4 r rx^, h^^ KOREA FOR CHRIST BY GEORGE T. B. DAVIS * NOV 23 1910 New York Chicago Toronto Fleming H. Revell Company London and Edinburgh Copyright 1910 By Charles M.. Alexander International Copyright Secured CONTENTS. CHAP. PAGB. I. A Million Souls for Christ 5 II. Providence and Prayer 12 III. Perilous Days in Pyeng-Yang 20 IV. Little Life Stories 28 V. Kils Quest for God 33 VI. A Thousand Bible Conferences 39 VII. A Nation Transformed 44 VIII. The Bible in Korea 51 IX. Whang, the Blind Sorcerer 57 X. The Revival and After 62 CHAPTER I. "A Million Souls for Christ." On the eastern coast of Asia lies one of the most fas- cinating countries of the Far East. To the north is Manchuria ; to the east Japan ; to the south and west the vast tracts of China. In the centre are the 80,- 000 square miles that comprise the country of Korea. The scenery of this land is beautiful; the low houses with their thatched or tiled roofs are pictur- esque; the people intellectual; and the manners and customs are similar in many respects to those of Palestine in the days of Christ. The history of the land goes back beyond the time of King David. In 1122 B. C. a famous Korean monarch, named Kicha, reigned in Pyeng Yang. During the suc- ceeding thirty centuries the nation remained in largely the same condition of civilization; self-sat- isfied, indolent, isolated. It has been the Hermit Land of the East ; proud of its antiquity, hiding it- self from the rest of the world behind impassable barriers. Twenty-five years ago, a wonderful change oc- curred. God seemed to call this mysterious land into the forefront of the world's activity. As if moved by an Invisible Hand the doors of the coun- try swung open ; Christian missionaries entered with the Word of Life; two great wars and a great re- vival changed the character of the people politically and spiritually; and during the past quarter of a century there has taken place in Korea the most 6 KOREA FOR CHRIST sudden turning of a nation to God that has been witnessed in the world's history. The population of Korea is 13 millions. During the twenty-five years of labor by the missionary force, which now numbers about three hundred, about one hundred thousand converts have been brought out of the darkness of heathenism ; while the total number of adherents of the Christian Church reaches 200,000. But the most notable fea- ture in the progress of the Korean Church is not the multipHcity of converts; but the supreme faith and apostolic fervor of the believers. Their zeal in soul-winning is an inspiration to the entire Christian world. Their trust in God is of the kind that moves mountains. The missionaries in Korea are characterized by the same holy passion for souls which marks the native Christians. The culmination of their faith and ardor occurred in October, 1909, during the meeting of the General Council of Evangelical Mis- sions in Seoul. At the gathering it was proposed that the watchword of the General Council for the coming year should be "A Million Souls for Christ." This proposition fell like a thunderbolt upon the assembly. By dint of heroic self-sacrifice for a quarter of a century a constituency of 200,000 souls had been gathered in. But here was a challenge to pray and work for a million believers in a year. The proposal, however, was not the impulse of a moment. It was the natural sequence of a series of providential events in Korean mission history, and the culmination of months of earnest prayer on the part of consecrated missionaries. It was during the year 1903 to 1907 that Korea was visited with a gracious outpouring of the Holy Spirit and consequent revival which thrilled the Christian world. A year or two later a little group of missionaries in Song-Do became deeply concerned about their lack of power in prayer and service. They also felt that the enthusiasm of the Church in their "A MILLION SOULS FOR JESUS" 7 community was waning. They decided to spend an entire week in Bible study and prayer. On the fourth day the meeting was continued until mid- night. Three missionaries, Dr. W. T. Reid, Rev. M. B. Stokes and Rev. F. K. Gamble decided to spend the night in prayer. At 4 o'clock in the morn- ing God's Spirit came upon them in great power. Soon afterwards they met together for a day of prayer. In the afternoon, as they prayed, God's presence seemed suddenly to fill the room. They arose with hearts full of joy and praise, confident that God would shortly manifest His power in a wonderful manner in Korea. The three young missionaries were now seized with a passion for prayer. A short time later they spent a week on the mountain side with a number of Koreans pleading day and night for a mighty out- pouring of God's Spirit. At the conclusion of the prayer Conference Mr. Stokes went on an itinerating tour with his heart on fire for souls. In two of his circuits he asked whether the Koreans would not work and pray for 50,000 souls in the district during the coming year. They responded so eagerly, and set to work so heartily that at the annual Confer- ence of the Southern Methodist Church a few weeks later a watchword of ''Two Hundred Thousand Souls for Christ" was adopted. About this time there was born in the heart of Dr. Reid a great desire that the whole missionary body might unite in a common watchword for the ensuing year, which would act as a stimulus for the Korean Church. At a meeting of the General Coun- cil on the 9th day of October Dr. Reid arose and moved the adoption of a common watchword for the entire missionary body. He was appointed chairman of a Committee, and this Committee, after careful deliberation and earnest prayer, brought in a unanimous report for the adoption of the watch- word for the year — "A Million Souls for Christ." It was within three hours after the adoption of this watchword that Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman and Mr. Charles M. Alexander and their party arrived in 8 KOREA FOR CHRIST Seoul in the course of their missionary tour through the Orient. The well-known evangelists had left America in the Spring of 1909; held meetings in Hawaii and Fiji Islands; and conducted Missions for four months in Australia. Then they journeyed northwards, held services in the Philippine Islands, and Conferences and Brief Missions in a number of Chinese cities. The mission party which accom- panied them through Korea consisted of Mrs. Alex- ander and her sister, Miss Cadbury; Dr. Chapman's eight-year-old boy, Hamilton; Dr. Ford C. Ottman, Mr. Robert Harkness, Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Norton, and the writer and his mother, Mrs. E. A. R. Davis. For five days Dr. Chapman and Mr. Alexander conducted meetings for missionaries and Koreans, which were a source of untold blessing to all. The atmosphere of Heaven was in the services, scores of Koreans confessed Christ, and the missionaries re- ceived fresh inspiration for their work, and for the new project. Mr. Harkness, the pianist and composer of the Chapman-Alexander party, caught the enthusiasm of the missionaries for the Million Campaign so fully, that he wrote the words and music of a spe- cial hymn entitled "A Million Souls for Jesus." It was at once translated into Korean, and is being sung in Churches and homes throughout the coun- try. At the conclusion of the Chapman-Alexander meetings in Seoul the writer was requested by the Committee of the Bible Societies to remain for a time in Korea to assist in the Forward Movement. A few weeks lated it was his privilege to return from Japan, accompanied by his mother, and to spend three months itinerating throughout the country, vis- iting many of the Mission stations. He saw the Missionaries and the Korean Church bending their energies to the herculean task of winning a million heathen to Christ with an enthusiasm he has never seen equalled. The chief methods adopted for the accomplish- Missionary Conftreiicc in Seoul during the Chaijnum-Alexander visit. Christian Students in Pyeng Yang who gave a whole week to Bible study and personal effort in soul-winning. A MILLION SOULS FOR JESUS. "Jesus said unto him, if thou can'st believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." — Mark IX. 2Z. A million souls for Jesus! Lord, this can surely be! A million souls for Jesus! 'Tis not too much for thee! Is not thy Word all powerful To touch the sinful heart? Is not the Spirit willing Thy Word of Life to impart? A million souls for Jesus In this dark land of sin! A million souls for Jesus! Lord, now the work begin! Make us thy servants willing Thy blessed will to do; Give us thy Holy Spirit Fill us with power anew. A million souls for Jesus? Sound out the watchword true! A million souls for Jesus The work of God to do. Korea's cry is mighty, But God is mightier far; No band of evil forces His purposes can mar. Refrain: — A million souls for Jesus! Lord, grant our hearts' desire! A million souls for Jesus! Lord, spread the Gospel fire. Copyright 1910, by Charles M. Alexander. International Copyright. lO KOREA FOR CHRIST ment of the great project were Prayer, God's Word, and Personal Work. The first step in the campaign was a call for two weeks of prayer. This was sent out from Seoul to the various Mission stations, and Koreans and missionaries united day and night in prayer for a mighty outpouring of God's Spirit. To- day Korea is honeycombed with prayer circles, and noon-day prayer meetings are being held daily in many of the Mission stations. The Korean Chris- tians pray with a fervor and faith that puts believers in Western lands to shame. They think little of spending all day or all night in prayer. Sometimes they will kneel for hours on the frozen ground on the mountain side agonizing with God for the out- pouring of His Spirit, and for the salvation of the lost. The second great agency in the crusade for souls is the Word of God. The entire Korean Church is being urged to carry God's word with them wher- ever they go, to read it daily, and to give portions of it to the unsaved in order to win them to Christ. A special edition of St. Mark's Gospel has been issued, and is being sold to the Korean Christians for careful distribution. The Koreans are perhaps the most poverty-stricken people in the East, yet in a compar- atively short period they have purchased more than half a million of these Gospels to use in soul-winning work. Consistent personal effort day after day for the salvation of the lost is the third great method for the realization of the object in view. The Korean Chris- tian possesses a passion for soul-winning not found in Western lands. It is a kind of unwritten rule in many Korean Churches not to admit a believer into full membership until he has led at least one soul to Christ. The most strinking method of personal work in Korea is the custom of setting apart whole days and weeks of time to be devoted exclusively to personal dealing with the unsaved. At Ichun, the first village I visited after returning to Korea, the Southern Methodists were holding a Conference with their Korean helpers. An appeal "A MILLON SOULS FOR CHRIST" n was made to the people for days of service during the next three months and a rem.arkable scene fol- lowed. Men and women arose in all parts of the building, and made their offerings. A merchant said, *1 am going to do this work continually, but I will devote my entire time it one week each month." A boatman stated that he would give sixcy days to the Lord during the three months. Another de- clared he would give every day except Sunday, when he wanted to attend Church himself! A travelling merchant said he was going to preach all along the road, but he would contribute six entire days. A blind man said he would give the ninety days to work. One of the women delegates said she could only contribute six days, but she was going to preach to every one she met. The total number of days of service promised was 2,721, or the equivalent of one man preaching Christ constantly for close upon seven and a half years. The eflfort to win a million souls to Christ in a year has already resulted in a marvellous quicken- ing of the Church, in a great in-gathering of souls, in an unprecedented dissemination of God's Word, and in a great volume of prayer for the salvation of the lost. Will not every reader unite with the Mis- sionaries and Koreans in pleading for such an out- pouring of God's Spirit upon the nation, that a mil- lion of the people may become believers within one year? While the full number may not be known by name, nor counted in the Churches in the as- signed line, yet such has been the unparalleled-prog- ress of the Gospel in Korea in the past, and such is the power of Almighty God that more than a million believers may well be realized in the one-time Her- mit Land ere the year is ended. ^^ CHAPTER II. Providence and Prayer. A Talk with Dr. Horace G. Underwood. From the beginning of Mission Work in Korea God's hand has been revealed in a chain of special Providences, and in a series of remarkable answers to prayers. In the early part of my stay in Korea it was my privilege to spend a week in a large Bible Class at Chai-Ryung, a station fifteen miles distant from the railway. The chief speaker at this class was Dr. Horace G. Underwood, of Seoul. No man is better fitted than Dr. Underwood, both by years of service and by varied experiences to tell of the wonderful progress of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Korea. He is one of the founders of the Korean Church, having taken up his residence in Seoul over a quarter of a century ago. While Dr. Underwood is intensely evangelistic in his spirit, his work has not been confined to this sphere. He is the author of a number of books on Korea, among which are a Korean-English Dictionary and "The Call of Korea." He is now at the head of the Pres- byterian Educational work in the Korean capital, and is a prominent force in the Bible and Tract So- ciety's work in the country, and is one of the chief translators of the Bible into the Korean language. He was the confidential friend and adviser of the late King of Korea, while his wife stfore her marriage, went to Korea to bec<^me physician to Her Majesty the Queen. When the !ife of the late King was in danger all his food for weeks was cooked in Dr. I Dr. and Mrs. Horace G. Underwood bidding goodbye lo their guests, Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. Alexander. Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman and Mr. Charles M. Alexander in the Far East. \ PROVIDENCEAND PRAYER 1 3 Underwood's kitchen, and was sent in sealed dishes to the palace. Mrs. Underwood is also an author, and her book, ''Fifteen Years Among the Top-knots," gives a vivid picture of the people and customs of Korea. As we journeyed toward Seoul in the little com- partment of the Japanese train, amidst scenery scarcely surpassed in the Orient, Dr. Underwood de- clared that the successes which have attended the preaching of the Gospel in Korea have been a source of as much wonder and amazement to the mission- aries on the field as to outsiders. ''Korea," said he, "has been looked upon as an unusually hard field be- cause of the persistency with which she had refused the admission of the foreigner. Every attempt to enter both by friendly means and even by force of arms had failed, and it was not until 1882 when Admiral Schufelt negotiated the treaty between America and Korea, that her doors were opened to the foreigner. Even then it was deemed that the Spirit that had kept the doors closed so long must still to no small degree affect the minds of the people, and would probably prove a formidable bar- rier to the entrance of the Gospel. "It was therefore with no small joy that mission- aries early found that He who had been before us breaking down the political barriers, had also in a marvelous way so touched the hearts of the people that there was little hostility to us as foreigners, but a willingness to listen to our message. And yet the subsequent successes that in later years have fol- lowed the efforts of the missionaries have far ex- ceeded their brightest anticipation. As we endeavor to analyze the causes we are compelled to stand back in awe, and to aver that the wonderful progress can only be accounted for by the power of an Al- mighty God. "Twenty-five years ago there was not a Christian in the land. To-day there are about 80,000 baptized members and Catechumens, with a total of about ♦This -was in October, 1909, at the beginning of tlie "Million" movement. l4 KOREA FOK CHRIST 200,000 adherents, distributed among 1500 Churches. This is a record that stands alone. Students of his- tory have come to Korea to ascertain the cause. While the later political events have given some color to the avowal that the movement is in part po- litical, yet a careful abstinence of the Church from all politics, added to the fact known to every mis- sionary that thus far the greatest work was accom- plished before the advent of the present political status, proves most plainly that political events have not been the cause of the unparalleled progress. "The adoption of the principles of self-support, such as have been found so successful in certain parts of India, Turkey and China, while they have doubtless accelerated the work here, can in no way be said to adequately account for it. There are also traits of the Korean character that may be averred to have had no little to do with the success, but these likewise are altogether insufficient to account for the great work of grace. We are, therefore, simply driven to the conclusion that God is once again manifesting His power, and using insignificant things of the world to confound the mighty. He has been taking poor, despised Korea, and work- ing wonders here that are astounding the world. He has been raising up for Himself from among these despised Koreans a body of men and women who have developed into one of the finest types of Christianity in modern times. From the very beginning we have had proof after proof of Divine interposition. The preparation of Dr. H. N. Allen, his being held in China for a year — a thing absolutely impossible for any one to understand at the time — and his reaching Korea just in time for his services to be used in saving the life of Prince Min- Yongik, opened the door of welcome for all mission- aries. At the time of the first watch-night service held in Korea on the last day of December, 1885,^ there were less than ten missionaries in the country, includ- ing the women and children. The first prayer offered at that service was for souls for Christ during the PROVIDENCE AND PRAYER. 1 5 coming year. It seemed impossible that such a request could be granted in Korea, the "Hermit-Land," the last of the nations to open its doors to the Gospel. In Japan they had to wait six years before they baptized their first convert, and twelve years before they had six members with which to organize their first church ; while in China they had to wait nearly a score of years for their first convert. "At that first watch-night service weak indeed was our faith, but we pleaded with God to strengthen it. We baptized two converts that year. At the next watch-night service we were led to ask for a score of souls, and before the end of 1887 there were twenty- three baptized behevers. With strengthened faith the next year we pleaded with God for a hundred, and before the end of the year there were 125 professing Christians. And now with the number of missionaries in Korea, with the strong Church, with the organized body of personal workers, I believe there will be more than a million believers before the end of the year. China, Japan and Russia have all acknowledged that Korea is the strategic point of the Far East. We can well believe that it is also the strategic point religiously ; and to win Korea now means to win the Far East." As Dr. Underwood concluded his narrative of God's Providences in the mission history of Korea, we were still several hours distant from our destination. The slowness of the Japanese train, however, gave a much- desired opportunity of hearing about some of the remarkable answers to prayer which my fellow-traveler had witnessed during his long residence in the country. Dr. Underwood continued: "The Koreans themselves believe most firmly that success has come as a direct answer to prayer. The Koreans really put Western Christians and missionaries to shame by their simple, childlike faith in God. He is to them their Heavenly Father, or more commonly simply Father, and they believe most firmly that He is Omnipotent, that He can do all things they ask, and that He will do all that is good for them. "Here is one among many remarkable incidents of this simplicity of faith. In a section of Korea where l6 KOREA FOR CHRIST. no missionaries had yet gone some Gospels had been received and a Church had sprung up. When the missionary paid his first visit to the district there were a large number who applied for admission to the Church. Many of these had been believers for two or three years. The only thing to do was to examine the applicants to find out their spiritual condition. Among the believers was one old man who answered everything satisfactorily. At length he was asked whether he had faith in prayer. *I can't help but have faith,' said he, 'when I think of how prayer was answered for me.' "A little questioning brought out the whole story, which I afterwards found was known far and wide. The gentleman in question, old Mr. Yi, had his home in a valley that was frequently flooded. The summer after he and his family had accepted Christ, at the time of the rainy season, the water rose so rapidly, and was so turbulent, that it was apparent to all that the village was doomed. Nearly all the other villagers made quick preparations to save what they could and escape to the hills. They came and urged Mr. Yi and his family to go with them. Mr. Yi said that his all was in the house, and if that was gone they would have nothing left. He told those who urged him to flee that he had nothing to fear ; that God v/as his Father, and Heaven his home; that God could protect him in his house; while if He desired He could take them all to Heaven, and they were ready to go. "Mr. Yi gathered together his wife and a young son, both earnest believers, and laid the whole matter before 'Father.* In his prayer he said they were ready for Heaven, or if 'Father' wanted to keep them here He could take care of them. He said his all was in his house, and if his all was to be washed away he was ready to leave this world. " 'And what do you suppose Father did,' he said, as he concluded his narrative, 'why He rooted up a great big willow tree along the stream, brought it down, and lodged it right back of my house, so mine was the only house in the village that was saved. And providence; and prayer. 17 how could I help believing in prayer after such an answer as that?" ''Prayer for healing is common throughout the whole Church. Whether the Korean has solved the question of *Faith Cures' I do not attempt to say, but it is interesting to note his point of view. He believes that if he has a bottle of quinine in the house, and he or a member of his family has an attack of malaria, he ought to use the quinine asking God's blessing upon it. But he goes further than this. He believes it is just as easy for his Almighty Father to cure without the quinine as with it, and if he has no quinine in the house he will simply lay the matter before 'Father.' "The way in which God honors their faith and manifests His approval of their simple trust in Him as 'Father,' would make us say that the day of miracles is not past. A lady missionary down in the far interior was attacked with pneumonia. Barely had she recov- ered from this, when from a second exposure pleurisy set in. Her life was despaired of. Consultation was held among the Koreans as to what should be done; and after waiting upon God in prayer they decided to use all the means that God had placed in their hands. They sent a special courier to the nearest station to telegraph for a foreign physician, but it would be at least seven or eight days before he could arrive. "The whole Church decided also to wait continu- ously upon God in prayer for her recovery. Following the instructions in the book of James, the Elder came in and anointed her with oil, and prayed for her. That same night after the Church prayer-meeting was over a godly widow who resided with her children near the Church decided to spend the whole night wrestling with God in prayer for the recovery of the lady missionary. When she announced this fact to her children, and told them to retire, her youngest, a little girl less than nine years of age, said that she too wished to spend the night in prayer with her mother. They went to a little empty house, and spent the entire night praying in turn, first the mother and then the little girl. It was almost davbreak. The mother had just finished her prayer. Suddenly she felt her whole soul filled with 1 8 KOREA FOR CHRIST. thankfulness, so that she could no longer continue asking for a cure, but was compelled to thank God for having heard and answered her petition. The next prayer of her little daughter also, although her mother had said nothing to her, was 'I thank thee. Father, for having heard and answered, and for curing the missionary lady/ "The next morning a note was received from the widow saying, 'Have no fear for the lady missionary. 'Father' gave me the answer last night, and she will get well. Is it needful to add that before the doctor arrived she was restored to health ?" I may add that the lady who was cured has been and is still doing a glorious work for God in Korea, and is one of the most consecrated women it was my privilege to meet during my stay in that country. *'One might go on telling of striking answers to prayer almost without stopping," continued Dr. Under- wood. "Let me give you one more instance, however, regarding this same widow. She had sent her son to Seoul for an education, and had placed him under my care. When I was in her village, 200 miles from the capital, I had to tell her that her son was not study- ing as he should ; that he was not as zealous in Chris- tian work, or as constant in attendance at the services of the church as formerly. I had expected there would be quite a show of worry and fear, and that she would at once commence to ask me what ought to be done. I was much surprised when she did not consult with me in any way whatsoever. "Later I learned the cause for this apparent lack of interest. She had the privilege of directly consulting her Heavenly Father, and had determined to lay the matter before Him. She had read of the Lord Jesus going to the mountain to pray, and how at times He would spend the whole night there. She made up her mind that she would go to the mountain and spend the night agonizing with God for the soul of her first-born. But, as she told me afterwards, no sooner had she de- cided upon this course than she began to be afraid. A Korean woman is timid, and if a rabbit should pass her at night on the mountain side she would start and PROVIDENCE AND PRAYER. IQ tremble. Besides on these mountains there were wild deer and boars, and sometimes tigers and leopards. "Her first thought was that she would ask her daughter-in-law to go with her. Then she reasoned with herself that it was rather strange to hesitate to trust the Almighty Father, and to ask her poor weak daughter-in-law to go along to protect her. At length her longing for her son overcame all her fears, and she went alone to the mountain and spent the whole night praying for her boy. The next morning she came down the mountain side singing songs of rejoicing all the way, and she wrote me a letter to Seoul saying: 'Dear Pastor, I was up in the mountain last night talking with Father about my boy. Father gave me the answer, and I know the lad is all right.' It is scarcely necessary to add that he was all right, and is to-day one of the most zealous Christians in the church. "With such faith as this you can readily see how deeply the Korean Christians believe in prayer. I suppose the largest Presbyterian mid-week prayer meeting in the world is that held every Wednesday night in Pyeng Yang. There is an average attendance of one thousand members, and sometimes when the night is fine they are compelled to hold overflow meet- ings in the cottages around. It is not a lecture service, where one man does most of the talking ; but a prayer meeting, where all united pour out their hearts to God. Some of the Churches in Korea do not know any better than to hold daily prayer-meetings. I could take you to one Church, and I suppose there are many others like it, that has never missed a single night since the organization of the Church without holding a prayer meeting. It is little wonder that in this village there is not a single heathen house, or a non-believing individual left. "It is such people as this, and such Churches as these, that are to-day unitedly working and praying for a million souls for Christ. Will not all the world unite with them in prayer that this aim may be more than realized?" CHAPTER III. PeriIvOus Days in Pyeng Yang. A Talk with Dr. Samuel A. Moei^ett. In the city of Pyeng Yang one is impressed, as perhaps nowhere else in the East, with the victory of the Cross of Christ in the Orient. As I sat one night upon the platform of Central Church and gazed into the rapt upturned faces of nearly 2000 Korean men packed into the building, as I heard them sing with a lusty vigor that one seldom hears even in Christian lands, and as they listened with reverent attention to the story of the Gospel, I realized as never before the miracle of Missions in Korea. The work in Pyeng Yang is in many respects the most remarkable in the country. It was here that the great revival of 1903-7 had its best results. Eighteen years ago the first missionaries entered the city ; to-day there are over 8000 believers in a population of 40,000 Koreans. The pioneer missionary to Pyeng Yang, who has since been mightily used of God in spreading the Gospel throughout Northern Korea, is Dr. Samuel A. Moffett. His work has been both evangelistic and educational. He has been the chief exponent of the system of Bible Training Classes, which is one of the open secrets of the progress of Missions in Korea. Dr. Moffett is ably assisted in all his work by his wife, who conducts for several months each year a school for the blind, and who is constantly engaged in evangelistic and educational work among women. Central Church in Pyeng Yang, from which thirty-nine other Churches have sprung in fifteen years. J)r. S. A. Moffett and Rev. Graham Lee with Pastor Kil and other Christian leaders in Pyeng Yang. PERILOUS DAYS IN PYKNG YANG. 21 There are two missionary bodies at work in Pyeng Yang, the Presbyterians and Methodists (North) of the United States. Dr. Hall, one of the pioneer Meth- odist Missionaries in Pyeng Yang, passed away soon after the inauguration of the work, but his wife and others have since carried on the work he so heroically began. Rev. W. A. Noble is to-day the presiding elder of'the Methodist Mission in Pyeng Yang and district. He is a man of strong executive ability and is an author as well as a missionary, having written a beautiful story entitled "Ewa : A Tale of Korea," also a stirring de- scription of the revival in Pyeng Yang and district. One day while sitting in the sarang of Dr. Moifett's home, it was my privilege to hear from his lips the stir- ring narrative of the early days in Pyeng Yang. He first told of the difficulties encountered in securing a foothold in the city: 'Tyeng Yang was supposed to be the most wicked city in Korea. It is also the oldest city, and was for- merly the capital of the country, being founded by Kicha about 1122 B. C. The site of the old palace can still be seen. Until recently the streets were in rec- tangular form, as they were laid out three thousand years ago. "At the beginning of the work here the attitude of the people towards the foreigner was one of suspicion and opposition. In the years 1890 and 1891, when I passed along the streets the common remark I over- heard was: "'Look at this black rascal! Why did he come here? Let us kill him.' Two incidents that occurred during my first and second visits revealed the wickedness of the city. One day I saw some boys in their play dragging through the main streets an old man who had died during the night. People were laughing at them as they dragged the corpse along. On another occasion a murderer in prison was de- manded by the relatives of the murdered man. He was given up to the mob. They led him to a little knoll not far from the centre of the city, and hacked him to pieces with knives. These, of course,^ were ex- ceptional instancves, but they were an indication of the public sentiment which prevailed. 