워킹페이퍼

Along with the compressed economic development of South Korea, its churches grew exponentially till the mid-1990s. Enjoying the affluent Korean economy, Koreans have more disposable income, and the churches have become wealthier, which led them to deviate further from what they do and who they are. One notable phenomenon is that a significant number of churches completed the hereditary succession of head ministership. This article analyses news reports published between 2000 and 2022 to ascertain socio-cultural and economic factors, internal and external to the churches, to stimulate the phenomenon. Data analysis shows that Korean churches have blatantly conflated into the surrounding secular “Culture” to gain profane benefits—money, honour, and power, downplaying the importance of following “Christ” (Niebuhr 1951). In a sluggish economy, head ministers and their sons conspired to possess the “church that lays the golden egg.” Undemocratic decision-making, gender inequality, Confucian habitus, and shamanistic spirituality seeking prosperity have been the catalysts.