American Protestant Missionaries in Korea between 1884 and 1942, from the Perspective of Immigration

Abstract

Between 1884 and 1942, about 1,000 American Protestant missionaries came to Korea. Most of them were young, religious, and educated people from various socioeconomic classes. It was their enthusiasm for overseas missions that made them decide to be missionaries, but it was the economic stability provided by the boards of foreign missions which allowed them to actually live as missionaries for a long time in Korea. Overseas missionary work was both a calling and a well-paid job, and therefore, missionaries’ lives in Korea were far from lived in hardship. They built their own communities, maintained the American middle-class lifestyle, and enjoyed a model family life with many children. Adopting the Korean way of life was considered unhealthy or inappropriate. Their lives were criticized by non-missionary Westerners, and sometimes by themselves, for being too luxurious, but it enabled them to engage in missionary work for a long time. Of course, they did not always live comfortably and freely throughout their time in Korea. When Japanese rule began, they also came under Japanese control and interference. Some were arrested, imprisoned, and even tortured. However, instead of returning to the US, they lived in Korea for as long as possible, sometimes for generations. In short, from the perspective of immigration, American Protestant missionaries were immigrants who came to Korea in search of a better life. There they experienced the joys of God’s work that they could not enjoy in the US, and not as poor and lonely missionaries, but as middle-class professionals with families and financial stability.