Korean Christians in Britain
Church is central to Korean community life abroad. Around New Malden, and wherever Korean families, students and staff of Korean companies live, a Korean-speaking congregation is often among the first places people find. Many rent a building from a British church and meet in the afternoon, after the host congregation has gone home.
Not every Korean goes to a Korean church, though. Students at British universities, Koreans married to British partners and families who live far from a Korean congregation join local churches. Many speak good English, yet a sermon in the language in which they learned to pray is something else.
Generations in one family
In Korean church families, the generations often speak different languages. Children who grew up here speak English first; parents and grandparents feel at home in Korean. When a family attends an English-speaking church together, the parents can follow in Korean while the children hear the preacher directly. Grandparents visiting from Korea for a few months can take part in every service instead of sitting through them.
It works the other way round as well. A Korean congregation can set Korean as the speaker language and offer English to its second generation and to British spouses, so the young people stay in the same service as their parents.
Host church and Korean congregation together
Where a British church and a Korean congregation share a building, a joint service at Easter, Pentecost or Harvest is a natural way to meet. The British minister preaches in English with Korean translation; when the Korean pastor preaches, the technician switches the speaker language to Korean with one tap and English speakers choose English. Use one feed from the mixing desk so whoever speaks reaches the broadcast. The page on guest speakers has more on switching.
How listeners use it
- 01Scan
From the screen, the bulletin or the church's KakaoTalk group. The page opens in the browser on any smartphone.
- 02Choose 한국어
No account and no download. There is also an iOS app for those who prefer it.
- 03Listen or read
The Korean voice follows the preacher a few seconds behind, with captions in Hangul. Listeners can switch the audio off and only read.
What to expect
The translation is into standard Korean, and it follows the argument of a sermon and the prayers well. Korean churches have a settled church vocabulary and careful levels of politeness, and an automatic translation will not always strike the tone a Korean pastor would. Bible names and terms are the hardest part; ChurchTranslate keeps a terminology list per language to correct known terms in the captions. See Bible names and terms.
Cost
A 75-minute service into Korean uses 75 credits. A weekly service comes to about 300 credits a month, which fits within the Lite plan (€65 per month, 480 credits). For a joint service translated in both directions, count both languages. See the pricing.