1. A Church & A Temple A Church & A Temple During my visits to Korea, I decided to visit at least two types of religious entities: Christian and Buddhist. Here are a few photos of a huge Christian church in southeastern Seoul and a Buddhist Temple just north of the downtown area. A suspended cross on the grounds of the Yoido Full Gospel Church

2. This lovely “full gospel” church had a very nice external appearance and I was amazed to see how large it was inside.

3. A huge pipe organ, large choir, two big video screens, and a Praise Band on the stage greeted me with great sounds as I entered the church.

4. Several thousand young people (probably 14-30 in age) were singing and clapping and praising God—song after song after song!

5. The choir was youthful, exuberant, smiling and clapping—you could tell they enjoyed every minute of the fairly long service.

6. The pipe organ was not being played this day—it was obvious that this was a young person’s service. There was a large Praise band with keyboards, drums, guitars, and more playing energetic, expressive music to God. The pastoral staff was probably the men in suits in the back of the stage.

7. This broader view, taken from high up in the back of the church, showed the beauty of the building. Listening was marvelous!

8. In stark contrast was a beautiful, but QUIET Buddhist Temple that I visited.

9. The inside of the temple was GORGEOUS, however—three huge Buddha statues were centered in front of men and women praying on rugs on the floor. Note the ornate ceiling decorations

10. Religion in Korea I was really sorry I didn’t have time to go to other churches and other temples while in Seoul. I did, on one other trip, visit a Buddhist Monastery in the hills and it was incredibly interesting. Korea still has many Buddhists, an integral part of their culture, but Christianity is fast gaining acceptance, especially with the close relationship enjoyed by America and Korea. The largest Methodist Church in the world is in Seoul—and I regretted not being able to visit it on my trips. I also wish I would have taken more photos of the Buddhist Temple – but I didn’t want to look like some tourist while the people were silently praying. Hopefully, though, the few shots I took of the Gospel Church and the Buddhist Temple offers a little bit about Korea and religion.