South Korea Church Records

For information about records for non-Christian religions in South Korea, go to the Religious Records page.

Online Resources and Websites

 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Births and Baptisms, South Korea, index and images, ($)


 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Banns and Marriages, South Korea, index and images, ($)


 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Deaths and Burials, index and images, ($)

Historical Background

 * Religion in South Korea is characterized by the fact that a majority of South Koreans (56.1%, as of the 2015 national census) have no formal affiliation with a religion. Protestantism represents (19.7%) of the total population and Catholicism (7.9%). A small percentage of South Koreans (0.8% in total) are members of other religions, including Orthodox Christianity.
 * Foreign Roman Catholic missionaries did not arrive in Korea until 1794.
 * Protestant missionaries entered Korea during the 1880s and, along with Catholic priests, converted a remarkable number of Koreans.
 * Many Koreans began to migrate to Russia in the 1860s and many of them subsequently converted to Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Orthodox missionaries entered Korea from Russia in 1900.
 * A large number of Christians lived in the northern part of the peninsula (it was part of the so-called "Manchurian revival") where Confucian influence was not as strong as in the south. Before 1948, Pyongyang was an important Christian centre: one-sixth of its population of about 300,000 people were converts.
 * Following the establishment of the communist regime in the north, an estimated more than one million Korean Christians resettled to South Korea to escape persecution by North Korea's anti-Christian policies.
 * The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South Korea was established following the baptism of Kim Ho Jik in 1951.

Christian Church Records (Gidok Gyo-in Kirok)
Research Use: These records are very helpful for researchers who have Christian ancestry. Church books are a primary source of birth, marriage, and death information. They identify names of parents, prove other relationships, and are very useful for linking generations.

Record Type: Records kept by church clergy of baptisms, marriages, and burials. These include the parish registers of Roman-Catholic and various Protestant churches.

Background: The Catholic church began work in Korea in 1788 and flourished despite the danger of persecution. The Archdiocese of Seoul was formally established in 1831. From that time on they kept good records of all church events such as baptism, confirmation, and marriage: There may even be some records before 1831 but specific data is unavailable at this time. Protestant churches were not well established until the 1880s. Christians were subject to significant persecutions in Korea until the 1900s.

Time Period: 1831 to present.

Contents: Baptisms – name of individual, date of birth and baptism, names of parents, residence. Marriages – names of the groom and bride, ages, date and place of marriage; sometimes birthplaces and parents of groom and bride; other pertinent facts. Deaths and Burials – name of the deceased, date and place of death and burial, age at time of death, marital status, cause of death, name of spouse; for children parents’ names are often included. Other Lists – membership records list baptismal dates and usually names of parents; confirmations list names of young confirmants, usually with birth dates.

Location: Older Catholic church records are in the archive of the Catholic archdiocese in Seoul, more recent records are at the local parish. Protestant records are likely at local parishes or centralized at a church headquarters.

Population Coverage: Between 2% and 5% of population.

Reliability: Should be fairly reliable.

Preservation of Record/Vulnerability: The Korean Catholic church has its records well preserved in the Archdiocesan archives in Seoul.