22 KOREA FOR CHRIST. "Our first headquarters after reaching Korea were at Seoul Repeated visits were, however, paid to Pyeng Yang. In one of these I was accompanied by the Rev. Graham Lee, who had joined the Mission and with whom from that time on I was associated in opening the station here. Our pioneer work in Pyeng Yang consisted of scattering the news of the Gospel. We were stoned now and then by the mob, but without serious injury. In the autumn of 1893 I moved to Pyeng Yang, and settled in a Korean house. After preaching every night for three months, and giving daily Catechetical instruction, I baptized seven men on the 8th of January, 1894. "That spring saw the commencement of fresh per- secution. Dr. and Mrs. Hall and their baby had just arrived in Pyeng Yang, when their helper and mine, a man named Han Suk Chin, together with the men who had sold us our houses, were thrown into prison. I well remember the night of the arrest and the im- prisonment. My helper and some fifteen others were holding a prayer meeting. They had just finished a study of that passage which says: 'And be not afraid of them which kill the body but have not power to destroy the soul/ when the door was broken open, and in came the officers from the magistrate. With a big stick of cord-wood they began beating the Christians. They tied several of them with a red cord, indicating capital offense, and haled them to prison. "Some of them, however, were released on the way, but my helper, Han, and others were put in the stocks, after they had been beaten. They were threatened with death unless they cursed God. Two heathen willingly did this, but the two Christians refused. They were led out as they supposed for execution, and given another chance to recant. They stood the test, however, and then, instead of being executed, were, to their su^-prise released. As they ran for their lives they were stoned, but fortunately escaped. It is inter- esting to note that one of the men at the prayer meet- ing, who was not then a Christian, accepted Christ that night, and was one of the first seven ministers ordained in Korea. PERILOUS DAYS IN PYHNG YANG. 23 "At this time among the people who had become interested in the Gospel was a young m.an who lived in the country outside Pyeng Yang. As soon as he heard of the imprisonment of these men, he started into the city to share whatever fate awaited the Chris- tians. His name was Yee Yung Un. He became my language teacher ; teacher of the first primary Christian school; then an evangelist. "Another interesting early convert was a young scholar and Government clerk named Kim, who was making a study of all religious systems. In the autumn of 1893 when I first began work in Pyeng Yang, he came day after day and listened outside the door of the sarang while I talked to those inside. He also pur- chased a New Testament and read it at night. He was the first believer, the first ordained elder of the Church, and was assistant pastor for a number of years. He will soon graduate from a theological seminary. "These three men — Han, Yee and Kim, became the leaders of the Presbyterian Church in Pyeng Yang. One of them, Yee, set the standard that if a man was not doing personal work he was not ready for admis- sion into the Church. Han, after several years in Pyeng Yang, went as an evangelist into the country, built up a church of 300 members and several smaller churches, and was one of the first seven men ordained into the Presbyterian ministry in Korea. In 1909 he removed to Seoul for pastoral work, and became editor of the Korean religious weekly, which was being established. "Kim, the man who listened outside the door, be- came assistant pastor of Central Church in Pyeng Yang; led his two friends. Elder Chun and Pastor Kil Tpronounced Keel), to Christ; and after a deep spir- itual work in Central Church moved to the country, and took charge of a church there. "The third of this trio, Yee, became my helper and an evangelist. He accompanied me in all my itinera- ting work in those early years. He was a wonderful preacher, and a marvelous personal worker. All along the roads, in the inns, on the ferries, everywhere, he 24 KOREA FOR CHRIST. was talking the Gospel to every man he met. He led his old Confucianist teacher to Christ, and he in turn became a teacher when the Academy was established in Pyeng Yang. "In the midst of the persecution the Japan-China war broke out in the summer of 1894. The city went wild with consternation the night the rumor reached us that the palace in Seoul had been captured by the Japanese. With rumors of the approach of the Chinese from the north and the Japanese from the south, there was terror and confusion for a month. The only quiet place in the city was the little chapel, where the Chris tians gathered together for prayer. From this as a centre they started out through the city saying to the people, 'Only trust God, and it will be all right!' Scores came daily to the chapel to inquire for news, as I was the only foreigner left in the city. During these days women said to Han's wife, 'It is so restful to come in here. It is the only peaceful place in the city.' It was then that men and women began to realize that the Christians had a peace and support which they did not possess. That was a tremendous factor in making known the blessing and power of Christianity. "In a short time 15,000 Chinese troops entered the city. Upon their approach thousands of Koreans fled. Japanese scouts were caught, beheaded, and their heads placed on the city gates. Buddhist priests, who had shaved their heads, were taken for Japanese scouts in disguise and slain. The Christians became alarmed for my safety, and after an early morning prayer meet- ing came to me saying they would scatter to the country, and requested me to leave for Seoul in order to avoid danger. "I applied to the Chinese Governor for an escort out of the city through his lines. He granted the request, and, though I was in danger from the escort who were a set of freebooters, and also from the Korean officials, I left for Seoul on the 14th day of August. "About thirty miles out from Pyeng Yang I left the Chinese escort and, traveling a few hours between the Chinese and Japanese outposts, I reached the latter PERILOUS DAYS IN PYENG YANG. 2$ just at dusk by the light of torches. Our little com- pany alarmed the Japanese scouts. They mistook us for an advance of the Chinese army. They came rush- ing over the wall, and with a click of the guns were about to fire, when our company stopped short on the bridge, and they discovered their mistake. I at length reached Seoul in safety. Months afterwards I learned that on the very day I set out from Pyeng Yang, the 14th of August, my name was on the missionary Prayer Calendar of the Presbyterian Church of the United States. Thus, on that day they had been pray- ing for me in many lands. **The battle which was fought about a month later was the greatest of the war. Fifteen thousand Chinese and 14,000 Japanese were engaged in the conflict. Immediately after the battle Mr. Lee, Mr. Hall and myself started for Pyeng Yang. I found my house looted and the city occupied by the Japanese soldiers. The dead Chinese were scattered over the plain. The rumor went through the district that the missionaries were back, and soon the Korean refugees came stream- ing in with their bundles on their backs, asking for news and whether it was safe to return. Almost every one came straight to the Chapel. Literally thou- sands came into contact with us at that time, and every man heard the Gospel story. Not only were services held in the Church, but constantly in the Sarang (guest-room) we preached the Gospel to all comers. "It was at that period that a profound impression was made upon the whole region. The Christians who had been scattered from the city had spread the tidings of the new faith throughout the entire district. It was then that the first woman believer was led to Christ. She is now at the head of the Women's Missionary Society. It was also at this time that Dr. Hall was taken with typhoid fever. We took him to Seoul, but he only lived a short time. He was a man of great gentleness and love, and his influence lives on in the hearts of some of the men he led to Christ. His wife has since carried on a large medical and evangel- istic work in Pyeng Yang, conducting a hospital and a school for bHnd girls. 26 KOREA FOR CHRIST. "Now began the second stage of the work, which was one of continuous and rapid growth. In all our dealings with the people the one thing that was held constantly before them was the Scripture, with its great fundamental doctrines of sin, salvation, and eternal life. Even before the missionary could talk the language he could point out the texts of God's Word to them. No appeal was made to them to become Christians because of material advantages, or because of the benefits of civilization, but they were given the pure doctrines of the Gospel of forgiveness of sin, and of joy and peace and eternal life through Jesus Christ. "God's Word and Prayer — these were the secrets of all our success. These naturally produced the spirit of enthusiastic effort for individuals, the natural every- day talking of the Gospel to any one and every one. The chief means of winning the converts were daily conversations in the sarangs with guests rather than formal religious services. The public meetings were specially intended for the converts who had been won by personal effort. What is now the large Central Church had its be- ginning in a little room eight by twelve feet. There the first baptisms took place. The second year they moved into the inner quarters of the same house, a room about eight by sixteen feet. This was enlarged from year to year until it occupied the entire house, with a seating capacity of about 250. An addition was then built, and the congregation ran up to about 500 people packed closely together. The necessity for a large building was now apparent. The present site was purchased, and subscriptions amounting to 1000 yen (about iioo) were made by the Korean Christians. The first wing of the present building accommodated about 800 people, but before it was completed it was found to be too small, and another wing was added providing accommodation for a con- gregation of 1500 people. Before the Church was entirely finished it was once more too small, and the South Gate congregation was sent off to become an independent Church. "In the early days of the work in Pyeng Yang the PERILOUS DAYS IN PYENG YANG. 2^ believers in the villages within a radius of ten or fifteen miles of the city attended Central Church. Gradually as they became strong enough to have local Churches in the various villages, they branched off from the central congregation. In this way about thirty-five country congregations have sprung from the Central Church. In addition four city congregations were sent off, the last branch consisting of 561 members. This makes a total of 39 churches which have grown out of Central Church within a period of fifteen years. "The missionary activities of Central Church have been constant and widespread. The officers and leaders have gone to all parts of Korea holding Bible Classes and evangelistic services. The Women's Mis- sionary Society has for years maintained two mission- aries. In 1907 Mr. Lee and I exchanged places with the assistant pastor, Mr. Kil, he becoming pastor and we gladly taking the position of advisers; so that the ideal for which we had long been striving became a reality — a fully organized, self-supporting Korean Church, with a Korean pastor and board of elders and deacons. "The Methodists entered the city contemporaneously with ourselves. Their work also advanced apace in city and country. They have two congregations in Pyeng Yang, which, with our Churches, gives a Chris- tian constituency of some 80CX) people in a population of 40,000 Koreans." CHAPTER IV. Little: Lik^ Stories. Tai,es of Heroism and Faith. It is ill the transformed lives of individuals that one best realizes the change which has come over a por- tion of the Korean nation. During our three-weeks' stay in Pyeng Yang, my mother was the guest of Dr. and Mrs. Samuel A. Moffett. In the course of my fre- quent visits to their home, I heard from them many beautiful and inspiring incidents of the Korean Chris- tians — of their self-sacrifice for their new found faith, of their love for the lost, and of their simple, childlike trust in their Heavenly Father. Such narratives from real life reveal the character of the Koreans better than pages of physiological dis- sertation. Further they show the rather startling fact that the type of Christianity in vogue in Korea to-day is far more analogous to that of the apostolic age than the lukewarm faith and profession of some Christian lands. I collected a number of these tales from real life as related by Dr. and Mrs. Moffett. The first describes the transformation of Hong the Sorcerer. *'Hong Soo Kil was a sorcerer, a demon, a fighter, a drunkard. He was a terror to the people throughout the whole district. As the Koreans traveled through that part of the country they would pray at the shrines, 'Don't let me meet Hong to-day.' The sorcerer's LITTLE Lltt STORIUS. ^ old mother became a Christian. She was 84 years of age when I examined her for baptism. I said to her, 'How do you know that God loves you?' She sprang up, and quick as a flash shouted out, 'Well, do you suppose if He did not love me He would have sent His Son down here to earth to save me from my sins? Don't you know that yet ?' "At length one of her sons became a Christian, and at last Hong himself was led to Christ. The one-time sorcerer had an only son whom he dearly loved. The son was taken seriously ill. Hong prayed and prayed that he might recover, but he did not. Later Hong arose in a meeting in Central Church, and with the tears raining down his cheeks, told how for three days he had undergone tremendous temptation. But at length he got the victory. In closing his testimony he said : 'It's all right. Now I am just waiting to join my son in Heaven. I know I will see him again.' **The man who had been a terror to all the district became such a quiet, meek person that one would never imagine he had been an outlaw in previous years. He became an active Christian worker, and a great soul- winner. He pleaded so persistently with a saloon- keeper who lived next door that the man said he could not stand it any longer, and moved to the country. About four years after his son's death. Hong also had a triumphant entrance into glory, to meet his son and aged mother, and, best of all, his Saviour. The: Woman with the Happy Face. "She lived just inside the Seven Star Gate.