Catholic Church in Korea

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Korean. (July 2020) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the Korean article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Korean Wikipedia article at [[:ko:한국의_로마_가톨릭교회]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|ko|한국의_로마_가톨릭교회}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Part of a series on the
Catholic Church by country
Africa Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Eswatini Ethiopia Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia Somaliland South Africa South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe
Asia Afghanistan Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Cambodia China East Timor Hong Kong India Indonesia Japan Kazakhstan Korea North Korea South Korea Kyrgyzstan Laos Macau Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal Pakistan Philippines Singapore Sri Lanka Taiwan Tajikistan Thailand Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Vietnam
Middle East Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Cyprus Georgia Abkhazia Iran Iraq Israel Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Palestine Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia Syria Turkey United Arab Emirates Yemen
Europe Albania Andorra Austria Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Czechia Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kosovo Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands North Macedonia Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Ukraine United Kingdom England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
North America Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Canada Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago United States
Oceania Australia Fiji Kiribati Marshall Islands Micronesia Nauru New Zealand Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu
South America Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Guyana Paraguay Peru Suriname Uruguay Venezuela
Catholicism portal
v t e

The Catholic Church in Korea is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome.

The Catholic Church in Korea originated because of Western books and the increase of Western knowledge that related to Catholic teachings. The Catholic Church faced severe persecution under the Joseon Dynasty due to a threat against Confucian-based social and political order. Many major events contributed to the spread of the Catholic Church in Korea. This effected the spread of the Catholic church to be different between the South and the North.

The Catholic hierarchy in Korea has never been divided between South and North, in the same manner as the Catholic hierarchy in Germany was never divided between East and West between the artificially created borders. For example, some parts of the territory of the archdiocese of Seoul are located in North Korea. Nevertheless, since the political division of Korea in 1945, Catholicism has had a different development in North and South.

North Korea is officially an atheist state^[1][2] and does not have diplomatic relations with the Holy See. The Catholic hierarchy has been inactive there for decades (i.e. since the Korean War), and there are no active Catholic churches in the country.

The only territorial abbey outside of Europe and one of only 11 remaining territorial abbeys is the Territorial Abbey of Tokwon, located near Wonsan in North Korea. The persecution of Christians in North Korea since 1949^[3] has made any activity in the abbacy impossible.^[4] However, the Territorial Abbacy of Tokwon is formally still kept as one of the few remaining territorial abbeys within the Catholic Church.^[5]

About 11% of the population of South Korea (roughly 5.8 million) are Catholics, with about 1,734 parishes and 5,360 priests as of 2017.^[6] By proportion of a national population and by raw number of adherents, South Korea ranks among the most strongly Catholic countries in Asia after the Philippines and East Timor.

In the late 18th century, a small group of Korean intellectuals and scholars were exposed to Catholicism through Western books and Chinese translations. The growing influx of Western knowledge into Korea facilitated these early encounters with Catholic teachings. As a result, some scholars began to embrace the new faith and lay the groundwork for establishing Catholicism in Korea. The pivotal event in the early development of the Church in Korea occurred when Yi Seung-hun, a Korean diplomat, traveled to Beijing in 1784. During his stay, he encountered Catholicism for the first time, and was baptized, taking the name Peter. Upon returning to Korea, he brought back Catholic books and religious materials, which he shared with friends and associates. This marked the beginning of a small, albeit significant, Catholic community in Korea.

In the decades that followed the introduction of Catholicism to Korea, the Catholic Church faced severe persecution under the Joseon Dynasty. The primary reason for this persecution was the perceived threat of Catholic teachings to the existing Confucian-based social and political order. The Catholic faith, emphasizing loyalty to God above earthly authorities, was seen as subversive, potentially destabilizing the established hierarchy. The first official record of persecution against Catholics dates back to 1801 when Siméon-François Berneux, a French Catholic priest, was arrested and expelled from the country. Over the years, the number of converts and the intensity of the persecution grew. The government issued several edicts banning Catholicism and subjected known adherents to torture and execution. Despite the risks, the Catholic community grew clandestinely, and many Korean Catholics died as martyrs for their faith during this period.

One of the most critical events that significantly affected the spread of the Catholic Church in Korea was the Catholic Persecution of 1866, also known as the Byeongin Persecution. Fears of foreign intervention triggered this persecution, as Catholicism was associated with Western countries, particularly France. The prevailing anti-foreign sentiment further fueled the hostility towards Catholics, making them easy targets of persecution. The Byeongin Persecution was characterized by widespread violence and brutal suppression of the Catholic community. Thousands of Korean Catholics, including clergy and laity, were killed during this period. Among the notable figures who suffered martyrdom during the persecution were French bishop Siméon-François Berneux and Korean lay leader Paul Yun Ji-Chung. Despite the immense challenges faced by the Catholic Church during this time, the persecution did not crush the faith of Korean Catholics. Instead, it further strengthened their resolve, and the sacrifice of the martyrs became a source of inspiration for future generations of believers.

• Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea
• Christianity in Korea
• Catholic Church in China

Lee, Ki-Baik. "A New History of Korea." Harvard University Press, 1984. Eperjesi, John R. "The Catholic Church in Korea: Its Origins 1566-1784." Dissertation, The Catholic University of America, 1977. Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea. "History of the Catholic Church in Korea." CBCK, 2011. Baek, Seung-hoon. "The History of the Korean Catholic Church." Jung-eum-sa, 2009.

This Catholic Church by country-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e

This article related to religion in Korea is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e