The Korean Missionary Movement

Book excerpt: This book provides the most thorough, penetrating analysis of trends in Korean missions to date. Seasoned researcher Steve Sang-Cheol Moon maps the relatively recent rise and explosive growth of the Korean missionary movement, studying the mission force and significant themes in its experience over a twenty-five-year period. These articles and papers supply data on every facet: mission fields and ministry foci; finances; age, marriage, family, and general demographics; training and credentials; burnout and attrition; education of missionary children; leadership trends; and global partnership. These chapters do not merely catalogue statistics—they probe beneath the surface to ask hard questions and set priorities for Korean missions. Moon explores painful subjects such as the 2007 hostage incident involving short-term workers in Afghanistan, and chronic concerns like workaholism and missionaries’ retirement. Ultimately, however, he finds much to commend and celebrate, tracing God’s providence in making Korea, within the span of a few decades, a dynamic leader in global missions.