An interview with Pastor Young Hoon Lee, a South Korean lover of Israel who heads the largest mega-church in the world in Seoul.
Nestled in the Han River in the middle of South Korea’s bustling capital of Seoul, Yeoui Island is hardly where one would expect to find the largest mega-church in the world. Home to the city’s business and financial district, its skyline dotted with skyscrapers, the island boasts some of the country’s most powerful institutions, such as the Korean stock exchange and the headquarters of LG, the international conglomerate. Yet amid all the dynamic economic activity sits a large complex of buildings comprising the Yoido Full Gospel Church which is adjacent to the National Assembly and draws upwards of 200,000 worshipers to services each Sunday. Affiliated with the Assemblies of God, Yoido is a Pentecostalist and Evangelical congregation that was founded in 1958 by Pastor David Yonggi Cho in his mother-in-law’s apartment. It grew swiftly, and its main sanctuary can now seat 12,000 people, with overflow crowds directed to neighboring buildings where they can watch a live-feed of the service on giant video screens. All told, its membership throughout Korea numbers over half a million people.
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