Abstract

This study attempts to investigate the role of children in the Korean new religious movement, Daesoon Jinrihoe. The research method combined archival studies with qualitative research; interviews with two members involved in educating youth through the establishment of Youth Camps and Donggeurami, the order's youth magazine. Our four research questions were: 1. Do children play a central role in the millennial vision of this NRM? 2. Are children separated from the world? 3. Have Daesoon childrearing methods been challenged by secular authorities or anticult groups? 4. Are there procedures to educate children in the religious beliefs and values of their parents and the community? Our results found that Daesoon Jinrihoe appears to be a religion designed for adults. Children do not usually participate in religious activities. On the other hand, since 2005 there has been a strategic effort to educate the children in the faith of their parents, through the establishment of Youth Camps and the youth magazine, Donggeurami.