Missionaries spreading the word but also heighten tensions

Posted on : 2007-07-21 14:40 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Competition between groups is intense as churches try to overcome sluggishness at home by doing missionary work

Following the rise of Christianity in South Korea, Protestant evangelists have been spreading the “good news” in many countries worldwide. The missionary work done by these groups, however, has also contributed to escalated tensions and can place missionaries in potentially dangerous situations.

The number of South Korean missionaries overseas was less than 100 in the late 1970s but grew to 12,874 in about 160 countries as of the end of 2004. South Korea ranked second in terms of its dispatch of missionaries, following the United States, which sent 46,000 missionaries throughout the world in the same period. Local churches now hope to send one missionary per 600 believers to foreign countries so as to help South Korea outperform the United States.

In particular, evangelical churches are engaged in fierce competition as to how many missionaries they send and how much time their missionaries spend in foreign countries. Competition is becoming so stiff that, in some cases, dozens or even hundreds of South Korea evangelists can be found in a single small city, with some even fighting one another over the work to be done. Local churches are aware of the overheating competition but have refrained from speaking publicly about the problem.

Korean missionaries, who have increasingly been sent to Islamic regions at a war, risk putting their lives on the line. They could especially be in danger due to the fact that they work in areas where the conflicts between Christian and Islamic fundamentalism are at their most extreme.

The kidnapping of about 20 Korean Protestants in Afghanistan by what is purported to be a Taliban force is especially representative of the danger involved in missionary activities. According to news reports, Taliban insurgents said on July 20 that they kidnapped 18 South Koreans, including 15 women, in Afghanistan and threatened to kill them if Korea does not withdraw its troops from the war-torn country. South Korea has stationed about 210 army engineers and medics in Afghanistan for noncombat, reconstruction missions to bolster U.S.-led coalition forces.

It was not the first time, however, that a Korean missionary has been the target of local anger. Some Islamic militias target Protestant missionaries with the belief that killing them is in line with defending their religion. In June 2004, a terrorist group, which claimed responsibility for killing Kim Sun-il, a South Korean, justified the act by saying that they were killing a person who was trying to spread Christianity in Iraq. In April of the same year, seven Korean pastors were kidnapped as they entered Iraq to participate in a Christian missionary event; they were released unharmed days later. In April of this year, a Korean pastor who was identified by his surname Lee, was shot dead in the course of carrying out his missionary work in Kenya.

Korean Christians have also incited diplomatic controversy. In August of 2006, 1,300 South Korean Christians traveled to Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, with the intention of holding a large-scale religious event, only to invoke the revulsion of many local Islamists. At the time, the Korean government discouraged the group from holding the event, saying that it was likely to create security problems by offending local Muslims. Afghan President Hamid Karzai also intervened before the plan was cancelled, saying that the missionaries should be expelled. In February, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry warned its people not to travel to the country after obtaining intelligence that a Taliban-linked militia planned to abduct South Koreans.

The South Koreans who were reportedly kidnapped in Afghanistan on July 20 were mostly dispatched to work at a kindergarten and hospital which were built by a Korean church and located between Kandahar in the south and the capital city of Kabul. It was reported that 18 people had been kidnapped, though the South Korean Foreign Ministry puts the number around 20. Unlike other groups focused solely on spreading religion, the church that sent them to Afghanistan said that they were not missionaries, they went there just to help Afghans in need.

Yu Jeong-gil, who has worked at the Join Together Society in Kabul for three years since 2003, said, “Some missionary groups are even boasting about having prayed or sung hymns in Muslim mosques. That might lead Muslims to think all South Koreans are Protestant evangelists and could create hostility between groups.”

An official of the National Council of Churches in Korea said that it is necessary to put more effort into missionary work so as not to cause friction with local cultures and religions.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]

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