Church-goers in South Korea, where religious services are typically characterized by large in-person gatherings, are growing increasingly dissatisfied with online worship, an inevitable reality at times given the government’s social distancing directives and the protracted coronavirus pandemic.
According to a survey conducted by a publication operated by a Protestant denomination, more respondents said online worship proved unsatisfactory, with the vast majority saying that they were more easily distracted during online services.

Those who disapproved of online worship accounted for 41 percent of the respondents in the survey, while around one quarter (24.2 percent) said they were in favour of online church services. The survey, titled “Social Perception and Sense of Religious Belief,” was conducted by KEHC News in comme-moration of the 30th anniversary of its founding. The publication is run by the Korea Evangelical Holiness Church, one of the major Protestant denominations in the country.

Among the dissatisfied respondents, more than 70 percent said they had some difficulty concentrating during services held online, while the inability to feel engaged and the vitality of church services — usually felt during on-site worship – ranked second when it came to causes of discontent with online worship.