World Religions › Contemporary › Pentecostalism (Azusa Street Revival)
Yoido Full Gospel Church, Seoul
Founded 1958; often called the largest congregation in the world· Holy place· Judaism, Christianity & Islam
Historical recordConfirmed by archaeology, outside sources or contemporary records.
A Pentecostal megachurch in Seoul (여의도순복음교회), often called the world's largest single congregation, with hundreds of thousands of members.
See it on the World Religions map →What it is
David Yonggi Cho (조용기) and Choi Ja-sil began it in 1958 as a tent church of a handful of people in a poor Seoul neighborhood. In 1973 it moved to Yeouido (the church spells it Yoido), an island in the Han River near the National Assembly. Cho's 'threefold blessing' (spiritual, physical and material) and a network of home 'cell groups', many led by women, drove growth to a claimed 830,000 members by 2007. Cho died in 2021.
Why it matters
It made Korea a showcase of Pentecostal growth, exported its cell-group model to churches worldwide, and symbolizes both the success and the scandals of Korea's megachurches.
Sources and history
Church membership records, Cho's books such as 'Successful Home Cell Groups' (1981), Korean press coverage, and court records of Cho's 2014 conviction for breach of trust.
Questions and debates
Scholars debate how much its focus on health and prosperity draws on Korean shamanic blessing-seeking rather than Pentecostal theology alone.
Connections (2)
▸Yoido Full Gospel Church, Seoul is a megachurch landmark of Christianity in KoreaHistorical record
The connection
Yoido's rise mirrored Korea's Protestant boom, from a few hundred thousand believers before the Korean War to roughly a fifth of South Koreans by the 1990s. Cho's message of blessing and healing spoke to rural migrants crowding into Seoul during rapid industrialization, and megachurches made Seoul a world Protestant hub.
When and where
Seoul, 1958 onward; peak growth in the 1970s–1990s; other megachurches such as Myungsung, Sarang and Onnuri grew alongside it.
Historical evidence
Church records and Korean census religion data from 1985, 1995, 2005 and 2015 track the growth.
Questions and debates
Whether prosperity-focused preaching built lasting faith is debated; Protestant numbers stalled after the 1990s amid church scandals and the rise of people with no religion.
▸Yoido Full Gospel Church, Seoul is often called the largest congregation of Pentecostalism (Azusa Street Revival)Mostly agreed by scholars
The connection
Cho trained at an Assemblies of God Bible school in Seoul, and the church belongs to the Korean Assemblies of God, part of the denomination that grew from Azusa Street's tradition. It practices speaking in tongues, divine healing and Spirit baptism, and Cho led the World Assemblies of God Fellowship from 1992 to 2000.
When and where
Seoul, from 1958; Cho's training at Full Gospel Bible College in the 1950s; the Assemblies of God's world fellowship.
How do we know?
Denominational records, Cho's books, and studies by Pentecostal scholars such as Allan Anderson.
Questions and debates
Membership counts are self-reported and once included satellite churches, many made independent since about 2010, so whether it is truly the largest congregation depends on how one counts.