미국인 선교사 자녀들의 한국 연구 － 클래런스 윔스 2세와 『헐버트의 한국사』(1962)를 중심으로 －

Abstract

This paper examines the life and works of Clarence N. Weems, Jr. (1907-1996), who grew up in Korea and became a Koreanologist as a child of American missionaries. He was the second son of Southern Methodist missionaries Clarence N. Weems (1875-1952) and Nancy A. Weems (1879-1944). Born in the United States and raised in Korea, he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from Vanderbilt University and then studied at Harvard University. He worked as a Korea expert for the U.S. government in the United States, India, China, and Korea from 1942 to 1947, and in 1954, he received a doctorate in political science from Columbia University for his PhD dissertation titled “The Korean Reform and Independence Movement (1881-1898).” Also, he wrote Hulbert’s History of Korea (1962), which was an expanded edition of The History of Korea (1905), written by Homer B. Hulbert (1863-1949). As one of the missionary children who wanted to study Korea in the early days based on his love for Korea, Weems became one of the “MK (missionary kids) Koreanologists” who refused to accept the typical Western view of Korea and revealed the dynamism, identity, and uniqueness of Korean people. In addition, he published Hulbert’s History of Korea at the suggestion of the Korean government and with the academic support of historians from several countries including Korea. It is one of the notable examples of the works done by “missionary-scholars” in the late 19th century being inherited and developed by “MK Koreanologists” in the mid to late 20th century.