KOREAN MISSIONARIES

We send out and support Korean missionaries in many countries around the world, including China, Russia, Tanzania, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Senegal, Kenya, and even North Korea. Currently, we are in partnership with 15 missionaries/mission organizations. Most of the missionaries are graduates of Seoul Christian University, which our founder, Yoon Kwon Chae founded in 1965. (We apologize for the lack of pictures. Due to the sensitive nature of the work, especially in certain communist countries, we have opted not to post any pictures of any ministry and mission beyond our work in Korea.)

We hope to not only continue partnering with our current missionaries, but to send out more and expand our scope! After all, Korean missionaries are passionate missionaries. In fact, we believe Koreans fit the socio-cultural profile to be the most effective missionaries in the world, especially to other Asian countries. (Please excuse our bias, but if you are interested in my reasoning, feel free to read the excerpt below.)

Socio-Cultural Profile of South Koreans

For Korea Christian Gospel Mission, diaspora missiology is an opportunity. It is an opportunity to enhance and add to the original vision of missions to South Korea. It is an opportunity, because diaspora missiology in itself is an effective supplemental source for missions practice, which takes into account both the “changing landscape of the 21st century, namely, the global phenomena of large-scale diaspora, and Christendom’s shifting center of gravity.”[1] Statistics favorable to diaspora missiology abound, such as that “3% of the global population lives in countries other than their places of birth.”[2] It is an opportunity, because South Korean Christians have already proven to be prolific, passionate, and resourceful missionaries. Among South Korean Christians, it is common knowledge and a source of pride that South Korea is one of the top missionary-sending countries in the entire world. It places third in the sheer highest number of missionaries. It places second in highest number of missionaries sent to foreign lands, and it places first in terms of missionaries per congregation.[3]

Most importantly, though, it is an opportunity, because the South Korean social-cultural profile and characteristics[4] fit well within a diaspora missiology framework. First, South Koreans practice a high-context culture, in which “what is unsaid but understood carries more weight than what is actually written down or said.[5] Generally, high context cultures are very relational, and South Korea is no exception to this rule. For example, among South Koreans, “truth is spoken in much more subtle forms, seeking above all to preserve relationships.”[6] This type of relational mentality is very conducive to the diaspora missiology perspective. In fact, in his book Diaspora Missiology, Wan proposes the relational paradigm as the “appropriate choice”[7] for diaspora missiology and describes it as “essential”[8] for implementation. In fact, he might say the relational paradigm is also the Scriptural approach, and it is difficult to argue against his reasoning. The problem is that Western societies are not inherently relational, and lack “relational reality.”[9] As such, Western nations are generally not as effective in implementing the relational paradigm approach as other relational cultures such as the South Koreans.

Secondly, South Koreans are highly polychronic in their understanding of time, which simply means that “several things happen at the same time.”[10] Upon examination of South Korean work schedules, it is not difficult to see that this is indeed the case. In fact, according to Forbes Magazine, South Korea places first among all OECD countries in terms of longest hours per year, as employees’ daily duties are not fixed but rather, remain flexible and usually expand to accommodate tasks and responsibilities that arise throughout the workday.[11] Although this characteristic is not necessarily healthy, it potentially has practical benefits on the mission field. The missionary lifestyle often requires an ability to adapt to several things happening at once. This is especially true for diaspora missions, since it allows for missions to possibly occur anywhere and everywhere. People’s immediate surroundings and environment can become the mission field in diaspora missions. This presents non-mobile everyday Christians an extraordinary opportunity to partake in missions, but it also requires an adaptability more suited to those who come from a polychronic culture, such as South Korea.

Thirdly, South Korea is a highly power-distant country, which means that “both leaders and followers assume that the leader has more authority, respect and status symbols.”[12] This quality can serve both as a weakness and strength for diaspora missiology. Its weakness lies in its inflexibility, the stringent hierarchy, and its penchant for corruption.[13] However, on the other side of the spectrum, high power distance also translates into utter authority, respect, and status given not only to human leaders, but to God as the head of the body of Christ.[14] In other words, religion and respect for God is taken very seriously in South Korea and among Koreans everywhere, and as such, discipline and commitment to faith practice is often a shared characteristic in most Korean communities.

Lastly, South Korea possesses a very communitarian culture. This means that the culture “sees the group as its end and improvements to individual capacities as a means to that end.”[15] This group spirit is often the key ingredient to successful missions, no less diaspora missions. Teamwork is always needed to cooperate effectively to reach a certain mission field, whether the field exists at home or abroad. Furthermore, a communitarian mindset is also conducive to the relational paradigm discussed earlier. Relationship requires a person to step outside of his/her comfort zone and move into the zone of others. Relationship requires a holistic and sacrificial mentality, and communitarian cultures already practice this mentality in their daily lives.

  • [1] Wan, Diaspora Missiology, 3.

  • [2] David Lundy, Borderless Church: Shaping the Church for the 21st Century (UK: Authentic, 2005), xiv.

  • [3] Patrick Johnstone, The Future of the Global Church (Downer’s Grove: IVP, 2012), 229, 233.

  • [4] most of which are maintained by members of the South Korean diaspora

  • [5] James E. Pleuddemann. Leading Across Cultures (Downer’s Grove: IVP, 2009), 80.

  • [6] Pleuddemann, Leading Across Cultures, 81.

  • [7] Wan, Diaspora Missiology, 141.

  • [8] Wan, Diaspora Missiology, 150.

  • [9] Wan, Diaspora Missiology, 142.

  • [10] Pleuddemann, Leading Across Cultures, 83-84.

  • [11] Parmy Olson, “The World’s Hardest-Working Countries.” Forbes, May 21, 2008. <http://www.forbes.com/2008/05/21/labor-market-workforce-lead-citizen-cx_po_0521countries.html> (Accessed December 17, 2014).

  • [12] Pleuddemann, Leading Across Cultures, 95.

  • [13] Pleuddemann, Leading Across Cultures, 99.

  • [14] 1 Corinthians 12

  • [15] Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner. Riding the Waves of Culture (London: Nicholas Brealey, 1997), 58.