^ She was severely persecuted by her husband, who tried to keep her away from Church. He would beat her for going to the meetings, but this did not deter her. Then he tried binding her, but when he released her she attended the services just as before. The next Sunday he bound and gagged her, and thought that now she was surely cured ; but the following Sunday she again trudged off to the Church. This persecution went on for months. During all this period she would come to the Wednesday class with such a bright, happy face that I never imagined she was suffering ill-treatment in her home. When I heard about her hardships, I 30 KORl^A FOR CHRIST. asked her how she could endure it. She repHed that it was because she had constant peace and happiness in her heart. At length, however, the woman had her reward. Her husband also became a Christian. Then she was happier still, and her face shone with yet greater joy. After Many Days. "One winter day at the beginning of our work in Pyeng Yang the weather was so cold the people would not come to see us. Han, my helper, and I took some sheet tracts and stood on the street corner giving them away. We were almost frozen with the cold, for the thermometer was far below zero, and the wind was blowing a gale. "Seven years afterwards a man came into my study and said, *Do you remember standing on the street corner one cold day in such-and-such a year, giving out tracts?' *Yes,' I replied, *I remember it, for I was almost frozen.' 'Well,' he said, *you gave me one, and I read it and re-read it, and finally I became a Christian !" Dr. Moffett also recalled the fact that only a few days previously a boy had come into his study carrying an old tract, brown with age. Upon it was the follow- ing message from a man 67 years old : "Nineteen years ago you gave me this tract. I have had it ever since, and have now been a Christian for several years.* Continuing Dr. Moffett told how a chance word may bring forth fruit years afterwards: "I once got into a market town away in the northeast of Korea in a district which had never before been visited by a foreigner. In the midst of my preaching a man came rushing in exclaiming 'Is Ma Moksa (Pastor Moffett) here ?' 'Yes,' I replied. 'Well,' he said, 'Three years ago I met you walking along on the road to Seoul. I heard you were here.' The man's sudden entrance in this manner transformed the audience, and gave me a new grip on them. There is a church in that town to-day. Won by Strategy. "In a country village a Korean coolie was taken ill. He came to Pyeng Yang, and Pastor Kil, of Central UTTIvK LIFE STORIES. 3 1 Church, allowed him to stay in his quang (gate-house). He was a man of constant prayer, rising early in the morning and praying a great deal. He grew better in health, and returned to the country. '*In his village there was an old gentleman, who was a very able scholar. He was connected with a so-called church, which is the child of a political party. The old gentleman kept a cow, and rose early each morning to feed her. One day this ignorant coolie made a propo- sition to the scholarly old man for an exchange of labor. The old gentleman said, 'What kind of work could we exchange?' The coolie replied, *It must be hard for you to get up early on these cold mornings to feed your cow. I am ignorant, and cannot read, while you are a great scholar. I will come every morn- ing and do that work, if you will read a chapter in the Bible every day.* The old gentleman laughed, but was so glad of the assistance that he accepted the offer. Of course the coolie was praying for him all the time. At the end of the first month the old scholar had be- come so much interested in God's Word that he began reading the book for himself. He shortly became a believer and identified himself with the Church. The coolie was full of joy over the success of his strategy for winning the man to Christ. The Korean Woman's Mite. "At the time the Korean Christians in Pyeng Yang were building Central Church there was a woman in a country village who was driven out of her home by her husband because she was a Christian. This was a frequent occurrence in this country a few years ago. She took her two little children and came to this city. For a year she was either cared for in the homes of the Christians, or was given work by Christian Koreans so that she might support herself and her children. "During the period of this woman's direst poverty she had a great longing to help in the erection of Central Church. Week after week as she was able she laid aside one 'cash' (one-tenth of a cent) at a time, until she had saved one hundred of these coins, which she gave to the Church. It had taken her an 32 KOREA FOR CHRIST. entire year to save this amount, and the total value of the coins was only ten cents. But the story was related many times, and her heroic self-sacrifice greatly encouraged others to assist in the erection of the build- ing." Mrs. Mofiett hod been telling this story to a number of us as we sat around the fireside. As she concluded Dr. Moffett added: "Times have now changed since the women were driven out of their homes for the sake of Christ. I am informed that to-day out in the country villages when a child cries in a heathen home, the father often soothes it by saying, 'Don't cry! I will give you in marriage to a Christian.' " CHAPTER V. Kih's QuEisT FOR God. The: Life: Story of a Kore:an Pastor. One of the Riosc remarkable episodes in modern missioii nistory is Pastor Kil's seven years' quest for God. He is to-day Pastor of the largest Church in Korea, which is in some respects the most remarkable Church in the Far East, for it was here that the most thrilling scenes of the great Korean revival were wit- nessed. A striking picture of Pastor Kil's church at prayer recently appeared in the pages of the "Korean Mission Field"; from the pen of the Rev. W. L. Swallen, one of the pioneers of the Pyeng Yang district, and a worker of great fervor and consecration. Mr. Kil, the Korean Pastor of the large Central Church in Pyeng Yang, having felt for some time that a kind of coldness had come over the Christians in the city, resolved to go to the Church every morning at dawn with one of his elders to pray. These two men of humble, trustful faith, met thus in prayer every morning a hmc ctiier four o'clock for about two months, without having spoken to any one about it — in fact, I think no one knew of it. But somehow when the fact gradually became known to a few, some score or more united with them in these morning prayers. Then the Pastor, seeing there was a desire on the part of others to join him, announced to the Church on Sunday morning that any one wishing to pray with them might do so, and the bell would be rung at 4.30. *The ^'Korean Mission Field" is published monthly at Seoul in the interests of all Evangelical Missions in Korea. It is edited by Dr. Lillias H. Underwood. It is a periodical that will bring inspiration to every one interested in For- eign Missions. The Magazine may be secured for a year by sending 50 cents or 2s. Id. to Rev. R. O. Reiner, Busi- ness Manager, Seoul, Korea. 34 KORSA FOR CHRIST. "The next morning at i A. M. people began coming and by 2 o'clock several hundred had gathered. When the bell was rung there were four or five hundred Christians present, and after a few days the number each morning was between six and seven hundred. On the fourth morning, while praying, the whole con- gregation suddenly broke down weeping for their sins of indifference, coldness, and lack of love and energy for work. Then came the joy of forgiveness and a strong desire to be shown ways and means to work for God. Four more mornings were thus spent in prayer, singing praises, and asking God's direction. The Pastor now thought it was time to do something, and asked how many would give a whole day to go out and preach to unbelieving souls. All hands went up. Then he asked how many would go for two days. Again nearly all hands were raised. At the request for three days fewer hands went up; and so on through four, five and six days, the number gradually lessening, but even for seven days there were quite a number. Since then the whole Church has been eagerly going out and leading others to Christ."* '»<' "Mil Moska (Pastor Kil) is loved and honored by the Christian Church throughout Korea. He is acknowl- edged to be the foremost Korean Pastor, and has been mightily used of God in promoting His Kingdom in Pyeng Yang and district. His wife and children are also zealous believers, and his eldest son expects soon to enter the ministry. During my stay in Pyeng Yang it was my privilege one morning to have an interesting conversation with Pastor Kil at the home of Dr. W. M. Baird, one of Korea's pioneer missionaries, who has largely moulded the educational polity of Christian missions in the country. Through Mrs. Baird, the author of a fas- cinating book entitled, "Daybreak in Korea," I secured from Pastor Kil the story of his long search for the truth. * The total number of days of service promised at that early morning prayer meeting was over three thousand; or nearly six years' continuous work for one man. Klli's QUEST JPOR GOD. 35 "Even from the time I was ten years of age I real- ized that the world was very unsatisfying. I felt that there was no real pleasure in it. My heart was sad and I wept much. At school I was continually looking for some new doctrine. We sometimes had visitors there, and as I listened occasionally to the conversation of the teacher and the visitors I would hope that some new teaching would be revealed that would help me. I longed to become the disciple of some one who would lead me into a clearer light. *'At seventeen, still unsatisfied, I came to Pyeng Yang. For a time I went into business. I also studied medicine. While going about the country as a mer- chant there rang in my ears continually an old Korean saying to the effect that some time a great teacher would appear. Almost every man I met set me to wondering whether he was the great teacher that was to come. "About this time I met a man who said there was a doctrine of living forever if one would follow certain practices (Buddhism), the central principle of which was to shut out sin by good works. I also came across a large book of Buddhist prayers, which I carried up to a solitary place in the mountains to study. I now began a search for Truth, which continued until I found the light. Each year I would spend from twenty to a hun- dred days on the mountain side. The first year I spent three months in that lonely spot. I ate as little as possible and slept scarcely at all. When I felt sleep overcoming me I took sulphur sticks, made a fire, and burned my legs in order to keep awake. When that failed I rubbed my eyes with ice, or sat on a stone beside a brook and poured cold water over my shoul- ders. "All this time there was a continual struggle going on in my mind. I was trying to put away every thought of worldly advancement and every filthy or unclean impulse, for I knew right and wrong then just as well as I do now. I endeavored to keep my mind pure by concentrating upon the idea of a full moon in my stomach. By centering my thoughts upon this I en- deavored to shut out the .worlds and secure a view of 36 KORRA FOR CHRIST. spiritual truth. I wanted to get a vision of some spiritual being, but all the time, in spite of my efforts my mind was filled with thoughts I would fain have dismissed. I could not get the victory. At the end of my stay on the mountain side, when I went to the homes of my friends, I was filled with disgust because their conversation was all about worldly advancement, or interspersed with filthy stories. "At this time a comrade named Kim Chong-Sup, who was also seeking after spiritual things, told me of a man named Ma Moska (Dr. S. A. Moffett), who was preaching a doctrine that opened up the future, and told how to go to a good place after death. I did not think much of this, however. I was still bent on work- ing out my salvation by shutting out the world, the flesh, and the evil spirits. But I took pains to meet Dr. Moffett. He told me the story of the Gospel, and I secured a New Testament. I read this book but still held on to Buddhism. "My comrade, Kim, however, became an earnest Christian through Dr. Moffett's teaching, and contin- ually tried to bring me to believe the same doctrine. Kim lent me "The Pilgrim's Progress," and as I read this book I wept again and again, for I realized for the first time that I was a great sinner. From this time I began to read the New Testament more earnestly, and I was gradually led to see that Jesus was certainly God. I began to pray to God. My prayer was not to God as our Father, but simply to God as the highest spiritual power in the universe. This seemed to bring no special benefit to my soul. "One night as I slept I was suddenly awakened by something like a voice in my ear, as of some one call- ing, and repeating my name. *Kil Sundooya! Kil Sundooya !' As I heard the call twice repeated I knew in my soul that this was the voice of God, my Father. Previously I had prayed with fear and trembling and much weeping. I had only seen myself as a sinner with no certainty of salvation. But now all at once I saw myself a saved sinner, and I saw God as my Father. I burst out praising God, and crying 'Father, God ! Father, God !' At the same moment there came KOREA FOR CHRIST. 37 surging through my soul what I had never found in all my worship of Buddha, and that was the glorious assurance of salvation. I realized that in all the years of my following Buddha I was like a man trying to climb up a precipice by means of a rope, while in my ears rang a cry of warning, 'Look out! Your rope is rotten. You are going to fall.