, native_name_lang = , image = File:Seoul_Cathedral.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = , caption = Cathedral Church of Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception , abbreviation = , type = National polity , 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 Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

, theology =

Catholic theology Catholic theology is the understanding of Catholic doctrine or teachings, and results from the studies of theologians. It is based on Biblical canon, canonical Catholic Bible, scripture, and sacred tradition, as interpreted authoritatively by ...

, polity = , governance = Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea , 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 Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome * Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) Places *Rural ...

, leader_title1 = President , leader_name1 = Matthias Ri Iong-hoon , 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 ...

, leader_title3 = , leader_name3 = , fellowships_type = , fellowships = , fellowships_type1 = , fellowships1 = , division_type = , division = , division_type1 = , division1 = , division_type2 = , division2 = , division_type3 = , division3 = , associations = , area =

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, 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 Cath ...

, Korean , headquarters = , origin_link = , founder = , founded_date = 27 December 1593 , founded_place = , separated_from = , parent = , merger = , absorbed = , separations = , merged_into = , defunct = , congregations_type = , congregations = , members = , number_of_followers = , ministers_type = , ministers = , missionaries = , churches = , hospitals = , nursing_homes = , aid = , primary_schools = , secondary_schools = , tax_status = , tertiary = , other_names = 天主教 ("Religion of the Lord of Heaven") , publications = , website = , slogan = , logo = , footnotes = 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 l ...

: 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 List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

, under the spiritual leadership of the

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 , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priest

Gregorio Céspedes Gregorio Céspedes (or Gregorio de Céspedes), SJ (1551–1611) was a Spanish Jesuit priest who went to Korea to do missionary work. He arrived in Busan on 27 December 1593. He accompanied the forces commanded by Konishi Yukinaga, himself a Kiris ...

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 diaspor ...

, Japanese leader

Konishi Yukinaga Konishi Yukinaga (小西行長, baptized under the personal name Agostinho (Portuguese for Augustine); 1558 – November 6, 1600) was a Kirishitan daimyō under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He is notable for his role as the vanguard of the Japane ...

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 pop ...

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

in the era of Hideyoshi. 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 Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

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 The Roman Catholic Diocese of Pyongyang is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in North Korea. Its only official bishop, Francis Hong Yong-ho, was imprisoned by the government of the North Korea led by Kim Il-sung in 19 ...

and Diocese of Hamhung (suffragan to the Metropolitan Archbishop of Seoul), and the only territorial abbey 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 religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Orth ...

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: Dioceses of Korea-en

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 Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...

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.

References

External links

백과사전 "Catholicism" entry in Naver Encyclopedia Dictionary

"Sŏhak" entry in Encyclopædia Britannica

{{Asia topic, Christianity in Catholic Church in South Korea,

Religious syncretism in Asia