South Korea
POPULATION 48,324,000
CHRISTIAN 24.2 percent
BUDDHIST 23.3 percent
CONFUCIANIST 1.0 percent
SHAMANIST 1.0 percent
WONBULGYO 0.3 percent
CHEONDOGYO 0.2 percent
OTHER RELIGIONS (INCLUDING DAEJONGGYO, TAOIST, EASTERN ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN, MUSLIM, JEHOVAH'S WITNESS, MORMON, JEONDOGWAN, UNIFICATION CHURCH, SOKA GAKKAI, AND TENRIKYO) 3.0 percent
NONRELIGIOUS 47.0 percent
Country Overview
Introduction
South Korea occupies the southern half of the Korean Peninsula, which juts out of north-eastern China. It is surrounded by the Yellow Sea to the west and the Sea of Japan to the east. Lying just east and southeast, respectively, are the Japanese islands of Honshu and Kyushu.
Following World War II the Korean Peninsula was divided along the 38th parallel into an initially Soviet-occupied northern zone and U.S.-occupied southern zone. In 1948 two ideologically opposed governments were formed: the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea).
South Korea is among the most religiously diverse countries in East Asia, although roughly half of the population claims to be nonreligious. Despite the introduction of foreign religions, such as Buddhism and Christianity, older practices of animism, geomancy, and shamanism have survived with a remarkable resilience.
Buddhist governments dominated Korea from the 370s to the 1390s. At the end of the fourteenth century the last such government was overthrown by the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910), which declared Confucianism to be the official state creed for the next five centuries.
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