MISSIONARY MAP OF JAPAN AND CHOSEN ( Presbyterian. ) OTAKU SAPp ORo /v A y ^ / VC 7 QUELPART IS. JAPAN The Empire of Japan comprises 6 small islands, a portion of the seventh and one mainland Kingdom. It stands as a world power without immigration. The population, 5 7,500,000 and is centered in a territory about 400 square miles greater than the State of Montana. Japan is literate and literary. The literacy rate among men is 90 per cent. — among women, 70 per cent. Japanese children have excellent schools. There are 110,069 Protestant church members. 2 7,225,000 are in reach of the Word — 30,230,000 are as yet untouched. CHOSEN The first Presbyterian Mission was established in 1887. In 1890 only 1 00 converts were represented. The number now is 200,000. Korean ^children attending Presbyterian Sunday Schools number There are 1,185 churches of which 1,153 are self supporting. The Woman’s Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Oiurch in the U. S. A. 156 Fifth Avenue, New York. 31? M5, 4 n PEN PICTURE of the CHOSEN (KOREA) MISSION of JAN 20 '993 '&0L0 GICAi SEW"^ THE BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS Department for Specific Work THE WOMAN’S BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE U. S. A. 156 Fifth Avenue, New York City Pen Picture of the Chosen (Korea) Mission Mission Established-1884. One of the youngest of Presbyterian Missions. In one of the smallest countries ; the size of the State of Kansas. Stations in the Order of Founding Seoul . .1884 Chungju 1907 Pyengyang . . . . 1894 Kangkai 1908 Taiku . . 1899 Aaidong 1910 Syenchun . . . . . .1901 W ork for Koreans Chairyung . . . . . 1906 in Manchuria. 1918 Distinctive Features A people few in numbers and weak in political influence but zealous in witnessing for Christ in spite of continued persecution. Rapid spread of the Gospel throughout the land. Nearly 90% of the churches self-supporting because of sacrificial giving. Capable leadership developed through annual training schools as well as through a thorough educational system. 3 Self government in the church resulting in establishment of Korean General Assembly. A unique example of denominational co- operation. A pre-eminently fruitful Mission — It shows: 30% of the total communicant roll. 38% of the average church attendance. 37% of Sunday School roll, 80% of the self-supporting churches, of the 27 Presbyterian foreign Mission fields of the world, or V 3 of the developed foreign mis- sionary work of the entire Presbyterian Church. Other Missions Operating in This Field Australian, Canadian and Southern Presby- terians; Northern and Southern Methodists; Holiness Mission ; Salvation Army ; Seventh Day Adventists; English Society for the Propaga- tion of the Gospel ; Y. M. C. A. Situation “Where is Korea?” is a question still asked although two great wars have been fought largely in its territory within the last twenty- five years and more recently a war for inde- pendence has there been waged which may have large influence not only upon that nation itself but upon our own as well. Think of the map of China. Korea is a tiny peninsula 600 miles long and 200 miles wide hanging down into the Pacific from the upper right hand corner of China. To the east of it is Japan, just 200 miles away across the Japan 4 Straits. To the west one night’s steaming across the Yellow Sea is China. Cross Manchuria — there a narrow strip — to the north and you enter Siberia. A Foreign Missionary Church B O REA nestles among these great powers much as Palestine nestled among the great powers of the Mediterranean. Like Palestine of later times it is insignificant politically, financially and educa- tionally, but, like Palestine, its people seem to be possessed of a peculiar genius for religion which gives to those who know it the hope that it will be one of the primary agencies of the evangelization of all the Orient. Already the Presbyterian Church of Korea is send- ing out foreign missionaries to all of her greater neighbors. Northward : Eight pastors minister to 100 congregations across the border in Manchuria; two more preach to Koreans and Russians in and around Vladivostock in the nearest corner of Siberia ; one Korean pastor shepherds 25 groups far up in the center of Siberia. This little Korean Church is the only Protestant denomination in the world preaching to the Russians in Siberia. South- ward : Two pastors work in the great Island of Quelpart in the Yellow Sea. Eastward : One Korean ministers in Tokyo, Japan, to 8 congregations of Koreans and Japanese. Westward : Four pastors and one doctor with their wives are conducting 16 churches and 6 day schools among a population of over 1,000,000 in a territory 20 miles square far over in Shantung, China. With the work in this O area the American missionaries have nothing more to do. The name bj' which the Koreans know their coun- try — Chosen — is indeed suggestive, for God seems to have chosen this “nation small and despised” and almost forgotten by the great nations of the world, to spread His Gospel throughout all the East. The Country Physical Features. Chosen is covered with moun- tains coming down in a central backbone from the