The Economist - USA (2019-11-30)

34 TheEconomistNovember 30th 2019

1

W

ithout the Christmas tree and

wooden archway covered in Bible

quotations, the entrance to the Church of

Love in Seoul’s Gangnam area could be

mistaken for that of a fancy shopping mall.

A sky-bridge connects the megachurch’s

two buildings, which occupy an enormous

block. Inside, corridors are lined with pol-

ished stone and walls are decorated with

abstract art and heart-shaped neon signs. A

cavernous underground prayer hall can

seat 9,000. On Sundays it is packed.

Just round the corner is South Korea’s

supreme court, which says the church has

no legal right to much of this space. It ruled

last month that the government of Seocho

district, where the church is located, had

abused its power by leasing land to allow

the church to extend its below-ground

footprint. Seocho’s then district chief, who

is now a national legislator, has said he was

lobbied by senior politicians to grant the

lease. It was approved in 2010 when the

president was Lee Myung-bak, a Protestant

who flaunted his religion (he is currently in

jail for unrelated corruption). The Church

of Love may have to spend tens of millions

of dollars to demolish the prayer hall. Or, as

many observers believe, it may find a way

of avoiding that.

The favour enjoyed by the church dur-

ing Mr Lee’s presidency, which ended in

2013, was a sign of the huge influence of

evangelical Protestantism in South Korea.

Churches such as the one in Gangnam

serve as places where people make useful

connections, whether for finding a spouse,

securing a job or climbing high in politics.

Many politicians stress the importance of

their faith. Mr Lee promised he would ded-

icate Seoul to God when he was elected

mayor. In the 1990s one of his predeces-

sors, Kim Young-sam, installed a chapel in

the presidential palace and welcomed a

stream of pastors. Hwang Kyo-ahn, the

leader of South Korea’s main opposition

party, served as prime minister from 2015

to 2017. He called that job a gift from God.

The role of Protestant churches is sur-

prising in a country that is not very reli-

gious by global standards. More than half

of South Koreans say they have no religion.

But among South Koreans who say they do,

nearly half are evangelical Protestants. The

country has more Protestant organisa-

tions, about 55,000 of them, than conve-

nience stores. Of the world’s 100 biggest

churches, 20 are in South Korea, including

the biggest, Yeouido Full Gospel Church in

Seoul, which has 800,000 members.

Around 10m Protestants now live in South

Korea, far more than Catholics or Bud-

dhists. Their numbers keep growing.

Support from the pastor of a large

church can decide elections. The current

president, Moon Jae-in, is a Catholic who is

less responsive to the demands of evan-

gelicals than others in the Blue House have

been. But conservative churches remain

powerful. They organise large protests

which can succeed in blocking events such

as gay-rights rallies that offend their be-

liefs. Recently hundreds of thousands of

believers (some are pictured) have been

Politics and religion in South Korea

An unholy alliance

SEOUL

In a country where many profess no religion, Protestant evangelicals have

remarkable political influence

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