The 
 
 Religious Awakening 
 
 of 
 
 Korea 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE REVIVAL IN 
 THE KOREAN CHURCHES IN 1907 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2016 
 
 https://archive.org/details/religiousawakeniOOunse 
 
A KOREAN METHODIST PASTOR AND HIS WIFE 
 
The Religious Awakening 
 of Korea 
 
 An account of the revival in the Korean 
 churches in 1907 
 
 BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS 
 METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH 
 150 FIFTH AVENUE 
 NEW YORK 
 
 PRICE, TEN CENTS 
 
PRINTED FEBRUARY, 1908 
 
Introduction 
 
 “He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.” Korea has 
 received her baptism of fire. The year 1907 will ever he memorable for the 
 revival which involved the wTiole country. This constitutes the divine 
 inauguration of the Christian Church in the land of Chosen. 
 
 The signs following have confirmed the genuineness and thoroughgoing 
 nature of this miracle of grace. The trials which have come upon the native 
 church attest the above statement, for during these days of persecution the 
 native church has been steadfast in loyalty to Christ. 
 
 The story of this divine visitation is told by two witnesses under the 
 figure of The Storm — a thrilling story of the chief incidents of this event. 
 May the churches read it and be moved to assist in gospelizing Korea in this 
 generation! 
 
 M. C. Harris. 
 
CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE KOREAN CHURCH FOR A DECADE 
 
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Foreword 
 
 Scarcely more than a decade ago Korea was known to Western lands only 
 as the “Hermit Kingdom,” but by reason of events over which she had no 
 control, she has come into prominence unknown to her previous history. 
 By reason of unkind, not to say cruel, treatment at the hands of her neighbors 
 the people have become deceptive, suspicious, and untrustworthy, but they 
 are rarely, if ever, cruel. They are affable and generous, and w r hen their 
 confidence has been gained they are trustworthy. Mentally they are not very 
 alert but they are willing to be instructed, and where the young people have 
 access to schools they prove to he apt students. It is not strange that they 
 are a “backward people,” when we remember their age-long environment of 
 corrupt government and false systems of religion which have no uplifting 
 power. When his environment is changed by the Christian religion, as it 
 is sure to be, the Korean will develop into a man mentally and spiritually. 
 
 The Koreans seem now to be especially prepared for the acceptance of the 
 gospel, and there is ground for asking Isaiah’s question: “Shall a nation be 
 born at once?” It was the writer’s privilege to visit Korea in 1893, when 
 our mission was eight years old. Then we had, in Seoul, the capital, a 
 small chapel, the only one in the kingdom. Now we have two large plain 
 brick edifices in the capital and numerous churches and chapels scattered 
 throughout the country. Then there were less than one hundred members 
 and probationers. Now there are more than 40,000 members, probationers 
 and enrolled seekers. A great religious awakening has been prevailing 
 throughout the country during the past few years and appears to be con- 
 stantly widening in its sweep and power. Of this great movement this 
 volume gives most interesting and thrilling account. The authors desire 
 that their names be not published. It is enough to say that they have been 
 toilers in Korea for many years and know whereof they speak. The writer 
 visited this country in June, 1907, traveling extensively through the country, 
 visiting several centers, and from personal observation bears witness to the 
 marvelous work now going forward, as described in this volume. 
 
 The reader will be convinced that the Board of Foreign Missions has 
 acted wisely in appealing to the church for a special offering of $100,000 with 
 which to “HELP KOREA NOW.” 
 
 New York, January, 1908. 
 
 A. B. Leonard. 
 
INCREASE IN NUMBER OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS ERECTED BY THE 
 KOREAN CHRISTIANS 
 
The Religious Awakening of Korea 
 
 The Breaking of the Storm 
 
 The present is a time of widespread manifestation of the presence of 
 God in mighty power in the hearts and lives of men. So mysterious is this 
 manifestation that it is clearly independent of human direction, appearing in 
 widely separated regions of the world, and in diversified manner, yet always 
 distinguished by two characteristics which serve to identify it. These two 
 characteristics are prayer and the descent of the Holy Spirit. In illustration 
 of this we have the great revival in Wales, the outbreak in Australia and the 
 overwhelming storm in Korea. All these were intimately related to the 
 power of prayer in their inception, and marked by unusual manifestation 
 of the power of the Holy Spirit during their course. 
 
 A study of the experience through which the Korean church has passed 
 shows that it was not a sudden outbreak, unrelated to any adequate 
 cause, but that a train of clearly indicated events led up to it. To find a 
 starting point in this train of events we must go back at least to the work 
 done by one of the missionaries of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, 
 at Wonsan. Especially prepared by a deep and marvelous experience through 
 which he had personally passed, on the invitation of the missionaries he 
 visited several of the mission stations and conducted special services. Two 
 results followed: one, a conviction in the minds of the missionaries of their 
 own deep need of seeking God in prayer, and the other a new conviction in 
 the hearts of the Korean Christians of the aw’ful character of sin. 
 
 Thus previously to the outbreak of this spiritual storm the missionaries 
 in Korea had been called upon to pass through experiences which set many 
 of them to thinking deeply and seriously of their own spiritual condition, 
 of their relation to the native church, and of the numerous and extremely 
 difficult problems which confronted them in their work. The missionary body 
 itself was in a state of intense longing and expectancy in the presence of God. 
 Thus one of the most important characteristics of the divine visitation which 
 we are about to describe was the fact that it began among the missionaries 
 and that its effects upon many of them were no less far-reaching and remark- 
 able than its effects upon the native church. There was a revolution wrought 
 in habits of thought, a breaking down of lifelong prejudices, a sweeping away 
 of old barriers, and a coming into union of heart and purpose to find in Christ, 
 each for himself, the fullest possible experience of complete salvation as 
 God had revealed it in Christ. 
 
 During the month of August, 1906, the missionaries residing in Pyeng- 
 yang were moved to seek a deeper experience of God’s power in their own 
 lives, and for this purpose meetings for Bible study and prayer were held for 
 eight days. Utterly unconscious of what would be the actual result of their 
 prayers these meetings were carried on with a sincere purpose to receive at 
 
8 The Religious Awakening of Korea 
 
 God’s hands just the experience that he had for them in just the way in which 
 he might he pleased to give it. It is useless to speculate upon what would 
 have been the result had God lifted the veil of the future and revealed what 
 the end of the answer to their prayers would he. It is certain that the 
 hearts of some would have failed them and they would not have had the 
 courage to press on. 
 
 The first concern of the missionaries was for the Korean church, and the 
 Methodist and Presbyterian stations united in an effort to bring it under 
 the cleansing and vitalizing power of the Holy Spirit and thus to make the 
 Korean Christians sharers with them in a like precious experience. In 
 response to the suggestion of the missionaries hundreds of the Korean Chris- 
 tians covenanted to spend one hour each day in prayer for the outpouring of 
 the Holy Spirit. This concert of prayer continued until 1907, when in the 
 first week of January at a meeting of the Presbyterian Church in Pyengyang 
 City the Holy Spirit literally poured forth on the people and the fire of His 
 presence spread rapidly throughout the whole city and the surrounding 
 country until it enveloped alike both Presbyterian and Methodist Churches 
 and schools. 
 
 The storm was on. Its course may be gathered in an incomplete way 
 from what is to he told here, hut it would be no more possible to write a 
 description of this revival and give an adequate idea of what took place than 
 it would be possible to write a description of some terrific conflict of the 
 forces of nature as witnessed by someone standing at the storm center. 
 Suffice it to say that it lasted from January to June, and after creating anew 
 the church in Pyengyang City, it spread to the country and far to the south 
 until its influence was felt in every mission station throughout the empire. 
 The reader will note that mere figures hardly appear in connection with this 
 manifestation of God’s power in Korea. It would no more be possible to con- 
 vey an idea of what it achieved by mentioning numbers of converts added 
 to the church, though there were thousands of these, or numbers of Christians 
 who were led out into the freedom of a new life in God, than it would be 
 possible to express the majesty of God in the three dimensions known to 
 mechanical science. 
 