Ever White Mountain Peak on the northern border and sending out spurs on either side which divide the country into its Eight Provinces much as was the case in ancient Greece. The Cities. On the eastern coast there are but two cities, Wonsan and Fusan. All down the centuries the face of Chosen, geographically and mentally has been towards China. In 1910, Japan absorbed the Hermit Nation and since then has been trying to make her face the other way. In the center of the country is Seoul, the capital, with 250,000 inhabitants. North of that the two ancient capitals, Pyeng Yang and Songdo, have perhaps 50,000 each, as has also Taiku, the greatest city in the south. This little country, only equaling in size the State of Kansas, has a pop- ulation one-third as large as that of all South America, or one-sixth that of the United States — seventeen million Koreans besides Japanese, Chinese and others. Possibly three millions have migrated northward across the Manchurian border since the beginning of immigration from Japan. 6 Industries and Improvements. The climate is sim- ilar to that of Richmond, Virginia, in whose latitude Chosen lies. Nine-tenths of the people live by farm- ing; rice is the chief crop but barley, wheat and beans are also raised. Tigers and bears, deer and wild hogs are found back in the mountains but not near the towns. There are tiny razor back pigs, also ponies but no large horses and no sheep. Great red bulls and cows are raised by the million and are used for plowing and for carrying loads since 1910 over the new roads which the Government has been construct- ing everywhere. The first railroad was built by an American com- pany in 1900. A few years later the Japanese Gov- ernment took over this road and built a trunk line up through the country from the southeast to the north- west corner where it connects with the Manchurian and farther on with the Siberian railroad, as also with the lines passing from Mukden and Peking down through China. Chosen is thus now placed on the main trunk-line highway from Japan to Europe and through all the Orient. Two other railroads from Seoul going one to the northeast and the other to the southwest make a great letter X with the main line, and at many of the sta- tions of these lines light railways or auto lines run out at right angles and act as feeders to them. There are telegraph lines and postoffices everywhere, and electric lights in all of the larger cities. In Seoul there are also street cars and gas. 7 The People — Characteristics and Language The people are poor, extremely so, but industrious and hard working. Racially they are similar to both Chinese and Japanese but differ from both in many ways. They average larger than the Japanese and are not so brown in color. As compared with the latter they are mild and gentle. The educated people among them can read the same Chinese characters which the Japanese and Chinese use, but pronounce almost every syllable differently from either, so that the languages are as different as is the English from the German. In addition to the Chinese characters, the Koreans have a precious treasure in a phonetic alphabet of only 26 letters which was invented by one of their kings four hundred years ago, but was little used by the people until the missionaries came in and adopted it. To it is due in great measure the rapid spread of the Gospel. The Outstanding Need Today One of the most important features of missionary work is the distribution of Christian literature, which the people buy in large quantities. At the book stores, the Gospel is preached publicly and privately to all who come. The approved version of the New Testa- ment is in use, and a tentative version of the Old Testament while the approved version is being pre- pared. There are possibly 300 other Christian books, but they could all be put on a three-foot shelf. Two theological periodicals, a Bible magazine, and a Sun- day School magazine are published besides the weekly paper. Translation work is the greatest need of the Korean Church today. 8 Pioneers and Martyrs Christian Missions in Chosen had their beginning in 1790 when the Roman Catholics sent literature to that country from Peking, resulting in the formation of a group of believers. The new faith with its prohi- bition of ancestral worship met with Government opposition and in 1803 the first Korean Christian suffered death. Nearly 60 years later the first French priest entered the country through the sewer drain of the border city of Wiju. Within three years twenty -three others had gained entrance. Nearly all of these were put to death by the Government in the most revolting manner. Many thousands of their Korean followers suffered with them, being hunted down like mad dogs, so that here, as in other lands, “the blood of the Martyrs has been the seed of the Church.” The Romanists now (1920) have some sixty French and German missionaries in the country and report 70.000 believers. Protestant Missions in Chosen Evangelical religion was introduced into Chosen in 1871 by Rev. John Ross, D.D., of the Scotch United Presbyterian Mission in Manchuria. Dr. Ross trans- lated the Gospel of Luke and distributed