* "It was just after I exclaimed 'Father* in prayer and praise that I perceived very vividly Christ as my Saviour, and realized what agony He had undergone for me. I accepted Him as my personal Saviour. Following this vision of the Redeemer I felt a rapture that words cannot describe. It thrilled my whole soul and lasted for some hours. "From that night a great longing to rescue the lost possessed me. I went up to almost every one I met on the streets, urging them to become believers. I seemed to my friends like a crazy man, but I saw people falling into hell and felt that there was no time to be lost in warning them. I had another friend named Kim, who lived a thousand li (330 miles) away in the snow- covered mountains. We had once studied Buddhism together. I became possessed with an intense desire that Kim should know the true Gospel. To reach the place where he lived one had to go through snow up to the armpits. As it was well-nigh impossible to reach him I agonized in prayer that God would bring him down to me, for he was a much younger man than I. Later I learned the sequel to my prayers. One night far away in his mountain home Kim was awakened with the impression that he must go down to his old teacher, Kil. 'When he told his grandfather of his decision he replied, 'Why, you are a crazy fool to think of such a thing. See the snow up to your armpits. You will die on the way.* Nothing daunted, however, Kim started out, and at last reached me here at Pyeng Yang. A Christian friend and myself spent five days pleading with him. On the fifth day he saw the Light. He immediately became the most zealous of us all, going about everywhere exhorting others to accept the new doctrine. Now he is a minister of the Gospel." It was my privilege to spend three weeks in Pyeng 38 KOREA FOR CHRIST. Yang, and to study at first hand the Christians in that city. Their love for God's Word, their faith in God, and their passion for souls, are an inspiration to every visitor. Early in the year 19 lo in less than a month there were about 1500 new believers enrolled in the various churches of the city. Pastor Kil writing to a missionary in Syen Chun, Rev. George S. McCune, concerning this period of harvest said : *1 am continually praying that you may always be filled with the Holy Spirit. Amen. I praise God for the wonderful manifestation of His glory. I cannot stop the flow of tears as I think of it. Here at this time college and academy students are enthusi- astically preaching, and even the primary school pupils are overflowing with enthusiasm in proclaiming the love of God. Even the little tots of seven years gath- ered together, and brought money to buy tracts and Gospels. They took these out on the streets, and took turns at preaching. These tiny boys filled with fiery zeal stood telling the story of Jesus with tears stream- ing down their faces. They went to individuals, seized them by their wrists, and pleaded with them to accept Jesus as their Saviour. Up to yesterday some four hundred men have stood up in the churches and con- fessed Christ for the first time — in three or four days. Some testified that on the previous days when these little boys preached to them they realized their sins and broke down in tears. Praise; praise the Lord! All glory to our precious Jesus ! What a glorious privi- lege to live in such a time of His grace." CHAPTER VI. A THOUSAND BIBLE CONFERENCES. Th^ Interesting Journey of Rev. Graham LeE. The missionaries in Korea are agreed that the corner- stone of their work Hes in the system of Bible Training Classes, which is in vogue throughout the country. The plan was originated almost at the commencement of mission work in Korea, and the land is to-day honeycombed with these unique gatherings. They are not Bible Classes held each Sunday throughout the year, but are rather annual Bible Conferences lasting for a week or ten days. They are modeled somewhat along the lines of the Keswick and Northfield Confer- ences, but are devoted more exclusively to the study of God's Word than either the English or American gath- erings. Instead of there being one such Conference for the Christians of Korea, there are no less than a thousand throughout the country. The visitor to Korea is at first puzzled by the multi- plicity of these Bible Training Classes, but the plan upon which they are organized is simplicity itself. First there is the local conference held in a single Church for the Christians of that community. Then there are scores of district classes, where the members of many groups will gather together for a week of Bible study. Finally, there are more than a score of general classes, where sometimes looo or 1200 Chris- tians gather from long distances to listen to God's Word expounded by the missionaries and leading Korean teachers. These general classes are somewhat akin to the old Jewish festivals. Like the children of Israel in days of old, the Koreans frequently walk a hundred miles or more to attend the gatherings. They pay all their own expenses, and then for ten days revel in the study of God's Word. They will make any sacrifice to be present at the classes, and enjoy them as much as English-speaking people do a holiday at 40 kore;a for christ. the seaside. I secured a photograph of seven men and two boys who walked over a hundred miles to attend the great class at Syen Chun, which had a membership of over thirteen hundred. Dr. Moffett says that these classes "constitute the most unique and important factor in the development of the Korean Church. It is in these classes that our Christian workers are first trained and developed, and here that the colporteurs, evangelists, helpers, and Bible women are discovered, and appointed to work. It was in these classes that there developed the remark- able movement for the subscription of so many days of preaching according to which the Christian spend the subscribed days in going about the surrounding villages from house to house telling the story of the Gospel. This originated a few years ago with the Koreans themselves in two country classes in the same month, after which it spread all through the country, until tens of thousands of days of preaching were sub- scribed." This giving of so many days of service in soul-win- ning impressed me as much as anything I witnessed during my stay in Korea. It is safe to say that during the first three months of the year 1910 an aggregate of fully 75,000 days were subscribed, making a total of 205 years of service. This is the equivalent of five men preaching the Gospel continuously in Korea for 41 years each. Evangelistic services are frequently held in connection with these Bible Classes, and thus they become great soul-winning agencies. The city is often divided into districts^ and volunteers under the leader- ship of missionaries make systematic daily visitation of each house in the community. Frequently the forenoons are spent in Bible study, the afternoons in prayer meetings, followed by personal work from house to house, and the evenings in special evangelistic meetings. During the ten days of the business men's Bible class in 1905 more than one thousand new be- lievers were enrolled. It was in the midst of the Bible Class in Pyeng Yang in 1907 that the Spirit of God fell upon the community in such a manner that a revival began which stirred the whole Christian world. A THOUSAND BIBLE CONFERENCES. 4 1 Mr. Goforth, of China, was visiting Korea at this time. He carried the revival fire to China, and has since been mightily used of God in promoting a great spir- itual awakening in Manchuria, and in various districts of China. It was my privilege to witness in Pyeng Yang a new form of the Bible Class movement, which might well be adopted in English-speaking countries. Dr. W. M. Baird and Professor A. L. Becker, the heads of the Academy and College in the city decided to dispense with the regular studies for an entire week. The whole teaching force of the school devoted their energy to teaching the Word of God to the 500 students. Two periods of study were held each morning, and one early in the afternoon. This was followed by a half-hour prayer meeting. Then the students were given tracts and Gospels, and were sent out in bands to every sec- tion of the city to do personal work and house-to-house visitation for the rest of the afternoon. Each group had a competent leader, and they visited a large portion of the city each day. It was an inspiring sight to watch those hundreds of stalwart Korean young men evangel- izing the city with hands full of tracts and hearts full of love in their soul-winning quest. In the evenings devotional and evangelistic services were conducted in the Academy chapel. Prominent missionaries are frequently called from one station to another to assist in teaching the Bible Classes. One of the longest of these journeys under- taken by a missionary while I was in Korea was that made by Rev. Graham Lee from Pyeng Yang to Kang Kai, a distance of over 200 miles. It was a difficult and perilous journey across a country of hills and frozen rivers, with the thermometer sometimes twenty- degrees below zero. But Mr. Lee, like the other mis- sionaries in Korea, thinks nothing of the hardships of such journeys. Together with Dr. Moflfett, Mr. Lee has helped to build up the great work in Pyeng Yang. He is full of humor, bubbling over with joy, and is the life and soul of every gathering he attends. He is not only an evangelistic preacher, but is one of the best leaders of Gospel singing in the country. William T. 42 KOREA FOR CHRIST. Ellis, the well-known writer and traveler, while passing through Korea declared that of all the missionaries he had met he would rather stand in the shoes of Graham Lee than in those of any one else. After Mr. Lee's return to Pyeng Yang from his trip to Kang Kai he told the missionaries at their monthly meeting the following story of his journey: *'On the 29th of December I started for Kang Kai to fulfil my mission appointment by helping in the Bible Training Classes of that district. It was just seventeen years next April since I made my first attempt to visit that place. In 1893 Dr. Moffett and I were invited by the people of Pyeng Yang to leave here, and cease our efforts to establish a mission station. It was a case where discretion seemed the better part of valor, so we left with the intention of making a visit to Kang Kai. Fifty li out I was taken ill, and we had to turn back and make for Wonsan. It was thus with great interest that I finally visited Kang Kai this winter. "Mr. Blair sent two Korean sleds to Anchu, the nearest point on the railroad, to transport my belong- ings and myself — one sled was drawn by a small horse and the other by a cow. There had been warm weather, and there was no snow on the roads, so I was not able to use the sleds until across the divide between the Yalu and the Tai Tong. Hence this part of the journey was made in a traveling chair carried by four coolies. On the Yalu side of the pass I dismissed the chair bearers, and took to the sleds for the last two days of the journey. For an experience never to be forgotten I recom- mend a irip in a sled over the mountain roads of North Korea. "I reached Kang Kai late on Wednesday evening, after five and a half days of hard traveling. Mr. Blair and Dr. Mills were attending the first meeting of the Bible Class, so the ladies of the station were the first to give me welcome. They seemed to be interested in watching me emerge from my numerous wraps, and may have said to themselves, as Mr. Lincoln said to Secretary Seward when he watched the small, cold- A THOUSAND BIBI,^ CONFERENCES. 43 blooded man come out of a plentiful supply of over- coats. ''That is the biggest shuck for a little nubbin that I ever saw. My last garment was a large, heavily- padded Korean jacket, and I must say that it gave one the appearance of an animated barrel, but who cares for appearance when the mercury is twenty degrees below zero. "The Class at Kang Kai was a good one, and the desire of the people for better things and growth in spiritual life was very manifest. The Pocket Testa- ment League was presented, and was signed by nearly all present. Another pledge was also presented in which the people promised to pray and work every day for a million souls this year. This, too, was received enthusiastically. An interesting feature of the class was the collection that was taken for the building fund of the Kang Kai City Church. The amount subscribed was 410 yen. This, with what has already been paid in, makes the present building fund 2,500 yen. It is interesting to note that when the purchasing power of money is considered, 2500 yen is the equivalent of $12,500 in United States money, or £2500 m English currency. This is a splendid record for a church that came out of heathenism less than ten years ago. **0n the homeward journey I came down the Yalu River by sled on the ice. At Shin We Ju I was able to take the train for home. The weather during the return trip was the coldest I have ever experienced in Korea, but the oustanding impression of the journey was one of gratitude to God for the splendid work that is being done by the Christians of the Kang Kai station." CHAPTER VIL A Nation Transformed. A Talk with Dr. James S. Gale. Among the Korean Missionaries one of the keenest observers of the Hfe and character of the people is Dr. James S. Gale, of Seoul. He is not only one of the most honored missionaries in the country, having labored in Korea for a score of years, but he has made the entire Christian world his debtor by his thrilling narratives of missionary life and his picturesque por- trayal of Korean manners and customs. In "The Van- guard" he has given a true picture of the heroic work of the missionaries in leading the one-time Hermit- Land from the darkness of demon-worship into the glorious light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In "Korean Sketches" he has dealt with the lighter side of the life of the people. In his latest book, "Korea in Transition," Dr. Gale says: "Signposts along the way as late as 1880 said, 'If you meet a foreigner, kill him ; he who has friendly relations with him is a traitor to his country.' Until the eighties the name of a foreign country was scarcely known. All outside races were barbarians, and Korea desired converse with none of them. . . . Sud- denly the command was issued from somewhere, 'Open wide the gates,' and lo, in stepped the missionary. The doors had remained fast closed till he was ready, but now the hour had come. The greatest armies of mod- ern times have marched across Korea. Fleets that would eclipse the Armada have steamed round her shores. The greatest naval battle that the world ever saw took place within sound of her coast-line. God was pushing out the recently discovered hermit to catch the attention of the world. Not only was she pushed before the world by newspaper reporters, war corre- spondents, and political writers, but the hidden hand A NATION TRANSFORMED. 