Ever Blossoming Mugunghwa

By Linda Pang

Located at the northeastern corner of the Asian Continent, the Choson Peninsula stretches into the seafood-rich Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea. It neighbors China with the Changbai Mountains and the Yalu River as a natural border and faces Japan across the Tsushima Strait. Isolated by mountains and waters, yet connected with the continent, the land has nurtured a people of vibrant personality and pure temperament. Over thousands of years, its people have weathered through political, economical, and military turmoil. Yet generation after generation, they still stand as unshaken as their national flower, the Mugunghwa or Rose of Sharon, the bloom of which lasts only for one day yet continues to blossom one after another.

One person brought the Good News of Salvation to this land and died without seeing the fruits of his labor, like the first bloom of Mugunghwa that, though withering after a short while, begins the process that sets the field ablaze with flowers. In the same way the gospel spread across the land. Brutal summers and harsh winters could not dampen its vitality over more than two hundred years. No one can see if the gospel blossoms in the northern part of the peninsula behind the iron curtain. Yet in the big cities and small towns throughout the south, the neon crosses are lit one after another when the night falls. They are the ever blossoming Mugunghwa, determined to spread the fragrance of Christ.

The Tangled Relationships with Neighboring China and Japan

Surrounded by waters on three sides and bordered with mountains and rivers on the fourth, Choson Peninsula could have formed an independent society and regime with these natural shields. However, because it is also unseparable from Asian Continent, Choson and its neighboring countries, China and Japan, have formed tangling relationships.

History has recorded that at the end of Shang (商) Dynasty of China, around the end of the 11th century BC, Gija (箕子), an uncle of the Emperor Zhou (紂), brought the culture and traditions of China into the peninsula and established a government. Later it became a vassal state of the Zhou Dynasty (周朝).

Later on, even when Emperor Wu (武帝) (141-87 BC) of the Han Dynasty took over the northern part of the peninsula and set up four counties, the Choson people resisted and continued to fight for independence. When China was facing attacks from nomads like the Hsiung-nu (匈奴)and the Hsienpei (鮮卑), its hold on the peninsula weakened. After consolidating power, Silla, Paekche, and Koguryo had formed a tripod balance and entered into the Three Kingdoms period. Between the 7th and the 10th centuries AD, Koguryo following Silla had unified the country. Later, the Koryo Dynasty built a close bond with China’s Song Dynasty (宋朝), and became a protectorate of Yuan Dynasty (元朝). In 1392, Yi Song-gye (李成桂) set up the Yi Dynasty (李氏王朝), and received royal titles from China’s Ming Dynasty.

In 1896, Russia assisted King Gojong’s ascension to the throne, establishing the Korean Empire. At the end of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, Japan annexed Korea. After Japan surrendered at the end of World War II in 1945, the Choson Peninsula was taken over by the U.S. and the Soviet Union. It was divided into North Korea and South Korea along the 38th parallel north.

From its geographic location between China and Japan, Korea was deeply rooted in Confucianism. As of today, the value of respecting elders is still an observed in the society by the use of honorific speech. Though it is rare to use Hanja (Chinese characters), the spoken language still contains many Chinese and Japanese phrases.

From its history, Korea became a vulnerable target when the power of two neighboring countries collided. China controlled the government over many centuries. The Yuan Dynasty even used the peninsula as a springboard to invade Japan. Likewise the ever expanding Japan always jumped at opportunities to take over the peninsula. In 1591, Toyotomi Hideyoshi sent in the troops and even occupied Pyongyang.

Nevertheless, China and Japan each had played a key role in bringing the Gospel into Korea.

Thousand-mile Quest of Truth

Around 1631, Chong Tu-won, a member of the envoy to China, had his first encounter with Catholicism and brought back The True Doctrine of the Lord of Heaven, by Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) as well as many other books on astronomy and geography. In 1783, Yi Seung-hun went to China to learn more about western religion. He became the first baptized Korean Catholic and brought back much Christian literature. There had been many Korean Catholics even before any foreign missionaries arrived. The number grew from 4,000 in 1795 to 10,000 in 6 years.

A Japanese Christian, Nagasaka, landed in Pusan in 1883 and brought with him Bibles in Chinese and Japanese and Gospel tracts in Korean. He was one of the pioneers in Protestant missions.

This is a very unique characteristic of Christian missions to Korea that Koreans introduced the Gospel to their own country before foreign missionaries did. Moreover, the initial contact points for both Catholic and Protestant were Bible and Christian literatures. However, Protestant grew much faster than Catholic afterwards. A crucial reason was that after Protestant missionaries translated Bible into Han’gŭl, the Korean language, commoners were able to read and understand the Word easily. Han’gŭl was created by King Sejong of Yi Dynasty in 15th century. It is a phonemic alphabet, and could transcribe the spoken language into writing easily. On the other hand, Catholics translated the Bible into Chinese characters or hanja, which only the upper class (“yangban”) could understand, the result being the limiting of the Gospel to the elite.

