The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) (Korean: 예수 그리스도 후기 성도 교회) was unofficially established in South Korea as early as World War II due to religious influence by servicemen who were church members. However, Korean people did not begin to get baptized until the missionary efforts of Latter-day Saint servicemen during the Korean War. Kim Ho Jik was the first Korean person to be baptized into the church on July 29, 1951, in New York. Two of his children were of the first four Korean people baptized in Korea on August 3, 1952. The church's presence and missionary work was officially established on April 20, 1956, with the arrival of two missionaries: Don G. Powell and Richard L. Detton. The Korean Mission opened on July 8, 1962, with Gail E. Carr as its first president. Successful missionary work led to the church's growth in the 1960s and 1970s leading to the organization of the first stake in Korea in 1973 and the dedication of the first temple in Seoul on December 14, 1985.

Translation of the Book of Mormon was a lengthy process that commenced in the 1950s, however translators had a difficult time finishing the project. Kim Jo Hik aided translation throughout the process, but the translation was completed by Han In Sang and published on March 29, 1967. A re-translation of the Book of Mormon was completed in 2005.

As of 2025, the church reported 89,092 members in 99 congregations in South Korea, making it the third largest body of Latter-day Saints in Asia behind the Philippines and Japan.The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints membership statistics

History

1950–1962: The Korean War and missionary efforts Fresh after being released after president of the Japan Mission, Alma Owen Taylor and missionary Frederick A. Caine visited Korea in January 1910 for a few weeks to determine whether Korea was ready for LDS Church missionaries. Taylor recognized their increasing interest in Christianity but wondered if it was purely political interest. This represented the church's first contact with Korea; however, its first prolonged influence was by United States servicemen stationed in the country during World War II. The first baptism in Korea was of a U.S. soldier. The first Korean church member was Kim Ho Jik, who joined the church on July 29, 1951, while obtaining his doctorate at Cornell University.Palmer, Spencer J. "Kim Ho Jik" in Garr, Arnold K., Donald Q. Cannon and Richard O. Cowan, ed., Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book, 2000) p. 613 He had been sent to New York in 1949 by the South Korean president to learn about nutrition and bring that knowledge back to improve Korea. While attending Cornell, Kim was given a copy of the Articles of Faith by a Latter-day Saint friend. After reading the Articles of Faith, he read the Book of Mormon. He was baptized in the Susquehanna River on July 29, 1951. Kim Tai Whan and Kim Young Sook, his son and daughter, as well as a former student of Kim's and her daughter, were the first four baptisms in Korea on August 3, 1952. Korean citizens who worshiped with U.S. military servicemen at church services in Pusan and Seoul also began to be baptized as members.

By September 1953, over twenty Korean members had joined the LDS Church in Pusan. After the cease fire, most members moved back to Seoul, which became the center of the church in Korea. Due to problems maintaining a permanent place of worship, in February 1954, a Korean Sunday School was established with Kim as superintendent. This was the first native Korean Latter-day Saint organization established in the country. There were over sixty regularly attending members by April 1954. During this time, most of the church members in Korea were young male students. One of these original members, Han In Sang, later become a church general authority. Sang was also the first native Korean to serve a full-time mission. The Far East Mission (or Japanese Mission) consisted of many Asian countries including Korea, however proselytizing missionaries were only sent to Japan, and not yet Korea.

During a visit to Korea in 1955, Joseph Fielding Smith, of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated Korea for missionary work on August 2, 1955. Even though the church was not recognized by the Korean government as an official ecclesiastical organization, Kim became president of the Korean District of the Northern Far East Mission. Additionally, servicemen branches and native Korean branches were separated and church branches were officially created in Seoul and Pusan. Kim helped Paul C. Andrus, president of the Northern Far East Mission, get the church recognized by the government, lease a missionary house, and obtain the approval of visas for the missionaries. Having been transferred from missions in Japan, Don G. Powell and Richard L. Detton were the church's first missionaries in Korea. They arrived on April 20, 1956. Six more missionaries were sent to Korea the following summer, with four of them going to Pusan.