45 linked her to the world's newest and greatest highway. Korea is evidently being used as a pivot point for the whole hemisphere." Dr. Gale is one of the foremost translators of the Bible into Korean. This language possesses an alpha- bet, a thing unknown in Japanese or Chinese. It is one of the simplest alphabets in the world. Speaking of the wonderful way in which God has made this alphabet an instrument for leading the Korean people to Christ he writes: "Invented in 1445 A. D. it has come quietly down the dusty ages, waiting for, who knew what? It was looked upon with contempt as being so easy. Even women could learn it in a month or little more. By one of those mysterious Providences it was kept waiting for the New Testament and other Christian literature. This perhaps is the most remark- able Providence of all, this language sleeping its long sleep of 400 years, waiting till the hour should strike on the clock, that it might rise and tell of all Christ's wonderful works. Tied in the belts of the women are New Testaments in common Korean; in the pack of the mountaineer on his brisk journeying; in the wall- box of the hamlet home ; piled up on the shelf of the living room are those Books in Un-mun (the native script), telling of Ye su (Jesus) mighty to save. The writer counts it among his choicest privileges that he has had a share in its translation, that to him were assigned John, Acts, Romans, Galatians, Ephesians and Revelation." Dr. Gale is not by any means simply an author- missionary. He is pastor of a church of over a thou- sand members in the Korean capital, and is chairman of the Bible Society's Committee for the publication and distribution of God's Word throughout the land. One day while returning on the train to Seoul from Taiku, where Dr. Gale had been teaching in a large Bible Training Class, he gave me a number of thrilling incidents of conversion which he had witnessed during his long services as a missionary. He began with the remarkable narrative of the conversion of the former Chief of Pouce. "Kim Chung Sik, the Chief of Police in Seoul, was 46 KOREA FOR CHRIST. a Straightforward, honest man. I had heard of him, and longed to have an interview with him to see if I could get him interested in the Gospel. One day a friend unexpectedly brought him to see me. He was a tall, handsome, dignified Korean, beautifully dressed. After our salutations of peace I asked him if he had ever heard the story of the Gospel. He said he had heard of it, but had never understood it fully. I told him what it meant, and asked him if he could not read about it for himself. He stated that he would do so, and accepted a New Testament. "Two or three weeks later he brought it back and laid it upon the table. I was disappointed. I wanted him to keep it. But he did not seem inclined to do so. *How did you like it?' I asked. He replied, 'It is a good book.' 'But is that all?' I continued. *I noticed stories in it,' said he, 'like our old Korean books, such as walking on the water, and other wonder- ful things. I don't accept those, but there is a great deal of good teaching in the book.' 'You see he was quite a higher critic,' said Dr. Gale with a smile. *'I talked with him for some time about the Gospel, but the chief withdrew into himself, and I seemed to make no impression. When he left I remember going into my room, and praying for him. It was a kind of faithless prayer, I fear, for I felt that he was a hope- less case. I also felt, however, that if God did convert him he would be a mighty power for good. As Chief of Police and a Police Magistrate he knew how to handle men. "Later, I heard that he had been thrown into prison as a political suspect. More than two years passed. Kim was almost forgotten. One morning a wad of paper came to me from the prison. It had been carried from there in some secret manner. It was from my friend Kim, the former Chief of Police. It told of his struggle for deliverance — not from prison, but from sin and all that it had brought upon him. In the cold and discomfort of his awful prison cell he had read the New Testament through four times, with the result that his heart was hungering beyond expression for peace and deliverance. One night in his distress, he read a A NATION TRANSIfORM^D. 47 Chinese translation of one of Mr. Moody's sermons. In it there was a story which gave him just what he needed. It was the description of the great sacrifice made by one who was drowning. From it he got a vision of the sacrifice of Christ for him. It affected him deeply. He knelt down beside his prison mat and cried like a little child. That night he found peace in Christ. "In that crumpled note from the prison the former Chief of Police said that all the words I had spoken to him when he was visiting me came back to him as he lay in prison. In the letter he also requested that one of the lady missionaries might call upon his wife and comfort her by telling her the story of Jesus. A short time later she too became a Christian. "It was not long before Kim was released. He afterwards declared that it was God Who had locked him up in prison, and God Who had released him; for in those days it was as likely that a man would be executed as that he would be released. A friend of Kim's was also converted in prison. He was called out to die without trial by jury or judge, but simply at the command of the Prime Minister. "After Kim was released from prison he went to call on the Prime Minister who had ordered his im- prisonment. The chief official knew that Kim was a main trained in the use of the knife — a short Korean dagger. As Kim entered the official apartment the Prime Minister shrank away from him, but Kim said, *Do not fear. God has forgiven my sins, and I have not the least ill-feeling towards you.' "Kim became the best example of a man fishing for men that I have ever seen. He seemed to meditate on all sorts of schemes for getting hold of men. If he thought a certain man could be reached more effectually by some one else he would send another person instead of going himself. One day he said to me, 'Will you be at home to-morrow ? If you will I will bring around Prince Ye.' The next day he came with the Prince, who is the oldest son of the oldest branch of the Royal Family. The Prince was greatly interested in the New Testament, and carried one home with him. To-day 48 KOREJA FOR CHRIST. the Prince declares that he believes in Christ as his personal Saviour; and he sometimes goes to Church and sits amongst the poorest people. "Soon after this Kim became assistant secretary in Seoul of the Korean Y. M. C. A., which occupies a fine building erected by Mr. Wanamaker. In 1907 he was called to Tokio, Japan, to become director of the re- ligious work in the Y. M. C. A. in that city; and his work is among the Korean students in the Japanese capital. Kim possesses a most lovable personality. He attracts men by his winsome manner. He is to-day doing a splendid work for his Master among the stu- dents in Tokio. I often think of the prayer of little faith offered in my home for the Chief of Police, and of the marvelous manner in which God answered it. An Athletic Convert. "At the Y. M. C. A. in Seoul there was a young man who carried off nearly all the prizes on field day. He was a leader of men, and very headstrong. He came under the influence of the Gospel, and one day in great distress he called on me. Before his conversion he had fallen into sin, and had stolen money and other things from a foreigner. He asked what he should do about the matter. I advised him to make out a list as care- fully as he could of everything he could recall having stolen. I told him that even if it meant going to prison, he should make full confession of his sins. At once he went to see the foreigner and confessed ail to him. The foreigner was deeply impressed, for the Korean told him that he only had the courage to confess his sin because he now believed in Jesus. "The thefts having all been cleared up, the young man became a happy, earnest Christian. At once he began to pray for his father, a man that I had been unable to reach. Through his prayers and efforts his father and mother, his wife and his grandmother, all became Christians. To-day his father is a deacon in my church, and is one of my most useful members. He is the kind of man who puts down in his book the names of unconverted people, and spends nearly the whole night in prayer for them. "It is interesting to note that this young athlete A NATION TRANSFORMED. 49 was one of the first converts of Kim, the Chief of Police, and he is to-day the leader of a special effort in Korea along the line of personal work. "The Most Unhappy Man." "When one of the deacons in my Church made a profession of faith in Christ, he found at first no relief and no joy. Upon one occasion the whole Church was having six days of prayer; spending six hours of the day crying to God. In the midst of one of these periods of prayer this deacon, Pak, arose and began to speak. With tears in his eyes he told the people that he was the most unhappy man on earth, for unconfessed sin was still in his heart. He stated that some years before he had changed a note, increasing it to lOO yen ($50) in his favor. He had collected the money, and no one else knew of it. He declared that the money was just burning into his soul, and that day and night he could find no peace. He said that when he tried to pray he could see the money before him. He told us that the man he had defrauded was dead, and there were no relatives to whom he could repay the money, x^t length he concluded: *I have brought the money here, and I want to make restitution before the Church. To-day he is one of the best deacons in our Church. This spring he goes to Pyeng Yang to enter the Theological School. The Converted Devil- Worshippers. ''While living in Wonsan we were once holding a week of Bible Study in my church. I was giving the people a series of addresses on the second coming of Christ, when one of the wealthiest men in the town came into the service. I had previously visited him, but he would have nothing to do with the Gospel. He began to attend the Bible Class morning, noon and night. "At last the report went abroad that he was going to believe and become a Christian. One night he him- self arose and declared that he had decided to believe in Christ. We all bowed in prayer, and I asked the new convert to pray. Never shall I forget the prayer he offered. After much stumbling he said: 'Lord, I am just the worst man that ever lived, and I don't 50 KOREA FOR CHRIST. know how to pray. . . . What will I do about it ?' With the perspiration standing on his face, he finally said *Amen.' Having concluded his prayer, he arose and said, 'I have another statement to make. My wife and I have been the worst devil-worshippers in this town. We have a house full of stuff that we have offered to the devil. What shall I do about it?' Somebody shouted to him, 'Keep quiet about that.' He replied, 'I will not keep quiet. I intend to tell the whole thing.' He repeated the question, 'What will I do about it? I dort't want the rubbish in my house.' I called out to him. 'Give it to me. I will call for it to-morrow morning at nine o'clock.' He answered: 'That's good. All right ;' and the meeting continued. "That night I pictured him and his wife having an Oriental dispute over those demon offerings, and of his weakening and changing his mind about giving them away. At nine o'clock on the following morning I went to his house. I found the room actually packed full of stuff that they had offered to the demons. His wife was also a Christian, and was there helping him to pile all this material in the middle of the room. In the strange collection were rolls of cotton, grass cloth, money, rice, and many other things. They piled the goods high on the back of a coolie, and I distributed them amongst the poor. Ever since the man has been a good Christian, and became one of the leaders in the Church." CHAPTER VIII. The Bible in Korea. A Talk with Mr. Hugh Miller. From the commencement of Mission work in Korea the printed page of God's Word has occupied a pecu- liarly prominent place. The Korean Christian is a man of one Book, and that Book the Bible. The secret of the strength of the Korean Church lies in the fact that it has been nourished on the Word of God. The Korean Christians read the Book of Books day and night, and they are among the greatest Bible stu- dents in the world. They love the Book so much that most of them wrap up their New Testament, or put it in a bag, and carry it with them wherever they go. The women and girls usually tie their Testament and hymn book round their waist. Men, women and chil- dren commit large portions of the Bible to memory. Last year two little girls in Pyeng learned and recited the entire New Testament with the exception of the Gospel of St. Matthew, while a number of others learned from 400 to 4000 verses. When the watchword "A Million Souls for Christ" was adopted by the General Council in Seoul, the neces- sity for quickly placing God's Word in the homes and hearts of the people was keenly felt. The colporteur method seemed inadequate to meet the demand of the hour. The Bible Society Committee met, and decided to issue a special pocket edition of St. Mark's Gospel at one-half the usual price, or one sen per copy. It was recommended that this edition be sold to the Christians at cost ; so that they could make the Gospels an efficient agency in leading their heathen friends and neighbors to a knowledge of the Truth. The Korean Christian was not urged to make a wholesale distribu- tion, but to give the Gospels to personal friends with a loving, tender appeal to accept Christ; and then to follow up the gift with prayer and personal work day by day until the victory was won. 52 KOREA FOR CHRIST. The Korean Church took up this new method of giving God's Word to the heathen with the greatest enthusiasm. The Bible Society printed a first edition of 300,000 copies of the Gospel of St. Mark. In a few weeks they were all sold, while the demand seemed undiminished. A fourth, fifth and sixth hundred thousand were ordered. But the demand increased more rapidly than the supply. At length the Bible Society had to telegraph for ico,ooo of the St. Mark's Gospels, to be forwarded by train instead of by steamer from Yokohama to Seoul to meet the orders which were pouring in from all parts of the country. In five months the Korean Christians, out of their poverty, purchased half a million copies of these Gospels to use in their soul-saving crusade. The work of printing and distributing God's Word in Korea is under the direction of the British and Foreign, and the American, Bible Societies. The agent of the American Bible Society is Rev. D. A. Bunker, who carries on extensive evangelistic work in addition to his duties in connection with the Bible Society. Although most of the missionaries in Korea are Americans, yet it is the British and Foreign Bible Society which has been longest in the field, and which has carried on the major part of the work. The agent of this society is Mr. Hugh Miller, under whose efficient administration the Bible work in Korea has made marvelous strides during the past few years. The work has increased to such proportions that Rev. F. G. Vesey has recently been appointed sub-agent in Korea. Speaking of the part the Bible has played in the progress of Mission work in Korea, Mr. Miller said : f "As far as we know Bibles were first brought to Korea in 1865 under the direction of the National Bible Society of Scotland by the Rev. Mr. Thomas. He came from Cheefoo in a Korean junk. In the follow- ing year he came over in the ill-fated 'Sherman,' The ship was stranded near Pyeng Yang, and both he and the crew were killed by the Koreans. "In 1875 Dr. John Ross and Rev. John Mclntyre, of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland, who were working in Manchuria, came into contact with THE BIBLE IN KOREA. 