Many Aspects of Influence from Bible Education

When the early missionaries preached the Gospel and taught the doctrines, their teachings were firmly planted on the foundation of Biblical truth. Their authoritative attitude and unwavering belief shook the people, who were deeply influenced by Buddhism, Confucianism, and folk religions. Since the establishment of churches, both leaders and laymen had to attend systematic Bible classes. Bible classes were regular activities in churches, just as Sunday worship and prayer meetings were. Bible conferences were held once or twice annually. Each lasted for two weeks. Many believers from countryside came at their own expense. These meetings laid a solid foundation of Bible knowledge in many believers. Because believers had to be literate to read the Bible, studying the scriptures elevated the education level while Christianity quickly reached to people.

After believers were equipped with the truth, they would speak of the Bible with authority and could share broader than personal experience. They became very effective in witnessing. Once a person in a family was converted, through social, working, and local channels, his belief could spread like Mugunghwa. One after another, his family, relatives, and neighbors would come to know the Lord. This is the best example of the “people’s movement” in missiology.

Koreans were not content with just being literate. Their strong desire to seek better education expanded the original Bible classes to include additional curricula. Then the classes were developed into primary, middle and high schools. These Christian schools specialized in teaching Western-style subjects, such as English, world history, and science. After Japan’s annexation in 1910, these schools became an alternative to and also contended with the colonial education system.

For both early Catholics and Protestants in Korea, religion was strongly associated with Western knowledge. As Chong Tu-won introduced Catholicism along with Western knowledge to Korea, so did Dr. Horace N. Allen (1858-1932), one of the earliest Protestant resident missionaries, first contribute his Western medical skills instead of his belief when he arrived in 1884.

At that time, the royal court was divided into two opposite camps. One urged the country to open up to Western ideas while the other urged resistance. Then the open faction used the Japanese military force to initiate a coup, Gapsinjeongbyeon . At the time, Dr. Allen was able to use medical skills unheard of in Korea to tend Min Young-ik, a member of royalty. Consequently, Dr. Allen gained trust and financial support quickly. He founded the first modern medical facility in Korea, Gwanghyewon, or House of Extended Grace, later to be called Chechungwon, or House of Civilized Virtue. It was the forerunner of the renowned Yonsei University College of Medicine and Severance Hospital.

Yonsei University and the following nursing school represented modern science in the minds of Korean people. They saw Christianity as equivalent to modernization. Many students were attracted to the university. They not only gained the scholastic knowledge, but also the truth of God while in school. Christian universities like Yonsei, Soongsil, and Ewha Womans cultivated a group of elite. They in turn became the leaders in different sectors of society as well as in the church.

Determined to Worship One True God

The pages of Korean Church History are stained with sweat and blood. From the beginning, missionaries and believers were persecuted because of refusing ancestor worship.

Japan forced Shinto worship on Korea after occupying it. Many Christians were determined to oppose the decree. Some were imprisoned, tortured, and even martyred. When facing such adversity, the church did not flee but stood at the front line of the independence movement. Among the 33 delegates at the signing of Declaration of Independence, there were 15 Christian leaders present . Therefore, Koreans identified Christianity with nationalism.

The experience of Rev. Lee In-jae (1906-2000), was one of many shared stories by Christians who fought bitterly against Japanese imposition.

Lee received traditional education and was influenced by Confucianism deeply. When he first heard about the Gospel at age 18, he realized the teachings of Jesus were superior to Confucianism. Subsequently, he made the life-changing decision to follow Christ. After graduated from middle school, he went on to work as the township secretary and took up the responsibilities of caring for young children.

The Japanese government ordered all public schools and institutions to practice Shinto. Lee had to make a choice: a bright future in public service or a belief in God. At the prime of his life, In-jae chose to leave his job to enter the only seminary at that time. He was determined to offer himself to expanding the Kingdom of God.

Soon after, the seminary was forced to close. Lee and other Christians devoted themselves to the campaign of resisting Shinto worship. They believed that was blasphemy. He and many colleagues were arrested in 1940. They endured inhumane treatment in the prison. Some had died because of malnutrition and sickness.

After the liberation of Korea in 1945, Lee was released. He finished his theological education in two years and was ordained as pastor in 1951. When he immigrated to America in 1974, Rev. Lee’s passion in serving the Lord did not diminish at all. He established and pastored 5 churches in Chicago, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Denver over 30 years.

Since he refused Shinto worship and left the public service, Lee was never well-to-do financially throughout his life. After becoming a pastor, whenever he received extra income from speaking engagements, Rev. Lee would send it to the burgeoning Korea Seminary in Pusan. Chungsoo, his youngest son, remembered that his father was always writing sermons, reading Bibles, and studying the Truth. According to Chungsoo, Rev. Lee was a gentle person, and not very good at socializing. However, “when it came to moral issues and spiritual truths, he was unyielding and uncompromising.”

