Catholic Church in South Korea

Catholic Church in South Korea
; Catholic Church in South Korea
Korean: 한국의 가톨릭 교회
	Cathedral Church of Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception
Type	National polity
Classification	Catholic
Orientation	Asian Christianity, Latin
Scripture	Bible
Theology	Catholic theology
Governance	Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea
Pope	Francis
President	Matthias Ri Iong-hoon
Apostolic Nuncio	Alfred Xuereb
Region	South Korea
Language	Ecclesiastical Latin, Korean
Headquarters	Seoul
Origin	27 December 1593
Other name(s)	天主教 ("Religion of the Lord of Heaven")
Official website	english.cbck.or.kr

The Catholic Church in South Korea (called Cheonjugyo, Korean: 천주교; Hanja: 天主教; lit. Religion of the Lord of Heaven) is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.

In 2020, it had 5,841,000 members (11.28% of the population) with almost 5,000 priests and 9,000 nuns serving across 1,842 parishes.^[1]

History

Spanish Jesuit priest Gregorio Céspedes was possibly the first Catholic missionary in Korea, said to have arrived in Busan on 27 December 1593.^[2]^[3] At the time of the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98), Japanese leader Konishi Yukinaga married a Korean Christian woman, who had adopted Julia as her name.^[4] Macau received an influx of African slaves, Japanese slaves as well as Christian Korean slaves who were bought by the Portuguese from the Japanese after they were taken prisoner during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98).^[5]

However, Catholicism (and Christianity in general) in Korea more generally began in 1784 when Yi Seung-hun was baptized while in China under the Christian name of Peter. He later returned to Korea carrying religious texts, and baptized many fellow countrymen. The Church in Korea continued to grow without formal missionary priests.

During the 19th century, the Catholic Church was targeted by the government of the Joseon dynasty chiefly for the religion's opposition to ancestral "worship", which the Church perceived to be a form of idolatry, but which the state prescribed as a cornerstone of Korean culture.

Despite a century-long persecution that produced thousands of martyrs – 103 of whom were canonized by Pope John Paul II in May 1984, including the first Korean priest, St. Andrew Taegon Kim, who was ordained in 1845 and martyred in 1846 – the Church in Korea expanded. The Apostolic Vicariate of Korea was formed in 1831, and after the expansion of the Church structure over the next century, the current structure of the three Metropolitan Provinces, each with an Archdiocese and several suffragan Dioceses, was established in 1962.

In 1899, "the Sinch'uk Rebellion, a Confucian-led and -organised popular uprising", made a "most barbarous massacre" of from 500 to 600 victims. It was in reaction to promises of tax exemptions by lay-assistants and desecration of "spirit-shrines" by Catholics, after the arrival of two French priests to Cheju.^[6]

Current status

Government surveys showed that in 2020, more than 45% of South Koreans practice no religion, that about 22% are Buddhists, and that 29.2% are Christians with 11.1% being Catholics and 18% being Protestants, meaning that Christianity is the largest religion.^[7]

The Catholic Church in South Korea has seen significant growth in recent years, increasing its membership from 7.9% of the population to 11% over the past twenty years.^[8]^[9] At the end of 2017 there were 5,813,770 Catholics in South Korea – 11.0% of the population.^[8] In 2017, the Church grew by 1.3%, with over 75,000 adult baptisms.^[8] Part of this growth can be attributed to the Church's relatively positive perception by the general public because of its role in the democratization of South Korea, its active participation in various works of social welfare, and its respectful approach to interfaith relationship and matters of traditional Korean spirituality.^[10]

There are 15 dioceses including three archdioceses – Seoul, Daegu, and Gwangju – and a military ordinariate.

In North Korea under the communist regime, Christianity is officially suppressed, and unofficial estimates by South Korean Church officials place the number of Catholics there at only 5,000.^[11] The North Korean Catholic Church, ecclesiastically united with South Korea, is composed of the two dioceses of Diocese of Pyongyang and Diocese of Hamhung (suffragan to the Metropolitan Archbishop of Seoul), and the only territorial abbey outside Europe, the Territorial Abbey of Tokwon or Dokwon.

South Korea (and by extension the Catholic Church in all Korea, north and south) has the fourth largest number of saints in the Catholic Church since 1984 as categorized by nation,^[12] a number which includes the Korean Martyrs.

Pope Francis' visit

Pope Francis accepted an invitation to visit South Korea in August 2014. The four-day visit (14–18 August) culminated with a Papal Mass at Myeongdong Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of Seoul on 18 August. During a mass on 16 August, the Pope beatified 124 Korean Catholic martyrs.^[13] An invitation for North Korea's Catholics to attend was declined, due to South Korea's refusal to withdraw from military exercises which it had planned with the United States.

Dioceses and archdioceses

South Korea has fifteen territorial dioceses (three archdioceses and twelve dioceses) and one military diocese:^[14]^[15]

Inculturation

Catholicism in South Korea is unique in that it has inculturated with traditional Confucian customs that form an integral part of traditional secular Korean culture. As a result, South Korean Catholics continue to practice ancestral rites and observe many Confucian customs and philosophies.^[16]^[17]