This year, Oblates from South Korea and Japan will gather in Kochi City, Japan, to celebrate Christmas. Although we belong to one delegation, we function in two different cultures, with two different languages and our missionary approaches are quite different. For example, there are more Christians in South Korea than in many other Asian countries such as China and Japan, so Christmas is celebrated more widely. Christians make up about 25-30% of the population. The other 70% of people in South Korea are Buddhist or don’t have a religion. On the other hand, Christianity in Japan is among the lowest in Asia. Around 0.5 percent of the population claims to be Christian, while Buddhism and Shintoism are the major religions. Continue reading
