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Korean society is presently a unique multireligious society.
Confucian ethics dominate the daily life of Koreans, and hyanggyo,
Confucian educational institutions, are found scattered throughout the country.
At every scenic spot, there is a Buddhist monastery, and most of the nation's
tangible cultural assets are Buddhist. Yet when entering any Korean city, one is
immediately impressed by the number of Protestant churches. During the 1980s,
Catholic churches have served as the representative of the conscience of Korean
society. At present, Buddhists and Protestants, respectively, make up about 20
percent of the population, while Catholics make up around four percent. Thus,
about 25 percent of the population are Christians. Thus, Korea is the most
actively Christian society in East Asia. In addition to these groups, there are
numerous shamanism devotees, new religions and, in particular, Confucianists,
who are still not represented in religious surveys. For this reason, Korea's
religious population is much larger than superficial survey-counts indicate.
In addition, an Imam attached to the Turkish army (one of the
16 U.N. forces which participated in the Korean War) introduced Islam to Korea.
Through his efforts, some Koreans worshiped with the Turkish soldiers and
converted to Islam. In 1966, a Korean Islamic organization was formed and in the
same year, a mosque was erected in Seoul. Since then, seven more have been
established. There are now more than twenty-thousand Moslems in Korea.
Confucianism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam are the
representative world religions which have made a decisive contribution to the
formation of the various aspects of world culture. Confucianism, Buddhism and
Christianity, in particular, respectively represent the classical cultures of
China, India and Western monotheism. Although these religions all coexist in
Korea, at present none of them is able to represent Korean culture.
In addition, since the prehistoric period, shamanism, diverse
folk beliefs and countless indigenous religions have developed in Korea. As a
result, Korea has an abundance of religious holidays, i.e. New Years, which are
celebrated according to both the solar and lunar calendars, Buddha's Birthday, Ch'usok
(the Harvest Festival), Kaech'aonjol
(Foundation Day) and Christmas. Korea is probably the only country in the
world to have such a diverse range of religious holidays.
Other multireligious societies live under the threat of
disintegration, but Korea's diverse religions have managed to coexist since
ancient times. During Korea's long history, dynastic change has been brought
about under the name of religion, but religion has never led to the division of
the people. Even among Koreans today, there is nobody who wants to divide the
Korean people on religious grounds. To this extent, Korean's homogeneity is
considered to be more important to Koreans than any religious value.
From mythical times onwards, Koreans have been confident about
their unique identity as a people. On the other hand, Koreans have zealously
imported foreign culture. By looking at these seemingly divergent aspects of
their culture as complementary, Koreans have been able to develop a creative
culture and philosophy. Ideologically, when a synthesis of divergent aspects has
been reached, harmony prevails. For this reason, Koreans' creative efforts,
regardless of which form they take, always culminate with the ideal of harmony.
From ancient times, this harmonious spirit has enabled Koreans
to maintain their cultural identity while actively introducing culture from the
rest of the world. Classical Confucian and Buddhist culture has gloriously
upheld its prestigious position in Korean society, and Christianity is alive and
well. Through Buddhist art, aspects of ancient Greek culture are still alive,
and the cultures from the nomadic peoples of Central Asia have established deep
roots in Korea as well. In this sense, Korea serves as a repository of the
world's classical cultures.
In the 1960s, Korean society entered the path towards
industrialization. Since then, numerous universities and research institutes
have competitively acquired modern thought. As a result, Korean society now
embraces the cultural traditions of both the East and West. Western technology,
modern social thought and the Christian faith are no longer seen as foreign.
Within the East Asian sphere of traditional cultures, Korea represents the
greatest success of Christian Evangelism. In this sense, Western culture has
been assimilated by Korean culture. This harmonization of diverse cultural
elements is a legacy from the ancient past that gives Koreans confidence to meet
the changes of the modern world. Yet, it must be kept in mind that Koreans did
not begin to actively acquire modern thought until the 1960s, so time is
required before they can recreate modern thought in a Korean form.
A multicultural society easily slides into chaos. Moreover,
the Korean people have passed the last half century amid continual, violent
social upheavals. Within this turmoil, Korea has not yet been able to overcome
conditions forced upon it by history. For this reason, Korea is often seen by
outsiders as an unstable and aggressive society that is inherently chaotic.
However, the problems that Korea faces are actually a miniature version of the
shrinking "global village." In this sense, Korean efforts to solve
their own problems may also lead to solutions for the world at large. Koreans,
with their unique history, have thus assumed an important role in the history of
mankind.
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