This article analyzes the process of active international expansion of South Korean Protestant organizations, continuing since the end of the 20th century. Today, based on various numerical and qualitative indicators, they could be called one of the most influential global actors in the religious sphere and partly even in international relations. On the one hand, the language and methods, which such organizations use in order to disseminate their teachings continue the centuries-old tradition of Christian missionary work, in particular the American view of it. On the other hand, they are its rethinking, that could be possible only in the conditions of modern, constantly changing, but on the whole capitalistic, deeply globalized and a democratized world, throwing new challenges to religious organizations and forcing them looking for novel ways to survive in an increasingly aggressive environment. Special attention is paid to the major reasons for the appearance of such phenomenon and its characteristic features connected with them. Based on the results of the study, the author concludes that characteristic features of South Korean Protestant organizations’ activities abroad such as interchurch competition, factionalism along with high involvement in the commercial sector and politics are directly related to the historical process of the development of this denomination on the Korean Peninsula. Therefore, despite the transnational nature of these organizations, their activities are still predominately targeted the society that gave rise to them. However, this does not prevent them from being also an instrument for expanding foreign policy influence and even an element of soft power.
Keywords: Protestantism, Korea, church, missionary work, Evangelization, Gaegyohoejuui, Gwadu Cheje, Seojin, spiritual war
DOI: 10.22250/2072-8662.2020.4.59-68
About the author
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Sergei A. Sevriugin – Bachelor, Master degree student, Academy of Korean Studies (한국학중앙연구원); |