How Korean Protestant Churches Integrate Different Ethnic Groups : A Case Study of Monolingual and Bilingual Multiethnic Churches in Korea

According to the Korean Ministry of Justice, the number of resident foreigners in South Korea topped the two million mark as of June 2016, accounting for 3.4 percent of the total population. Statistics show that South Korea might now be regarded as early stage of a multicultural society. We analyze how Korean Christian pastors and Protestant churches respond to this growing ethnic and cultural diversity. The literature discusses two general models: advocacy and homogeneous. In the advocacy model, church-based NGOs promote migrant rights and welfare in Korea. In the homogeneous model (building on the homogeneous-unit principle), churches offer separate services for migrants in terms of both language and culture. The advocacy model is criticized as paternalistic and the homogeneous model as separatist. In the past, the first model was popular, but now the second model is the prevailing one to form Korean multicultural congregations. We propose the use of an emerging third model called as the bridging model, which actively links ethnic-cultural divisions through a shared religious identity. We apply the homogeneous and bridging models to two small, multiethnic churches in Korea. River church offers monolingual (English) worship for persons relatively fluent in (or actively learning) the English language. Light church offers bilingual (English/Korean) service and welcomes speakers of either language. The potential reach of River is restricted, whereas Light’s potential includes nearly the entire population of South Korea. In the Korean context, the bridging model shows both higher challenges and more benefits for church members, and for the integration of foreign residents into the host society.