53 Koreans who had gone across the border for business purposes. These missionaries learned that Koreans could read and understand the Chinese translation of the Scriptures. A scholarly Korean was engaged to make a translation from the Chinese into the Unmun, the vernacular language of Korea, under the direction of Dr. Ross and Mr. Mclntyre. "In 1882 an edition of the Gospels of St. Luke and St. John were published, but it was difficult to circulate them in Korea. Books of a foreign religion were not allowed to come into the Hermit Kingdom, and now that the books were printed the problem was how to get them into the country. Korean merchants went to Mukden periodically to buy the old official papers which were offered for sale, and brought into Korea on the backs of coolies. The suggestion came to Dr. Ross and Mr. Mclntyre that if the Scriptures were made up into bundles, unbound, they might be carried into the country without detection. It was in this manner that God's Word in Korean was first introduced into the country. "In a short time there was a small company of believers among the merchants of Weiju, the largest city on the northern border of the country. Three of these men were employed as colporteurs, to sell Scrip- tures and to preach to their fellow-countrymen. One of them, Saw Sang Yun, had the honor of being the first Korean colporteur. In 1883 he left Mukden with a load of Scriptures, with instructions to reach Seoul with them if possible. After varied experiences he was successful in reaching the capital with only a few copies in his hand. He remained here until after the arrival of the American missionaries in 1885. "At this time efforts to introduce God's Word into Korea were also being made in the East. In 1885 Rev. Henry Loomis, agent of the American Bible Society in Yokohama, met a Korean in Japan, and had him translate the Gospel of St. Mark into his native tongue. When the American missionaries, Dr. H. G. Underwood, Dr. H. G. Appenzeller, and Dr. W. B. Scranton, passed through Japan they were given a few copies of St, Mark's Gospel in Korean, which they 54 KOREA I^OR CHRIST. had in their hands when they landed at Chemulpo. This was one of the few cases in the history of Mis- sions where the missionaries reached the country in which they were to labor carrying with them God's "Word in the language of the people. "But it was the Ross translation which laid the foundation of the work in Korea. Between 1883 and 1886 no less than 15,690 copies of this translation were circulated in Korea through the colporteurs. From the beginning the work of Saw, the colporteur, was very successful. Dr. Ross writes that the first con- gregation of Korean converts were almost entirely those led to Christ by Saw. It was thus the circula- tion of God's Word, which introduced Christianity to the Hermit Kingdom; and it is recognized that the wonderful progress of the Gospel in Northern Korea is due in no small measure to the seed-sowing of those early days. It is worthy of notice that to-day in Weiju there is a strong Church of 1500 believers, with no missionary resident in the city. As soon as the American missionaries in Seoul had acquired a knowledge of the language, they began to direct their attention to Bible translation work. In 1887 a Board of Translators was formed which by 1900 produced a tentative version of the New Testament. In 1906 an authorized version was completed and pub- lished. During the last ten years the circulation of the Scriptures in Korea has gone forward with un- paralleled progress. The total number of portions and Testaments issued in 1900 amounted to 44,000 copies ; in 1909 the circulation was about 400,000. In 19 10 it bids fair to far surpass the previous records." It has only been during the year 1910 that the translation of all the books of the Old Testament into the Korean language has been completed. In the preparation of the entire Bible for the Korean Church a great debt of gratitude is due to a number of men who have labored unceasingly in its production. Foremost among these stands Rev. W. D. Reynolds, of Chun Ju, who has for some time devoted himself exclusively to translation work. Other missionaries who have rendered invaluable service are Dr. Horace THE bible; in KOREA. 55 G. Underwood, Dr. James S. Gale, and Rev. Alexander A. Pieters. The annual reports of the Bible Committee of Korea are filled with stirring incidents of the influence of God's Word in transforming the lives of the Koreans. Rev. J. F. Preston, of Kwang-Ju, in Southern Korea, tells of a large work among the islands in the south of Korea, which began with the gift of a copy of God's Word : *'In March, 1904, a young patriot, after five weary years spent in prison, was banished for life to a distant island of the Empire. Just as he was leaving Seoul a Christian friend presented him with a Bible and a hymn book, urging him to accept the Saviour Who alone could write hope over his dismal future. This young exile of noble family, keen intellect, and splendid western education, thought over his friend's words, and began to read his Bible. On a tour of the island one year later, I found him as earnest and intelligent a believer as I ever met. The Holy Spirit, using the Word of God, had been his only teacher. "He had borne faithful witness to those around him of the treasure which he had found. Together we planned progressive work. Seven months later, I re- visited the Island, and baptized him in the presence of a group which he had gathered; and on that same occasion seven of these whom he had taught were re- ceived as Catechumens. "We then laid still larger plans, which have already resulted in the opening up of another large island, where 100 people had expressed their desire to *do the Jesus doctrine.' And it all started in the simple gift of a Bible !'' During the past few months the chief feature of Bible work in Korea has been the dissemination of God's Word through the movement known as the Pocket Testament League. This was introduced into Korea during the visit of Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman and Mr. Charles M. Alexander and their evangelistic party, and was taken up with great enthusiasm throughout the land. It is a plan for linking together people throughout the world to read a portion of God's Word 56 KOREA FOR CHRIST. daily ; to carry it about with one ; and to give it to the unsaved to win them to Christ. The movement was originated in Birmingham a number of years ago by Mrs. Charles M. Alexander, wife of the Gospel singer, and has spread rapidly in various lands. In America there are to-day probably not less than 100,000 members, and in Australia more than 25,000. The movement seems to arouse as keen enthusiasm in missionary as in Christian lands. Under the direction of Rev. A. E. Cory the League is being extended throughout China. The Bible Societies are issuing a League Testament at special rates, and have adopted in toto the principle of urging Chinese Christians to purchase Gospels to give to their heathen friends as a method of personal work. In Japan the plan is arousing equal interest, where Rev. R. F. Gorbold is the national secretary of the League. This movement for reading, carrying and distribut- ing God's Word has swept over Korea in a phenomenal manner. During the visit of the Chapman-Alexander party to Seoul, Mr. Hugh Miller became national secre- tary of the League. Local secretaries were appointed in the various mission stations; and 100,000 member- ship cards were printed and distributed. It has been for years almost universally the custom of the Korean Christians to carry a New Testament with them, and they eagerly linked themselves with this world-wide movement.* * NOTE.— National Secretaries of the Pocket Testa- ment League: England: Francis C. Brading, 15, Strand, London, W. C; America: Dr. Parley E. Zartmann, With- trspcon Building, Philadelphia, Pa.; Australia: A. M. S. Shum, 382 Swanston street, Melbourne, Victoria; Philip- pine Islands: Rev. Geo. W. Wright, EHinwood Theological Seminary, Manila; China: Rev. A. E. Cory, Nanking; Japan: Rev. R. F. Gorbold, Ichi Jo Dori. Kioto; Korea: Hugh Miller, British and Foreign Bible Society, Seoul. CHAPTER IX. Whang the; Bund Sorcerer. The Story of a Remarkable Pilgrimage. This is the story of Whang Pum Oh, once a blind sorcerer, now a hero of the Cross of Jesus Christ. Whang grew up in the darkness of heathenism. One day the Hght of the Gospel shone in upon him and his soul was transfigured. From an indolent Korean sor- cerer he became a flaming evangel of the good news of the Gospel ; and the wonderful change in his Hfe typi- fies the transformation which has been wrought in a hundred thousand Koreans during the past twenty-five years. In spite of his affliction Whang is one of the hap- piest Christians in Korea. In the "Korean Mission Field" Miss Anna Rae Mills gives the following pen picture of the blind man : "I wish you could see him smile! In repose, his face is thoughtful, wistful, seeing things, not things close by — those physical eyes see nothing in this physi- cal world — but far off, things in another world, the world where life is true, where purpose conquers poverty, where love sees through blindness, where God is the light men see by. It was so I saw him first; dusty, dirty, tired, at the end of a 200-mile walk. Thus he came to our back door, and I saw on his tired, pock-marked face the vision of the other world. Strange, isn't it, to find a deeper, sweeter happiness on a blind Korean face than I ever saw on a human face at home ?" When I read this description of Whang, with face glorified by the grace of God, I determined that I would not leave until I had seen this man. It was, however, at the close of my stay in the country before I had an opportunity of visiting Taiku and coming into contact 58 KOREA FOR CHRIST. with the former blind sorcerer. Knowing of my desire Rev. H. M. Bruen, the leader of the evangelistic work at Taiku station, had sent for Whang who lived in a village sixty li away. Scarcely had the message been sent, however, when Whang appeared in Taiku having walked the twenty miles in order to attend the large Bible Class which was then in session. Through Mr. Bruen's kindness in acting as interpreter, I had a long interview with Whang, and secured from him the story of his conversion and of his remarkable pilgrimage in quest of the Truth. When three years of age Whang Pum Oh was taken with smallpox, and he became blind as a result of the disease. When he was only ten years of age both his parents were seized with cholera, and died within a few days of each other. Whang went to live with his uncle, who had the blind boy taught the art of sorcery. In Korea it is customary for nearly all the blind people to become sorcerers. The art is very prevalent through- out the land. It is especially in demand in times of sickness. A blind sorcerer is consulted. He goes through some weird incantations, and tells the people how to propitiate the evil spirit who has sent the disease. The sorcerer also professes to tell people how to find lost articles ; how journeys may be made successfully ; how a new house should be built to avoid the evil spirits, and so forth. It is all a system of deception. Whang made money in this profession, and purchased household goods and fields. On one occasion Mr. Bruen's Korean helper was preaching in a guest room in Whang's village. The sorcerer went to hear him, and was deeply impressed with the Gospel story. The more he listened to the Korean messenger of the Gospel, the more he felt the wickedness of his sorcery. He argued with the helper for tv/o days. At last he was convinced of the truth- fulness of the Gospel, and became a believer. Whang began to attend the Church, but continued to practice his art of divination, for it was a very lucrative profession. Week after week, however, as he under- stood the doctrine of the Gospel more fully, he began WHANG TH^ BLIND SORC^R^R. 59 to have a greater distaste for his work. At length one day when requested to attend a certain house, he re- fused, and broke all his instruments before the eyes of his visitor. He now began to experience a great longing to learn to read God's Word. On account of his blindness, however, this was an extremely difficult task. Week after week he groped his way 15 li (five miles) along the country road to attend a church, for there were no Christians in his village. For a year he prayed earn- estly that the Father would make it possible for him to gain a knowledge of the Bible. One night God answered his prayer in an unexpected manner. The thought flashed into his mind that he might adapt one of the arithmetical tables used by blind sorcerers; and by the aid of this, work out a system of his own that would enable him to read. His next step was to purchase several large Standard Oil tin cans, of the type commonly used in the Orient. From these he made four or five thousand small tin squares, with a hole through each, so that they could be threaded on a string. Then he made indentations in different corners of these squares, to indicate the various letters of the Korean Alphabet. He also pro- cured two thousand pieces of wood in varying shapes to indicate the final consonants. The great desire of Whang's soul was not only to read, but to memorize God's Word. Having created a crude system of reading, he began to master the Scrip- tures. His plan was to have a friend read out St. John's Gospel, while he formed sentence after sentence by threading his tin and wooden squares on a string. Then by running his fingers over the crude type he committed verse after verse of God's Word to memory. In this manner he learned the first six chapters of John. On one occasion while at the Church a new vision dawned upon the soul of Whang. He heard that at Pyeng Yang, about 1000 li distant, there was a school for teaching the blind to read in a new and wonderful manner. For two years he prayed that God would open the way for him to go to that school. ^ At length Mr. Bruen heard of the former sorcerer's Go KOREA I^OR CHRIST. heroic efforts to master God's Word, and of his great desire to go to Pyeng Yang, and sent him 7 yen to buy a railroad ticket to the Northern city. Whang was full of joy over the prospect of his great desire being real- ized. But, knowing that his wife and family would suffer if he left them unprovided for, Whang revealed the strength of his Christian character by using the money to purchase food and fuel for them. The blind enthusiast then set out to grope his way along the high- ways of Korea towards the goal of his dreams, 300 miles distant. After trudging for sixty miles Whang reached the Mission station at Chong-Ju. Here he was met by Mr. Kagin, a friend of Mr. Bruen's, who asked him why he was walking. Having heard the blind man's story, this friend of the missionary's also gave him a sum of money, with specific instructions that it should be used in no other way than for railway fare. But Whang continued his journey on foot until he reached Seoul, the capital city ; and from here he sent much of the money back to his wife and children. He would again have continued the journey on foot, but a Korean friend took him in charge, purchased his railway ticket, and placed him on the train for Pyeng Yang. Upon reaching his destination Whang made his way to the school for the blind conducted by Mrs. Samuel A. Moffett, and was at once admitted. He made mar- velous progress. In a month's time he had learned to read by the Braille system. Then he was eager to