Glossolalia and the Privacy of Public Prayer in South Korea

South Korean Christians practice glossolalia—speaking or praying “in tongues” (pangŏn kido)— across Protestant denominations. Originally popularized through the Yoido Full Gospel Church in the 20th Century, it has become a commonplace form of worship well beyond its postwar Pentecostal origins. This presentation draws material from a forthcoming book, Glossolalia and the Problem of Language (University of Chicago Press), to explain how part of glossolalia’s value (beyond its stereotypic associations with trance, ecstasy, and catharsis) lies in its capacity to generate individuated, private spaces of worship in public settings. I contextualize the productive intersection of glossolalia and group prayer within a broader array of communicative practices and institutional configurations to show how speaking in tongues helps practitioners meet social expectations for fervent, enthusiastic, ritual participation while producing a setting for civil inattention.