- SEOUL -- South Korean Christian
missionaries have begun targeting the Muslim world in an effort to win
converts from Islam.
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- South Korean churches - whose work was highlighted recently
by the kidnapping of South Korean missionaries in Iraq - say they have
a sacred duty to spread their faith in the Middle East, despite the dangers.
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- In a scene of religious ecstasy on a weekday morning,
10,000 people have packed into the Yoido Full Gospel Church for a regular
service.
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- The fervour is a hallmark of Korean Christianity.
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- After explosive growth at home - local churches are now
focussing on overseas expansion.
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- One church alone has 300 missionaries overseas - exporting
their ecstatic brand of Christianity.
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- 'Divine duty'
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- Altogether, there are 12,000 South Korean missionaries,
some working in Muslim and communist countries which are hostile to their
presence.
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- Pastors from various denominations are being trained
for overseas assignments - and many will go to the Islamic world.
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- Korean churches have identified Muslim countries as a
new frontier.
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- They see it as their divine duty to spread the Christian
faith.
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- I met one preacher who works undercover in Indonesia
- where it is illegal to try to convert Muslims.
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- "I invited 150 Muslim children to my house on Christmas
Day," he says.
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- "I gave them gifts and preached the gospel. But
afterwards some of their parents came and threatened to kill me.
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- "After that I had to be more careful."
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- 'Lacking sensitivity'
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- Several preachers who had gone to Iraq to set up a Christian
mission were kidnapped by militiamen, but later released.
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- Now back with his small congregation in southern Seoul
- preacher Huh Min-yong says he has no regrets.
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- "We must go to Iraq and the Middle East even if
we become martyrs," he says.
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- "We must plant the cross so true peace can come.
Spreading the word of Jesus can only be done with blood and sacrifice."
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- Target cities have also been identified across the Middle
East.
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- Researcher Steve Moon says Korean missionaries are bold
and adventurous - but they often lack cultural sensitivity.
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- "When they go overseas they assume it's just the
same... Westerners are more sensitive and cautious," he says.
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- The crusading zeal of Korean Christians knows no bounds.
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- About 1,000 new missionaries are sent overseas each year
- undeterred by the hostility and dangers they encounter.
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- © BBC MMIV http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3690259.stm
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