Yiguandao in Korea: International Growth of a Chinese New Religion

Yiguandao missions arrived in Korea no later than 1947. Despite many obstacles, including war and internal dissension, the movement has flourished in South Korea. Today there are three active major lineages and another seven smaller networks. This article relates the movement's overall development in Korea. We begin by discussing key missions dispatched to Korea by Yiguandao's founder Zhang Tianran. The northern port city of Tianjin was key to this effort, in particular a single temple, the Hall of Morality. In Korea the leaders found an unfamiliar cultural landscape that was soon engulfed in war. The Yiguandao missions tended to develop independently, without coordination. In an effort to unify the movement, the Morality Foundation was established in Busan in 1952. The article shows how Yiguandao's subsequent success in Korea is connected to the development of indigenous leadership. Local Korean leadership ousted Chinese members from the Morality Foundation in 1954, and this branch has continued under Korean leadership to this day. The ousted Chinese leaders continued to develop their own lineages. Two major leaders, Zhang Ruiquan and Kim Bokdang, were able to establish enduring legacies. A final section looks at organizational traits that will determine the movement's future prospects in modern Korean society.