Misplaced Pages

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Korean. (August 2024) Click for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the Korean article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Misplaced Pages. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Korean Misplaced Pages article at ]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|ko|대한예수교장로회}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Misplaced Pages:Translation.

The Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK), also abbreviated as Yejang (Korean: 예장), is a Protestant denomination based in South Korea that follows Calvinist theology and the Westminster Confession of Faith. Since the 1950s, the denomination has separated into various branches of the same name due to theological and political disputes. As of 2019, 286 branches in South Korea, many of which have separated from the PCK, use the title 'Presbyterian Church of Korea'.

Some biblical historians consider the Sorae Church, which was established in the early 1880s by Seo Sang-ryun, as the origin of Korean Presbyterianism. Others consider the Saemoonan Church, established by American missionary Horace Underwood in 1887, as the true birthplace of the PCK. However, the PCK was first organized as an independent Korean church in 1907.

History

Early Missionaries

Calvinism first arrived in Korea in 1865 when pastor Robert Jermain Thomas was captured and martyred during the General Sherman incident. The first Korean Presbyterian church was founded by Seo Sang-ryun, who was converted into Christianity by Scottish pastor John McIntyre in Manchuria, in Hwanghae province in 1884.

Full-scale missions took place twenty years later when Horace Newton Allen of the Northern Presbyterian Church was admitted into the royal court of Joseon as a physician. In 1885, Horace Grant Underwood and John W. Heron [ko] arrived and established the Korean mission church for the Northern Presbyterian Church. The Korean edition of the Bible was first translated by John Ross during the 1870s. The edition was first printed and published by the British and Foreign Bible Society and the Scottish Bible Society in 1886.

Subsequently, more Western missionaries set foot in Korea with Canadian missionary James Scarth Gale and Australian Joseph Henry Davies arriving in 1889, and American missionary Samuel Austin Moffett in 1890. In 1891, female teachers such as Isabella Menzies, Jean Perry and Mary Fawcett arrived from Australia. Dr. James MacKenzie arrived in 1893, and in 1898, Dr. Robert Grierson, pastor W. R. Foote, and Duncan MacRae of the Presbyterian Church in Canada arrived to serve as missionaries.

McKenzie died after a year and a half while working in evangelism and medical care in Sorae Church, Hwanghae Province. His efforts led to the organization of the Korean mission church for the Presbyterian Church in Canada (캐나다장로회조선선교회) in Wonsan. In the Southern Presbyterian Church, pastors William D. Reynolds and Lewis B. Tate arrived in 1892 and organized the Korean mission church for the Southern Presbyterian Church (남장로회조선선교회) in Jeolla Province.

In 1889, the Northern Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church of Victoria created The United Council of Presbyterian Missions (장로교선교연합공의회; 長老敎宣敎聯合公議會), with John W. Heron as chairman, to settle issues over the unification of churches. In 1893, the United Council of Presbyterian Missions became the Council of Missions Holding the Presbyterian Form of Government (Korean: 장로교선교공의회, also succinctly known as the Council of Missions). The two councils consisted only of foreign missionaries.

Birth of the PCK

Elections for the first Korean presbyters for the council began in 1900. Sŏ Kyŏng-cho [ko] (Hwanghae), Kim Chong-sŏp, and I Yŏng-ŭn (both South Pyongan) were elected as elders in 1900. The following year, Kil Sŏn-chu and Pang Kich'ang [ko] were elected as elders. On September 20 of the same year, three Korean presbyters and six ministers organized the Council of the Presbyterian Church of Korea (Chosun) (조선예수교장로회공의회; 朝鮮예수敎長老會公議會) with 25 missionaries in a missionary council held at the Saemoonan Church in Seoul, with missionary William L. Swallen inaugurated as the first chairman. However, as the Council of Missions had jurisdiction over church affairs, the Presbyterian Church of Korea was then only a fraternal organization. In 1902, Yang Chŏn-paek [ko] was appointed as an elder, and more people were elected as elders in 1903.

In 1901, Samuel Moffett established the Pyongyang Theological Seminary and became its first principal. The spread of Presbyterianism was further intensified by the Great Pyongyang Revival of 1907. On June 20, 1907, Kil Sŏn-chu, Yang Chŏn-paek, Han Sŏk-chin [ko], I Kip'ung [ko], Sŏ Kyŏng-cho, Song In-sŏ [ko], and Pang Kich'ang became the first graduates of the Pyongyang Theological Seminary. The same year, the United Council decided to select a party committee member to handle church affairs for the five local councils of Pyeongan, Gyeongseong, Jeolla, Gyeongsang, and Hamgyeong.

