Cults, Christianity, and Korean Nationalism : A Culture Study
Unification Church mass wedding ceremony
Source: Wakin, D. (2012, September 2). Rev. Sun Myung Moon, self-proclaimed messiah who built religious movement, dies at 92. The New York Times. Retrieved September 11, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/03/world/asia/rev-sun-myung-moon-founder-of-unification-church-dies-at-92.html
At the start of 2020, news began to spread throughout South Korea about a mysterious virus infecting individuals in Wuhan, China. Ten days later, the virus—what would later be identified as COVID-19—officially reached the peninsula. Despite this, immediate fear of infection was miniscule, with cases only peaking to 30 within the first month and a half and the Korean Government promising that the worse would soon be over. This optimism, however, was far from the reality. One month later, South Korea witnessed over 4,200 COVID-19 reports and 26 deaths.
Officials quickly identified the “super-spreader” responsible for the sudden mass outbreak: a 61-year-old woman in the city of Deagu and member of the infamous Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a popular doomsday cult with origins in Christianity. The woman had attended one of the church’s services while experiencing early “cold-like” symptoms. The Korean government and public alike were quick to criticize Shincheonji for its decision to hold a service during the COVID-19 outbreak. In response, the church claimed they were being falsely accused of the spike in infections. However, on March 2, 2020, the government reported that 60% of South Korea’s COVID-19 cases were linked to the Shincheonji outbreak. The same month, a public petition requesting the dissolution of Shincheonji amassed more than one million signatures.
Shincheonji leader Lee Man-Hee bowing in apology on Korean national television
Source: Champion, M. (2020, March 2). The Leader Of The Religious Sect That Spread Coronavirus In South Korea Says Sorry. BuzzFeed News. Retrieved September 11, 2022, from https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/matthewchampion/coronavirus-south-korea-shincheonji-lee-man-hee
The Coronavirus incident in Daegu is not the first time a Christian-based cult has been caught up in a nationwide scandal in South Korea. In 2016, former President Park Geun-Hye was imprisoned and impeached for corruption charges linked to the founder of Yŏngsegyo, a cult combining Buddhist, shamanistic, and Christian ideologies. In 1987, the Salvation Sect (Kuwŏnp’a) was connected to the sinking of the Sewol Ferry in 2014 as well as the deaths of 33 of its own members in 1987. Chŏng Myŏngsŏk, the leader of cult group Providence (Jesus of the Morning Star), was imprisoned for the sexual assault and forced molestation of his female followers in 2009.
Despite the widespread scandalization of these cults and the criticisms they have received throughout the years, they continue to accumulate widespread followings throughout South Korea. By March 2020, Shincheonji retained 317,320 members. The Salvation Sect allegedly has 200,000 members among its 178 churches located throughout the country and the Unification Church—perhaps the most infamous Korean cult—is estimated to have anywhere between one and three million followers worldwide.
So how did these Christian-based cults form and how did they become so successful despite their continuous scandals and criticisms? This article will cover how the growth of Christian-based cults in contemporary South Korea can be primarily attributed to the image Christianity obtained during the Japanese Colonial era as a nationalistic movement. Furthermore, the end of the Korean War led to nationalism being combined with Christianity in a religious way.
The Rise of Christianity Before Annexation
Before Japan’s annexation of Korea in 1910, Christianity had been steadily growing on the peninsula following the arrival of Protestant missionaries two decades prior. The successful proselytization of Christianity in Korea can be primarily attributed to the missionaries’ development of the Nevius Method, a form of evangelicalism that focused on self-propagation, self-government, and self-support. This meant that Koreans would be proselytized by other Korean converts, would have Korean translated copies of the Bible, and would largely fund and maintain the churches themselves. Christianity’s ideology of all being created in God’s image furthermore appealed to the lower classes who were previously stifled by the unbudging rigidity of Neo-Confucianism, further aiding the missionaries in converting from “the bottom up.” All these efforts and more framed the Christian religion as highly democratic—something for the people by the people—a mentality that would echo into the occupational period.
