by Kang Keun Whan

Following the arrival in Incheon of pioneer missionaries Rev. Horace C. Underwood of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. and Rev. Henry G. Appenzeller of the Methodist Episcopal Church on Easter Sunday morning, April 5, 1885, the Protestant Church in Korea began in the ebbing tide of a bloody persecution against the Roman Catholic Church (1866). The development of the Protestant Church in Korea has taken place within the complexities of the Korean socio-political environment. The Korean Protestant Church grew through the tireless labor of many dedicated church workers, both foreign missionaries and native leaders, in spite of many social and political handicaps. It has grown today to be a church of ten million Christians -- the largest percentage of Protestant Christians in any Asian nation today.

Christianity is an historical religion.’ The Christian Church, i.e., the divine body of Christ, exists in the midst of the world as “His own earthly-historical existence.”2 Thus behind the historical events of the Christian Church there should always be certain causes. This study seeks the major factors in the formation of the Protestant Church in Korea,3 analyzing these historically in the light of her one hundred years of history.

(1) Church Growth - In order to understand the formative development of the Korean Church a clear observation of the present situation in the church should be presented. Thus the first part of this study is a gestalt divided into three sections: 1) physical size; 2) the type of faith and 3) the trend of theology.

(2) Socio-political Influence - The national aspect is divided into two parts: sociopolitical influence and native religious heritage. The second part deals with socio-political influence. For the sake of analysis its history will be divided into two periods: early (1885-1945) and later (1945-present).

(3) Native Religious Heritage - As the socio-political influence affected the Church externally, the religious heritage can be said to have played an internal role in preparing the Korean people for their encounter with Christianity. This religious heritage of Korea contributed both negatively and positively to Koreans’ receptivity to Christianity as well as to the development of the Korean Church. This part of the study is divided into three sections: a) traditional religious, b) point of contact, and c) the Korean personality.

(4) Foreign Missionary Influence - The rapid expansion of the Korean Church within its short history is the result of the tireless labors of many dedicated people, foreign missionaries and national workers as mentioned above. Therefore it is clear that not only national workers, but foreign missionaries in Korea who played a dominant role in the Korean Church must take responsibility for the formation of the Church in Korea today in its positive as well as its negative aspects. The foreign missionaries’ influence on the Korean Church, particularly the influence of the Council of the Presbyterian Missions in Korea in the earlier period, was significant in terms of theological trends, mission policies and methods. In this part, a) type of Protestantism, b) mission policies, and c) methods of missionary activity are observed.

(5) Influences of Theological Education - As observed previously, the development of the Korean Church must be seen from the viewpoint of both the national situation and the foreign missionaries. That is’ to say, the socio-political environment and religious heritage were influenced by the national situation, while external forces can be traced from missionary influence, in terms of mission policies and methods formed in the light of the Nevius Plan. In this process the leadership of the Korean Church, which developed out of a complex combination of national and foreign influences, has been a major provider of workers for the development of the Korean Church. This part deals with the influence of theological education, especially in relation to the formation of the Korean Church, and is divided into four sections: a) the missions’ policy of theological education, b) the theological education background of leadership, c) The relation with co-operative organizations, and d) the conditions of theological educational institutions.

The features of the Church today include: 1) physical size: the largest religion in Korea in active membership, 2) type of faith: individualistic, other-worldly, legalistic, and participative characteristics, and 3) theological trends, with two main streams of theological thought: conservative (fundamentalism and evangelicalism) and progressive (social activism and religio-liberalism). Christianity in Korea today seems to be somewhat a matter of fashion as it was in the Constantinian era of the Roman Empire. The widespread social activity of the Church brings Christianity’s external image into the public eye. It cannot be denied, however, that the Korean Church has certain problems. The word “over-expansion” comparatively expresses the description of the Church’s shortcomings. Rapid over-expansion, which lacks the sound foundation of inner faith (Metanoia) is the fundamental shortcoming and problem of the Korean Church. However, in the confrontational situation existing since the latter part of the 1960s, the Korean Church has begun to exert an effort in social movements, for example, the Human Rights Movement and the Democratization Movement. A particular effort has been made to do Korean theology. Among Korean theologians “Minjung Theology” and “Pung Ryu Theology” are significant beginnings of a living theology for the Korean Church. Continued development of these indigenous contextual theologies in Korea is desirable.

The factors in the formation of the Korean Church can be analyzed in two main aspects: the internal-national situation and the external-foreign missionaries, and the influence of theological education in terms of leadership training as a complex combination of national and foreign influence. In discussing these historical factors it has become evident that while they have been essential to the significant development of the Korean Christian community, they have at the same time been partly the cause of many of the troublesome problems of the Church in Korea.

External influence entered through mission policies and methods, formed in light of the Nevius Plan, and adopted for the Korean Church by foreign mission boards. The Nevius Plan emphasized the centrality of the Bible, and for each congregation, self-support, self-propagation, and self-government. However, missionaries failed to see that these very principles should have led to a strong program in theological training and education, which would also stress the selfhood and independence of the national church and its leadership. It was found that the theological educational policy set up by foreign missions lacked a base in far-sighted vision. Xhis resulted in lack of sound leadership for the Korean Church at critical junctures later on. At the same time, while the Korean Church experienced over-expansion externally, her essential character focused her concerns inward rather than outward in social responsibility. Unless there is sound theological education, there will be no healthy Christian Church.

1. Herbert Butterfield, Christianity and History, (London: Collins Clear-Type Press, 1958), p.12.
2. Karl Bart, Church Dogmatics, trs., G.W. Bromiley, IV, 2, (Edinburgh: T.&T. Clark Ltd., 1962), p.681.
3. Hereafter Korean Church.