개항 이후 초기 한미관계와 선교사의 역할 - 알렌과 헐버트를 중심으로

Abstract

Early Korean-American Relations and the Role of American Missionaries : With Particular Attention to Horace Allen and Homer Hulbert When Protestant Christianity entered the Hermit Kingdom in the late nineteenth century, it was a time when imperialism was developing. Also, it was a time when Korea’s three large neighbors, China, Russia, and Japan, were struggling with each other for power. Each wanted to control Korea and to prevent the others from putting military bases there. This political situation led to the Japanese invasion at the turn of the century. European imperialism helped to spread Christendom and, in one sense, hindered the spread of Christianity. The indegenous Christians, except in Korea, were branded as denationalised people. This was one of the reasons why Christianity did not make much headway in Asia. In June 1884, the Rev. and Mrs. Robert S. Maclay, Methodist missionaries to Japan, made a trip to Korea to investigate the possibility of a mission, and during the trip obtained royal permission to establish a mission. Although this was not full permission, including preaching of the gospel, it was a meaningful first step. Another important event was Horace N. Allen’s arrival on September 20, 1884, signaling a full-scale opening of Protestant missions in Korea. He was sent by the Board of the American Northern Presbyterian mission as a medical missionary. His appointment was closely related to the diplomatic mission in Seoul established by the U.S. government in 1882. Since the treaty between Korea and the United States in 1882 opened a door for missionary work. Horace Allen of the Northern Presbyterian Board was transferred from China to Korea and thus became the first Protestant missionary to the “Hermit Nation” in 1884 and then became a diplomat of the United States to Korea. In 1885, Horace Underwood of the Northern Presbyterian Board, and Henry Appenzeller and William Scranton of the Methodist Episcopal Board, arrived on the field. Homer Hulbert arrived in 1886 as a teacher of Yukyeong Academy, the first modern national school and then he did very crucial role in educating many national leaders and in independence movement. Also, at the end of the nineteenth century, other foreign mission agencies began sending their missionaries to Korea: the Australian Presbyterian Mission in 1889, the Southern Presbyterian in 1892, the Southern Methodist in 1896, and the Canadian Presbyterian in 1898. These men were not allowed to preach, but were permitted by the Korean government to open hospitals and schools. Particularly, Allen and Hulbert were the pioneers in establishment and development of the relationship between Korea and the U.S. as well as various early missionary works in Korea. This paper seeks to examine their contributions to the early Korean-American relations.