Dedication ceremony of missionary Rev. James Adams’ memorial tablet at the First Presbyterian Church in Daegu, South Korea
Source: Presbyterian Historical Society. (1935). Dedication ceremony of reverend James E. Adams' memorial tablet. Pearl Digital Collections. Retrieved September 11, 2022, from https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A113000
Protestantism and Christianity Under Japanese Occupation
The Japanese occupational period marked a turning point for Christianity in Korea. While within the first year of annexation foreign missionaries encouraged their followers to cooperate with Japan, such efforts quickly became futile. In 1911, the Japanese government arrested and unsubstantially charged 105 individuals for conspiring to assassinate the Governor-General. 98% of those arrested were Christian, leading many to believe that the arrests were a direct attack on the Korean church. While those sentenced were eventually pardoned—likely due to the event’s publicization in America—the incident, now known as the ‘105-Man Incident,’ can be recognized at Japan’s first attempt to stifle both Korean nationalism and Christianity. It also wouldn’t be the last.
During occupation, the Japanese government issued a series of regulations to eliminate Korean identity and assimilate Koreans into Japanese culture. Among the changes, Japanese-style school systems were integrated, Koreans were forced to replace their own names with Japanese ones, and the Korean language eventually became prohibited. The Japanese government additionally obligated all Koreans to participate in State Shintō practices. For Korean Christians, the assimilation of the Japanese language in schools led to the Bible’s removal from all school curriculums. Many also felt that mandatory participation in State Shintō directly violated their beliefs. Furthermore, after the 105-Man Incident, policies were put in place to prohibit most foreign missionaries from practicing medicine and building new churches.
The oppression of Koreans by the Japanese erupted in 1919 in the form of the March First Movement. Over 1,000 protests for Korea’s independence took place, beginning in Seoul and promptly spreading throughout the country. In total, over 1000 demonstrations took place and the Japanese military killed around 7,500, wounded 16,000, and arrested 46,000. Christians played a important role in the March First Movement. During the initial planning stages of the revolt, information and supplies were passed through networks of churches and other Christian organizations across the country, allowing the protest to slide under Japan’s radar. Of the Movement’s 33 leaders, 16 were Protestant and among the signers of the Declaration of Independence, nine were Methodists and seven were Presbyterians.
YMCA located in Daegu; Primary meeting location for Korean Christian independence activists and leaders in Daegu
Despite the explosivity of the March First Movement, the protests ultimately failed. In response, the Japanese began to ruthlessly attack Christians, burn down their churches, and execute them. In one instance, Japanese soldiers herded villagers into a church before setting it alight. In another, 30 Christians were crowded into a building to then be killed with rifles and swords.
While the March First Movement failed to bring about Korea’s independence, it was successful in uniting the Korean people. Additionally, it solidified Christianity as a means of supporting nationalism. Because more Christians suffered than any other group following the March First Movement, many non-Christians began to view the church as an expression of patriotism and leadership.
After Korea’s liberation from Japan in 1945, Korean churches finally experienced a short period of ease, finding newfound support under the country’s first president, Syngman Rhee. This did not last long, however. During the Korean War many southern anti-communist protestants were killed and, in the North, Christians were being persecuted by their own government. After Syngman Rhee’s removal from office in 1960 following protests regarding his corrupt politics, Christians once against were left doubting their government alongside the rest of the nation. The subsequent dictatorial rule of South Korea by Presidents Park Chung-Hee and Chun Doo-Hwan ultimately implored Christians to continue their nationalist efforts throughout the 1960’s-1980s.
The Rise of New Religious Movements and Nationalism
Following the aftermath of Japanese colonization and the Korean War, many Christian leaders harped on the strong nationalistic sentiments of South Koreans by framing the Christianizing of Korea as patriotic and sure to protect the country from further threat. The growing interest in and support of Christianity extended to the newly emerging Christian-based syncretic groups as well, with the post-war era marking a boom of over 50 new religious movements and around 70 Koreans all claiming to be the next messiah. The first two, and most notable, of these groups were the Olive Tree Movement and the Unification Church.
