the familyis ancestor wo rship . By subt ly pe rm it t ing ancest ra l r i tes to be co ndu cted byChr is t ians , Korean Protestant ism evad ed successfully the p otent ia l a l ienat ion ofthe t radi t ion-bou nd Koreans, ensur ing, for the adherents , the sense of cont inui tywi th the pas t . Whi le an over t , t r ad i t iona l ances to r worsh ip was r e jec ted , aChrist ian memorial service, similar in intention and meaning, was substi tuted ini t s p lace. In fact , the Church general ly looked the other way in regards to ther ites of ancestor w orship . A s a resul t, a m ajor i ty of Korean Protestants a te foundto hold ancest ra l r i tes regular ly . In h is survey of Korean Protestants regardingmem orial ceremon ies , So onh a Ryu ( 1987: 200) found that m ore th an two- thirdsof those su rveyed conduc ted syncre t i zed r i tua l s o f ances t r a l worsh ip . For


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KOREAN R ELIGIOUSCULTUREAN D ITS AFFINITYTO CH RISTIANITY 129example , 21 pe rcen t o f the r esponden ts , in a mann er cons i s t en t w i th Co nfuc ianr i tuals , prepa red food i tems and se t the m in f ront of the graves before hold ing ap r iva te s e rv ice acco rd ing to a Ch r i s t i an con ven t ion . Fu r the r , 16 pe rce n t o f theresponden ts he ld s e rv ices w i th the cand les p laced in f ron t o f the p ic tu re o f thedeceased . In add i t ion , 11 pe rcen t o f the r esponden ts he ld s e rvices accom pan iedby the p ic ture , food, and candles , whi le 8 percent held serv ices wi th the p ic turei n p la c e . T h e p r e p a r a t io n o f f o o d a n d t h e p l a c e m e n t o f t h e p i c t u r e o f t h ed e c e a s e d ( i n s t e a d o f t a b l e ts c o n t a i n i n g t h e n a m e s o f t h e a n c e s t o rs ) a t e , o fcourse , ma in e lemen ts o f Con fuc ian r itua ls o f ances to r w orsh ip . W hi le these ac tsd id no t r ep resen t the r i te s o f ances to r w orsh ip in the m ann er o f p roper Con -fucian ism, th ey w ere never the les s K orean Chr i s t i ans ' ow n w ays o f pay ing t r ibu teto the i r ances to r s . By sub t ly a l low ing these t ime -hon ored r it e s, a lbe i t syncre -t ized , to be pe r fo rmed by Chr i s t ians , K orean P ro tes tan ti sm evad ed the po ten t i a lc lash o f va lues , the reby he lp ing th e impo r ted f a i th ach ieve i ts d ramat ic g row thin Sou th K orea.C O N C L U S I O N

Th is s tudy a t t em pted to show tha t th e d ramat ic g row th o f P ro tes tan t i sm inSou th K orea du r ing the 1960s , 70s, and 80s w as due in pa r t to the w ay ce r ta ind o c t r i n e s a n d p r a c ti c e s o f t h e i m p o r t e d f a i t h a g r e e d w i t h t h o s e o f t h e f o l kt r ad i t ion . In th e p rocess , the s tudy show ed tha t the a f f in i ty be tw een th e tw ot rad i tions w as forged th rough s e lec t ive emphases on ce r ta in doc t r ines and m es -sages o f Chr i s t i an i ty . In an e f fo r t to make P ro tes tan t i sm more accep tab le topo ten t i a l conv er t s , K orean pas to r s accen tua te d speci fi c Ch r i s t i an messages andpract ices , par t icu lar ly those per ta in ing to the shamanic wor ldview, to s t rengthenthe appea l o f the impor ted f a i th to l a rge numbers o f K oreans . Those messagesinc luded th e p romise o f th i s -w or ld ly w ish fu l f ilmen t , the dep ic t ion o f G od asguaran to r o f w ish -fu lf ilmen t , and the deed o f superna tu ra l hea l ing , a l l o f w h ichgeneraUy sui t Koreans ' re ligious or ien ta t io n . In th is way, Koreans foun d the newdoc t r ines and va lues to be compat ib le w i th the va lues tha t they w ere f ami l i a rw i th . Fo r some Chr i s t ians , a t l eas t in the w ay they be l i eved and p rac t is ed the i rf a i th , Chr i s t i an i ty w as no t much more than the i r t r ad i t iona l r e l ig ious sys temcloaked in the gu is e o f m odem , W es te rn r e lig ion .W ha t th i s show s is tha t the re w as no r ea l c l a sh o f va lues be tw een th e ne wdoctr ine and the exis t ing re l ig ions of Korea . And that was made poss ib le largelyth rou gh the e f fo rt s o f K o rean pas to r s . In the i r zea lous e f fo r t s to w in newconver t s , K orean pas to r s ac tua l ly shaped Chr i s t i an i ty in acco rdance w i th thet r ad i t ion -b oun d r el ig ious inc l ina t ion o f K oreans . Th i s w as pa r t i cu la rly t rue fo rb e l i e f s a n d p r a c t i c e s t h a t h a d s t r o n g s h a m a n i c c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . F o l l o w i n gS h a m a n i s m , f o r e x a m p l e , t h i s - w o r l d l y w i s h - f u l f i l m e n t w a s a d v a n c e d a s a na d v a n t a g e o f c o n v e r t i n g t o C h r i s t i a n i t y , t h e r e b y s e r v in g a s t h e e v a n g e l i c a lmessage or "se l l ing po in t" par excellence. A n engross ing in teres t in both phys ical


