SEOUL, South Korea (BP) -- Seoul is a study in tensions between old and new.

Modern high-rise apartment and office buildings sit alongside ancient palaces and temples. Young Koreans with money to spend pack popular shopping districts. The elderly take their daily exercise amidst young families, cyclists and joggers along the banks of the Han River and in parks throughout the city.

At night the city skyline is dotted with the glow of red crosses atop Christian churches, dotted among trendy restaurants, nightclubs and karaoke bars that attract businessmen and university students until the early hours of the morning.

Seoul is South Korea's bulging center of politics, culture, finance, entertainment and religion. Nearly half the country's population resides in Seoul, Incheon and Suwon -- Seoul's larger metropolitan area, which many consider the world's second largest city.

Yet Seoul stands apart from other Asian megacities for the prominence of Christianity and its global influence on evangelical causes. In 2011 government statistics report nearly one in three South Koreans follow Christianity -- nudging Buddhism from the lead it has held for centuries. It is one of the few cities in Asia considered "evangelized" by many mission organizations. More than 21,000 South Korean missionaries serve in 169 countries according to 2009 statistics from the Korea World Missions Association.

Meanwhile, Seoul churches are at the forefront in developing Christian programs, materials and leaders -- and exporting them around the world, says Joseph Kim, lead pastor of Wonchon Baptist Church and headmaster of Central Christian Academy in Suwon.

"In the 1990s, most of the innovation in Christian ministry flowed from North America to Korea," the 50-year-old son of Korean evangelist Billy Kim says. "But since 2005, Korean churches are developing songs, programming and innovations in the Korean language. Korean churches in North America are beginning to copy things that are happening in Seoul."

ACTIVE PARTICIPATION

Tensions between the traditional and modern, however, are evident both within Seoul society and within the church. Young Koreans are looking for active rather than passive participation in government and worship -- which Kim describes as a radically different concept from the hierarchical structure so important to traditional Korean culture.

"Young Koreans want to be involved," Kim says. "They want to make a difference."

Kim says this explains the social justice efforts increasingly prevalent in many Korean churches, with many congregations providing facilities for the homeless, the elderly and the disabled.

"This is a new movement of this young generation in participation," Kim says, explaining that the distinction between "liberal" congregations focused on social ministries and "conservative" ones focused on preaching and teaching hardly exists in South Korea.

"In Korea, even the conservative evangelical church is still very active in social work," Kim says.

Abigail Shin, a 31-year-old visiting professor at Seoul National University, also sees evidence of the younger generation's commitment to social issues, noting that a popular red-light district shut down a few months ago after decades in the city's center. However, she remains concerned over a number of other issues facing her generation, including the drinking culture, marital unfaithfulness, dads who are never home and children under pressure to excel.

Such issues, Shin says, stem from a hierarchical culture built on unquestioning respect for authority -- one that is often abused in the business world by "bosses who demand younger workers do the dirty work or serve them in certain ways." While many young people "robotically" give respect to the older generation, some are rebelling against it, Shin says.

For young and old, Shin says, "I believe there needs to be education about mutual respect."

Within the church, Shin believes many young people are turned off by the "in-your-face" evangelism of their elders. Continued...