Trailer

K-Spirits: How the US and Korea Create Evangelical Power uncovers the transpacific forces that transformed modern Christianity and continue to shape politics on both sides of the Pacific.

Historian Dr. Helen Jin Kim follows influencers, evangelists, translators, pastors, politicians, labor organizers, and overlooked women whose stories connect South Korea and the United States. From Billy Graham’s largest crusade and South Korea’s record-breaking “spiritual explosions,” to the hidden labor behind the world’s largest Pentecostal church, the series reveals how revival, war, migration, anti-communism, authoritarianism, race, gender, and digital media created powerful evangelical networks. But Korean Christianity has never spoken with one voice. Alongside those seeking political influence are Christians building alternative traditions of justice, resistance, belonging, and liberation. 

Who created evangelical power - and who challenged it?

K-Spirits is a limited series from the Institute for Religion, Media, and Civic Engagement (IRMCE) in partnership with the Asian Pacific American Religions Research Initiative (APARRI). It is part of the Under Gods project, funded by the Henry Luce Foundation. 

Host: Dr. Helen Jin Kim

Executive Producer: Dr. Leah Payne

Producer: Andrew Gill

Story Editor: Dr. Bradley Onishi

Original Score: David Bazan

Production Assistance: Kari Onishi

Cover Art: Eric Zwierzynski