In the '2024 Social Indicators of Korea' report published by Statistics Korea, a significant 51.8% of respondents answered that interreligious conflict is at a grave situation. This figure marks a substantial increase of 9.5 points from 42.3% in 2023.

As a solution to this conflict, the Shincheonji Thomas Tribe has been conducting a 'handwritten letter exchange' directed at the domestic religious community since 2019. To date, roughly 400,000 letters containing transcriptions and meditations on biblical texts have resulted in 5317 substantive conversations with church leaders and pastors based on the Word.

The response from pastors has been overwhelming, resulting in direct visits and regular exchanges. Presbyterian Pastor Jeong, who has been ministering for 15 years in the Jeonju region, recalled the letter he received and said, “If it had been a printed document, I might have passed it by, but seeing the handwritten Bible verses and meditations, I read it to the end.” He added, “The process of seriously sharing thoughts over a single Bible verse was impressive in itself.”

To date, there have been a total of 66 instances of joint activities centred in the Jeonbuk region, including joint Bible study meetings, seminars, pulpit exchanges and a Pastors' Peace Forum.

This method of interreligious harmony, purposed not to “proselytise" but to understand one another and share communion within the Bible, is a novel approach that is expected to transcend interreligious and interdenominational boundaries.