 One of the first features to be noted in connection with this divine visita- 
 tion was the spirit of deep-seated and intense antagonism which at first 
 opposed it. At Pyengyang City many of the church leaders were violently 
 against it. At another place one of the missionaries announced that if any 
 of his people confessed such sins as had been revealed during the work at 
 Pyengyang, he would promptly expel them from the church. He found, 
 however, how vain were such statements when eventually the church was 
 shaken to its very foundations, and to have carried out his dictum would 
 have left him without any church members, while by not carrying out his 
 purpose he had a cleansed and newborn church, possessed of a power never 
 before known. At a third place some of the official members of the church 
 were ready to mob the messengers who came to urge upon them the necessity 
 of seeking complete cleansing at God’s hand, but before the meetings 
 terminated they were only too glad to fall prostrate at the foot of Christ’s 
 cross and acknowledge that their antagonism had been against him. Probably 
 the most striking instance of this antagonism was found in the case of the 
 Korean pastor and official members of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 
 Pyengyang, a church with a membership of 1,700. The pastor and official 
 
9 
 
 The Breaking of the Storm 
 
 members had seen the effect of the revival on the students in the mission 
 school in Pyengyang and the agony because of sin, and, as the physical 
 demonstrations which accompanied it were so violent that they attributed 
 them to demoniacal possession rather than the work of God’s Spirit, they 
 decided to spend their whole strength in antagonizing the movement. On a 
 certain Friday night, however, their pastor attended a students’ meeting held 
 in the high school and there occurred a scene which will never be forgotten. 
 When he entered the chapel of the school he saw a score of young men sobbing 
 over sin-filled lives, and prostrate on their faces on the floor, while as many 
 more were on their feet awaiting an opportunity to confess before the people 
 the sins and crimes of which they had been guilty. As this Korean pastor 
 sat watching the scene with his face pale and drawn, a young man suddenly 
 crossed the room and knelt by his side and sobbed out a confession; another 
 followed him and then another until he was besieged with sobbing penitents. 
 Nearly all of them added to their confessions the statement that he had 
 misled them into the belief that evil spirits were the cause of this mysterious 
 and wonderful manifestation. They assured him that they now knew this 
 was the power of God’s Holy Spirit and then pleaded with him to join them 
 in seeking a spirit-filled life. Soon he too was overwhelmed with sorrow 
 and conviction; in silence he left the chapel, returned to his home, and 
 remained a whole day in an agony of remorse. Thus convicted of his sin, 
 and completely changed in his whole heart attitude toward the movement, he 
 went about throughout the city the following day searching for those whom 
 he had influenced to oppose the meetings, and humbly confessing his wrong- 
 doing he asked their forgiveness. From that time this pastor became the 
 most conspicuous leader among the churches of his denomination in the work 
 of the revival. 
 
 A second feature of the revival was the great mental distress and physical 
 agony through which most of the penitents passed. This can be illustrated 
 by the scene which took place the first Sunday morning of the storm in the 
 Central Methodist Episcopal Church in Pyengyang. The church is the largest 
 in our connection in Korea and was filled to the doors, probably two thousand 
 people being present. One of the missionaries was in charge. After a 
 short sermon the meeting was thrown open to the people and immediately 
 a young man prominent in church work arose to his feet and in tears and 
 groans confessed to a sinful life. When he had finished speaking he flung 
 himself on the floor in great agony and cried out for mercy. Then followed 
 a scene that is beyond description. Men all over the church were stricken 
 to the floor, as though hurled there by thunderbolts. They literally writhed 
 in their agony while the house was filled with cries for mercy. So great 
 was the distress in every direction that no one could turn to this or that 
 particular one to give aid; indeed, the only aid that stricken ones desired 
 was the privilege of rising to their feet and confessing their sins. They 
 seemed almost impatient of human attempt at succor, or effort to give 
 direction to their thoughts. 
 
 Scenes of this kind were repeated daily. They would come upon the 
 meetings without notice, and men of different temperaments were all affected 
 alike. One particular illustration suggests itself. At a later meeting than 
 that described above, when the opportunity was given the congregation to 
 take part a man who had been a church member for ten years, arose to his 
 feet to confess his sins of disloyalty to Christ. He was a man who had been 
 
10 
 
 The Religious Awakening of Korea 
 
 ■working for a number of years for members of the missionary community 
 as an overseer of gangs of coolies employed in the erection of mission build- 
 ings, a position which demands force of character and energy. Previous 
 to this particular meeting this man had spoken of the revival in a frivolous 
 manner, being highly amused by the idea of himself in the role of a penitent 
 going to church to make confession with the rest. When he arose to speak 
 on this occasion he made a rather striking appearance. He stood well back 
 on his heels, rugged, calm, and with his face turned slightly upward, while 
 he spoke in measured tones. He appeared to be so self-possessed and undis- 
 turbed that the leader of the meeting felt that his attempt at a confession 
 was either perfunctory or mocking. This fear was not a groundless one, for 
 certain incidents had happened a few days previously which had caused the 
 leaders to keep watch against any tendency to simulate the distress of real 
 penitence. As this man began to speak the first sin he confessed was that 
 of embezzling funds that had been intrusted to his care. The words had 
 hardly passed his lips before he was stricken to the floor and writhed there 
 as though in torture. Soon he was again on his feet and for a moment 
 continued his confession when he fell over backward, as though struck in the 
 face by a violent blow. He lay there for some time unconscious. The mission 
 physician, who was present at the same service, immediately went to him and 
 spent a few moments in laboring for his restoration. On returning to the 
 platform he reported that the man showed unmistakable signs of prostration. 
 His pulse was faint and he had become unconscious. A number gathered 
 around the stricken man, but on request of the pastor they retired and left 
 the penitent in the hands of his God. Indeed, there was so much distress in 
 every part of the church that there was little reason for caring for this man 
 more than for the others who were also in distress and who were so numerous 
 that the task of succoring each one individually was an impossibility. After 
 a while the unconscious man recovered and again attempted to rise. Several 
 noticing his desperate struggles went to his assistance, but without avail, 
 for his agony was so great that it was impossible for him to continue his 
 confession that day. 
 
 At this meeting there occurred an incident which illustrates the terrible 
 character of some of the confessions made and which we relate with great 
 hesitancy, as it might lead the reader to think that the Korean church had 
 been composed of unconverted people. While it is true that many of the early 
 converts know little of what is required of a Christian, yet the purity of the 
 life of the Korean church as a whole will compare favorably with that of 
 the Christians in any land. No Korean is permitted to hold relation as a 
 church member who has not given up all heathen practices; and among 
 other things particular emphasis is laid upon the observance of the Sabbath. 
 Missionaries of all denominations are unanimous in the opinion that the 
 church in Korea had been, preceding the revival, equal to that in any other 
 mission field in the world in the spiritual power and piety of its individual 
 members. It should be remembered that this revival began in the hearts of 
 the missionaries, among some who seemed to lead the most blameless lives, 
 and in the native church the work also began among the most spiritual 
 preachers and helpers. This will indicate how thorough and complete was the 
 work of the Spirit, who hesitated not to uncover the deepest depths of human 
 hearts. The incident about to be related was one of many, and will give a 
 hint not of the low grade of Christian living in the church but of the dark 
 
The Breaking of the Storm / / 
 
 lives of a people without God, the terrors of which life they have not been 
 able to forget even after a spiritual reformation. 
 
 The meeting one evening had continued with unabated power till nearly 
 midnight, and the leader was anxious to close and allow the people to return 
 home, for they were so thoroughly exhausted that they needed rest. When 
 the time of closing arrived a large number of young men were still on their 
 feet and had been waiting some time for an opportunity to confess their sins. 
 Among them was a young man not over twenty years of age. He was 
 laboring under such terrible agony of mind that permission was given him 
 to speak. This is the story he told: “Not long ago my mother died leaving 
 to my care my baby brother. I did my best for him. I fed him with patent 
 foods that I was able to secure from the Japanese drug store. I cooked up 
 rice into a gruel thinking that he might like that, and sometimes I went to 
 the saloon and bought wine for him, but all the time the child fretted for his 
 mother and cried for hunger. It was impossible to stop his crying. O, dear, 
 O, dear, I could not stop his crying. Then — then, I wished he would die! 
 I wished he would die! O, dear, O, dear, I wished he would die!” At this 
 point he wrung his hands again and again, while his face was livid and 
 contorted with anguish. He paused and in his distress gasped for breath 
 several times. Then he continued: "I wanted him to die — and one day I 
 went out of doors and hunted for a block of wood.” He paused and again 
 panted for breath, then continued rapidly: “I picked up an old wooden pillow 
 and came into the room. I seized the crying child and dragged him into the 
 middle of the room and beat his head — I beat his head till he was dead! 
 dead! dead!” On the instant of wailing out the last exclamation the young 
 man fell to the floor, himself as dead, and remained so a long time after the 
 meeting had closed and the people had returned to their homes. 
 
 How was this confession received? Like the confessions of many others. 
 It sent a shudder of horror over the congregation, and threw many prostrate 
 on their faces in sobs and prayers. In this connection another question might 
 well be asked. When the souls of men are loaded with the guilt and woe of 
 awful crimes where may they go to unload their guilt before God if they are 
 debarred from the house of God? The horror of listening to those confessions 
 will abide with those who were compelled to listen as long as memory lasts. 
 It was often impossible to even look upon the faces of those making these 
 terrible confessions. It was an exceptional time, one that rarely comes in 
 the history of the church. Confession and contrition which all the instru- 
 ments of torture known to the terrible penal code of Korea would have been 
 utterly impotent to bring about were produced by the power of God’s Spirit. 
 
 Great amazement fell upon the city. The sobs and groans of the peni- 
 tents could be heard for a great distance from the church and the protracted 
 character of the work filled the city with wonder and fear. Many people 
 were attracted to the meeting, some of whom came to make sport, while 
 others, filled with the spirit of enmity, sought to break up the meetings. 
 Stones were hurled at the building and some came crashing through the 
 glass and fell upon the people while at worship. Thefts of shoes occurred. 
 In Korea, instead of removing their hats, men, when they enter the house 
 of God, remove their shoes which are left at the door, so that, where in 
 America a man might lose his hat, in Korea he would lose his shoes. 
 Probably the most diabolical attempt to break up a meeting occurred one 
 night when there was an immense audience of over two thousand persons 
 
12 The Religious Awakening of Korea 
 
 present, more than half of them being women. Among these was a certain 
 man’s wife who was an earnest seeker and had determined to become a 
 Christian. This the man wished to prevent, and he came to the church on 
 that particular night resolved to find her and take her home. Being unable 
 to discover her among the great crowd present, he deliberately paused at the 
 door on the woman’s side of the church and began to yell “Fire, fire, fire!” 
 with all his might. As the cry came in through the door the vast audience 
 of women sprang to their feet in terror while the men of the congregation, 
 who were separated from the women by a small lattice screen, also arose 
 in fright. Immediately the church was in a panic. When the terrible rush 
 and struggle was over more than ten women and girls were carried in and 
 laid on the floor of the church apparently dead. Fortunately these fears 
 proved unfounded, and though some were seriously injured no deaths 
 resulted; but the memory of this terrible panic, the result of the hatred and 
 callousness of one man, remains today in the church of Pyengyang. 
 
