Have you ever wondered what Korean religion is or why it’s important? Well I didn’t know what it was or why it is important so I decided to do it for my Capstone project. When you think about religion, you probably think about what food people eat, what music they listen to, what holidays they celebrate, their prayer, or their religious practices. Well, this is what I thought about religion. So it led me to find my main inquiry question. How has religion influenced Korea throughout its history? I will be talking about the first religions in Korea, the religions used today, why it changed, and how it influenced education and culture.
There are a couple religions that were practiced way back in time. Shamanism is the first religion in Korea that we know of. Shamanism, or Mugyo (a form of atheism), is a traditional form of the religion that went way back into 1000 BC. In this religion, people believe that multiple gods watch over creation and affairs and that every object in the world has a soul. Connecting to shamanism, a shaman in Korea is called a Mudang. A mudang is a priestess who uses ‘magic’ to effect cures, to tell interesting fortunes, to comfort spirits of the dead, and to push back evil.The priest (the male version of a priestess) is called a paksu. But the priestess and the priest are known by many other names. They had powers, but Dangun (according to Korean beliefs) is the founder of Koreans and the shamanistic powers. Eventually, Shamanism gave way to more sophisticated religions but was also integrated into them.
The “Three Teachings” (Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism) from China, arrived in Korea by the 5th century CE. Confucianism arrived in Korea as early as 372 CE. Confucianism was founded before Confucius (Master Kong) was born, during the Zhou Dynasty in China which began as early as 1122 BC. This religion went to Koguryo in China, then went to Korea. A leading Confucian scholar, An Hyang, was responsible for introducing Neo-Confucianism to Korea in the 13th century CE. The three main beliefs of Confucianism are 1) being kind to others, 2) having a sense of doing what is right, and 3) being loyal, and doing good work in serving one’s superiors. Today, only a very small percentage of South Koreans practice Confucianism today(0.2%).
There are 2 primary religions that are practiced in South Korea today. One of them is called Buddhism and is practiced by about 20% of the population. This religion came into the Korean peninsula from China in the 4th century CE. At this time, Korea was split into 3 kingdoms: Packche, Koguryo, and Silla. Buddhism first arrived in the Northern part of Koguryo, introduced by Monk Shun-Tao from China, then slowly spread to the other 2 kingdoms in Korea. Monk Malanda was the one who spread Buddhism further in 384 CE. Buddhists do not believe in any goddesses or gods. But even though most of them do not believe in gods, they look up to the Buddha, who founded the religion in the late 6th century BC. They do believe that when you die, the spirit from your body keeps going after death and may be reborn.
The next religion that is mostly used today is Christianity, which covers about 30% of the population in South Korea. Christians in South Korea are primarily Protestants (20%) with some Catholic population (10%), and overall, this religion originated with the ministry of Jesus. In 1900, only 1% of the population in Korea were Christions. Things changed a bit and in 2010, about 3/10 of them were Christians. This religion just has kept changing throughout the years in Korea. The government has been very supportive and sympathetic to Christianity in Korea. Christianity was first introduced to South Korea in the 18th century and primarily expanded from French and Chinese Catholic missionaries in the early 19th century.
Why did religions change? A long time ago, Buddhism became the official religion in the Three Kingdoms subsequent dynasties. But now the official religion is Christianity which first came in the 18th century. The main reason why they changed is because of Korean nationalism during the Japanese occupation. This led to most of the people with religion, Christianity. So this became the new official religion. Back in the modern times, the only religions were Shamanism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. But today the new religions are Buddhism and Confucianism. This happened because again, the Japanese occupation. When Buddhism was the religion of the State, Confucianism replaced it. This happened in 202 BC. The practice of Christianity today is marginal in other areas but significant in South Korea where it revolves around the two branches. Protestantism and Catholicism. It also became more religious in 2005.
Education is really important to Korea and so is religion. Schools in Korea think that higher levels of religion and engagement, can make people get better education and a better understanding. With religion, you also have a higher chance of being successful. Education and religion are inseparable in Korea. A lot of studies show that religious thoughts has affected the spiritual/practice worlds in contemporary/premodern Korea. Koreans have been teaching students about religion for a super long time and when they did, the students’ grades went up. Christianity (the religion used today) has exerted influence upon the development of higher education. Buddhism and Confucianism also have an impact on education. The religions have impacted formal and nonformal education. But there is a misunderstanding of the concept in how changes have been mandated by the government of Korea since 1969 but now have been resolved.
Korean culture is important to religion. Korean culture includes folk music, a lot of plays, seasonal customs, and Korean medicine. Most Koreans are very peaceful and friendly in their culture, and good religion, the amount of crimes are very low. Korean culture is unique because of diligence, hard work, filial piety, and the Koreans’ humbleness. Asian philosophies such as Confucianism, are not really always considered to be religious by Koreans. But they are rather more perceived as a way of viewing life that coexists with other religions. Korean culture is influenced by confucian principles. Confucian principles believe that humans are fundamentally good, teachable, improvable, and perfect through personal endeavor and self creation. Korea has more religious practices but the United States has more people with religion.
Overall, religion is really important to Korea and its people. Without religion, Korea would not be the same. It would have a lot more wars and fights. Today Korea has 2 religions, Christianity and Buddhism. Religion has changed a lot and influenced a ton of things in Korea.
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