copies to Koreans who had crossed the border and who on re- turning carried the message to their fellows. Later Dr. Ross with his associates visited Chosen braving hardships and peril and baptized a number of con- verts. After the establishment of treaty relations between Korea and the United States. Dr. H. N. Allen, a medical missionary in China, was sent by the Pres- byterian Board to the capital of Chosen that he might 9 through the avenue of medical skill “make straight a highway” for the Gospel. Reaching Seoul in 1884, he was appointed physician to the Legation. His suc- cessful ministries to a nephew of the King secured the royal favor at the outset, and the King himself established a hospital, the first institution of Western civilization in that land. In the same year the Pres- byterian Board appointed J. W. Heron, M.D., and Rev. Horace G. Underwood, D.D., to establish a Mis- sion at Seoul. Following them by only a few days, Rev. Henry G. Appenzeller and William B. Scranton, M.D., appeared upon the field to inaugurate a Mission of the Methodist Church North. The Southern Meth- odists arrived shortly afterward and before the cen- tury closed the Presbyterian ranks had been aug- mented by the coming of the Australian, Southern and Canadian Presbyterians. Other Missions followed later — The Salvation Army, The Holiness Mission, The Seventh Day Adventists, and the English Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. Some missionary effort was also made by churches in Japan; but the chief evangelistic responsibility has always rested upon the Methodists and the Presbyterians, the latter carrying two-thirds of it and our own branch of the Presbyterian Church conducts about one-half of all the work that is done. From Seoul as a center, Christianity spread here and there throughout the country. There is no story of modern Missions more remarkable than that of the Korean Church. The first Protestant Church was organized in 1887. In 1890 ordy 100 converts were reported. A generation has passed and the Presby- terian Church of Chosen numbers 200,000 souls, re- 10 markable for simple primitive piety and evangelistic zeal. These Christians regard themselves as indi- vidually called to communicate the truth they hold. The injunction “As ye go, preach’’ is by them lit- erally fulfilled ; men and women and students give days and weeks of time that they may “preach in the next towns also” and even when upon their own errands, they are always about their Father’s busi- ness, telling the story to every one whom they meet, as they have seen their leaders do. And so, in Chosen, “the word of the Lord’’ has “run.” The Presbyterian Church of Chosen This Church consists of the Christians of all the four Presbyterian Missions working in Chosen. It has its own General Assembly and twelve Presby- teries covering the country. The missionaries simply cooperate with the Assembly which is fully self- governing. An Object Lesson in Christian Giving The congregations of this Church, which are as- sociated with our Mission, have 1200 church build- ings. Only seven of these have in them a cent of money from America. They were all paid for by the Koreans. All of the 240 ordained pastors are paid entirely by the churches. That is the law of the Church. About 80% of all other church workers are also paid by the people. In 1919 the Koreans connected with these 1200 churches raised for their work a total of $144,000, or more money, dollar for dollar than our Board sent in that year to Korea, even including the cost of new property and the 11 salaries of the missionaries. And for their foreign mission work alone, these Koreans gave in that year about $8,000 in gold. An Object Lesson in Church Unity Between the Methodist and Presbyterian forces there has always been the greatest harmony. In 1909, they divided between themselves the whole field by county lines, so that in Korea a man is not a Presbyterian or Methodist from choice, but simply because he happens to live in a certain county. If he moves across a county line, he automatically changes his Church. There is but one hymn-book for all the field, one union Church newspaper, union Sunday School and all other literature. There is a Federal Council of all the missionaries and another Federal Council of officially elected delegates from the Presbyterian General Assembly and the Meth- odist Conferences who handle all questions of gen- eral interest. This is practical though not technical organic union. The Educational Problem This growing spirit of Christian unity has made it possible to establish a number of union institu- tions of higher learning among which are “The Women’s Academy” for the training of Christian teachers, “Chosen Christian College,” “Severance Union Medical College” and “Pierson Memorial Bible Institute.” All these are located at Seoul while Pyengyang is the seat of the “Women’s Bible Institute” and of the “Union Theological Seminary” with its outgrowth “The Union Christian College.” 