The Religious Affairs Office

Korea is one of many countries around the world where we find diverse branches of Evangelical Christianity. Among others, there are some from the denomination known as Presbyterianism. In Barcelona, Korean churches serve as meeting places and places for exchange for the city’s resident Korean community. Deok Lee is an elder from the Església Presbiteriana Reformada Coreana Jeil Spain [Jeil Spain Korean Reformed Presbyterian Church], the first Korean Presbyterian church to be established in the Iberian peninsula. As an elder, he undertakes an administrative and financial management role in the church. He talks to us about key aspects of Korean Evangelical Presbyterianism and reflects on its presence in the city.

Presbyterianism is a branch of evangelical Christianity. What does that mean? What are the key aspects of this doctrine and what specifically characterises presbyterianism?

Protestant Christianity, also known as Evangelical Christianity, encompasses a diverse range of congregations and branches whose common link is that they broke away from the Catholic church as a result of the protestant reformation of the 16th century. So it is a very heterogeneous branch of Christianity, without a single, uniting doctrine.

Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed Calvinist tradition and is based on the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Heidelberg Catechism, as well as doctrines from Holland and Scotland where there is a Presbyterian majority. However, in the Presbyterian confession itself there are also many denominations (baptist, pentecostal, and so on).

What relevance does Evangelical Christianity, and specifically Presbyterianism, have in Korea?

Historically, the most widely practised religion in Korea was Buddhism. In the 1970s and 1980s there was a surge in Christianity in all its denominations, but this later subsided. Nowadays, I think Presbyterianism is practised by around 20% of the Korean population.

Presbyterianism was brought to Korea around 100 to 120 years ago by American and English missionaries. Today, the Presbyterianism practised in Korea is koshin. It is based on the absolute sovereignty of God. In this regard, those practising koshin Presbyterianism are not dependent on our efforts or reflection. Instead, it is the word of God that creates out faith.

Another key aspect of koshin Presbyterianism is evangelism. One of our main duties is global evangelism. So the Korean Presbyterian church is currently the church that sends out the most missionaries worldwide. They are in every country. Even in communist countries, where they carry out their work in secret.

And how did your church get to Barcelona from Korea? When and how did this happen?

The Jeil Spain Korean Reformed Presbyterian Church was the first Korean church in the whole of the Iberian peninsula. It was founded in September 1980 by my father-in-law, who was among the first generation of Koreans to move to Barcelona in the 1980s. At that time, it was just a small church, but over time it grew in size and influence. It was through this same church that other churches were founded in Madrid, Valencia, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Zaragoza, and also outside Spain, in Sierra Leone.

There are currently two large Korean Presbyterian Churches in Barcelona. They both have similar characteristics and are of the same denomination, koshin. We hold services every Sunday, in the morning and afternoon. On Wednesday and Friday evenings we hold meetings with the congregation.

Do you take part in any spaces of dialogue with other religions and communities?

Well, for a start, we have found that Catalan citizens tend to be fairly reticent when it comes to talking about religion. It is quite difficult to establish direct dialogue in this sense with some people. These are delicate issues.

It is even difficult to connect with other evangelical churches. We have been contacted on various occasions by the Federation of Evangelical Religious Entities of Spain (FEREDE) and by the Evangelical Council of Catalonia (CEC), but organising joint meetings is tricky, particularly because most of them are organised on working days when we are busy with other tasks.

In what way are Korean Presbyterian churches spaces for meeting, of identity even, for Barcelona’s Korean community?

The Korean Church has a very important influence on the community. Korean churches are not only places of prayer and religious practise for the faithful, they also serve as places of support, communication and logistical and even economic support for the community, particularly families that have recently arrived in the city. When a Korean family arrives in the city, the church offers them support with all aspects of the move: from housing, finding a flat, to more administrative matters.

And that’s because at a state level you have the consulate, but there are things that it can’t deal with. So the church acts as a sort of consulate or embassy in the city. There are no companies doing this relocation work, so the church does it, always following the Christian will to help thy neighbour.

And, beyond the Korean community, do you carry out any activities aimed at the wider community of Barcelona?

Well, increasingly, yes. The first generation who came to Spain, of course, had lots of communication issues. My parents, who came here when they were adults (I was already 15 years old) would meet up with the community, with family, but that’s about it. Now, however, there are second and third generation people who are starting to take steps to open up. I think in the future the activity carried out by the church will expand even further.

In fact, in the last few years there has been an unprecedented surge in interest among young Spanish and Catalan people in Korean culture, particularly with the success of K-pop. There are young people who have come to the church out of pure curiosity and we have taken the opportunity to introduce them to our culture, beyond our religion. Some young people take Korean language classes at our school. We try to get more Catalan citizens to come to the church. In any case, one of our projects at the moment is to open the church up more.

Apart from that, we also carry out support work in the Barcelona community. This Christmas, for example, we organised a collection of blankets and food for homeless people. We also have voluntary work programmes where young people from the church give out meals in collaboration with other organisations. And we do all of this independently, without any form of help from the Administration because minority churches don’t get any subsidies or political support. What we do, we do off our own backs.