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130 SOCIOLOGYOF RELIGIONhealth and material abundance here and now, a sal ient undercurrent of Koreans'religious beliefs, was thus emphasized in K ore an Protestantism. Fu rtherm ore, theimage and the role of Korean clergy also took on many characterist ics of thesham an to give the impression that th ey were one and the same. In this way , thedis t inct ion between Chris t iani ty and Sham anism in general and betwee n churchservice and shamanic ri tual in part icular became blurred in South Korea. Likeother traditional religions of Korea, therefore, Christianity followed a process ofgrowth thr oug h coalescence and a ccret ions o f t radi t ional Korean forms of bel iefand pract ice. Both the missionaries and the nat ive clergy, especial ly the lat ter,t ransla ted Chris t ian ideas in to forms which would appeal immensely to theKorean religious imagination.

A no ther factor that faci l ita ted the grow th of Chris t iani ty in So uth Koreawas that there were no real cont radict ions between the new doct r ine and thecore values of the Korean people. Th e m oral and social values of Confucianism ,which hav e largely determined the a t t i tude and behavior of Koreans, and thehigh moral code taught by the Protestants converged, e l iminat ing potent ia lconfl ic t s of values that could have ser iously undermined the expansion of thenew doct r ine . The Church 's emphasis on f i l ia l p ie ty and acceptance of maledominat ion as wel l as i t s teachings on ethical values concerning the basicteachings of a way of l i fe agreed with the Confucian-centered moral values ofKoreans. In th is way, Chris t iani ty did not cont radict or deny much that thepopulace had em braced in i ts old bel iefs. As Samuel M offet t (1962: 52), a notedhistorian of Ko rean c hurch history, wro te: "Like Confucianism, i t [Christ ianity]taught righteousness and revered learning; l ike Buddhism, i t sought puri ty andpromised a future l i fe ; l ike the sham anis ts , Chris t ians bel ieved in answeredprayer and m iracles."

This s tudy is thus congruent w i th G rayson 's theory of em plantat ion, for theremarkable growth of Christ iani ty in South Korea rested heavily on minimizingthe co nt radict ion between the new doct r ine an d Korean values and on reducingthe confl ict between the new fai th and Korean tradi t ional rel igions. This studyis also consistent with the exist ing cross-cul tural studies on Christ ian conver-sion: that Christ iani ty has shown great success in propagating i tself by incor-porat ing different cul tural t rai ts in local set t ings (Saunders 1988; Badon e 1990;Hefner 1993). The "Koreanizat ion" of Chris t iani ty has proved eminent ly suc-cessful in So uth Korea, and this seems to offer ah answer to the quest ion of whysome societies eagerly embrace th e new fai th w hile others are so resistant. Thisraises the quest ion of the val idi ty of what i s known as an " inte l lectual i s t"approach to re l ig ious conversion ( H or to n 1971; Skorupski 1976: 183 -204),which expl icates conversion asa change in re l ig ious bel ief to one that i s pre-ferred ou t o f rival sets of bel ief on grounds of explanatory force. A lso c hal lengedis the view tha t conversion entai ls chan ges in the beliefs, values, identi t ies, andthe universe of discourse of individuals (Sno w and M achalek 1984). Th e S ou thKorean example i l lus t ra tes that conversion has taken place wi thout a major