Due to postwar conditions in Korea, in summer 1958, half of the missionaries became sick with hepatitis. Missionaries had difficulties learning Korean. Church materials such as the Book of Mormon and hymnbooks were not translated into Korean until over a year after full-time missionary work began. Kim translated the Articles of Faith and the sacrament prayers, but missionaries still had difficulties communicating in Korean. Missionaries were sent translated tracts and pamphlets in September 1957, replacing ones in the Japanese language they had been previously using. For the next few years, missionaries were getting about eighteen baptisms a year, which was the highest of any mission at the time. This high rate of baptisms plateaued in 1964. Eighty percent of original converts were male, and this trend continued into the 1970s with over half of converts being male. At first, this was likely due to more contact between servicemen and Korean men. However, after the Korean War, the trend likely continued due to Korea's male-oriented society. Missionary work targeted men rather than women, by policy. After the economic effects of the Korean War began to diminish, Korean's interest in religion diminished as well and baptisms declined beginning in 1965.

Translation of the Book of Mormon The first attempted translations of the Book of Mormon were done with the Japanese language and recently completed Japanese translation in mind. This caused problems, because Korean people held animosity for the Japanese people due to Japan's recent occupation of Korea due to World War II. Previously, the first copies of the Book of Mormon used in Korea were in English and Japanese. Students learning English were given the English version whereas older individuals were given the Japanese version because Korean people were forced to learn Japanese when they were occupied by Japan.

Kim Ho Jik was one of the first involved in the translation process, having already translated the sacramental prayers and Articles of Faith. Kim supervised the translation process, working with Chang Se Cheon and Cheong Dae Pan. Kim translated the English into Korean verbally, and Chang wrote down the translation. Due to Kim's other obligations, this was a slow process, so Chang eventually took over the daily translation. Only one half of the book was completed, because Chang moved to Utah in 1959. A second translation was attempted by Hong Byeong Shik and Kim on August 23, 1959; however Kim died of a heart attack eight days later. Hong worked alone as a translator with his wife as his scribe. It is unknown whether Hong referred to Chang's previous translation, but he most likely referred to Japanese versions. After a year, the translation was completed in 1961. Hong was assisted by missionaries and church members during the editing process. The translation was edited and typset around 5 times between 1961 and 1962. Due to the extension revisions necessary, a small pocket edition of 3 Nephi was published before the rest of the manuscript.

When Gail Carr became mission president, he allowed missionary Bruce K. Grant to gather opinions on the translation from both Korean members and academics. Grant concluded that the translation should be reworked to more closely match the 1957 re-translated Japanese version. The new Japanese version used clearer language and was less "archaic" than its predecessor. Cheong became head translator in 1964. After Cheong became Korean district president, conflicting assignments forced Cheong to ask to be released. Lee Ho Nam replaced Cheong. However, Cheong still aided in translation. LDS Church leaders became concerned that the church in Korea had already existed for 10 years but there was no Korean translation of the Book of Mormon. Carr asked Han In Sang to revise and complete the translation in 1964. Cheong continued to translate, but consented to Han revising some of his translations. After reviewing Cheong's work, Han decided to re-translate the whole Book of Mormon in 1965; he consulted Hong's published 3 Nephi, Cheong's translation, and the English version. Han completed the draft in 1966. After Carr was released as mission president, the first Korean translation of the Book of Mormon was published on March 29, 1967.

Since the Book of Mormon was published in 1967, there have been several editions. The church's Translation Department initiated a new translation in the early 1990s, translated from the 1981 English version. A new translation was published in 2005. Including the history and author, little is known about this translation. Due to the new translation, the church changed its name in Korea from "Maril Seongdo Yesu Keuriseudo Kyohoe" (The Last Day Saints Church of Jesus Christ") to "Yesu Keuriseudo Hugi Seongdo Kyohoe" ("The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day/Second-term Saints").

1962–1985: Establishment of the Korean Mission and expansion The first mission in Korea was established on July 8, 1962. Gail E. Carr became the first president of the Korean Mission. At thirty-two years old, he was one of the youngest mission presidents at the time. Korean membership had reached 1,603; there were five branches and nineteen missionaries serving in Korea. Carr initiated the construction of a chapel for the Seoul East Branch; this was one of the first chapels of the Church on the Asian continent. Carr purchased vital church properties, created two new branches, initiated a language study program, and encouraged translation of church materials during his presidency. Carr's wife organized the first Relief Society in Korea. Because they did not yet have translated Relief Society instruction materials, the sisters met and discussed homemaking. After Kim Jung Sook translated the materials, they were able to have formal Relief Society instruction. After Carr, the next three mission presidents were carefully chosen based on academic accomplishment due to the Korean values of education.