Korean Flag

The Korean peninsula is divided between 2 countries: North Korea (the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) and South Korea (the Republic of Korea). North Korea’s government is an extreme dictatorship in which the ruler controls just about everything the people do, think, eat, and feel. We know that all religions that used to be practiced in North Korea, such as Buddhism and Christianity, have been banned, which means the people are not allowed to practice them. Because we do not know much about religions in North Korea, this web page focuses only on South Korea.

Shrine in Korea

As in Japan and China, the religions of South Korea influence daily thoughts, behaviors, and customs. South Koreans practice a variety of religions, even though some of the religions are very different from each other. Today, most South Koreans think that religion is an important part of their everyday lives—unlike the Japanese and Chinese who generally do not think this. This is a big difference between South Korean religions and those practiced in Japan and China.

First, let’s look at some of the main religions of South Korea. The chart below shows how many South Koreans practiced each religion in 1989 and 1995:

Religion	1989	1995
Buddhism	8 million	10 million
Protestantism	6 million	9 million
Catholicism	2 million	3 million
Confucianism	483,000	193,000
Other Religions	176,000	266,000

• What does this chart tell you?
• What religion has the most members?
• Which has the fewest members?
• How did membership in the religions change between 1989 and 1995?
• If you added the Christians together (all of the Protestants and Catholics) would Buddhism still be the largest religious group in South Korea?

As you can see from the chart, Buddhism and Christianity are the main religions in South Korea. What this chart does not teach you, though, is that many South Koreans do not practice a specific religion or they do not claim to belong to a temple or church. According to one study, almost half of the South Korean population claims to have no religion. So, although there are more people practicing organized religions in South Korea than in China or Japan, this is still much fewer than in the United States, for instance.

Buddhas in Korea

Another important point about South Korean religions is that the main ones all came from outside the Korean peninsula. Confucianism, Buddhism, and Islam were introduced to Korea from China, and Christianity mainly came from Europe and the United States. There are some religious groups that started in Korea, but they have much smaller memberships and many of their beliefs and practices are actually a mix of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Christianity.

There has been a lot of outside influence in Korea. However, because these religions have been in Korea so long, the Korean people have changed them somewhat. Buddhists in Korea often have different beliefs and practices than Buddhists in Japan. For example, in Japan Buddhist priests get married and have children, but they don’t in Korea or China. Similarly, a Korean Catholic may be different from a Catholic in the United States. Religions change a little as they spread throughout the world. But that’s what makes it so interesting, isn’t it?!