Page 25 - A Dissertation for Doctor of Philosophy

ordained missionaries who came to Korean shores came to evangelize the country with Korean

3
Bibles in their hands.

When the missionaries started to preach the Gospel in Korea “a considerable number of

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Korean Bibles were already distributed” to the Koreans by colporteurs. These missionaries

witnessed spontaneous result of their efforts in some areas. Thus, it is not surprising to hear the

report saying, “While this was a period of wide seed-sowing, at the same time we were permitted

5
to gather in our first-fruits.” One of the reasons for this phenomenon is the love of sacred books
and lessons from them in the Korean ethos.

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“Koreans are book-respecting people” evidenced in the fact that the Korean culture is

called “KyungJun Munhwa (culture of sacred books).” Furthermore, Buddhism, Confucianism,

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Taoism, and even Shamanism in Korea have their own sacred books. Due to this cultural taste,

the translation of the Bible was well assisted by the Koreans and the lessons of the Book were

welcomed. The history of the Korean Church, therefore, began with its alacrity to study and

listen to the Word of God.

3 In Su Kim, Hankuk Kidok Kyohyoesa (A history of Korean Christianity) (Seoul: Korea
Presbyterian Press, 1994), 77-85.

4
Myung Keun Choi, Changes in Korean Society between 1884-1910 as a Result of the
Introduction of Christianity (New York: Peter Lang Publishing Co., 1997), 178.

5 Horace C. Underwood, The Call of Korea (New York: Fleming H. Revell Company,
1908), 136.

6
Chi Young Kay, “A Study of Contemporary Protestant in Korea: Its Exegesis,
Hermeneutics, and Theology,” Ph.D. diss., School of Theology at Claremont, 1990, 19.

7
Ibid. He records that “Koreans completed the carving of wooden blocks for printing the
complete Tripitaka (Buddhist scripture) in the pious hope of securing the protection of Buddha
for their nation…. For many centuries, Koreans also honored the four major books and the five
sacred books of the Chinese classics, which provided the basis for Confucianism.”