This thesis illuminates the crowd in the Gospel of John that tries to change their country through making Jesus their king, a perspective of the crowd that potentially could change their society. This thesis identifies who the crowd is in the Gospel of John, clarifies their historical background, and defines the role the crowd plays in John. It further explains how to understand the crowd in John, and discusses what Jesus means to them.

For those topics, minjung theology, a Korean theology of the masses, or the crowd, is used as a bridge between the crowd in John and the South Korean crowd. Although minjung theology was first applied on the crowd in Mark, the crowd in John can be understood as another minjung, extended from the crowd presented in Mark. To figure out the identity of the crowd, John's narrative about the crowd is scrutinized, and the disciples in John, including the Beloved disciple, Peter, and Judas Iscariot are also reinterpreted, since each represents a significant key to understanding the crowd in this process. Moreover, the populism and populist theory in current politics also is employed to connect the crowds of the world, especially in South Korea, and the crowd in John. This populism theory helps the reader of the Gospel of John to understand the desire of the crowd in John and the theory shows who Jesus is for the crowd and why the religious authorities killed Jesus, unlike the crowd in John. Finally, this thesis points out that the crowd in John is not essentially different from the crowds in the world today, as they try to change their society or governments in their respective countries.