leave to tell other blind men about the Saviour. Dr. Moffett gave Whang a sum of money to enable him to ride home in ease and comfort, but for the third time the blind man sent the money to his wife and children, and started out to walk the entire 300 miles to his own village in Southern Korea. When he was nearing the capital, a strange thing happened. He met his brother, who had been a wanderer for four years, and after instructing him for a week had the joy of leading hinj to Christ. At length Whang reached his village 10 safety, having in all groped his way about 500 miles along the Korean highways in order to learn to read the blind man's Bible. WHANG TH^ BI.IND SORCI^RKR. 6l Whang has now been a Christian for about five years. The supreme desire of his life is to open a school for the blind in order to teach the Gospel to his companions in misfortune. He has now committed to memory the first ten chapters of St. John's Gospel. He reviews two or three chapters daily. He thinks that in three years he will be able to memorize the entire New Testament. He is too poor to purchase a blind man's Bible, but is endeavoring to make one him- self. When I left Korea Whang was about to start for Pyeng Yang to spend another month studying God's Word, and making copies by the Braille system of two or three Books in the New Testament. Will not the reader pray that the way may be opened for this blind hero of the Cross to realize the desire of his heart in establishing a School for the Blind in Southern Korea? CHAPTER X. TuK Re^vival and A:ftkr. For four years, 1903- 1907, the Korean Church passed through one of the most remarkable manifestations of God's power in the entire history of the Christian Church. From north to south, from east to west, the revival swept over the country. It cleansed and purified the church, which in the lusty vigor of youth, had not fully realized the awfulness of sin. It fired the Church with a new passion for seeking the lost; and it prepared the way for the "million" movement. The revival began at Wonsan, on the east coast of Korea, in connection with the work of Dr. R. A. Hardie, one of the most consecrated and honored mis- sionaries in Korea. Dr. Hardie is now at the head of the Methodist Theological Seminary at Songdo. From the beginning to the end the awakening was marked by public confession of sins which no earthly power could have extorted from an Oriental. Some- times there was a terrible struggle for days between the powers of light and darkness; then when Christ gained the victory and confession was made, there followed an ecstasy of peace and joy. During a railway journey through Korea, Rev. J. L. Gerdine, one of the leaders of Southern Methodist Church told how the work of grace began: "A small Bible Class of seven missionaries was being held during the last week of August, 1903. The senior missionary of the group. Dr. R. A. Hardie, was requested to prepare three papers on prayer. As he made prepara- tion he became deeply concerned over his own life. He realized a lack of power in pleading for others. As he studied God's Word he definitely claimed the infilling of the Holy Spirit according to the promise in Luke 11, 13. He declared that he received the Holy Ghost by faith, apart from feeling, save a new peace in his heart which he had not possessed before. Pyeng Yang the largest City of Northern Korea. Men and boys who walked one hundred miles to attend a Bible Class. THS R^IVAL AND A^E^R. 63 **On the following Sunday, Dr. Hardie told the Korean Church in Wonsan about the experiences through which he had passed, and testified to having received the infilling of the Spirit. He made confes- sion that he had been lacking in power and in love. He said he had preached the truth, but in such a way as to offend rather than to attract, and it was because he himself had been lacking in love. This made a profound impression upon the congregation which depened in subsequent regular services." It was less than a month later during some special prayer meetings conducted by Dr. Hardie, that the revival began. The Koreans began to show evi- dences of deep conviction of sin. Then suddenly with- out anyone suggesting it, they began to stand and make public confession. For the next tv/o weeks, God's Spirit was manifested in such power that the Church in Wonsan was transformed. Mr. Gerdine told me that the work was so deep and thorough that some of the converts are now among the strongest men in the ministry of the Southern Methodist Church, one of them being pastor of their leading church in Seoul. Six months later in Wonsan at the annual Bible Training Class conducted by Dr. Hardie, the revival broke out afresh. Following this, Dr. Hardie was called to various cities in Korea to conduct similar meetings, and at each God's Spirit was present in great power. Gradually the flame spread throughout the country and the awakening became a national move- ment which changed the character of the Korean Church. It was in Central Church, Pyeng Yang, that the Revival reached its climax. Here scenes of con- trition and confession were witnessed which thrilled the Christian world. The Pyeng Yang awakening was unmistakably in answer to prayer. For months previous the missionaries at this station had held daily prayer meetings pleading for a mighty outpouring of God's Spirit. Rev. W. L. Swallen has told how wave after wave of blessing swept over the city : "There has been a series of manifestations of the Holy Spirit's power coming to us here at Pyeng Yang as successive companies of Christians have gathered 64 KOREA FOR CHRIST. here for special study. At each new gathering a special manifestation of His Presence has been expected, prayed for, and received. We have not dictated as to the manner of His appearance, but during all this time there has been much united as well as indi- vidual prayer that He would come to behevers in mighty power, transforming their lives and character. They not only prayed but worked for the lost. The entire city was mapped out, and each church made responsible for its prescribed territory. The power of this blessing upon the whole church was made manifest in the fruit it bore during this campaign. Some two thousand persons have been led to accept Christ as their Saviour. The churches are all filled and overflowing. Central Church for lack of room has had again to send off two more congregations : and even now in order to relieve the congestion the men and women are com- pelled to meet for worship at separate hours of the day." The fire fell also at a Bible Conference in Pyeng Yang where 550 country women had assembled to study God's Word. Mr. Swallen tells of the beautiful scenes which occurred during this Conference. ''Their experiences were the same as those manifested in the meetings of the city women. They would weep and wail and beat their breasts, and sometimes they would sink down upon the floor under such a weight of sin as to be wholly unable to articulate distinctly. At times the whole congregation would wail together and cry out to God for mercy. When anyone would be- come so overcome with grief as to be unable to cease, the whole congregation would break out together in audible prayer after which a song might be sung. If still there were those who could not get comfort, and not un frequently there were many such, then those sainted women who had previously gone through with such an experience themselves and had gotten peace, would go through the congregation like angelic mes- sengers, seeking out such and putting their arms about them in unmistakable love, and speak peace to their agonizing souls. This never failed to bring speedy relief. With few exceptions these women went to the: REVIVAI, AND AFT^R. b5 their homes, rid of a great load of sin. They went with their hearts filled with a new joy, and a new power." Rev. Graham Lee gives this vivid picture of one of the scenes at a meeting for men : "After a short ad- dress all who wished to go home were dismissed. As soon as the audience was quiet we had audible prayer together and immediately afterwards a number of men jumped to their feet signifying an intense desire to confess their sins. After a few confessions the climax came when Elder Chu got the strength to make his confession. All through that wonderful Tuesday evening he sat and looked Hke a man who has received his death sentence. We felt sure he had some terrible sin to confess and we prayed that God would give him strength. He had been sitting on the platform and suddenly I found him sitting beside me, and then my heart gave a bound of joy, for I knew he had surren- dered and that God's Spirit was now able to cleanse him. He began in a broken voice and could hardly articulate, so moved was he. As he went on his words grew clearer, and then it all came out. He confessed to adultery, and the misuse of funds, and as he told of it he was in the most fearful agony I have ever seen expressed by any mortal being. He was trembling from head to foot and I was afraid he would fall, so I put my arm about him to hold him up. In fearful distress of mind he cried out, 'Was there ever such a terrible sinner as I am?' and then he beat the pulpit with his hands with all his strength. At last he sank to the floor and writhed and writhed in agony, crying for forgiveness. He looked as though he would die if he did not get relief. It was terrible to witness, but oh, it was so beautiful to see the Korean brethren gather about him in his time of anguish. As soon as Mr. Chu broke down the whole audience broke out in weeping and they wept and wailed and it seemed as if they couldn't stop. I had to begin a song to quiet them. We held the meeting a little longer and then dismissed the audience thankful that God's Spirit was still mani- fest among us and more thankful that Elder Chu had obtained the strength to make his confession." 66 KORi^A I^OR CHRIST. Since the revival the soul-winning fervour of the Korean church has been an inspiration to all Christen- dom. The missionary body, as well as the native church, is on fire with a passion for seeking the lost. Even the children of the missionaries at Pyeng Yang and at other stations, engage in personal work with a naturalness and an enthusiasm which is seldom seen in home lands. Perhaps no missionary in Korea better typifies the astonishing zeal for soul-saving which cliaracterizes both the foreign leaders and the native Christians than Dr. W. H. Forsythe, of Mokpo. He is a medical mis- sionary, but he is possessed with a holy zeal for win- ning individuals to Christ such as has been rarely equalled in any land. One day as I walked along the street with him for a short distance he spoke to no less than fifty Koreans. His manner was so kindly, and his appeal so loving that the faces of the people lit up with pleasure as he said a few words to each about the Saviour. Dr. Forsythe was formerly stationed at Chunju. When he was called to Mokpo, the Koreans at Chunju were so eager to retain him that they filled a great book with nearly looo petitions, signed by heathen and Christians alike. The women took pieces of dress cloth and wrote their names with an appeal. When this method did not avail, the Koreans declared the missionary must not leave : they would stop the coolies carrying his goods. And this actually occurred, but finally he was allowed to go to his new field. It was my privilege to spend three days with this strenuous medical missionary at Mokpo. It seems to me I never had known what a passion for souls really meant until I saw Dr. Forsythe at work. At all hours of the day, and often of the night, in the homes, on the streets, in the chumacks (Inns), on the fishing boats and steamers, everywhere, he pleads with people to accept Christ. He is constantly giving away tracts and Gospels, many of which are carried to distant villages and to heathen islands, and thus the good news of the Gospel is scattered broadcast. More than once I saw Dr. Forsythe stop a group of THIS RlSVIVAL AND AFTHR. 67 travelers on the highway, preach Christ to them for a few moments, give each a Gospel, and then get all on their knees while he offered a prayer for their salva- tion. Again and again this tireless soul-winner goes to the Inns where 30 or 40 Koreans are asleep on the floor, rouses them up, tells them how to be saved, has prayer, leaves Gospels, and is gone. It is a delicate task, but so winsome is the Doctor's way that the men lie down with a smile instead of a scowl. **It is the only way to reach some of them with the Gospel story," is the missionary's brief comment. Another of Dr. Forsythe's methods is to stand out- side a church and to fill it with the heathen passing along the street. In Seoul one Sunday evening he practically filled a Church in this manner. The Korean Christians were greatly ashamed that a stranger should come and fill up their church for them. Later they adopted this method, and before I left Korea they held a week's mission and enrolled 243 new believers. Like the other missionaries, Dr. Forsythe is con- stantly working and praying, not only for his own district, but for the whole of Korea. One of the great ambitions of his life is that a portion at least of God's Word may speedily be put into every home and every heart in Korea. He is the chairman of a Committee for promoting the Bible Success Band throughout the country.* This is a plan for committing a verse of Scripture to memory daily. It was started by Mrs. E. A. R. Davis, and has been taken up enthusiastically, not only in Korea, but in Japan, China and other lands. "Time would fail to tell" of the marvelous scenes of grace in Korea; of demons cast out in answer to prayer; of the blind girl once a sorceress, who walked with her parents 200 miles to study God's Word; of the poor man who saved five slices of bread and lived on one a day, while he attended a Bible Class; of the * Information concerning this movement may be se- cured from the Scripture Gift Mission, 15, Strand, London, or from Mrs. E. A. R. Davis. 158 Fifth avenue, New York, U. S. A 68 KOREA FOR CHRIST. man who cut Korean characters on a slab of hard wood, and printed tracts to tell the heathen the way of life; of the six students who spent their ten days' vacation preaching Christ in the Korean villages and enlisted i8o new believers; of the 1500 men at a Bible Class, who purchased 33,000 Gospels to give to their heathen friends to lead them into the Hght; of Korean women who sell their silver ornaments, and even their wedding rings, to give the Gospel to those in darkness. To God be all the glory ! "This is the Lord's doing ; it is marvelous in our eyes." It is only through His Almighty power that Korea, the Hermit-land, shrouded in darkness for thirty centuries, is at last in the fullness of time becoming a beacon light for the nations. With the blessing of God, within a few years, Korea will become one of the strong Christian lands of the world. Korea for Christ ! The crucial victory in the conquest of the Orient! Will you help? Pray, pray, pray! Pray for the Missionaries! Pray for the Korean Christians! Pray for the Million Souls for Christ! And thus hasten the sounding of the "voices in Heaven, saying the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever." (Rev. xi, 15.) \ ■ vm^iii-^i TE DUE PRINTED IN U.S.A. GAYLORD BW8460.D26 Korea for Christ Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library 1 1012 00035 0027 /