Phrase/word for "human to god" love / idolatry?


A Korean friend used a word that I believe was a Japanese loan word, that he
said meant a "human to god" kind of love - an 'inferior' being loving or
idolizing a 'superior' one. It wasn't a phrase but just one word... Does this
sound familiar or should I ask around on a Korean site?




Gleaning from the comments that this might be a term that originally came from
Chinese, one guess would be
[崇拝【すうはい】](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%B4%87%E6%8B%9D), often glossed
as _"worship"_ but with overtones of _"admiration, adoration"_. The
traditional form of these kanji is
[崇拜](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%B4%87%E6%8B%9C), the form still used
in written Chinese, with readings of _chóngbài_ (Mandarin), _sung 4 baai3_
(Cantonese), _chhùng-pai_ (Hakka), and _chông-pài_ (Min Nan). The term is also
used in Korean, as [숭배]{sungbae}.