Olive Tree revival meeting, led by the group’s founder Pak T'aesŏn (1957)
Source: Berlinger, J. (2020, March 6). How one man's epiphany on a Seoul mountain in 1955 laid the foundation for many religious sects in South Korea. CNN. Retrieved September 11, 2022, from https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/06/asia/religious-movements-south-korea-intl-hnk/index.html
These groups embedded the ideals of Korean nationalism and anti-Japanese and anti-communist sentiments directly into their religious doctrines, often claiming that the “east” when discussed in the Bible was referencing South Korea and that their leaders were either angels or the new messiah. The Unification Church’s sacred text –The Divine Principle—blatantly condemns Japan for its imperialism of Korea and for its and China’s role as communist nations during World War II, labeling them both as nations on “Satan’s side,” and juxtaposing them with South Korea as the “holy place.” The text further claims that South Korea became more pious because they suffered occupation, stating that the killing of Korean Christians during the occupational period is comparable to the hardships of the First Israel in Egypt and the Second Israel in the Roman Empire.
Such statements exemplify the fundamental connection Korea’s new religious movements have to nationalism movements and the persecution Koreans faced during colonization. As exemplified in The Divine Principle, the basis of their beliefs relies on this context of Japanese imperialism and Korea’s suppression. Therefore, if colonization had not happened, then these churches wouldn’t have had a pretext to been founded upon at all.
Much like their successors, the Olive Tree Movement and Unification Church have experienced numerous scandals throughout their history. They furthermore prompted the start of South Korea’s anti-cult movement, garnering the criticisms of conventional Christians for their reinterpretation of the Bible and intense proselytization tactics. Yet, they continued to grow. The Olive Tree Movement and Unification Church mark the beginning of modern new religious movements and cults in Korea. By 1983, 96 new religions were established and many if not most of them derived from these two organizations. The continual growth and transformation of these old and new cults demonstrates that the criticisms they’ve received by the public and anti-cult movements alike have been steadily outweighed by the internal support they garner due to their nationalistic beliefs.
Conclusion
The rise in Christian-cult groups in South Korea has become a phenomenon of the modern and contemporary eras. While research is still lacking regarding the various sects’ beliefs and practices, news stories continuously come out recounting the endless number of scandals and crimes allegedly committed by such groups. Despite the general public’s criticisms calling them “heretical” cults, these new religions continue to amass huge followings among the fringes of society predominantly due to the transformative role Christianity played in Korean independence activities throughout the Japanese colonial era and the Korean War. It should be noted that shamanism’s resurgence and fusion with Christianity in Korea plays another major role in the growth of these new religions—thought that’s a story for another time.
The sustained existence of these cults exemplifies not only the Korean peoples’ willpower to overcome their own historic suffering, but how that suffering has continually plagued today’s society, persuading Koreans to look inwards for spiritual relief, distrusting of the outside world. North Korea demonstrates how such a convergence of factors could be taken to the extreme, often described as a nationwide cult for its isolationistic policies and idolization of its leaders.
In 2021, the leader of the Shincheonji Church, Lee Man-hee, was acquitted by the Supreme Court of violating Korea’s Infection Diseases Act, but was found guilty and sentenced to prison for embezzlement of public funds and obstruction of business. Despite this, the church’s members have become more active as of this year, making an apparent comeback with appearances in various Chinese chatrooms and web forums promoting and invite others to their services.
Looking ahead, as Korea’s generations grow farther away from the tragedies of their past, perhaps the ways in which these cult groups are viewed will change—either dwindling in influence or remaining salient and evolving to address new future problems.
If you’ve gotten to the end, thank you for reading! This article was a severely condensed version of a research paper I wrote back in 2021. I was inspired to write about it again after visiting Daegu, home to the recent Shincheonju scandal and the Daegu Modern History Street, an area of Daegu reflecting the city’s history of Christianity, the Independence Movement.
This is my first time writing a Culture Study piece like this for the blog, so if you enjoyed it please let me know! Also, feel free to ask any questions or recommend further topic you’d like me to discuss in the future.
If you would like to read my full article on this topic, click here.