 There was some fear that this event would fill the minds of the people 
 with such terror for the place in which it had happened that they could 
 not again be induced to go near it. But it proved otherwise. The meetings 
 continued with unabated interest and, most remarkable of all, one of the 
 lady missionaries who visited the injured persons the next day found that 
 they ascribed their experience to divine anger and punishment for their 
 failure to become Christians, for all of the injured except one were not 
 Christians, and they assured the missionary that as a result of it they had 
 determined to become followers of Christ. 
 
 During the course of this visitation of God thousands of the unconverted 
 united with the church as inquirers; yet this large ingathering of the 
 unconverted belongs to the indirect rather than the direct results of the 
 revival. The Holy Spirit performed his special work upon the church mem- 
 bership and the terrible manifestations of distress and agony were confined 
 largely to the Christians themselves. Now that we regard the visitation 
 from the after-point of vision, this is not difficult to understand. Among a 
 people like the Koreans there is no definite and clear idea of the true and 
 terrible character of sin, so that when first converted they are not prepared 
 to manifest the deep and awful conviction that is found among those 
 who have been taught what sin really is. This fact has led some into 
 believing that the Koreans are incapable of deep feeling. This revival, 
 however, has shown that having once come under the power of even a semi- 
 Christian environment, and placed themselves in a position where the Holy 
 Spirit can work on their hearts, they are as capable of an overwhelming 
 sense of sin as any people on earth. The one cry of the Korean church was 
 for heart cleansing. 
 
 The Awakening of the Students 
 
 The story of the revival has indicated clearly that it was not confined to 
 the meetings held in the churches, but was universal. The power of God 
 rested continuously on the people, so that in their homes and places of 
 business and wherever they were in the habit of going the same phenomenon 
 appeared. This was particularly true of the educational institutions of the 
 missions, and of this phase of the revival the story is most interesting. 
 
13 
 
 The Awakening of the Students 
 
 The Methodist and Presbyterian Missions in north Korea have always 
 carried on their work with the fullest cooperation, and the good fellowship 
 that has prevailed among the missionaries, not only socially but officially, 
 has resulted in largely increased efficiency. The unity which prevails among 
 the missionaries has its best expression in the Pyengyang Union College and 
 Academy, which with a common plant and a union faculty is a very successful 
 educational institution of over three hundred students. These early came 
 under the power of the revival. The student body offered splendid material 
 upon which the Spirit of God might work. It was composed of the choicest 
 young men from the churches throughout the north as well as from the 
 city itself. It is a noteworthy fact that at the time of the outbreak of the 
 revival every student was a professing Christian. The story of God’s visita- 
 tion to the school in Pyengyang wonderfully illustrates the fact already 
 mentioned that the revival was a special blessing to the Christian community. 
 It will be impossible to estimate the importance of this fact coupled with 
 that other fact that, in cleansing the student body, God was reaching, through 
 its most promising followers, the entire church in north Korea. 
 
 The opening of the second school term began -while the revival was in 
 the height of its power. The students fell under its influence even more 
 readily than had the general membership of the church. During the first 
 week so deep was the feeling among them that it was a practical impossibility 
 to take up the work of the school. The Spirit of God moved so mightily 
 upon the students that it was not possible for them to direct their thoughts 
 to their studies. After the first break of the storm had passed, and they 
 were able to get to their books, they would study in quiet interest, but during 
 the day, when an opportunity was given them for prayer, scenes of over- 
 whelming sorrow for their own sins or for the sins of fellow-students would 
 be repeated. Previous to the opening of the school some of the resident 
 students in Pyengyang had passed through the fire in the meetings held in 
 the churches, going through all the terrible experience of agony for sin. 
 Prayer meetings were held by the Korean members of the school faculty in 
 the study of the principal, beseeching God that the coming term might be 
 marked by the conquest of the entire student body. One morning while 
 one of these prayer meetings was in progress in the study the two mission- 
 aries in charge of the school were kneeling together in another room praying 
 for relief from the burden for the school that had been rolled upon their 
 hearts. Swiftly the answer came. Upon the meeting in the study the Spirit 
 of God fell; cries and sobs of anguish filled the room and continued until 
 the students were overwhelmed and prostrated by the sense of their guilt. 
 The two weeks that followed were dreadful and wonderful. As it was the 
 time of the preliminary examinations the hour of four o’clock in the after- 
 noon was set aside for student meetings which were held without any visible 
 leader; but the Leader was there in all his power and majesty, and terrible 
 was the manifestation of His presence. If men ever discovered the terrible- 
 ness of sin when revealed uncovered in the presence of God, they did in 
 those days. First came the physical distress, penitents beating the floor 
 with hands and with head, and their screams and outcries were as though 
 the demons whose name is legion were tearing them; then followed sobbing 
 confessions of sinful and unclean lives. One general characteristic of these 
 seekers was their conscientiousness. No half work, no superficial skimming 
 of the surface would satisfy them. If any of them allowed himself to be 
 
14 The Religious Awakening of Korea 
 
 betrayed into being satisfied with less than complete cleansing, he would 
 soon discover how futile were his attempts, and would be brought low at the 
 foot of the cross there to remain on his face until God had completed His 
 work. 
 
 The experience of one of the most promising students is illustrative. 
 He early came under the influence of the revival, and after a severe mental 
 struggle of several days he felt convinced that in spite of it all he had yet 
 failed to obtain the full pardon of his sins. On a certain night he met 
 with three comrades and together they spent the greater part of the night 
 in prayer mingled with mutual confessions of their sins. Late the next 
 morning he appeared at the study of his pastor to perform some routine 
 duties expected of him and apologized for being late by explaining the 
 manner of spending the night with his friends. His pastor asked him 
 whether he had secured the peace that he so earnestly sought. He replied 
 in the affirmative, and his pastor with the desire of directing his thoughts 
 and encouraging him talked with him on the subject of a life without sin. 
 That evening the meeting at the school was one of great spiritual power. 
 The distress and agony shown by the students produced a scene never to be 
 forgotten. The slain of the Lord were lying where they had fallen in 
 different places; they literally covered the floor. The hour was drawing 
 toward midnight and it was necessary to close the meeting, yet more than 
 thirty boys were still standing on their feet and some of them had stood 
 for hours waiting for a chance to unload the burden of sin on their souls. 
 It seemed hard to send these young men away with their burden still unre- 
 lieved, but the hour was so late that finally those in charge brought the 
 meeting to a close. The young man to whom we have referred, and who had 
 stated that morning that he had found pardon and peace the night before, 
 was noticed to be in tears. This, however, did not attract any attention. 
 Most of the people had withdrawn from the room but the young man 
 remained. One of the lady missionaries, noticing his distress, went to him 
 and taking his hand repeated the pastor’s question of the morning, “Have 
 you obtained peace through faith?” With a great sob he broke out, “O, 
 no, no, I have no peace.” He went to the most distant corner of the chapel 
 and throwing himself on the floor wept in sorrow. Presently in the bitter- 
 ness of his anguish he sent someone to call his pastor. When the latter 
 appeared, he cried out: “I lied to you this morning. I wanted you to 
 think that I had obtained that which the others had obtained. I wanted 
 you to think well of me, so I lied to you. I have no peace of heart. O, what 
 shall I do?” That night he with a number of others spent the whole night 
 in prayer and confession of sins. God then visited them in power. When 
 the morning dawned the blessing was his, and with a heart filled with glad- 
 ness and joy he proclaimed his new experience to all whom he met. Cleansed, 
 purified, and empowered of God, he immediately assumed a place of prom- 
 inence in the church and of influence over his fellow-students. Later he was 
 one of a number who volunteered for the Christian ministry. There were 
 others like him, and, though few in number, they formed a steadying element 
 during the terrible scenes which followed, for in the midst of the confusion, 
 grief, and dismay of their fellow-students this advance guard were able to 
 testify to the sense of pardon, peace, and joy. 
 
 Another notable characteristic of this revival was the introducing of the 
 .students to a life of intercession on behalf of their comrades. Those students 
 
15 
 
 The Awakening of the Students 
 
 who had already received the blessing spent hours every day in prayer, and 
 some passed whole nights on their faces before God. It is in this fact that 
 the explanation must be found for many of the results which attended the 
 revival. Korean Christians and foreign missionaries alike discovered the 
 real meaning of intercessory prayer. After a confession of terrible guilt 
 on the part of one man a missionary knelt to intercede for him. As he 
 prayed the missionary fell prostrate on the floor before God, as though crushed 
 there by the awful weight of the other’s guilt and woe. It seemed as though 
 he himself was suffering in the place of the other and would die if relief 
 were not granted. Does not this give us a hint of the true meaning of 
 Christ’s suffering in Gethsemane? 
 
