User:Daki9644/Religion in Korea

History of Religion in Korea

This portion of the article refers to the historical progress of religious beliefs made in the Korean Peninsula as a whole. During the Age of Appeal in early Korean civilization, people were more inclined to believe in superstitions (i.e- evil spirits, ghosts, witches, undead) than religion. Like other ancient communities, they believed in the spirit of the soil, animal spirits, and old folk tales. Though the  first recorded signs of religion in Korea are not certain, historians believe that like most East Asian Countries, Korea’s first interaction with religions were through Buddhism. During the Joseon Dynasty (1392 - 1910) Korea was exposed to western religions for the first time through Catholicism. Catholicism came into Korea during the 18th century, but was soon banned due to the idea of westernization. Christianity was introduced to Korea during the Japanese Occupation. Afterwards, as Korea became more westernized, more religions would come and go, allowing Korea to become the religiously diverse nation it is today.

Different Religions in Korea

Different religions in South Korea. Source: 여론 속의 여론.

A study performed by a Korean Research Journal, 여론 속의 여론, revealed a few statistics about religion in South Korea. Though South Korea has been a traditionally religious nation, the 2020 study revealed that 50% of the population was atheist. For the religious population, about 20% are Protestant, 16% are Buddhist, 12% are Catholic, and 2% are other religions.