Who we are
The National Council of Churches in Korea is an organization made up of churches who profess Jesus Christ as their Saviour, respond to God’s call, and work for God’s glory.
Since the 23rd General Assembly in 1970, the Presbyterian Church of Korea, the Korean Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, the Salvation Army Korea Territory, the Anglican Church of Korea and the Korea Evangelical Church have been working as members. At the 45th General Assembly in 1996 the Orthodox Church of Korea and the Korea Assemblies of God joined as members and at the 60th General Assembly in 2011 the Lutheran Church in Korea joined as well, making a total of nine denominations working together in membership at the present. These denominations are joined by other Christian organizations in Korea, such as the Christian Broadcasting System and the Korea Student Christian Federation. For a full list of our member churches and organizations, visit this page.
The NCCK not only works together with other major Christian denominations in Korea but also has close international relationships with the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), and national councils of churches in other countries. The NCCK works with churches in the US, Japan, Germany, Canada, Australia, the Philippines, China, Russia, and beyond.
Our History
The NCCK’s history is deeply interwoven with Korea’s national history. For nearly a century, the NCCK members have worked in faithful cooperation to realize God’s vision of unity, peace and justice for Korea.
The beginnings of the NCCK stemmed from the Choseon (Korea) National Christian Council in 1924. The Federal Council of Protestant and Evangelical Missions in Korea, founded in 1905, became the Korea Church Federal Council in 1918, and was then established as the Choseon National Christian Council on September 24th, 1924. This became the root of the present NCCK.
In 1945, when Korea gained national independence from thirty-six years of Japanese colonial rule, the NCCK worked to share the Gospel with the Korean people and to build solidarity among churches on the national and international levels. In the 1950s, after the Korean War, the NCCK worked to reconstruct the church and society in cooperation with world churches. In the 1960s and 70s, the NCCK did its best to make righteousness something real in the history of the time and to participate in field mission on behalf of marginalized people such as farmers, workers, people experiencing poverty in urban environments, and many others whose human rights were endangered or violated by societal systems in South Korea. The NCCK also supported pro-democracy movements in Korea. The council and its member churches protested against dictatorial and military government even at the risk of severe oppression.
From the 1980s until now, the NCCK has been working together with siblings in Christ in North Korea (namely, Korean Christian Federation) and working worldwide to fulfill the Korean people’s long-cherished desire for national reunification.
Contact
To get in touch with NCCK, contact our international office via email: ncckintl@kncc.or.kr
