Why So Many Korean Missionaries?

Dear Korean,

Christianity in Korea is a complex subject, but I have a simple question: why are there so many Korean missionaries?

Mati

Short answer:  it was born that way.

But let's back up a bit first. It is absolutely true that there are a great number of Korean Christian missionaries. Korea sends more missionaries abroad than any other country except for the United States. According to Korea World Missions Association, an umbrella organization for Korea's Protestant missionaries, more than 23,000 Korean missionaries are proselytizing abroad as of January 2012. The top five destinations are China, United States, Japan, the Philippines and India.

So why so many Christian missionaries from Korea? One obvious reason is that Christianity is a significant presence in Korea. According to the official governmental survey in 2005, nearly 30 percent of Koreans were Christians. Among them, approximately 12 percent were Catholics, and 18 percent were Protestants. (For reference: 46.5 percent of Koreans do not have any religion. After Christianity, Buddhism is the biggest religion, as nearly 23 percent of Koreans are Buddhists.)

But more importantly, Christian churches of Korea are enthusiastic about sending missions because missions were the vehicle through which Korea's Christianity began. One must remember that Christianity in Korea has a history of nearly two centuries. Catholicism arrived at Korea in the early 1800s, and the first Korean priest (St. Andrew Kim Taegon, who is also the patron saint of Korea) was ordained in 1845. Protestantism arrived at Korea a bit later, but it was just as successful. The Pyongyang Revival of 1907 was attended by so many people, whose faith was so intense, that Pyongyang came to be known as the "Jerusalem of the East."

Two centuries is a long time, but not quite long enough for people to forget the origin of their faith. Nearly all major congregations in Korea can trace its origin to a missionary who came to Korea in the early 19th century. In addition, for decades after Korean War, Korea saw a constant stream of American missionaries who came to provide humanitarian aid in the war-torn country, and assist the development of Korean churches. 

Thus, missionary work is deeply embedded in Korean churches. It was how they were born, and how they were raised. It is only natural, then, that these congregations would consider serving missions to be one of the most important duties as Christians.

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