On September 17, 1907, under the approval of four presbyters from the Mission Council, 33 missionaries and 38 presbyters organized the Presbyterian Church of Korea into an independent church. The five local councils were re-organized into the seven sub-presbyteries (Korean: 대리회; Hanja: 代理會) of Pyongbuk, Pyongnam, Hwanghae, Chungcheong, Jeolla, Hamgyong, and Gyeongsang. The PCK was also known during this era as the "Independent Council" (Korean: 독노회; Hanja: 獨老會; RR: Dongnohoe). On September 17, 1911, during an assembly at Nammoon Church, Daegu, the Independent Council agreed on creating a General Assembly, and converting the seven sub-presbyteries into official presbyteries. On September 1, 1912, the first General Assembly of the PCK took place in Pyongyang. In 1916, the Presbytery of Gyeongsang was divided into the presbyteries of Gyeongnam and Gyeongbuk, and the presbytery of Pyongseo(west Pyongan) was separated from the presbytery of Pyongbuk.

The Colonial Period

Korean Presbyterians were advised to stay uninvolved with any political cause even after the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910. Thus, initial relationships between the colonial government and the Presbyterians were peaceful. Missionaries accepted Japanese rule as "the powers that be," and asserted a position of "loyal recognition" of the Japanese occupation. Nevertheless, many Korean Presbyterians were suspected of being political agents by the colonial government and were arrested, often without proper explanation or trial. In one incident, a group of Presbyterians was accused of plotting an assassination of then-Governor-General of Korea Terauchi Masatake in Sonchon. Missionaries were also accused of distributing firearms for the alleged assassination plot.

The Government-General of Chōsen actively sought policies that oppressed Christianity. A set of restrictions established in 1915 limited evangelist activities and placed sermons under police scrutiny. The same year, the colonial government further demanded that all schools in Korea discontinue all courses on Bible studies within ten years. Tensions between Christians and the colonial government led many Korean Presbyterians, such as Kil Sŏn-chu, to become closely involved in the March First Movement of 1919. Of the thirty-three representatives [ko] of the movement, sixteen were Christians, and seven were Presbyterians.

The persecutions of Christians were exacerbated as a result of the movement. Presbyterians frequently saw their properties destroyed by police forces; many missionaries were put under scrutiny. 1,461 Presbyterians were arrested by Japanese police by the end of June 1919; in less than four months, the total number of Presbyterian arrests increased to 3,804. 41 Presbyterian leaders were killed, and 12 churches were destroyed. Horace Underwood made detailed accounts of the Jeam-ni Massacre during a trip to Suwon with his colleagues. The March First Movement did not end in complete vain, however, as the movement led to the resignation of Governor-General Hasegawa Yoshimichi on August 4, 1919, and the nomination of Saitō Makoto as his successor. Saitō accepted the Korean representatives' demands and agreed to alleviate restrictions on protests and the press. In September, a complaint documenting the requests of the church to the colonial government, which included an end to the ban on Bible study courses, was drafted among six missionary councils. The complaint was submitted to the Government-General, which accepted the requests.

By 1937, the Presbyterian churches were largely independent of financial support from the United States. Presbyterianism in Korea was reconstructed after World War II in 1947. The church adopted the name the Reformed Church in Korea.

Schisms in the 1950s

In the 1950s, the church suffered tensions because of issues of theology, ecumenism, and worship. The first of these occurred in 1951, over issues related to shinto shrine worship, resulting in the formation of the Presbyterian Church in Korea (Kosin). The second occurred in 1953 when progressives separated, forming the Presbyterian Church of the Republic of Korea (KiJang). In the third schism, the Presbyterian Church of Korea broke into two equal sections in 1959: the Presbyterian Church of Korea (TongHap) and the Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapDong).

