Sarang Church in Seoul, Korea

Catholic missionary Orders introduced Christianity to Korea in the late eighteenth century. In the nineteenth century Catholic Christians suffered persecutions in which an estimated ten thousand believers were killed. The first Protestant missionary to Korea was Japanese. In the late 19th century U.S. Methodist and Presbyterian missionary societies founded hundreds of schools and the church was the main provider of education. From 1910-1945 Japan ruled Korea and viewed the churches as a potential threat. Churches were destroyed and Christians were subject to imprisonment and torture; during this time Christianity and Korean nationalism became linked. After World War II Korea was divided, and soon thereafter followed the Korean War. Relief efforts from Christians both inside and outside of Korea led many to convert to Christianity. Spectacular growth took place starting in the 1960s, until by the year 2000 Christians included about one-third of South Korea's population. The Central Full Gospel Pentecostal church in Seoul, with more than 500,000 members, may be the largest congregation in the world.