The Koreans of Japan

The Koreans of Japan, numbering approximately 797,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Korean Peninsula, today forming the dominant populations of South Korea and North Korea, with a large global diaspora They are an Diaspora people, in the Korean people cluster of the East Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Unaffiliated - Atheism. They primarily speak Korean.

Koreans in Hong Kong photo
Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Korean

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
Country: Japan
People Cluster: Korean
Primary Language(s): Korean (kor)
Primary Religion(s): Unaffiliated - Atheism
Population: 797,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG007572
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Koreans of Japan

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Unaffiliated - Atheism
Religious Affiliation: Unaffiliated

%
Unaffiliated - Atheism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Korean
Language Family: Koreanic

%
Korean Speakers

Bible Resources in Korean:

Or check out the Korean bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Koreans

The Koreans are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Koreans

The Koreans are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Next steps for the Koreans

The Koreans are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Koreans of Japan

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
readMatthew 5:44-45

Pray for those who don't know Jesus to encounter believers who are kind and compassionate and that their imitation of Christ will serve as a testimony that attracts lost people to Jesus.

More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
readRomans 5:11

Pray for the gospel to advance and for more people to be brought into God's family through the reconciliation Jesus offers them.

And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.
readActs 4:29

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and face rejection by unbelievers in their communities, God will give them discernment, boldness, and encouragement to speak His Word.

Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
readPsalm 149:3

Pray that God will send His people across cultures to share the gospel so that those who don't yet know the truth about Him might praise His name and share the hope of Christ with others.

Korean (ROP3 - 105225) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Definitions page.

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