 This feature of intercessory prayer became a marked characteristic of 
 the meetings themselves. A number of the young men as soon as they would 
 enter a room where a meeting was to be held would fall on their faces before 
 God and remain throughout the entire service utterly oblivious of the course 
 of the meeting but remaining with arms of faith outstretched to God while 
 the tumult of repentance, confession, and grief over sin rolled and surged 
 all about them. At one of the meetings an opportunity was given to all who 
 had any ill feeling toward anyone present or w r ho had wronged another in 
 any way to make confession and ask forgiveness. The scene that followed 
 can only be hinted at. The meeting broke into numerous groups of students 
 weeping in each other’s arms, nor did the members of the faculty escape, for 
 boys who had been unruly or disorderly were weeping at their knees or 
 hanging about their necks. The characteristic faults of the students, the little 
 sins that so easily beset the boy at school, the “cribbing” in examinations, 
 thieving and falsifying, spites and grudges were confessed, and in the act 
 of confessing cleansed out of the soul. 
 
 There are a number of other schools, boys’, girls’, primary, and night 
 schools, in and about the city, and these were all soon ablaze with the fire 
 of the revival. As there are over a thousand students in the mission schools 
 in Pyengyang alone, the importance of this fact will be easily recognized. 
 The revival in the high school continued until every student had felt its 
 power and fully nine tenths had come into a conscious experience of being 
 born again. The result on the life of the school was immediate and radical. 
 Private devotions were carried on faithfully night and morning by every 
 student, while two thirds of the entire student body could be found in the 
 retiring prayer room of the school every day. Many of them heard 
 the call to preach, and each Sunday groups of students could be found 
 throughout the city and in nearby country villages preaching the gospel. 
 Many voluntarily made an offering of their time and energy for the work 
 of preaching and teaching during the summer vacation. Thirty-three of 
 the boys bf our mission took definite appointments for this work w r ith no 
 other return than that of their food during the time of their labors. One 
 student who had received permission to go home for a few days came back 
 with a shining face telling of the blessings he had received. His father’s and 
 mother’s religious experience had been deepened, and an uncle had been 
 converted to the faith. The people of his native village had met in the little 
 church to hear him preach every night while he was there, and the power 
 of confession came upon them with the same manifestation as in the city. 
 Ten persons gave in their names as seekers, and plans for a new church and 
 girls’ school were set on foot. 
 
16 
 
 The Religious Awakening of Korea 
 
 The fruits of the revival were further seen among the students in other 
 ways. There was a greater application to study and a marked deference to the 
 wishes of the teachers. Discipline became comparatively easy in dealing 
 with the majority of the students. The roots of bitterness and jealousy were 
 removed, and it was not an unusual thing for the boys to begin their ordinary 
 class work, such as the work in geometry, with silent prayer. The revival did 
 for the character of the students what many years of training could not 
 have done. 
 
 In addition to the high school there was another body of students of 
 even more importance upon whom the revival wrought a marvelous work, 
 namely, those who were looking forward to the ministry of the church. For 
 many years there has been a wonderful turning of the Korean people toward 
 the church and the increase of followers had completely outdistanced the 
 ability of the church authorities at home to supply the necessary workers to 
 care for them. This lack of missionaries had compelled the placing of 
 burdens of responsibility upon the shoulders of native workers long before 
 they were adequately prepared. The loyalty and devotion of the church in 
 Korea has excited the admiration of all familiar with the facts. The helpers 
 and preachers were diligent in their work and zealous to lead their country- 
 men to become Christians, but there was no regular ministry among them such 
 as we understand by the term. The men engaged in the work were lay workers 
 who, while admirable in many ways, yet up to this time had no adequate 
 conception of the call to the Christian ministry. These lay workers number 
 in the aggregate throughout Korea several hundred, and in order to prepare 
 them for their work Bible institutes and training classes are held from time 
 to time at the mission centers. These are always times of intense interest. 
 The men will come to the designated center, many of them carrying upon 
 their backs the rice necessary to serve as their food during the time of the 
 class. Here they will remain from two to four weeks at a time diligently 
 studying God’s Word for eight or ten hours a day under the leadership of the 
 missionary and his assistants. It was at the great class held in Pyengyang 
 in December, 1906, preceding the revival, that the attention of the workers 
 was called to the claim of the Christian ministry upon their lives and they 
 were asked to personally consider the matter. No effort was made to force 
 any of them to a decision and no undue pressure was brought to bear. 
 For a week, however, the matter was most prayerfully considered by the 
 entire class. On the final Sunday an opportunity was given to those who 
 had reached a decision to enroll themselves as volunteers for the ministry. 
 Then, as though God had himself sent out the command, one hundred and 
 seventy-six Koreans stepped out from the ranks of the believers and conse- 
 crated themselves as volunteers for the Christian ministry. Many of these 
 were from among the finest young men that were in the church. It is 
 doubtful if in any land such a large body of volunteers for the Christian 
 ministry ever enrolled themselves on a single occasion. 
 
 When the missionaries came to view this body of stalwart young men, 
 and caught a vision of the task which awaited them of training and prepar- 
 ing them for their lifework, a feeling of dismay came over them, for none 
 felt equal to the task. And yet the necessity of training them was impera- 
 tive, for these men were comparatively recent converts from the old life. 
 They personally recognized their need of training and were full of intense 
 desire to make adequate preparation for their work. Most of them were 
 
The Awakening of the Students 17 
 
 willing to pay any price in the way of hardships and self-denial to achieve 
 this. As far as the attitude of the student body was concerned there was 
 little to be desired. But in Korea our equipment for a work like this both 
 in men and institutions is pitiably inadequate. It takes many tens of 
 thousands of dollars and much ripe scholarship to train the candidates for 
 the ministry in America. As the missionaries confronted their task in 
 Korea, and recognized the immensity of the needs and the poverty of 
 resources, it is little wonder that they were appalled. The revival was 
 God’s solution of the difficulty. It was in full swing when the class of 
 volunteers for the ministry assembled in Pyengyang City for a month of 
 theological instruction. From the first day the power of God was upon the 
 class and it swept through them until the last man had been cleansed and 
 purified. 
 
 The same fact which has been noted in connection with the experiences 
 of the high school students appeared in connection with the theological 
 students, namely, that the best men, those who were supposed to be the most 
 spiritually minded, were the first to be overwhelmed with the new experience, 
 and their distress was not less than that of those not so well instructed in 
 Christian living. The history of one member of the class may be taken as 
 typical of this. A sturdy northern man had been a Christian for ten years. 
 Moreover, before giving his heart to Christ he had been an earnest seeker 
 after truth. In Korea people of this kind often appear, and are much 
 honored for their piety and sanctity. It is usual for them to resort to some 
 lonely mountain and there live the life of a hermit, giving themselves to 
 fasting and prayer. Following this custom, this man spent two years living 
 this life, and refusing to have intercourse with his fellow-men: alone, with 
 little to eat and scarcely clothing enough to keep him from suffering during 
 the severe winters, he spent his time in studying the classics and bringing 
 his body into subjection. Though outwardly he appeared to have obtained 
 his wishes yet deep in his own heart he was conscious that only failure had 
 met him. He was still the same man that had gone into the wilderness, 
 with the same weaknesses uncorrected and passions unchanged. The empti- 
 ness and futility of such a life grew upon him and filled him w'ith disgust, 
 and abandoning it he sought again the fellowship of men. This reaction 
 caused him to plunge into the other extreme and he joined the army where 
 his life was the exact reverse of that for which the journey into the wilder- 
 ness had stood. It was during his career as a soldier that he became a 
 Christian and joined the church. This proved his salvation. He brought 
 into the church life the same intensity of purpose which had marked him as 
 a hermit and as a soldier. He was soon filling a position of responsibility in 
 the church work, and in order to be able to give all the time possible to it he 
 resigned his post as a petty officer in the army and, returning to his father's 
 home, settled down to the life of a Christian farmer. He began house-to- 
 house visitation throughout the town and the adjoining villages, telling the 
 glad story of his own salvation and urging others to seek Christ. As the 
 believers grew in number he conceived the idea of building a church in his 
 native village. A number of neighbors agreed to assist in the matter, and, 
 collecting all they could possibly raise, they united in the project. The little 
 chapel rapidly rose to completion while each day the members of the church 
 hovered about it watching its progress with satisfaction. By the time the 
 rafters were in place, however, their funds ran out and they had no money 
 
18 
 
 The Religious Awakening of Korea 
 
 with which to pay the bills. Their only resource was prayer and to this 
 they applied themselves assiduously. Many plans were discussed but always 
 with the result that the only feasible one seemed to be to pray again. 
 “No,” said the leader, when repeatedly asked regarding the results of his 
 prayers, “there is not a cash.” This continued for some time and the work 
 came to a standstill. The skeleton of the building stood there incomplete 
 and the heavens still seemed to have locked up the answer. One day a 
 meeting of all the members was called and after prayer the soldier-farmer 
 solemnly announced to his fellow-laborers that he proposed to answer his 
 own prayers. “Now,” said he, “there is our ox, a strong, good animal and 
 worth considerable money. It is the only one we have to do the work on my 
 farm, and what we will do when it is gone I do not know, but God’s house 
 must be finished and the ox must help us to do it. I will sell the animal and 
 thus secure money to complete the building. As for the farm, let us trust 
 God that he will take care of our fields.” Great indeed was the surprise 
 of the church members at this heroic gift, and great also was their gratitude. 
 He was as good as his word and immediately sold his ox. The church was 
 completed and dedicated to the use of God. Some weeks later the missionary 
 when visiting the village and going to the fields saw this Korean Christian 
 and his brother harnessed side by side to the plow in the place of the ox 
 that had been sold, while the aged father held the handles and followed the 
 furrow. 
 
