cover image PROTESTANTISM AND POLITICS IN KOREA

PROTESTANTISM AND POLITICS IN KOREA

Chung-Shin Park, Chong-Sin Pak, . . Univ. of Washington, $50 (320pp) ISBN 978-0-295-98149-9

Although Protestant missionaries taught Christianity throughout Asia in the 19th century, it failed to take real hold in the East—except, quite notably, in Korea, where Protestant Christians still make up approximately 25% of the population. Park, a professor of Christian studies in Seoul, argues that this was because Protestantism was initially allied with reform movements in late Confucian Korea (1884–1905) and then with nationalist activism during Japanese occupation (1905–1945). A religious movement that arose out of American imperialism became the center of Korean nationalism, an irony that Park dissects well. His study, while a bit inaccessible at times, provides a broad historical overview of an understudied topic. (Dec.)