, native_name_lang =
, image = File:Seoul_Cathedral.jpg
, imagewidth = 250px
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Cathedral Church of Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception
, abbreviation =
, type =
National polity
A polity is an identifiable political entity – a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of institutionalized social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources. A polity can be any other group of p ...
, main_classification =
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, orientation =
Asian Christianity
, scripture =
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
, theology =
Catholic theology
, polity =
, governance =
Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea is the Catholic episcopal conference of Korea.
List of presidents
* Thomas F. Quinlan, S.S.C.M.E., Bishop of Chunchon (1959–1964)
*Paul Roh Ki-nam, Archbishop of Seoul (1964–1967)
*Victorinus Youn K ...
, structure =
, leader_title =
Pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
, leader_name =
Francis
, leader_title1 = President
, leader_name1 =
Matthias Ri Iong-hoon Matthias is a name derived from the Greek Ματθαίος, in origin similar to Matthew.
People
Notable people named Matthias include the following:
In religion:
* Saint Matthias, chosen as an apostle in Acts 1:21–26 to replace Judas Iscariot
* ...
, leader_title2 =
Apostolic Nuncio
An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international ...
, leader_name2 =
Alfred Xuereb
Alfred Xuereb (born 14 October 1958) is a Maltese prelate of the Catholic Church who has been the Apostolic Nuncio to both South Korea and Mongolia since February 2018. He previously worked in the Roman Curia and was a private secretary to Pop ...
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South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
, language =
Ecclesiastical Latin
Latin, also called Church Latin or Liturgical Latin, is a form of Latin developed to discuss Christian thought in Late Antiquity and used in Christian liturgy, theology, and church administration down to the present day, especially in the Ca ...
,
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
, headquarters =
, origin_link =
, founder =
, founded_date = 27 December 1593
, founded_place =
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, absorbed =
, separations =
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, defunct =
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, other_names = 天主教 ("Religion of the Lord of Heaven")
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The Catholic Church in South Korea (called Cheonjugyo,
Hangul
The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The le ...
: 천주교;
Hanja
Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom.
(, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, ...
: 天主教; literally, "Religion of the Lord of Heaven") is part of the worldwide
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, under the spiritual leadership of the
Pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
. At the end of 2017, it had 5,813,770 members (11.0% of the population) with 5,360 priests and 1,734 parishes.
History
Spanish
Jesuit priest
Gregorio Céspedes was possibly the first Catholic missionary in Korea, said to have arrived in
Busan
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, ...
on 27 December 1593.
At the time of the
Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98)
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diasp ...
, Japanese leader
Konishi Yukinaga married a Korean Christian woman, who had adopted Julia as her name.
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a p ...
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)
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diasp ...
in the era of
Hideyoshi
, otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...
.
However, Catholicism (and Christianity in general) in Korea more generally began in 1784 when
Yi Seung-hun
Yi Seung-Hun (1756 – April 8, 1801, ''Ja'': Jasul (子述), ''Ho'': Mancheon, baptismal name Peter) was one of the first Catholic martyrs in Korea.
Biography
He was born in 1756 in Seoul. His father was Soam Yi Dong-uk (蘇巖 李東郁, 17 ...
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 without formal missionary priests until a Chinese priest, Zhōu Wénmó arrived in 1794.
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
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
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.
Current status
Government surveys showed that 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.
The Catholic Church in South Korea has seen significant growth in recent years, increasing its membership by from 7.9% of the population to 11% over the past twenty years.
At the end of 2017 there were 5,813,770 Catholics in South Korea – 11.0% of the population.
In 2017, the Church grew by 1.3%, with over 75,000 adult baptisms.
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.
There are 15 dioceses including three archdioceses – Seoul, Daegu, and Gwangju – and a
military ordinariate
A military ordinariate is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, of the Latin or an Eastern church, responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics serving in the armed forces of a nation.
Until 1986, they were called "military ...
.
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. 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
A territorial abbey (or territorial abbacy) is a particular church of the Catholic Church comprising defined territory which is not part of a diocese but surrounds an abbey or monastery whose abbot or superior functions as ordinary for all Ca ...
outside Europe, the
Territorial Abbey of Tokwon
Tokwon Abbey was a Benedictine monastery of the Congregation of Missionary Benedictines of Saint Ottilien, located near the town of Wonsan in what is now North Korea. Founded as a monastic mission in Seoul, the community transferred to Tokwon in ...
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, a number which includes the
Korean Martyrs
The Korean Martyrs were the victims of religious persecution against Catholics during the nineteenth century in Korea. Between 8,000–10,000 Korean Christians were killed during this period. 103 Catholics were canonized ''en masse'' in May 1984 ...
.
Pope Francis' visit
Pope Francis
Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
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
Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...
124 Korean Catholic
martyrs
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...
. 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:
Province of Seoul
*
Archdiocese of Seoul
The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Seoul (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Metropolitae Seulensis'', ko, 서울대교구) is a Metropolitan archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church comprising the metropolitan area of Seoul, So ...
; 서울대교구
*
Diocese of Incheon ; 인천교구
*
Diocese of Suwon ; 수원교구
*
Diocese of Uijeongbu ; 의정부교구
*
Diocese of Chunchon ; 춘천교구
*
Diocese of Wonju ; 원주교구
*
Diocese of Daejeon ; 대전교구
Province of Daegu
*
Archdiocese of Daegu ; 대구대교구
*
Diocese of Pusan ; 부산교구
*
Diocese of Andong ; 안동교구
*
Diocese of Masan
The Diocese of Masan ( la, Dioecesis Masanensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in South Korea. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Daegu, Arch ...
; 마산교구
*
Diocese of Cheongju ; 청주교구
Province of Gwangju
*
Archdiocese of Gwangju ; 광주대교구
*
Diocese of Jeonju ; 전주교구
*
Diocese of Jeju ; 제주교구
Other
*
Military Ordinariate of South Korea ; 군종교구
Inculturation
Catholicism in South Korea is unique in that it has
inculturated with traditional
Confucian
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...
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.
See also
*
Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea is the Catholic episcopal conference of Korea.
List of presidents
* Thomas F. Quinlan, S.S.C.M.E., Bishop of Chunchon (1959–1964)
*Paul Roh Ki-nam, Archbishop of Seoul (1964–1967)
*Victorinus Youn K ...
*
Korean Catholic Bible
*
Korean Martyrs
The Korean Martyrs were the victims of religious persecution against Catholics during the nineteenth century in Korea. Between 8,000–10,000 Korean Christians were killed during this period. 103 Catholics were canonized ''en masse'' in May 1984 ...
*
List of Saints from Asia
*
Christianity in Korea
*
Seohak
Seohak was the introduction of technology, philosophy and most prominently, Catholicism and Western ideas to Joseon Korea in the 18th century. It is also occasionally referred to as ''Cheonjuhak'' () which means 'Heavenly Learning'. Literally mea ...
*
Catholic Persecution of 1801
The Catholic Persecution of 1801, also known as the Sinyu Persecution (신유박해), was a mass persecution of Korean Catholics ordered by Queen Jeongsun during King Sunjo of Joseon's reign. The government began to suppress Catholicism in the be ...
References
Further reading
The Founding of Catholic Tradition in Korea
The Origin of the Roman Catholic Church in Korea: An Examination of Popular and Governmental Responses Catholic Missions in the Late Chosôn Dynasty
External links
백과사전 "Catholicism" entry in Naver Encyclopedia Dictionary"Sŏhak" entry in Encyclopædia Britannica
{{Asia topic, Christianity in
Catholic Church in South Korea,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
Religious syncretism in Asia