 Born in a spirit of consecration like this, the church grew steadily and 
 rapidly, until today it is the largest village church of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Mission in the north, while the old building has been replaced by a more 
 commodious one. It was inevitable that this Christian should rise to a 
 position of responsibility in connection with church work, and he was soon 
 made a local preacher and placed in charge of a circuit of twenty-two villages. 
 It was with a Christian life of this kind that he came to the theological 
 class in January, 1907. It would seem that there would be very little work 
 needed in the heart of a man like this, yet he was one of the first to fall 
 under the power of God. His repentance and contrition for sin were terrible 
 to behold. The whole past life before he had found Christ, with its dark 
 record of sin, was confessed, while even more intense was his repentance 
 over faithlessness and disloyalty to Christ after he had taken him as his 
 Saviour. God gave him pardon and peace, and all the fierce powers of his 
 nature were tamed and brought into subjection to the law of Christ. This 
 preacher went from the theological class a different and a greater man than 
 he was before he came. 
 
 It was men of such character that passed through this terrible storm. 
 Why God should have selected them is a mystery, and yet their confessions 
 revealed the fact that their need of an experience like this was supreme; 
 while the fact that multitudes of fresh converts were coming under their 
 guidance, and upon them fell the duty of leading them in the way of Christ, 
 rendered it the more imperative that they should be cleansed by the purify- 
 ing power of God. 
 
 As the missionaries listened to the confessions of some of these men they 
 could hardly credit their ears. For it was a revelation of the character 
 and the needs of the people which was astonishing. From what came out 
 in their confessions it would seem that no people in the world hide away 
 in their lives so many tragedies as the Korean people. This tragedy of life 
 
Spread of the Revival 
 
 19 
 
 has molded their ideas and religious susceptibilities. One may visit any 
 village, choose some individual, and, pulling aside the curtain of his life, 
 find a history hidden away more thrilling than can be found in works of 
 fiction. Though this may seem an extreme statement, yet the revelation of 
 soul life which came out in the revival showed currents running so deep 
 and troubled that the statement appears to us completely justifiable. The 
 scenes of violence and crime, the ruin of individuals and homes, the innumer- 
 able cases of oppression and violence which were told would fill many volumes 
 and can be explained only on the ground of imperfect laws and an astonishing 
 disregard of human life. It was into hearts where were hid tragedies untold 
 that God sent the power of his Holy Spirit to redeem and save. 
 
 Spread of the Revival 
 
 Long before the special meetings were over in the city of Pyengyang 
 manifestations of the same remarkable conviction and contrition for sin 
 appeared in other localities, so that in a short time the entire church in 
 Korea was ablaze, though in varying degrees. This was brought about in two 
 ways. First, visitors from other sections, coming under the influence of the 
 revival in Pyengyang, returned to their homes. Second, there was an 
 organized effort through invitations from churches and missionaries in other 
 localities to send the stronger men who had experienced the cleansing power 
 in Pyengyang to these churches and localities to carry on a well-organized 
 and personally directed revival effort. The results from these efforts were 
 widespread and lasting. 
 
 One of the first regions to feel the power of the revival was the North 
 Pyengyang Province, especially the region centering around Yengbyen. This 
 city is the capital of the province and the youngest of the mission stations of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church. It has been regarded as one of the strongest 
 centers of devil worship in Korea, but already the church has made such an 
 impression on the life of the people that it is said devil worship has decreased 
 by one half while the income of sorcerers has been greatly reduced. Services 
 were held in the city church at Yengbyen and many of the people, especially 
 among the local preachers and workers, were greatly blessed. 
 
 Not only was this true of the Yengbyen City church, but even in a more 
 marked degree the revival benefited the country groups. Out in the villages 
 and hamlets, -without the assistance and guidance of the foreign missionary, 
 native Christians carried on the work with great success. In one of the far 
 northern groups lived a young man who had studied as a student in the 
 Pyengyang Academy and had there passed through the spiritual fire. As is 
 usual with all true converts, his first thought was for his relatives in his 
 northern home. He hastened back to his native town and at once began to 
 tell the people what he had received. The result was a regenerated and 
 spiritual church. Like a flaming evangel he went from group to group of 
 the Christians in the mountains and valleys of that northern region and 
 everywhere carried the blessing with him. The whole country was set on 
 fire and some of the results achieved were of a remarkable character. 
 
 Territory occupied by the American Mining Concession in North Korea 
 is embraced in the Yengbyen District. Here a very interesting work has 
 been carried on which has enjoyed the good will of the mining company and 
 has been aided by them in many ways. When this young student from 
 
20 The Religious Awakening of Korea 
 
 Pyengyang visited the native church at Pukchin, one of the central camps 
 of the mines, his message greatly stirred the members. Among these was a 
 young Korean employed in the assay office of the company and regarded as 
 the most trusted native employed on the concession. He became deeply 
 convicted over a crime he had committed during the years previous to his 
 conversion. He had fallen into temptation and had at different times stolen 
 small quantities of gold until he had accumulated the equivalent of a con- 
 siderable sum of money. After joining the church he hid this gold hoping 
 that he might have the opportunity to make the matter right. His life had 
 become exemplary, but all this time he carried in his heart the secret of his 
 crime. It was at this time that the power of God took hold of him, and 
 convicted him so that he determined to make a full confession of the matter 
 and return the gold. Accordingly, one day he sought the mining officials and 
 placing the gold before them told of his crime and said that while it meant 
 his discharge, disgrace, and punishment he must at all events get right with 
 them and with God. This act produced a profound impression on his 
 employers. The assistant general manager took him by the hand and com- 
 mending the moral courage of the act told him that they would forgive the 
 crime and would not discharge him. The result was that this trusted 
 employee of the mining concession succeeded in not only straightening out 
 the crookedness of the past, but in showing himself worthy of the increased 
 confidence which his employers were glad to bestow upon him. 
 
 South of the city of Pyengyang is the flourishing town of Yangduk. 
 Here among the hills in the county of Pongsan a number of hamlets and 
 villages have been partially evangelized, and the church which is located 
 at Yangduk is a most promising one. There was a wedding at this church 
 during the time of the revival in Pyengyang and a Korean pastor went there 
 to perform the ceremony. He was fresh from the revival and filled with the 
 Spirit of God. After the wedding he was invited to preach, and as he 
 delivered the message which God had given him the Spirit fell upon the 
 crowd and the men began to stand up and confess their sins. Great distress 
 was upon them, and the anguish and grief which were among the peculiarities 
 of this revival were again manifested. After listening a while the preacher 
 called their attention to the fact that repentance without restitution would 
 be in vain. The crowd had watched at first with a disposition to hoot and 
 laugh at the distress of those who were under conviction. A change, however, 
 soon came over them. No sooner had the penitents heard the suggestion 
 of the preacher that restitution was necessary than some of them arose and 
 sought among those present the people whom they had wronged and con- 
 fessing their sins asked for forgiveness. In some cases they even insisted 
 on paying them immediately the cost of chickens and eggs and other articles 
 which they had purloined. This made a profound impression on all those 
 present, and those who had at first scoffed and jeered were not only silenced 
 but brought under conviction themselves. The visiting pastor had intended 
 to take the evening train back to Pyengyang City but the people would not 
 let him go; so he remained there and preached that night and the next day, 
 and before he departed the church was regenerated and cleansed by the 
 fire of God. 
 
 Chungsan is the prefectural city of the large county of the same name 
 and is situated high up among tall peaks, from which you can see in one 
 direction the city of Pyengyang, thirty miles away, or in the other direction 
 
Spread of the Revival 
 
 21 
 
 look far out over the muddy waves of the Yellow Sea. The church is nestled 
 down at the foot of one of the tallest peaks of the mountain range and from 
 its natural location is a strategic center of our work in that very populous 
 section of the country. Work had been carried on successfully in Chungsan 
 for eight years and the whole county was dotted with Christian chapels. One 
 day the leader of this group of Christians came to Pyengyang and said that 
 he had a strange and inexplicable story to tell. He had not known of the 
 revival in Pyengyang, and as communication between Chungsan and the 
 capital city is difficult and infrequent the church had not heard of it. He 
 had been carrying on meetings in connection with the special services of the 
 Week of Prayer and things had been going along very satisfactorily when to 
 his great surprise they took a strange turn. Men would rise up and confess 
 their sins, he said, and not content with that would break down in an anguish 
 of grief and sorrow over them. The result was that a strange new life had 
 come into the church in a way so mysterious that the leader was quite 
 puzzled by it and hastened to Pyengyang to report to the missionary and to 
 get his judgment upon it. This instance gives evidence that the revival was 
 independent of all human agencies and the power would descend upon the 
 people as mysteriously as the falling of dew. No missionary was present 
 with this church during the days of its revival. The leader himself was a 
 man who was cold and indifferent in his spiritual life, so that he had become 
 a problem, and the missionary in charge had come to regard the man as 
 unfitted for the position. The revival here was but a spontaneous manifesta- 
 tion of the freedom of the Spirit in going where He listed. 
 
