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You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Korean. (July 2020) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
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The Catholic Church in Korea is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome.
The Catholic Church in Korea originated because of Western books and the increase of Western knowledge that related to Catholic teachings. The Catholic Church faced severe persecution under the Joseon Dynasty. Due to a threat against Confucian-based social and political order. Many major events contributed to the spread of the Catholic Church in Korea. This effected the spread of the Catholic church to be different between the South and the North.
The Catholic hierarchy in Korea has never been divided between South and North, in the same manner as the Catholic hierarchy in Germany was never divided between East and West between the artificially created borders. For example, some parts of the territory of the archdiocese of Seoul are located in North Korea. Nevertheless, since the political division of Korea in 1945, Catholicism has had a different development in North and South.