Christianization of Korea

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Very few countries have witnessed a dramatic rise in Christianity as it occurred in Korea within a few decades of the twentieth century. According to the CIA factbook, the Christians and Buddhists are each 26% of the population [1]. Other sources claim the Christians are about 49% [2]. The discrepancy arises because a large fraction of the population does not officially adhere to an organized religion. In any case, Christianity has overtaken Buddhism in Korea in four decades during 1960s-1980s "Conversion Boom" period [3]. In 1960s, the Korean Protestants bared reached one million mark. In the next three decades, the number of Protestants increased faster than any other country [4]

The Office of the Prime Minister of Korea [5] acknowledges:

"Within the East Asian sphere of traditional cultures, Korea represents the greatest success of Christian evangelism".

In addition to the success in Korea, about 12,000 zealous Korean missionaries are active in several parts of the world, including middle east [6], a single Korean church alone has sent 300 missionaries overseas.