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Total Number of Evangelicals

Cultural Bridges to UPGs

Regional Access to UPGs

Religious Freedom

Prosperity

Current Sending Abroad

Mobilization Potential

Custom Mobilization Potential

Number of Evangelicals

Cultural Bridges

Strategic Access

Religious Freedoms

Current Sending

This infographic provides a visual score for seven data points ranked on a 0 to 100 scale. Faded icons show scores for other countries on the mobilization index. See below for actual scores and country-specific insights.

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A Prosperous Nation with Great Potential

God's Providence through Church Growth

With more than 8,164,900 evangelicals, South Korea ranks as one of the most evangelical countries in all of East Asia. The church, along with the economy, has experienced incredible growth and sustainability since the end of the Korean War. According to Operation World, South Korea is home to six of the ten largest churches in the world, along with some of the world&rsquo;s largest theological colleges, baptismal services, and evangelical gatherings the world has ever seen, but the church in South Korea faces many problems as well. The traditional religious faiths that the country has known for so long are increasingly co-existing with Christianity and modern-day agnosticism. Corruption within the large mega-churches has caused many of the younger generation to start their own smaller evangelical churches throughout Seoul and all South Korea [[4]].&nbsp; Regionally, there are close to 90 million evangelical believers, the majority of whom come from China and South Korea. Considering all of this, South Korea is ripe for mobilization and ready to be used as a missions force to the unreached.

Bridges Through Cultural Similarity

With an average Median Cultural Distance of 17.4, South Korea has many similarities in culture with a few of the UPG nations on our list. The nations with the closest cultural similarities are: Kuwait, Sierra Leone, Egypt, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, Senegal, and Thailand. Note that Kuwait, Sierra Leone, Nepal and the United Arab Emirates are missing two of six data points These seven UPG nations are the closest in cultural similarities and are spread out from West Africa, to the Middle East and to East Asia with most them located in the 10/40 Window.
These countries also tend to have closer cultural connections due to their community oriented and more matrilineal societies.
The countries from which South Korea has the greatest cultural distance are Bhutan, Malaysia, and Israel. One of the areas of disconnect between these countries is their view of and orientation towards the future. Whereas South Korea tends to have a culture that attempts to control and create rigid structures for the future, some of the other countries have a more relaxed approach [[5]].

Great Potential with Restricted Access

South Korea has access to 3 unreached people groups within the country, totaling 1,053,000 people (~2.1% of total population). With South Korea being positioned on a peninsula, the access to UPG nations is more difficult than other nations included in the Mobilization Index. The ongoing tensions between South Korea and the most closed off country in the world, North Korea, prohibits South Koreans from entering North Korea, which is home to more than 25,000,000 unreached people. 2020 brought a resurfacing of tensions between the countries, as North Korea heightened tensions and recoiled its efforts in peacemaking and communication. [[6]]&nbsp;
South Koreans also have access to the second largest group of unreached peoples of any other region in the world with more than 340,000,000 unreached people within their reach. Despite difficulties with geographic and political barriers, the South Korean church is well on its way to reaching out to its neighbors regardless of the danger and persecution they may face! Praise God!

Governmental Freedom- In Contrast with Northern Neighbors

In contrast to its neighboring countries, China, Japan, and North Korea, South Korean evangelicals can freely worship without any opposition from the government. Freedom of religion is provided for in the South Korean constitution; however, there have been recent incidents of some Christians being arrested for objecting to military service based on religious beliefs [[7]]. The same report shows that there were only 15 cases of religious discrimination reported in the entire nation. All things considered, the social and governmental pressure put on religious groups is very low in comparison with most other countries in the world.

One of Asia's Highest Ranked Countries

South Korea's economy has experienced strong growth since the end of the Korean War in 1953. The country has undergone rapid modernization and industrialization and stands as one of the top countries in Asia in their rankings in Health, Education, and Economy. With a Legatum Prosperity Index ranking of 28, it scores very high in overall prosperity, ranking as one of the top countries in Asia [[3]]. Despite the fact that South Korea has seen drastic improvements in their Social Capital ranking in recent years, they still rank low in both Social Capital and Personal Freedom. This stands in stark juxtaposition with their very high rankings in Education and Health.&nbsp;
This would indicate that although they may not hold a strong ability to create extensive social networks and strong personal relationships, South Korea has an amazing gift of educating their believers at world renowned seminaries and churches. This is not only something that other countries desperately need, but also something that South Korea will be able to use to fuel and sustain the next generation of missionaries.

Leading the Global Church in Sending

The church in South Korea has been on the constant rise and the church&rsquo;s fruitfulness is evident in the number of missionaries it sends to the world [[8]]. It ranks as one of the top sending countries in the world, as they send approximately 18,000 out of country and 1,400 in-country.&nbsp; What an incredible praise! The Korean church is leading in ways that few churches have led before. Although South Korea has surpassed the Mobilization Index goal of sending 1 in 1,000, imagine the wonderful and powerful movement that could be launched if the South Korea church doubled or even tripled their sending totals!

A Leading Church Positioned with Great Potential

South Korea has truly experienced revival. It ranks as one of the top evangelical countries in all of Asia. If South Korea sent just 0.1%, or 1 in 1,000 evangelicals to the unreached, they would send near 8,000 worker into the field, but the South Korean church sends 10,000 more than our prayer goal! With the economy on the rise, there is potential for South Koreans to continue to increase their sending numbers! Praise God for the surpassed sending goal and the heart that South Korea has for the unreached.&nbsp;
South Korea has become one of the strongest mission forces in this present age. They are divinely set up with to access millions of unreached people, culturally bridged to many nations in the 10/40 window, and are supported by a booming economy. We rank South Korea's mobilization potential as High.

Obstacles:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>The South Korean Church is prohibited from physically serving and mobilizing believers in North Korea.&nbsp;</li>
<li>While South Korea is home to millions of Gospel believing Churches, it is also home to many cultish and dangerous religious groups that could pose as a hindrance to missions.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Opportunities:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>The South Korean Church is culturally bridged in similarities to many UPGs that make up the 10/40 Window.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Though many restrictions and barriers exist, God has divinely places South Korea next to their northern neighbors that need the hope of the gospel. What an opportunity South Koreans have to pray for North Korea, and search for tangible ways to love them.</li>
</ul>

Pray:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Pray for sound biblical doctrine and theology to be taught by the mega-churches in South Korea.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Pray for the ongoing tension between South Korea and North Korea, that soon South Koreans could flood North Korea with the Gospel.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Pray that South Koreans would see their most strategic role in the Great Commission.</li>
</ul>
Praise:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Praise God for the growth of the evangelical church in South Korea, and their high potential to Mobilize!</li>
</ul>

U.S. State Department International Religious Freedom Report for 2017

Official Country Name:The Republic of Korea, South

Population:51,225,000

Region:Northeast Asia

Government:Unitary State, Constitutional Republic

Official Languages:Korean

Religious Demographics:Christian 31%, Evangelicals 16%, Buddhist 23%, Non-religious 31%, Ethnoreligionist 9%

South Korea