Protestant Gospel is more powerful than politics in Korea

Protestant Gospel is more powerful than politics in Korea

If you see Christmas tree and wooden archway covered in Bible quotation in front of building, you would guess the building is related to Christianity. When you see the Church of Love in Seoul located in Gangnam area, you would make a mistake thinking of the church as a shopping mall without those archways covered in Bible quotation. 

When you look into the building, there is a sky-bridge connecting two buildings of megachurch. Inside and outside the church, church is decorated with polished stone and walls, abstract art and neon signs. When you go down to the first basement floor, there are 9,000 seats. And these seats are packed on Sundays. 

The odd thing is the church has no legal right to much of this space. It's proven by the government of Seocho district. The reason is that the church abused its power by leasing land to extend its below-ground footprint. In order to do so, senior politicians lobbied for the lease to be granted. And it was approved in 2010 when former president Lee Myung Bak is holding the reins of government. For reference, former president Lee Myung Bak is in jail for corruption. Former president Lee Myung Bak is also Protestant. And there are lots of politicians who is Protestant. This is the reason why religion and politics are not separated in Korea unfortunately. 

Since the church of Love is not using below-ground area properly, the church may have to spend tens of millions of dollars to demolish it. But, as many believe, they may find a way to avoid it. In Korea, there are annoying issue going on now regarding pastor Jeon Gwang-hoon and politics. Under the law in Korea, religion and politics must be separated. And, it should be conducted.

Reference: The Economist https://econ.st/37aDNXd