Resisting Restless Protestant Religious Consumers in the Korean Burnout Society: Examining Korean Protestantism’s Rising Interest in Apophatic and Desert Spirituality

Abstract

Why have Korean Protestants been enthusiastic for Henri Nouwen, Thomas Merton, and Orthodox books in recent years? This article proposes that apophatic spirituality and desert asceticism, influential in both Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions, can help assuage the thirst of Korean Protestants exhausted by the excesses of positivity and the exploitation of self. I focus on the insatiable consuming passions of Korean Protestant religious consumerism as symptoms of the burnout society. I then explore the major contribution of apophatic spirituality and desert asceticism, which have much to teach contemporary Korean Protestantism.