12 At Syen Chun, the center of a large country work, the Presbyterian Board maintains the “Boys Acad- emy and Industrial School” and the “Louise Chase Institute” — the latter intended for girls and women who have not had the advantages of a primary edu- cation. The Mission also conducts several other Bible Institutes and Academies not here named. The politi- cal disturbances of recent years have interfered seriously with all educational work. Now that par- tial quiet has been restored, the influx of students is such as to create a very serious situation, which demands instant relief. Many of the schools are being crowded to over- flowing and new applications for admission are con- stantly coming in. Christian Koreans covet a Chris- tian education for their children and are making many sacrifices to secure it. At one meeting in Pyengyang $30,000 were given by those present to provide a Christian education for the young people of the Church. For the schools of lower grade the Korean Church assumes the entire expense, but help is needed and needed now for the enlargement and equipment of the higher schools to meet the present unprecedented demand. Unless we have schools to train our Christian leaders, there will be no one to teach the men and women who from the dense ignorance of heathenism are now turning by thou- sands to the Church. The opportunity is momentous. It will pass. Medical Work Medically little was done for the people before the missionaries entered the country. Now (1920) there 13 are 22 mission hospitals averaging each 10,000 treat- ments per year and the Severance Hospital at Seoul last year treated 52,400 patients. There are thou- sands of lepers in Chosen, and a department for the study of this scourge has lately been added to this Hospital. Social and Political Relations The foreign community of the country consists of approximately 400 French, British and American miners, and as many more people in business and diplomatic circles. They have always been most cordial to the work, and in social relations. The Korean people as a whole, whether they have be- come Christians or not, have from the first been friendly. We have among our Christians some of the highest officials in the kingdom. For example the vice-governor of the province in which Seoul is located, is an elder in one of our churches and takes his turn in preaching there. Between the Japanese and the Koreans since the annexation in 1910 there has been more or less fric- tion, and the position of the missionaries has at times been very difficult, but they have rigidly maintained a neutral stand. In 1919, when Chosen’s great struggle for independence began, many Japanese officials persisted in attributing the movement to missionary instigation. The Government, however, after investigating the matter has publicly exon- erated the missionaries and they are unmolested. Even the slanders of the Japanese and Korean news- papers instead of discrediting Christianity “have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the Gos- 14 pel,” and to the exaltation of the Church and of the missionary in the eyes of the average Korean. ‘‘Persecuted But Not Destroyed” The fires of trial which seemed at one time to threaten the existence of the Church have but caused the Gospel light to burn more brightly ; and now in spite of political unrest and disturbance, the Church has resumed its usual activities and is going steadily on. The year 1920 was marked by some of the greatest revivals in the history of the Mission, crowds of 6,000 to 7,000 gathering at one of the churches in Seoul night after night and meetings being held four times daily, with 1200 people out at a sunrise prayer meeting. In October of that year, the Korean General Assembly decided to send an additional foreign missionary to China. The Plea “The great problem of the Stations is to get the work done with the force of missionaries on hand. The work is opening up so that neither the mis- sionaries nor the Korean Church can take care of it. The Korean Church has not nearly the number of trained workers that it needs, and the burdens on the shoulders of the missionaries on the field are so heavy that it seems impossible for them to carry any heavier ones. Doctors and ordained men are needed, single women to do teaching in almost every line and to do evangelistic work. From every Station comes the plea for reinforcements to seize this time of opportunity. ’ ’ 15 The Prospect “The East must be evangelized,” writes Rev. Charles Allen Clark, D.D., of Seoul, “if this world is to be made safe for any- body. God seems to have indicated that He has chosen the people of Chosen to do that work. They are doing all that one could expect, and more. They are willing to give of themselves and their means ‘until it hurts and then to keep on giving until it stops hurting.’ The only difficulty is that they have so little to give as over against the gigantic problem which they are facing. If we can help in that, and can back them with our sympathy and our prayers, they can do what we could never accomplish. Investment here will bring a thousand fold, and, despite difficulties, ‘the prospect is as bright as the promises of God.’ ” Note. For most recent statistics of the Chosen Mission, consult the current Annual Report of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions. October, 1921. 16