The Most Famous
RELIGIOUS FIGURES from South Korea
This page contains a list of the greatest South Korean Religious Figures. The pantheon dataset contains 2,238 Religious Figures, 5 of which were born in South Korea. This makes South Korea the birth place of the 55th most number of Religious Figures behind Uzbekistan and Tunisia.
Top 5
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary South Korean Religious Figures of all time. This list of famous South Korean Religious Figures is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Andrew Kim Taegon (1821 - 1846)
With an HPI of 60.61, Andrew Kim Taegon is the most famous South Korean Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages on wikipedia.
Andrew Kim Taegeon (21 August 1821 – 16 September 1846), also referred to as Andrew Kim in English, was the first Korean-born Catholic priest and is the patron saint of Korean clergy.
2. David Yonggi Cho (1936 - 2021)
With an HPI of 58.68, David Yonggi Cho is the 2nd most famous South Korean Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
David Yonggi Cho (Korean: 조용기; 14 February 1936 – 14 September 2021 as Paul Yungi Cho) was a South Korean Christian minister. He was the founder of the Yoido Full Gospel Church (Assemblies of God), which he started in a tent with 5 people (including his future mother-in-law Choi Ja-shil and her children as its first members), which eventually became the world's largest congregation, with a membership of 830,000 (as of 2007).
3. Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk (1931 - 2021)
With an HPI of 53.17, Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk is the 3rd most famous South Korean Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.
Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk (Korean: 정진석; Hanja: 鄭鎭奭; 7 December 1931 – 27 April 2021) was a South Korean Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Seoul from 1998 until he retired in 2012. He was previously Bishop of Cheongju from 1970 to 1998. He was made a cardinal in 2006.
4. Andrew Yeom Soo-jung (1943 - )
With an HPI of 52.17, Andrew Yeom Soo-jung is the 4th most famous South Korean Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Andrew Yeom Soo-jung (Korean: 염수정; Hanja: 廉洙政; born 5 December 1943) is a Korean prelate of the Catholic Church who was the Archbishop of Seoul from 2012 to 2021, while also holding the title of Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Pyongyang in North Korea. Pope Francis made him a cardinal in 2014. He was also the chairman of Catholic Peace Broadcasting Corporation (CPBC).
5. Stephen Kim Sou-hwan (1922 - 2009)
With an HPI of 51.78, Stephen Kim Sou-hwan is the 5th most famous South Korean Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.
Stephen (often rendered as Latin Stephanus) Kim Sou-hwan (Korean: 김수환; Hanja: 金壽煥; May 8, 1922 – February 16, 2009) was a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and the former archbishop of Seoul, South Korea. Having been an iconic figure in South Korea's bloody and tumultuous transition from military rule to democracy, he was widely respected across all sections in South Korean society.
Pantheon has 5 people classified as religious figures born between 1821 and 1943. Of these 5, 1 (20.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living religious figures include Andrew Yeom Soo-jung. The most famous deceased religious figures include Andrew Kim Taegon, David Yonggi Cho, and Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk.
Living Religious Figures
Go to all RankingsDeceased Religious Figures
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Andrew Kim Taegon
1821 - 1846
HPI: 60.61
David Yonggi Cho
1936 - 2021
HPI: 58.68
Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk
1931 - 2021
HPI: 53.17
Stephen Kim Sou-hwan
1922 - 2009
HPI: 51.78
Which Religious Figures were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 4 most globally memorable Religious Figures since 1700.
