[KS] most Christian city in Asia

[lawrence driscoll]

Dear Mr. Holstein, and listmembers:
In my previous message I neglected to comment on your shocking revelation 
that a graduate  course in the history of Christianity in Korea, taught at a 
distinguished Christian university like Yonsei, didn't include information 
about how Christianity was first conveyed to Korea from China, by Korean 
Catholic (Christian) laypersons. I have always held Yonsei in high esteem 
and so was disappointed to hear this.
Can anyone shed some light on this subject?
Thanks in advance.
Regards,
Lawrence Driscoll


> > >
> > > >Dear Ruediger --
> > > >
> > >
> > > You have touched upon a key problem one encounters when studying
> > > religion in Korea: 'kidokkyo,' the word for Protestant, is probably
> > > more often than not translated as 'Christian.' This, in turn, leads
> > > to a reverse translation of 'Christian' being translated, often
> > > inappropriately, as 'kidokkyo.'
> > >
> > > This is often self-reinforced, even by Korean Catholics, who might
> > > say in English, "I'm not Christian, I'm Catholic."
> > >
> > > Certainly it is sometimes useful to differentiate between Catholics
> > > on the one hand and Protestants on the other, but not to the point
> > > of labeling Catholics and Orthodox, both of whom have a notable
> > > historic presence in Korea, as non-Christian. Catholics make up a
> > > fairly significant minority in this country (former President Kim
> > > Daejung is Catholic), and the combined numbers of Catholics and
> > > Protestants make South Korea one of the most Christian countries in
> > > all of Asia, not just East Asia.
> > >
> > > I'm not sure when/where the kidokkyo="Christian" label came into
> > > being in Korea, or how it ended up sticking so well, but I
> > > speculate it may have come from Protestant missionaries themselves,
> > > though I have nothing to back that up with. Does anybody know for
> > > sure?
> > >
> > > A few years ago when I was a master's candidate at Yonsei, I took a
> > > class called "History of Christianity in Korea," and the professor
> > > was baffled when I and another student expressed interest in also
> > > knowing about the history of Catholicism in Korea, not just
> > > Protestantism. He had prepared nothing on Catholics, telling us
> > > they weren't "Christian." I think they have since renamed the
> > > course or changed the curriculum, though I'm not sure.
> > >
> > =====
> > John Holstein
> > Sungkyunkwan University
> > Seoul 110-745, Rep. of Korea
> > e-mail: jfholstein at yahoo.com
> > Cell phone: 82-17-727-0264; Office: 822-760-0264; Home: 822-942-7718
> > Web site "Korea Mosaic": http://koreamosaic.net
> >
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>

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