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CANADIAN LANDSCAPES/ PAYSAGES CANADIENS
ÍNTRODUCTION
About 25% of the total population of the Republic of Korea are Christians “with
[approximately] 35 000 churches, 50 000 pastors and a growth rate unsurpassed
in the world” (Couto 18). Thus it is not surprising that the Korean diaspora
living in Canada considers the church a major communal hub, “a locus around
which people congregate, meet and develop community” (Huh et al. 4). There
is a lot more taking place at Sunday gatherings than the pastor delivering a
sermon and attending to the spiritual needs of the church members. The organ¬
izing of businesses, matchmaking and networking are equally characteristic
of such occasions. Moreover, Korean ethnic churches foster the preservation
of cultural traditions and the provision of fellowship, social status and posi¬
tions (Min 1370). As for the prevalence of the church in the Korean immigrant
experience in Canada, Song suggests that “[t]he growth of Korean churches
has been because half of the immigrants already come prepared to join a church.
[...] Half of the remaining immigrants eventually call a church their ‘com¬
munity centre’ where they seek support and assistance in adjusting to their
new home” (24).
In accordance with the above, Korean diaspora literature produced in Can¬
ada boasts a cornucopia of church-related literary references. The paper aims
to explore how the church is represented in selected works written by Jean
Yoon, Ann Y. K. Choi, Christina Park and Ins Choi. I will argue that, while
some members may find Korean ethnic churches confining, the strong com¬
munity-forming effect of the church is markedly present in these works at
multiple levels.
CHRISTIANITY IN THE HOME COUNTRY
From the point of Christianity, the Republic of Korea’ is quite unique as “a
substantial proportion of the population has converted to Christianity in a
country where other religions are already established” (Kim, Routledge Handbook
9). In fact, Christianity is the most popular religion among Koreans with a
religious affiliation (Rausch and Park 12). The interaction between Christian¬
ity, Buddhism and shamanism is equally remarkable (Kim, Routledge Handbook),
as illustrated, for instance, by the popular TV drama series Goblin — Guardian:
The Lonely and Great God/ Dokkaebi which amalgamates heaven, the doctrine
of predestination, reincarnation, ghosts lurking around, the character Samshin’,
and Goblin’s mythical figure caught in between this world and the otherworld.
m
No information is available on the DPRK. However, Kim states that “80-90% of North Korean
migrants identified themselves as Christians, and around 70% continued to rely on church
services” (Routledge Handbook 8).
The protector of children in Korean folk religion until they reach the age of ten.
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