Jeungsanism

Jeungsanism (증산교 Jeungsangyo) is occasionally used as a synonym of Jeung San Do, a Korean new religious movement, but most Korean and Western scholars use it to designate a family of more than 100 Korean new religious movements that recognize Kang Jeungsan (Gang Il-Sun) as the incarnation of the Supreme God of the Universe, Sangje.

Kang Jeungsan, recognized by his disciples as the Supreme God incarnated, passed away on June 24, 1909 at the Donggok Clinic he had established in 1908. Kang had not clearly designated a successor, and both his main disciples and some of his relatives established separate branches, which in turn separated into further rival organizations, generating more than 100 religious orders within the general family of Jeungsanism. All recognize Kang as Sangje, the Supreme God of the Universe, and believe that he reordered the whole universe through his mission and rituals, buy they differ on who Kang's successors should have been. Some of them have divinized and worship as deities their own founders, or other leaders of Jeungsanism, in addition to Kang.

A number of branches trace their origins to Goh Pan-Lye (Subu, literally “Head Lady,” 1880-1935, although in Kang's circle there was more than one "Subu"), a female disciple of Kang Jeungsan. Around September 1911, Goh gathered around her a number of Kang's followers. Eventually, Goh’s male cousin, Cha Gyeong-Seok (1880-1936), a leading disciple of Kang, became the leader of Goh's branch. Dissatisfied with this situation, Goh separated from Cha in 1919 and established her own new religion. In the 1920s, Cha’s branch, known as Bocheon-gyo, became the largest Korean new religious movement and possibly the largest religion in Korea, with some six million followers. It declined rapidly after Cha's death in 1936, and fragmented into several competing group, as did Goh's organization. The largest among the branches claiming a lineage originating from Goh is Jeung San Do, founded by Ahn Un-san (born in 1922), who established his first religious organization in 1945. After further divisions, Ahn founded Jeung San Do in 1974 together with his son, Ahn Gyeong-jeon (b. 1954). Jeung San Do believes that, as Kang was God the Father, Goh, revered with the title of Tae-mo-nim, was God the mother and between 1926 and 1935 performed her own reordering of the universe. Jeung San Do is the movement within Jeungsanism with the most visible presence abroad, although it is not the largest branch in Korea.

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