The Los Angeles Times has an interesting article on the growth of Korean Protestant churches in Southern California and the high degree of religiosity in the Korean-American community. While 54% of all Americans attend church regularly, the number is nearly 80% of Korean-Americans.
Of course, for many young kyopo (Korean-Americans) the social connections are a bigger draw than the relationship with God or Jesus. For some of their parents, the social and business connections are what makes the weekly attendance worth the while.
But this is by no means true for everyone, of course, and many Korean-Americans are at the forefront of American missionary efforts around the world, reflecting the behavior of their KoKo (Korean-Korean) counterparts back in the moguk (sometimes with disastrous results).
More down-to-earth members focus on social issues—as the Good Book directs them to—but as one minister is quoted as saying, "We are a little weak in living out our faith in social action." I am an ordained minister, by the way, and if I ever started my own church (instead of just officiating weddings on the beach at Waikiki), it would focus heavily on the second chapter of the book of James.
Many Korean churches are a conservative, old-school form of Presbyterian, meaning very strict religious doctrine and little of the touchy-feely attitudes toward homosexuality, sex outside of marriage, or women in the pulpit like their free-wheeling brethren practice in predominantly White churches.
Catholics, of course, are also a major influence in both Korea and among overseas Korean communities, but this particular article focuses on the Protestants. It's an interesting read, especially if you want to get a feel for what drives Korean-American Protestants.
[above: Grace Korean Church in Fullerton, an upscale part of northern Orange County with a large Korean population]
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