Date: Tue, 18 Nov 1997 04:14:30 -0500 (EST) From: Darrell128@aol.com Subject: NR 97112: Kosin Presbyteria Church of Korea: "Church of the Martyrs" NR #1997-112: Kosin Presbyterian Church of Korea: "Church of the Martyrs" In a brief morning business session following the presentation of a discussion paper, Rev. John Galbraith addressed the International Conference of Reformed Churches regarding the character of the people who the delegates would meet the next morning in worship services. Galbraith noted that Presbyterian missionary work began among the Koreans in 1884 and was rewarded with spectacular church growth soon after the missionaries became fluent in the language. That success, however, led to significant persecution after the Japanese government took control of Korea in 1906 and especially as Japan became involved in war against China and later the Allied powers. NR 1997-112: For Immediate Release Kosin Presbyterian Church of Korea: "Church of the Martyrs" by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service SEOUL, South Korea (October 18, 1997) URNS -- In a brief morning business session following the presentation of a discussion paper, Rev. John Galbraith addressed the International Conference of Reformed Churches regarding the character of the people who the delegates would meet the next morning in worship services. "All I want to say is when you go to church tomorrow, remember the kind of people with whom you are worshiping," said Galbraith, who before his retirement was the longtime General Secretary for Foreign Missions of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Galbraith noted that Presbyterian missionary work began among the Koreans in 1884 and was rewarded with spectacular church growth soon after the missionaries became fluent in the language. That success, however, led to significant problems after the Japanese government took control of Korea in 1906 and especially as Japan became involved in war against China and later the Allied powers. "As soon as World War II came along, the Japanese government felt it necessary to clamp down on the people who worshipped another God, and not the sun god of Japan," said Galbraith, noting that one of the Orthodox Presbyterian missionaries was directly affected by the persecution of the church. "One of those missionaries was one of our own, Bruce Hunt, who was the son of one of the earliest missionaries," said Galbraith. "They were being marched down the street in chains to the court." Galbraith noted that the suffering of the American missionaries under Japanese persecution had led to widespread support for the missionaries among Koreans, unlike some countries where missionaries were viewed with suspicion as agents of a foreign country. "Remember, it was a capital offense to refuse to bow down to the shrine," said Galbraith. "The streets were filled with Koreans, and they were not silent, and even though they could have been shot on the spot, they cried out, 'To the end! To the end!'" Galbraith noted that the Presbyterian Church split following the end of World War II and that the host denomination for the 1997 ICRC, the Kosin Presbyterian Church, was composed of those Koreans who had refused to tolerate compromise with those church leaders who compromised with Shinto worship in the Japanese shrines. That wasn't the end of the persecution, however: after the expulsion of the Japanese, the Communist leaders in the northern portion of Korea began systematic persecution of the church and singled out ministers and elders for extermination in an effort to destroy the church organization as a rival to the Communist Party. Galbraith noted that a number of church leaders in the portion of Korea that became North Korea saw the persecution coming, but instead of fleeing to the south they sent their wives and families south while remaining themselves to preach and evangelize until they were killed by the Communists for their faith. As a result, the South Korean churches were often filled with widows and orphans of ministers and elders who, despite severe poverty, insisted on tithing even grains of rice to the churches. "You are worshiping with the descendants of the martyrs," said Galbraith. "This is a church of martyrs such as we don't know." Cross-References to Related Articles: #1997-103: International Conference of Conservative Reformed Denominations to Convene Next Week in Seoul, South Korea #1997-106: Former Reformed Ecumenical Synod Moderator Opens Prayer Service for International Conference of Reformed Churches #1997-107: International Council of Reformed Churches Convenes in Seoul, Elects Korean Chairman #1997-108: International Council of Reformed Churches Admits Seven New Denominations; Questions ARP Qualifications #1997-109: A New Member Responds: "What's the International Conference of Reformed Churches Good For?" #1997-110: International Conference of Reformed Churches Amends Constitution and Regulations #1997-111: International Conference of Reformed Churches to Promote Jewish Evangelistic Outreach Contact List: Rev. John P. Galbraith, Delegate, Orthodox Presbyterian Church Rydal Park, Jenkintown PA 19014 H: (215) 885-7981 * E-Mail: jpgopc@erols.com Dr. Soon Gil Hur, President, Kosin Theological Seminary Amnan-Dong 34, Su-Koo, Pusan, 602-030, SOUTH KOREA O: [82] 51-2575131 * FAX: [82] 51-2535133 * E-Mail: KTSNET@chollian.dacom.co.kr ---------------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/reformed/archive97: nr97-112.txt .