| Theologically, conversion has been studied in the normative perspective. As a result, conversion has been regarded as a mysterious event. Socio-religious studies, however, began to illuminate another perspective that the conversion involves the socio-cultural contexts or factors. This understanding of conversion provides important insight for missiological applications. The purpose of this study is to examine three socio-cultural factors that have influenced the conversion of North Korean refugees to Christianity: Juche ideology, life situation, and South Korean church.;Interviews with North Korean refugees and archival research are employed in order to probe these socio-cultural factors in the conversion narratives. Twenty North Korean refugees were interviewed which provided resource to gain a better understanding of the three socio-cultural factors that played an intricate role to their conversion to Christianity. Nineteen conversion narratives which came from archival research provided supportive and corroborative data for making the findings durable and strong.;The research findings of this study appear to support the conclusion that the conversion of North Korean refugees is a socio-cultural process, it illuminated both how they convert to Christianity and how they reinterpret their identity, worldview, and life situation. Crisis is an important impetus for the socio-cultural process of the North Korean conversion. In particular their ideological vacuum, migration experience, and maladjustments to South Korea are regarded as the most important factors for creating insecurity. In this insecure situation, they experience God's power and love and convert to Christianity. At the same time, they began to rethink their identity, worldview, and life situation while relying on God's power and love.;This understanding of this phenomenon that occurs in insecure situations provides missiological implications for South Korean churches. South Korean churches should be a place for "a small reunification zone" or "a small reconciliation zone" in which both the North and the South were incorporated into a South Korean Christian system. South Korean churches need to embrace North Korean refugees beyond formal hospitality and friendship. They need to be more welcoming, embracing, and loving towards them in order to lead them to faith in Christ. |
