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Vol.57 No.4
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Practicing Filipino Catholicism in Korea: Characteristics of Hyehwa-dong Filipino Catholic Community (HFCC) in Seoul

Korea Journal / Korea Journal, (P)0023-3900; (E)2733-9343
2017, v.57 no.4, pp.72-97
https://doi.org/10.25024/kj.2017.57.4.72

(2017). Practicing Filipino Catholicism in Korea: Characteristics of Hyehwa-dong Filipino Catholic Community (HFCC) in Seoul. Korea Journal, 57(4), 72-97, https://doi.org/10.25024/kj.2017.57.4.72
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Abstract

The main questions of this article are: (1) how does religion function in the life of migrants? and (2) how do migrants practice their religion in a new place far from their home? This article analyzes the characteristics of Hyehwa-dong Filipino Catholic Community (HFCC) in Korea through ethnographic fieldwork, surveys, and semistructured interviews. The characteristics of HFCC as a migrant community can be seen in three aspects: belief, practices (including rituals and festivals), and community. Firstly, members of HFCC have a strong faith in God, who they believe sent them to Korea and helps them with their life in Korea. Secondly, they more actively practice their religion than when they were in homeland. Various activities allow them to practice Filipino Catholicism. Thirdly, HFCC is a strong network in both practical and spiritual ways. The members not only regard HFCC as a Catholic community but also a spiritual family. In HFCC, Filipinos are able to practice their religious cultural identity. Also, it is a network that allows them to create their own social and religious capital. These characteristics provide Filipino migrants with an opportunity to reaffiliate themselves with the Filipino society in Korea. Furthermore, Hyehwa-dong, known as the Korean SoHo, seems to become Filipino territory every Sunday, namely reterritorialization. Finally, the emergence and growth of HFCC contributes to Korea’s becoming a multicultural country.

keywords
migration, belief, religious practices, network, identity, reaffiliation, reterritorialization, multicultural

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