Rev. Lee seldom mentioned the 5 years in prison because he did not consider it heroic or courageous. Instead, he encouraged the congregation in his sermon, saying that he believed Christians would be ready to pay the ultimate price for the belief when facing trials “but the greater glory lies in dying with Christ everyday.”

Rev. Lee’s favorite verse could well be the summation of his life-long service. It is found in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

Vibrant Presentations of the Faith

Symbolizing purity, white is the color of the undergarment of hanbok, the traditional Korean dress, as well as of the commoners’ attire. It can also represent the resolve of Korean Christians’ faith.

The vivid colors of the outer robe can be ruby red, sapphire blue, golden yellow, and emerald green. They translate into the enthusiastic services and vibrant worship of Korean Christians.

Early missionaries tried to reach Korean women, and Korean women played an important role in Korean Church History. Bible classes and women’s schools promoted women’s education and nurtured the leaders in serving the society. In the 1920s, two female Korean students attended World Christian Student Federation and were inspired to found the YWCA. There were YWCA chapters in Seoul and other major cities by 1926. The ministries included pit-raising to fund women’s evangelism, and starting schools; everything from kindergarten classes for children to night schools for working women. Hostels were safe places for women to stay while they traveled and attended schools.

After the Korean War in the 1950s, YWCA ran widows’ homes, orphanages, and vocational training centers. Christians’ active involvement in social services became a model of putting faith into action.

The Pyungyang Revival started at the Central Church in 1907 as the congregation prayed in unison and confessed wholeheartedly. It was like the Pentecost in 1st century, when the Holy Spirit came down like fire. The Revival overran the entire country and set the bar for spirit-filled worship in modern Korean churches. In any of the seven Sunday services in Yoido Full Gospel Church, founded by Rev. Cho Yonggi, the resonance of the 25,000 member congregation calling out to God was so awe-inspiring that anyone could realize the power of the Holy Spirit.

Many will associate the image of the early morning prayers with Korean Church. Many believers get up at dawn and go to church to pray before they go to work or school. They also go to prayer mountains, or retreat centers in rural areas, for longer periods of devotions. During the Korean War, many Christians fled from North Korea to South Korea. South Korean Christians shared their limited food, demonstrating the love of the Body of Christ in practical ways. They also went to church in the early mornings to fast and pray. The tradition continues till today.

The Korean Church emphasizes mission. The number of missionaries is the second highest in the world, next to America. In this issue’s Outreach and Crossroad sections, there are detailed reports on this effort.

While reflecting on the Korean Church History and trying to dissect the causes of its development, we could see many unique historical and situational factors. One person brought the Mugunghwa of Gospel to the Choson Peninsula. Through power changes and unstable political climates some planted and some watered. The determination of the Korean people to seeking the truth, their perseverance and holding on to the faith, their serving without reserve and their way of worshiping with vitality, all made Christian belief blossom continuously. The blooms not only have reached the entire Korea, but also spread the fragrance throughout the entire world.

As the Apostle Paul witnessed, “…God gave the increase”(1 Corinthians 3:6b, NKJV).

Did Korean Christians harbor animosity towards Japanese?

Soon after Rev. Lee In-jae was released from the prison, he went to visit the Japanese Judge, Kamada, who prosecuted Lee and fellow Christians. During the interrogation, Lee was asked the question “Do you believe the sun god to be Japan’s ancestor?” He answered “yes” without much thought. He regretted the answer would acknowledge the false god. Rev. Lee wanted to express his belief in the one true God and even to evangelize Judge Kamada.

Kamada was afraid of a Korean vendetta. Yet, he received In-jae cordially and apologized sincerely for the harsh treatment.

According to Lee’s account, because of witnessing the unyielding faith of Korean Christians, Kamada professed that Jehovah God is the true and living God. Lee encouraged him to believe in God after going back to the home country. And Kamada agreed.

Using his father as an example, Chungsoo believed that Korean Christians harbored no animosity towards Japanese. However, they would demand “the accurate account of history” regarding the atrocities committed by the Japanese military. He acknowledged that during occupation, Korean Christians “prayed fervently for the destruction of the Japanese empire,” because they “saw the Japanese Empire as the symbol of Anti-Christ”, and the persecutions “as the trial and tribulations of the Last Days.” The defeat and surrender of Japan at the end of WWII was truly “a spiritual reality and the triumph of God.” Chungsoo indicated that during the war and the years after, the Book of Revelation “was the most frequently studied and preached book in the Bible.”

A sincere thank-you to Prof. Lee Chungsoo, son of Rev. Lee In-jae for his contribution. Prof. Lee teaches Philosophy, ethics, world religion at Widner University in Pennsylvania. He also owns and operates a consulting firm (EEO21) handling discrimination complaints and appeals.

He has a lovely daughter with his wife. They reside in Pennsylvania. To know more about Chungsoo, please visit www.chungsoolee.com.