The Roman Catholic Church in South Korea has seen prodigious growth in recent years, increasing its membership by 70% in the past ten years.[2] Part of this growth could be attributed to the Church’s relatively positive perception by the general public for its role in the democratization of South Korea, its active participation in various works of social welfare, and its respectful approach to interfaith relationship and matters of traditional Korean spirituality. There are now over 5.1 million Catholics in South Korea — over 10% the population. South Korea (and by extension the Catholic Church in all Korea, north and south) has the fourth largest number of saints in the Catholic Church since 1984 by nation. There are 15 dioceses including three archdioceses of Seoul, Daegu and Gwangju, and the military ordiniate. North Korean Catholic Church is ecclesiastically united with South Korea, composed of two dioceses of Pyongyang and Hamheung (suffragen to the Metropolitan of Seoul) and the only territorial abbey outside Europe, that of Dokwon. (source: wikipedia, roman catholicisn in korea)
