Indigenization of Christianity in Korea

Writer Chai-shin Yu argued in the epilogue of his book that it is impossible for churches to do successful missionary work without understanding the cultural basis of the community.

He also called for a greater indigenization of the Catholic faith in Korea. (The Founding of Catholic Tradition in Korea, Ed. Chai-Shin Yu, Asian Humanities Press 2004).

For a start, a tradition that is unique to Korea is the existence and importance of "elderly female evangelists."

"Although they were theologically untrained, they were very earnest in prayer, often healed the sick, and taught the Bible with an Asian interpretation," Yu wrote.

Moreover, in Korean churches, the ministers are seen as highly respected leaders with absolute authority.

"Although the Old Testament does depict the prophets as men of God, the Korean minister's authority comes from the Confucian tradition and its virtual caste system."

Early church buildings in Korea were built not in a contemporary western style but with traditional brick and straw. In Korean churches, men were separated from women by a curtain between the two seated groups. This was influenced by the Confucian teaching that male and female should not sit together after the age of seven.

Yu added rather emphatically that "the church in Korea still adopts western theology without criticism and brings it in as if it were the absolute truth. It has already been 200 years since the introduction of Catholicism and 100 since the introduction of Protestantism, but the exegeses of the Bible that are available in Korea are for the most part purely American. We do not find many real Korean Biblical sources or Christian references. Sermons in the churches are almost entirely dependent on western references."

He suggested that "ideally, the Korean church will integrate the spiritual life of traditional Korea with the absolute gospels of western thoughts to make an indigenous Korean Christianity."