 The new year either according to the Gregorian calendar or the old 
 Korean calendar (for both are observed in Korea and are only about one 
 month apart) is observed as a time of special evangelistic effort. This is one 
 of the results of the observance of the Universal Week of Prayer. Very often 
 the Korean churches will begin with the world-wide concert of prayer during 
 the first week in January and renew it at the time of the Korean New Year. 
 Chemulpo is one of the strongest churches in Korea. It has a specially 
 strong official board, and at the time of the revival at Pyengyang was under 
 the leadership of a very capable Korean pastor. This church began its 
 usual revival efforts at the time of the Korean New Year, which fell early 
 in February. The official board was aroused to activity, and every afternoon 
 those composing it went out by twos to preach the gospel to their friends 
 and neighbors. Two services were held each day in the church, one in the 
 morning and one in the evening. During these services the character of sin 
 and its consequences were dwelt upon and at the end of the week the church 
 seemed to be thoroughly aroused. Many of the members had tearfully con- 
 fessed their sins and sought forgiveness, and one hundred and ninety new 
 converts had been received as inquirers. The Korean pastor and the official 
 board felt that the meetings had been successful and had accomplished their 
 purpose, so that it would be well to close them before the interest had died 
 out. This plan prevailed, though a few who had been especially awakened 
 by the services decided to meet daily for prayer, that God would visit the 
 church in greater power. 
 
 Sporadic efforts continued after the revival in the Chemulpo church until 
 about the end of March, when two of the Korean preachers in Pyengyang 
 came to Chemulpo by invitation and began special work among the church 
 members. They arrived one night about ten o’clock and the church was 
 
22 
 
 The Religious Awakening of Korea 
 
 crowded to receive them. Dusty and weary with their long journey, they took 
 time to tell a little of the wonderful work done in the North and retired to 
 rest. The next day they began their work only to find that an intense spirit 
 of opposition was manifested on the part of the Korean pastor and some of 
 the members of the official board. In spite of this, however, the meeting was 
 marked by the Spirit’s presence, and deep conviction came upon many of the 
 people, leading to repentance and to public confession. The opposition, 
 however, continued through the week and culminated on Sunday night when 
 a mob gathered outside the church and under the leadership of some of the 
 members of the official board threatened to use violence against the evan- 
 gelists and run them out of town. This crowd did not attempt to invade 
 the church building but remained outside carrying on a noisy demonstration. 
 There is little doubt that if the preachers had attempted to leave the church 
 during the night of the excitement, violence would have been done them. 
 But finally the crowd dispersed and the next day affairs took a new turn. 
 The pastor and recalcitrant members came to their senses, realizing that they 
 had been misled into opposing the work of the Holy Spirit. From this time 
 on the meetings resembled in power the wonderful scenes witnessed in 
 Pyengyang City itself. 
 
 These meetings at Chemulpo would begin as early as six o’clock in the 
 morning and continue practically without intermission until midnight. 
 Sometimes the evangelists would be in the church for twenty-four hours at 
 a time. No long sermons were preached though there were frequent exhorta- 
 tions. There was little singing. The people were there to get rid of their 
 sins through confession. They were deeply in earnest and the hours of the 
 day and night would be spent in this one thing. Church member after 
 church member would await his opportunity, and thus the hours would fly 
 by with no cessation of the torrent of grief, anguish, and confession. As a rule 
 those who passed through this experience did not manifest exuberant or 
 noisy joy after it. Pardon and assurance came to the penitents in Chemulpo, 
 as at all other places, with the same certainty that day follows the night, 
 but hearts were filled with a deep and marvelous peace and souls were 
 awed into silence by the presence of God. The joy of cleansing was so deep 
 and abiding it was not possible to express it in the forms of ordinary human 
 gladness. Confession and repentance were accompanied by ready restitution 
 for wrongdoing. A table was placed in the church where those who wished 
 to restore articles unlawfully acquired might place the evidences of their 
 guilt. This table was soon piled high with stolen goods. It is only fair 
 to say, however, that most of these articles had been acquired before the 
 persons taking them had become Christians. In many cases it was not 
 possible to find the owners. Many of these articles were petty in their 
 character and yet the consciences of the people would not allow them to 
 retain them. 
 
 At Seoul the year opened with an intense longing on the part of the 
 missionaries and Korean Christians alike for a renewal of the heart life. 
 Meetings were held in the churches and foreigners and Koreans were 
 benefited, though the general impression prevailed that the meetings were 
 after the usual style and no special increase of power had come. In the 
 midst of these conditions news of the storm at Pyengyang came and stirred 
 all hearts. First, the pamphlet called “How God Came to Pyengyang” was 
 read in some of the homes with longing hearts and with tearful eyes. Some 
 
Spread of the Revival 
 
 23 
 
 hastened to Pyengyang in order to share in the work of grace that was going 
 on. A general feeling of expectancy was created that there would be a 
 visitation from God in the capital city. On invitation from the churches in 
 Seoul a Korean elder from the Presbyterian Church in Pyengyang, who was 
 himself a mighty power, came and spent a few days in the metropolitan 
 churches. This was the beginning of an experience of cleansing, which while 
 it continued but a few days and was, therefore, vastly different in degree 
 from that in Pyengyang, yet brought a new life into the hearts of the 
 Christians. The same manifestations of anguish and grief over sin, great 
 distress in confessing, and deep and wonderful power in the life were 
 manifested. 
 
 The pastor of the leading church in Seoul was one of those who came 
 under the power of this revival. He had always lived a correct life, and yet 
 formality and indifference had reduced his service for the Master to a mere 
 perfunctory performance of his duties. When the Presbyterian elder from 
 Pyengyang came and the pastor saw the terrific character of the revival he 
 shrank back and hardened his heart against it, determined that he would 
 have no part in opening the way for such a visitation of God among his 
 people. The visitation came, however, and swept over him, but left him 
 with peace of heart gone and a sense of rebellion oppressing him. The 
 missionary in charge of the work was in Pyengyang at this time, but return- 
 ing joined with his people in the meetings. One Wednesday night after a 
 meeting, during which it seemed that a pall rested upon the people and they 
 were farther away than ever from a surrender to God, a group of young 
 men remained after the service to talk the matter over with the missionary. 
 It was urged upon them that they should simply surrender themselves to 
 the Holy Spirit to do what He might demand of them readily and willingly. 
 After listening to this appeal they all knelt in prayer. There was a terrible 
 soul struggle, and yet one by one with tears and outcries they poured out 
 their hearts to God and surrendered to him. The Korean pastor was one 
 of the first to attempt to pray. For a while it seemed as though no prayer 
 would come, when suddenly, with the cry of a man breaking away from 
 captors who were leading him to the death, the pastor shouted with a voice 
 that rang through the church, “O, Holy Spirit, I do now surrender to thee. 
 I am willing to walk in any pathway that thou mayest point out and will 
 resist thee no longer.” It was the moment of victory with him, and from 
 
 that instant he was a changed man. He had been associated with the 
 
 missionary in the most intimate fellowship for a number of years. In the 
 early years of the mission he had been employed by the missionary as 
 language teacher. During this time he had become a Christian. The day 
 
 following the wonderful night he sought the missionary and said: “Do you 
 
 remember the old days, years ago, when I was your language teacher? 
 You trusted me very much, so much so that you put temptation before me. 
 You were a very careless young man in those days and would leave me in 
 charge of your study with money lying about. I never stole any large 
 amount, but once in a while I used to take a cash or two (about one tenth 
 of a cent) and go out and get tobacco or a drink of wine. I have never told 
 you before, but I want to confess it now and ask your forgiveness. I have 
 tried to reckon up how much I took, and counting interest and everything, 
 I think that fifty sen will cover it. So here it is. Please take it.” The 
 missionary took the money, and after speaking words of comfort asked the 
 
24 
 
 The Religious Awakening of Korea 
 
 privilege of returning the money to the conscience-stricken brother. The 
 latter drew away as though he had been offered a cup of deadly poison. 
 “No, no,” he said, “the Holy Spirit has told me to do this and I have done it 
 in obedience to Him. There is no power on earth to induce me to touch 
 that money.” 
 
 In this church the power of the Holy Spirit was present to heal, but 
 very few of the church members were willing to come under the power of 
 His touch. Some, however, were willing. One night a young man came 
 especially burdened with sin, and seeking to get rid of his burden. He said 
 that when he first heard of Christ he had been filled with unutterable hatred 
 against him. He liked to insult and revile his name. One day he saw a 
 picture of Christ hanging on a wall and he went up and spat upon it. As the 
 penitent spoke these words a cry of anguish was wrung from his heart and 
 he went to the floor as if struck by a blow. Here he lay sobbing out his 
 confession till the Christ whom he had reviled came and forgave him. 
 
