Competing for Souls

From: Homelands Productions
Series: Worlds of Difference
Length: 07:00

Producer Alan Weisman reports on how evangelical Christianity is spreading rapidly across South Korea, and coming into conflict with the traditional Buddhist culture. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: Competing for Souls
From: Homelands Productions

Meditation_small South Korea has gone through one of the most dramatic economic makeovers of any country on Earth. Its transformation into an industrial powerhouse has been accompanied by an equally dramatic spiritual shift. With Christians now dominant in political and economic life, Buddhists wonder whether they have a role to play in the country's future. Alan Weisman reports from Seoul.

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Piece Description

South Korea has gone through one of the most dramatic economic makeovers of any country on Earth. Its transformation into an industrial powerhouse has been accompanied by an equally dramatic spiritual shift. With Christians now dominant in political and economic life, Buddhists wonder whether they have a role to play in the country's future. Alan Weisman reports from Seoul.

Broadcast History

Aired 10/12/04 on NPR's Day To Day.

Timing and Cues

INTRO: South Korea has modernized more quickly than nearly any country on earth. Its economic transformation has been accompanied by an equally dramatic religious shift. Today about half of all Koreans who practice a religion are Christian -- the majority of them evangelicals. As Alan Weisman reports, that has the country's Buddhists wondering where THEY fit in

OUTRO: That piece was produced by Alan Weisman for Homelands Productions. It is part of the Worlds of Difference series on global cultural change.