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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Koreans of Japan

The Koreans of Japan, numbering approximately 796,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as 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, with Korean as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Korean people cluster of the East Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Atheism. They primarily speak Korean.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Korean

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: East Asian Peoples
Country: Japan
People Cluster: Korean
Primary Language(s): Korean (kor)
Primary Religion(s): Atheism
Population: 796,000
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
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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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Atheism
Religious Affiliation: Unaffiliated

54%
%
Atheism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Korean
Language Family: Koreanic

100%
%
Korean Speakers

Media Resources in Korean:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Korean:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Korean bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 1), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Expanding Unreached People Group, (LPI: 2), 0.5% to 2% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Koreans:
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

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.

Next steps for the Koreans:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

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.

Next steps for the Koreans:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Koreans of Japan

As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God".
readRomans 3:10-11

Pray that God will have mercy on those living in broken relationship with Him, and that He will bring many to surrender and repentance at the throne of grace.

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
read2 Timothy 4:3-4

Pray that the lost will be open to the truth of the gospel and turn from false teachings and myths to the sound doctrine of Christ in faith.

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
readLamentations 3:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and walk through trials, they will be satisfied with the Lord as their portion and will place all their hope in Him.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
readJames 5:16

Pray that believers whom God sends will confess their sins, pray for one another, and live in unity. Ask that they will model healthy Christian relationships for this people group.

Korean Across Countries (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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