 Immediately following the adjournment of the theological class in 
 Pyengyang the workers from the Haiju Circuit returned to their homes 
 filled with a zeal for souls and a determination to introduce the revival into 
 their churches. Such an awakening was sadly needed there as the churches 
 were in a very poor spiritual condition. The political disturbances had 
 greatly agitated the people throughout that section and there is little doubt 
 that many of the church members had for a time lost sight of the blessed- 
 ness of the gospel and were seeking for political aid and personal advantage. 
 Into this environment the workers came back under a great burden for the 
 church. On their way home they stopped at Sinchun, the first point in the 
 circuit, one hundred miles south of Pyengyang. Here they began to tell 
 their story with splendid results. From here they went on to Haiju, where 
 meetings were opened up and the work carried on with great vigor. At 
 first it seemed as though nothing could be done. The heavens seemed black 
 and the hearts of the workers were leaden. God seemed to have forsaken 
 them, yet it was not so, for he had already prepared the means by which 
 Haiju was to be conquered and that in a little village church near by. 
 
 Konmi was one of our strongest native churches, but the people shared 
 in the general condition of the circuit and were cold and indifferent at this 
 time. The preacher in charge of this group had gone through the fire at 
 Pyengyang and on his return first sought his mother, confessed his sins to 
 her, and sought her forgiveness. Returning to Konmi he with seven of the 
 church members went to the top of the mountain which rises above the 
 village and there in prayer and confession they wrestled before God in 
 behalf of the church. The next night at the service in the church the 
 conviction for sin was something never before known. Men and women 
 cried in deep agony of soul, and among those who confessed their sins was 
 an exhorter, the chief man of the church. On the following day he changed 
 his mind concerning the revival, however, and declared that it could not be 
 the work of the Holy Spirit, and if allowed to continue, would lead to the 
 ruin of the church. He could not conceive of the Holy Spirit leading men 
 to confess hatred, abuse, slander, adultery, and murder, and on this account 
 declared himself opposed to it. So he prevented the holding of a meeting 
 that evening. It thus looked dark at Konmi for a time, but after much 
 pleading and prayer on the part of the preacher who had come from Pyeng- 
 yang the exhorter finally gave a reluctant consent and they were again per- 
 
The Direct Effects of the Revival 
 
 25 
 
 mitted to meet in the church. While the meeting was in progress, suddenly 
 it seemed as though the heavens opened and the Spirit of God descended on 
 the worshipers. The people were overwhelmed, but among those who were 
 affected most strongly was the exhorter. During his attempt to confess his 
 sins he fell to the floor as though struck by a blow. Great alarm fell on the 
 people and they agonized over their sins and pleaded mightily with God for 
 forgiveness and salvation. The leader received pardon and relief and during 
 the following days was greatly used of God in conducting revival services in 
 other villages. 
 
 It was this story which started the storm at Haiju. As the visiting 
 brothers related it in the Haiju meeting conviction went from heart to heart 
 and one after another rose to make confession only to find it impossible 
 to continue his story, for they fell one after the other to the floor in shame 
 and confusion pleading with God for mercy. Peace and forgiveness came 
 to every one of them. This continued for a week till nearly everyone in the 
 church had confessed and was made clean. Old debts were paid, hatred and 
 enmity were cast out, and in their place came brotherly love and all were 
 united in the bond of fellowship in Christ Jesus. Thus for over a month 
 from village to village and hamlet to hamlet the work spread until eighteen 
 of the most prominent churches on the circuit had been cleansed and two 
 thirds of the entire church membership had made public confession and had 
 received forgiveness for their sins. 
 
 There remains but one place more of which to speak. Two young men 
 from Pyengyang spent a week in Kongju with blessed results. This city is 
 the headquarters of the mission work in south Korea and the center of a 
 district of over a million people with only 16,000 Christians among them. At 
 Kongju itself the church, through the defection of the Korean preacher in 
 charge, had become filled with bickerings and strife. They were in sad need 
 of a revival. Under the ministry of the two evangelists from the north the 
 scenes witnessed in Pyengyang and Chemulpo were repeated in Kongju. 
 Every member of the local church made public confession of his sins and 
 made restitution of things stolen; old-time enemies were reconciled and all 
 started in the new and higher life. 
 
 This hasty review of the territory covered by the revival as far as it 
 relates to the Methodist Episcopal Church gives a very inadequate idea of 
 the immense amount of good that was accomplished. Out of it was born a 
 new church and a new ministry in Korea. 
 
 The Direct Effects of the Revival 
 
 Looking back through the vista of the months which have intervened 
 since the revival, certain results stand out conspicuously as being the out- 
 growth of that experience. One of these was the deepening among the 
 Christians of the knowledge of righteousness and of sin. The teaching of 
 Christianity on those subjects is new to the Koreans, who, while not devoid 
 of the sense of sin and righteousness, have standards different from those we 
 hold. The revival brought upon the heart of the church a deep impression 
 of the exceeding sinfulness of sin and of the everlasting obligations of right- 
 eousness. This fact was well illustrated by the experience of a servant of one 
 of the missionaries. The man had been a Christian for ten years. He had 
 attended church faithfully and had always given close attention to all that 
 
26 The Religious Awakening of Korea 
 
 was said in the services. During the early part of the revival he took a 
 stand in opposition. To him the scenes of distress furnished a source of 
 amusement. The kitchen where he labored was often made a stage where 
 he amused his companions by imitating the revival scenes. He would throw 
 himself on the floor and pretend to beat it with his fists and amid shouts of 
 laughter go through the physical contortions which were so often witnessed 
 in the church. One morning his employer asked him if he was at peace with 
 God. Mumbling a reply he hastily left the room. At the opening of the 
 meeting the following evening he took a seat among those sitting at the 
 very front of the church, and when an opportunity was given to the people 
 to take part he sprang to his feet and in terrible distress confessed the sins 
 of his life. Among other things he told of the ways in which he had 
 betrayed the confidence of his employer. At last in utter abandon he ran to 
 the platform and crawling on his hands and knees flung himself at the 
 feet of the missionary who employed him and begged forgiveness for all the 
 wrongs that he had committed against him. From that moment he was a 
 changed man. The vice of pilfering, against which he had struggled so 
 long, now stood out in all its hideous aspects; its power was broken, and he 
 passed into Christian freedom and a life of joy. 
 
 Another noteworthy effect of the revival was the cleansing of the heart 
 of the individual church member. For many years the church in Pyengyang 
 had been tried and greatly grieved by one of its members. A man by the 
 name of Kim was converted during the early days of missionary work in 
 the north. He had stood firm during times of severe persecution and had 
 identified himself with God’s people when to do so was to endanger his life. 
 These facts had endeared him to the hearts of many, but before he had 
 become a Christian he was a victim of strong drink, and periodically he 
 would return to his cups, and for days his wife and family would suffer 
 untold misery. After a period of debauchery he would again turn to the 
 church and in tears confess his sins, and begging forgiveness would begin 
 all over again. These lapses continued until it became necessary to try him 
 and expel him from the church. When the revival meetings began he took 
 no part in them though he would often sit back in the rear of the church 
 and watch all that occurred. At last some of those who had received the 
 blessing went to him and urged him to give himself to God for cleansing. 
 He, in a spirit of mockery, agreed to do so. The next evening he took his 
 seat well to the front and when he had an opportunity, he arose to his feet 
 and rushing down to the front called in a loud voice for everyone to look 
 at him. "See,” said he, “I am the worst scoundrel in this city, and you all 
 know it. I have been a drunkard for many years, and I have been in the 
 habit of beating my wife and of making my home a place of horror. You 
 all know me and know what a fiend I have been.” Kim threw himself to 
 the floor and with cries and contortions of the body imitated the scenes he 
 had been watching so long. Everyone knew that he was not sincere, and the 
 scene filled the congregation with the keenest distress. Spontaneously all 
 
 knelt and lifted their voices in prayer for the heartless, mocking man. A 
 
 thousand voices arose as the voice of one man and the sound in billowy waves 
 swept through the church and out over the city. "O, God,” they cried, “save 
 this our sinful, mocking brother.” 
 
 Two nights after this incident Kim was again at church. God had 
 
 already laid his hands upon him, and when the pastor looked down upon the 
 
The Direct Effects of the Revival 
 
 27 
 
 congregation there he was stretched out upon the floor in unmistakable 
 anguish. For a time overwhelming sorrow seemed to threaten to end his 
 life. When he was able to rise to his feet amid paroxysms of grief he 
 pleaded for forgiveness for the mockery of the two nights previous. From 
 that hour his heart was cleansed and the man who before had been unable 
 to pass a dramshop without stopping to buy a drink began a new life, and 
 now, after months of testing, he is one of the best examples of Christian 
 rectitude in the church. After his experience of being cleansed he became 
 very earnest in his efforts to save his old associates, and during the next 
 few weeks brought into the church more seekers than any other member. 
 
