만주와 중국 관내 초기 한인 디아스포라 교회의 역사와 특징 : 장로교회를 중심으로

Abstract

This article aims to examine and compare the history and characteristics of the survival strategies, independence movements, and missionary activities of Korean diaspora Presbyterian churches that settled in seven regions of Manchuria and China from the late 19th century until the liberation. The regions governed by the Northern Presbyterian Mission were divided into three areas: (1) West Gando in Southern Manchuria, (2) The southern Manchurian regions of Fengtian (Shenyang), Andong (Dandong), and Yingkou, and (3) North Manchuria, which included Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. The Canadian Mission governed North Gando in East Manchuria. Korean diaspora churches in West Gando faced much more difficult and dangerous socio-economic conditions than those in North Gando. The impact of events such as the Chinese Civil War and the Mukden Incident had a more negative effect on Korean churches in West Gando compared to those in North Gando. Additionally, the relationship between Chinese landlords and Korean tenant farmers was worse in West and the resentment of Chinese officials towards the Japanese was more negatively directed at Koreans in this region. After the Gando Massacre in 1920, North Gando recovered relatively quickly from its impact. Many of the leaders of the Korean nationalist movement in North Gando were Christians, and the church held significant leadership within the community. The church maintained a close relationship with the Canadian mission, making it easier for parents to educate their children in Christian schools and providing spiritual stability amidst the tensions of living in a foreign country. The church could become an economic and social community even before being a faith community. In contrast, West Gando had much less cohesion in terms of the number and distribution of Koreans. Factors that hindered the growth of Korean churches in West Gando included the withdrawal of the NPM Xinbon station in 1932 and the weak relationship between Korean church leaders and Chinese officials. After 1920, there was no intellectual effort to plan the nation's future in the Korean churches of West Gando. North Gando, on the other hand, attracted settlers with various goals, including building ideal villages, ensuring religious freedom, and participating in the independence movement. Progressive Protestants in North Gando thus developed a religious and philosophical basis for envisioning the future of the nation and the state. The southern Manchurian regions of Fengtian (Shenyang), Andong (Dandong), and Yingkou were strongholds for Japan's invasion of Manchuria, making it difficult for Korean churches to engage in nationalist movements. However, after the Manchurian Incident, Korean churches experienced growth. In northern Manchuria, immigration was promoted to create model agricultural villages, and Christians from Russia arrived, suffering the most at the hands of communists. In Shanghai, Nanjing, and Beijing, most Korean congregants were intellectuals who, through the YMCA and missionaries, developed an understanding of the international order. These individuals organized the New Korea Youth Association, planned the March 1st Movement, and significantly contributed to the establishment of the Provisional Government.