Pope Francis is currently visiting the Asian country as part of Asian Youth Day as well as to recognize the growing number of Catholics in South Korea and Asia in general.

The pontiff arrived on Thursday as part of a five-day visit to South Korea, reports Time magazine. This is Pope Francis' first visit to Asia and the first visit by a pontiff to the region since John Paul II's trip in 1995.

South Korea's president, Park Geun-hye, greeted the Argentine pontiff at the airport, where he descended onto a red carpet. North Korean defectors and survivors from April's ferry disaster also greeted the pope. According to the Pew Research Center, around 37 percent of South Korea's Christians, around 5.3 million, are Catholic.

To continue infusing Catholicism with Korean culture and society, the pope will beatify 124 Korean martyrs, according to The Associated Press. Catholic Koreans were persecuted and killed in the 18th and 19th centuries because of the rulers' distrust of foreign religions.

China allowed the pope to fly over Chinese airspace for the first time, having turned back Pope John Paul II in 1989; however, as he flew over China, he sent a message to the Chinese premier.

"Upon entering Chinese airspace, I extend best wishes to your Excellency and your fellow citizens, and I invoke the divine blessings of peace and well-being upon the nation," the statement said.

The pope continued to show his frugality and humility when he eschewed his limousine for a modified Kia Seoul, reports the New York Daily News, which is a stark difference to Korean protestant religious leaders who drive luxury cars, a South Korean student said.

He also delivered a message of peace for the region, saying, "I came here thinking of peace and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula," to the South Korean president, according to The New York Times.

Pope Francis also held Mass in Daejeon World Cup Stadium celebrating the feast of the Assumption, according to the Wall Street Journal, in which he spoke against the evil of material inequality.

"May [Koreans] combat the allure of a materialism that stifles authentic spiritual and cultural values and the spirit of unbridled competition which generates selfishness and strife," he said. "May they also reject inhumane economic models which create new forms of poverty and marginalize workers."