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KOREAN RELIGIOUSCULTU RE AN D ITS AFFINITYTO CHRISTIANITY 131t r a n s f o r m a t i o n i n b e li e f o r va l ue s . T h e o n l y m a j o r c h a n g e i n v o l v e d i n c o n -ve r s ion seems to have been a sh i ft i n iden t i ty . I n accep t ing the imp or ted fa i th ,Korean Pro te s t an t s d id no t have to g ive up much o f the i r t r ad i t iona l r e l ig iousbel ie fs and hab i ts , fo r the core Korean re l ig ious va lues were co-opted . Indeed ,c o n v e r s i o n t o P r o t e s t a n t is m i n S o u t h K o r e a d i d n o t r e q u i re s u r r e n d e r o f o l dbe l i e f s . By r ework ing Pro te s t an t be l i e f s and p rac t i ces wi th in an ind igenousf r amework , Korea n Pro te s t an t s succeeded in r e t a in ing the co re o f the i r t r ad i -t iona l r e l ig io -cu l tu r a l be li ef s and p rac t ices in the new f a i th . T he So u th Koreane x a m p l e t h u s c o n t r a d i c t s t h e a r g u m e n t t h a t w o r l d r e l i g i o n s s p r e a d a t t h eexpense o f t r ad i t iona l cu l tu r e s and soc ie t i e s . Wha t we wi tness in Sou th Korea ,in s tead , i s the expans ion o f Chr i s t i an i ty in peace wi th o ld be l ie fs . L ike the o the rw o r l d r e l i g io n t h a t t o o k r o o t i n K o r e a m B u d d h i s m m C h r i s t i a n i t y c o m -p romised wi th and abso rbed e lemen t s o f t r ad i t iona l Korean r e l ig ious cu l tu r e ino rde r to be accep ted by the Korean popu lace .

T h i s p a r t ly e x p la i ns w h y C a t h o l i c i s m , w i t h a b o u t t w o a n d a h a l l m i ll io nadhe ren ts b y the ear ly 1990s , d id no t g row as rap id ly as Pro te s tan t ism dur in g thesame pe r iod . Excep t for accep t ing the t im e-ho nore d p rac t ice o f ances to r wor sh ipa s a t r a d i t i o n a l c u s t om , t h e C a t h o l i c c h u r c h h a d n o t c o m p r o m i s e d i ts t h e o lo g yand ways of worsh ip to ca ter to the re l ig ious inc l in a t io n of Koreans .

R E F E R E N C E SAh n, B. 1985. The Korean Chu rch's understanding of Jesus. Intemat ional Review of M iss/on 124:81-91.Badone, E., ed. 1990. Rel i~ous or thodoxy and popular fai th in European socie ty . Princeton, NJ:Princeton Un iversity Press.Biematzki, W. E., L. J. Ira , and A. K. Mita. 1975. Korean C atholic ism in the 7O s. Maryknoll, NY:Orbis Books.Chang, Y. 1982. Sham anismas fo lk existentialism. In Reli~gns in Korea: B eliefs and cultural values,edited by E. H. Philiips and E. Yu, 25-41. Los Angeles: Cen tre for Am erican-Koreanand

Korean Studies, Califom iaSta te University.Ching, J. 1977. Confucianism and C hris t iani ty: A comp arat ive s tudy . New York: KodanshaIntemational.Christian Academy. 1986. The content of sermons and its relation to church grow th. In Gahyukshil lhakgwa sulgyo yungu ( A s tudy o f the re form theology and sermons) , edited by ChristianAcademy. Seoul: Guk/e Shinh akYunguso.Christian Institute for the Study of Justice and Developm ent. 1982. Hanguk G y ohoe l OOnyunJonghap Yungu (A study of 100 yea rs of Ko rean Christianity). Seou l: Ha nguk GidokgyoSahoemunje Yunguwon.Christian Yearbook of Korea. 1993. Th e Chris t ian yearbook of Koreo. Seoul: The ChristianLiterature Press.Chung, J. 1977. Koreans'concept of blessing.The Chris tian Thought 21" 1Clark, A. D. 1971.A histor~ of the church in Korea. Seoul: Ch ristianLiteratureSociety of Korea.Grayson, J. H . 1985. Ear/y Buddh/sm nd Chr/st/an/t~ n Korea. Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill.


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K O R E A N R E L I G I O U S C U L T U R E A N D I T S A F F IN IT Y T O C H R I S T I A N I T Y 133Saunders, G. R., ed. 1988. Culture and C hr is t iani ty: Th e d ia lect ics o f trans formation. W estport , CT:Greenwood Press.Scot t , R. 1920. W arr ing mental i ties in the F ar Ea s t . Asia 20.Skorupski, J. 197 6. Sym bol an d theory: A phi losophical s tudy o f theor ies o f re l i~on in socia l anthropolo~.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Snow, D. A . , and R. M achalek. 1984. Th e sociology of conversion. An nua l Rev iew o f Socio logy 10:167-90.Tak, M. 1971. The rapeut ic pheno me na of new religions . Kor eaJour na l 11 (12): 27-30.Yun , S . 1964 . Kidokk .yo wa H anguk Sas ang (Chr i st ian i ty and Ko r ean thought). Seoul: ChristianLiterature Society.


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