South Korea is widely recognized as one of the most important mission forces in the contemporary period. During the recent Fourth Lausanne Congress, an evening session was devoted to the history of the Korean church and lessons that can be learned from it.3

Many participants were amazed to learn about how God has transformed this small, isolated country once devastated by war and poverty into an economically powerful, culturally influential nation that is the second largest missionary-sending country.

In particular, the delegates from the Majority World became greatly encouraged to find the actual historical example that manifests the power of the gospel to transform both individuals and society. If God has done this marvelous work in one country, he can surely do the same thing in other parts of the world.

Defining moment: The Pyongyang revival of 1907

It would be an exaggeration to argue that a single historical event shaped the character of the Korean church. However, the Pyongyang Revival in 1907 certainly was a profound factor. Historically, it was not an isolated single event; it was part of a series of revivals in the Protestant churches of Korea from 1903 to 1910.4

At a time of national crisis—wars and famines—the first spark of the revival movement was ignited in Wonsan in 1903 under Methodist missionary Robert A. Hardie. The movement soon expanded to the Presbyterians in 1906.

The Pyongyang Revival reached its peak during a Bible class at Central Presbyterian Church in Pyongyang in January 1907. Those who were present sensed the presence of the Holy Spirit and felt an extraordinary conviction of sin; they began to repent in public for personal sins such as stealing, adultery, polygamy, and idolatry.

The primary leader of the Pyongyang Revival was not a Western missionary, but a Korean pastor named Sonju Kil. He later became one of the key leaders of the March First Independence Movement in 1919.

The consequences of the revival were so obvious in Pyongyang’s churches and neighborhoods that the city was called ‘the Jerusalem of the East’.

The Pyongyang Revival has had lasting impact on Christianity in Korea in several ways.5

First, the revival emphasized that believers must experience inner transformation. Since then, becoming a Christian in the Korean context has meant much more than intellectual agreement with Christian doctrine; it is understood that coming to faith involves a personal experience of conversion.

Second, the revival entailed significant social changes promoting equality and reconciliation. Korea’s traditional strict boundaries of social class and gender became blurred, and Western missionaries began to perceive Korean believers as co-workers for the gospel, not merely as people who needed paternalistic guidance.

Third, the revival popularized practices such as dawn prayer meetings, collective audible prayer, and Bible study meetings. These revivalist practices are now features—one might even say the foundation—of almost all churches in Korea, regardless of denomination and tradition.