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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Deaf Koreans of South Korea

The Deaf Koreans of South Korea, numbering approximately 551,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a community of individuals who are culturally Deaf and actively participate in Deaf culture, often using sign language as their primary means of communication. They are an Indigenous people, in the Deaf people cluster of the Deaf Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Mahayana Buddhism. They primarily speak Korean Sign Language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Deaf Korean

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Deaf Peoples
Country: South Korea
People Cluster: Deaf
Primary Language(s): Korean Sign Language (kvk)
Primary Religion(s): Mahayana Buddhism
Population: 551,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG007595
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Deaf Koreans of South Korea

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Mahayana Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

%
Mahayana Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Korean Sign Language
Language Family: Sign Language

%
Korean Sign Language Speakers

Media Resources in Korean Sign Language:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Korean Sign Language:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Korean Sign Language bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the Deaf Koreans

The Deaf Koreans are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Deaf Koreans

The Deaf Koreans are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Next steps for the Deaf Koreans

The Deaf Koreans are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Deaf Koreans of South Korea

For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.
readPsalm 62:1

Pray that those who are troubled and don't know about the God who saves will hear the good news and find rest in the one true God who can offer salvation for their souls.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
readLamentations 3:23-23

Pray that they will have hope in the Lord, knowing that His compassions never fails and that His mercies are new every morning.

More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
readRomans 5:11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice in what God has done for them and will help others know how they can also be reconciled to God.

The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way.
readPsalm 37:23

Pray that believers from near and far will serve here and trust in the Lord's timing as He establishes their steps.

Deaf Korean (ROP3 - 116523) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Definitions page.

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