General assembly

See also

• Christianity in Korea
• Presbyterianism
• Presbyterianism in South Korea

Footnotes

1. I Yŏng-ŭn died before he was given an ordination

References

1. 최승현 (January 2, 2019). "전국 교단 총 374개, '대한예수교장로회'만 286개". Newsnjoy.
2. ^ 장대선 (May 1, 2019). "공의회시대, 혹은 그 선교시대로 돌아간 한국의 장로교회". bohnd.net.
3. 김만형 (1934-09-07). "宣敎五十週年맛는 長老會懷舊錄". The Chosun Ilbo.
4. 민경배. "서상륜 (徐相崙)". Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
5. "The Presbyterian Church of Korea : History". Pck.or.kr. Retrieved 2008-04-16.
6. K, David (March 1, 2017). "Presbyterianism in the Hermit Kingdom: Presbyterian Church of Korea at 110". Presbyterian Historical Society.
7. 정인과 (1934-06-28). "朝鮮長老敎會의今昔 可驚할五十年發達史 (中)". The Dong-A Ilbo.
8. ^ 김만형 (1934-09-08). "宣敎五十週年맛는 長老會懷舊錄 (二)". The Chosun Ilbo.
9. ^ 김만형 (September 9, 1934). "宣敎五十週年맛는 長老會懷舊錄 ㈢". The Chosun Ilbo.
10. ^ 김만형 (September 10, 1934). "宣敎五十週年맛는 長老會懷舊錄 ㈣". The Chosun Ilbo.
11. 이상규. "경상대리회". 부산역사문화대전 (in Korean). Academy of Korean Studies. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
12. Jae Buhm Hwang (2007). "1907년 대한예수교장로회(독노회) 설립과정 및 그 의의에 대한 연구" [The Independent Korean Presbyterian Church of 1907: its Origin and Meaning]. 한국교회사학회 (in Korean). 20: 281–313. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
13. 정인과 (June 28, 1934). "朝鮮長老敎會의今昔 可驚할五十年發達史 (中)". The Dong-A Ilbo.
14. Kang 1984, pp. 35–36.
15. Kang 1984, p. 37.
16. ^ "2) 3·1운동과 기독교". Database of Korean History (in Korean). National Institute of Korean History. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
17. Lee, Timothy S. (2000). "A Political Factor in the Rise of Protestantism in Korea: Protestantism and the 1919 March First Movement". Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture. 69 (1): 116–142. doi:10.2307/3170582. JSTOR 3170582.
18. Kang 1984, p. 41.
19. ^ "3) 일제통치와 한국 기독교". National Institute of Korean History. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
20. Kang 1984, p. 42.
21. Kenneth Scott Latourette, Christianity in a Revolutionary Age: Vol. 5: The Twentieth century outside Europe (1962) pp 414-5
22. Kim, In Soo (2016). "Towards Peace and Reconciliation between South and North Korean Churches: Contextual Analysis of the Two Churches". In Kim, Sebastian C. H.; Kollontai, Pauline; Hoyland, Greg (eds.). Peace and Reconciliation: In Search of Shared Identity. Routledge. p. 137. ISBN 978-1-317-08290-3.

Bibliography

• Kang, Wi Jo (1984). "The Presbyterians and the Japanese in Korea". Journal of Presbyterian History (1962-1985). 62 (1): 35–50. JSTOR 23328501. Retrieved August 24, 2024.

Further reading

• Clark, Donald N. Christianity in Modern Korea (University Press of America, 1986)
• Grayson, James H. Korea—A Religious History (Routledge Curzon, 2002)
• Kang, Wi Jo. Christ and Caesar in Modern Korea: A History of Christianity and Politics ( State University of New York Press, 1997)
• Latourette, Kenneth Scott. Christianity in a Revolutionary Age: Vol. 5: The Twentieth century outside Europe (1962) pp 412–23
• Lee, Timothy S. "A Political Factor in the Rise of Protestantism in Korea: Protestantism and the 1919 March First Movement," Church History 2000. 69#1 pp 116–42. in JSTOR
• Mullins, Mark, and Richard Fox Young, eds. Perspectives on Christianity in Korea and Japan: The Gospel and Culture in East Asia (Edwin Mellen, 1995)
• Park, Chung-shin. Protestantism and Politics in Korea (U. of Washington Press, 2003)
• Harry Andrew Rhodes (1934). History of the Korea mission: Presbyterian church U. S. A., 1884-1934. Chosen mission Presbyterian church U. S. A.
• Koon Sik Shim (2008). Rev. Sang-Dong Han, The Founder of the Presbyterian Church in Korea (Koshin): A Biography. The Hermit Kingdom Press. ISBN 978-1-59689-073-2.

• Presbyterianism in South Korea
• Religious organizations established in 1884
• Presbyterian denominations in South Korea
• Korean independence movement organizations