ABSTRACT
Introduction Under Japanese colonial oppression from 1910, Communism and Christianity emerged among Koreans as offering alternative, and mutually antagonistic, ideals for nationalists and for postcolonial development. Broadly speaking, after the liberation from Japan in 1945, Kim Il-sung and his regime developed the North as a type of Communist state, and Syngman Rhee, and a series of dictatorial successors, developed the South as a right-leaning capitalist state oriented to the West. Soon after it began, this process was interrupted by the devastating Korean War (1950-53), which left both Koreas among the poorest nations in the world. But today South Korea is a member of the G20, produces some of the world’s most high-tech goods and exports its popular culture through music and film. This chapter contributes to understanding the relationship between religions and global development by showing how Christianity in particular played a highly significant role in the development of South Korea. It will offer some additional reasons why Korea’s other religions have had less impact on development over this period.