 A third effect of the revival was the deepening of the prayer life of the 
 Christian. We have already indicated the place that prayer took in the 
 inception of the revival. During its progress many of the Christians learned 
 a new secret concerning prayer. Probably this can be best illustrated by the 
 testimony of one of the missionaries. He had always been a man of faith 
 and prayer, and was in no wise different from his colleagues in the sincerity 
 and purposeful character of his prayers. Yet as he wrestled in prayer with 
 God for others he came into possession of a new power and confessed that 
 he had never before in his Christian life found such direct sacred communion 
 with God; in fact, that he seemed to be learning for the first time the real 
 way of prayer. This was true in the lives of many of those who came under 
 the power of the revival. Prayer became a real business with them — the 
 main business of their life. They went about it with the same definite 
 purpose that they brought to all their tasks. They prayed for those in need 
 no matter where they were or what might be their condition. The prayer 
 meetings of the missionaries in Pyengyang were typical of this feature of 
 concerted intercessory prayer. Every afternoon at four o’clock the mission- 
 aries would gather at the high school. There was no leader, no singing, not 
 even reading of a selection from the Scripture, but before going to their 
 knees an opportunity would be given to anyone present to mention any 
 special need that might be his. Then all would kneel and each in turn as 
 the spirit moved would voice his petition to God. There was no time limit; 
 and the minutes would speed by and it would often be an hour or even two 
 hours before they would rise from their knees. The Koreans, too, found this 
 secret and gave themselves up to intercession, a company of them often 
 spending a whole night in prayer for their friends. The answers received 
 were swift and remarkable, and some of the most notable results of the 
 revival came as the direct answer to intercessory prayer. 
 
 One of the brightest and strongest of the young men after passing 
 through the experience of cleansing was seen to be in terrible mental agony. 
 The missionary inquired into it, asking him if he had yet found peace in his 
 own heart. “O, yes,” said he, "yes, yes, I am all right, but look at this,” and 
 he thrust into the hand of the missionary a small piece of paper. Opening 
 it, the missionary saw written upon it the single word nu-ee (sister). Chok- 
 ing down his sobs, the young man managed to say: “Pray for my sister.” 
 The missionary promised and united his prayers with that of the brother. 
 Some time after the missionary asked him about his sister. In answer the 
 young man with radiant face told how he had gone home, eighty li away, and 
 “Now,” said he, “my sister is saved, my sister is saved.” 
 
 One of the most remarkable developments of the revival was that of 
 audible prayer. One Sunday morning the missionary in charge of the 
 
28 The Religious Awakening of Korea 
 
 meeting asked the congregation to engage in united prayer. Spontaneously, 
 as though under the direct influence of the Holy Spirit, a murmur of audible 
 prayer arose from a thousand lips, gradually growing in volume until it 
 filled the church. The remarkable thing about it was that it produced no 
 confusion and their voices united like the notes from some great instrument 
 of music. The scene of a great congregation of a thousand or fifteen hundred 
 people all on their faces before God and all uniting in audible prayer to 
 God was thrilling beyond description. Thus the Korean church discovered 
 new wonders in prayer and have now a confidence in the power of this 
 blessed privilege of the children of God which is of inestimable value to them. 
 
 As one becomes familiar with the spirit and ideas that underlie the old 
 life of the Korean people he is impressed with its callousness. The ancient 
 question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” would be answered by the typical 
 Korean with an emphatic negative. Probably the native clan system is 
 
 responsible for this. Men recognize that they are united by the ties of 
 
 kindred, but the broader ties of humanity are little known. One of the 
 most helpful results was a deepening among the Christians of the sense of 
 responsibility for the welfare of others. They got a glimpse of the great 
 Christian teaching of the privilege and duty of caring for one’s fellow-men. 
 The story of the preacher at Haiju brings this out. This preacher was a 
 good man and in his way an effective worker but he suffered from this lack 
 of a sense of responsibility. He had no passion for souls. He had been in 
 
 the employ of the mission as a helper for several years, but had always 
 
 shrunk back when asked to go to a place of difficulty. During the session 
 of the theological class he was among the first to surrender to the Spirit of 
 God, and he came out of this experience of confession and sorrow with a 
 deep and lasting sense of peace and a holy passion for souls. After the 
 revival he was appointed to Haiju, where the work was suffering through 
 the failure of the native pastor. He took up the work under special difficulty, 
 but in a short time he had transformed the church. He carried the warmth 
 and earnestness of his new-found experience out into other sections with 
 the result that the whole region, as we have already related, was stirred as 
 deeply and regenerated as thoroughly as any region touched by the storm. 
 This thought of the intensifying of the sense of responsibility might be 
 illustrated by repeated examples from the lives of our preachers and workers. 
 A new era has thus been inaugurated and the future of the Korean church 
 is already radiant with promise because of it. 
 
 The revival gave the missionaries an understanding of Korean life such 
 as they had not before possessed. They can now appreciate the Korean 
 Christian more fully. Sympathy is more intelligent and help can be given 
 more wisely than in the past. Far from being discouraged, the missionary 
 in Korea has come to see in the native moral possibilities of the highest order. 
 It is true that the revival lifted the curtain from Korean life and character 
 and revealed the Korean in a new light. We have already indicated the 
 astonishment and consternation with which the missionaries listened to the 
 confessions made by the Koreans. It would seem that such terrible tragedies 
 in ordinary life could not occur without their becoming matters of public 
 knowledge and thus being prevented. As a fact, the terrible moral condition 
 revealed was a matter of common knowledge among the Koreans, but it was, 
 to them, a normal condition and excited little comment. Foreigners are 
 necessarily so separated from the Koreans by the barriers of language and 
 
The Outlook 
 
 29 
 
 custom that as a rule they get very little beyond the perimeter of Korean 
 social life. It is not surprising, therefore, that the statements made came 
 as a revelation. A superficial observer listening to the confessions might be 
 inclined to think that the Korean character is thoroughly degenerate, and 
 that there is no moral base upon which to erect a really worthy ethical life. 
 Most of the writers in recent times who have described Korea have dwelt 
 altogether on this phase of the native character, and have thus unconsciously 
 placed the Korean in a wrong light. His confessions when rightly interpreted 
 reveal the fact that there are many other things besides sin in Korean life. 
 Korean passions run very deep. He possesses a courage and loyalty, a 
 generosity, and magnanimity which need only favorable conditions for 
 development. When we view against the dark background of the old life 
 the brighter colors of his virtues the Korean stands out as much a hero as 
 any man on earth. 
 
 The confessions made during the revival were more than a revelation 
 of the darkness of Korean life. They were also a testimony to the moral 
 courage of the Korean. It took moral courage of the highest type publicly 
 to avow the gross and terrible mistakes of the past and to seek forgiveness 
 of Almighty God and of fellow-men whom they had wronged. 
 
 The Outlook 
 
 It was given to America to be the first Western nation to enter into 
 treaty relations with Korea, and since the year 1881 the peninsula has been 
 coming more and more under the influence of the forces from abroad. 
 International complications culminated in a protectorate treaty negotiated 
 by the Japanese and Korean governments in November, 1905. The Koreans, 
 under a mistaken idea, attempted to appeal from this agreement to the 
 Hague Conference in 1907. Their delegation was refused recognition at 
 the Conference; this led to the abdication of the emperor and the con- 
 clusion of a new agreement with Japan, placing larger powers of administra- 
 tion both in foreign and domestic affairs in the hands of Prince Ito, the 
 Resident-General. 
 
 In connection with the abdication of the emperor serious disturbances 
 broke out in Korea which at one time threatened to assume large proportions. 
 During this time the conduct of the church was most commendable. At 
 Seoul and throughout the sections where the disturbances occurred the 
 Christians exerted their influence on the side of law and order and con- 
 tributed very largely to keeping the spirit of disorder under control. In 
 the north no uprising against the government occurred, and this was all 
 the more remarkable, as the people in Pyengyang and the provinces are the 
 most excitable and turbulent in the empire. Any just review of the causes 
 which contributed to tranquillity must give a large share of credit to the 
 restraining influence of the churches. Throughout this entire region, both 
 in the north and at Seoul, misguided patriots threatened the lives of mission- 
 aries and preachers because their influence was against disorder, but as the 
 result of the counsels and restraining influence of the Christian workers 
 bloodshed was prevented and order maintained. It will be noted that in the 
 regions where this occurred the revival had first prepared the churches so 
 that they were more ready to stand for law and order. 
 
 Already a new Korea is in process of development. Prince Ito, the fore- 
 
30 The Religious Awakening of Korea 
 
 most statesman of Asia, negotiated the protectorate treaty and was appointed 
 by his majesty the emperor of Japan as Resident-General in Korea. Under 
 his wise and sagacious leadership, many reforms have been introduced. 
 Already the country is waking up and a new era is dawning. The fullest 
 possible religious liberty is enjoyed and the opportunity which opens before 
 the church is of a marvelous character. The people at large are turning to 
 the church in multitudes. They are convinced that Christianity offers the 
 only salvation for them, and that through its ethical and spiritual power 
 alone they will be able to develop a manhood equal to the new opportunities 
 which open before them. On the other hand, the church itself is alive as 
 never before, and the native Christian leaders are planning for nothing less 
 than the evangelization of the nation. The new Korea will be a Christian 
 Korea and that within a comparatively short period of time. Churches are 
 multiplying in all directions. It is not possible for a foreign missionary to 
 keep in personal touch with the multiplied groups which spring up every- 
 where. Evangelistically, the opportunity of the Asiatic continent of the 
 present day is to be found in Korea. No other field compares with this in 
 the urgency and the promise of its conditions. This is the strategic people 
 and the present is the strategic time in this land. Ten millions of souls 
 await help and instruction which the Christian Church can give. 
 
 Young Korea is determined to be educated. The cry for schools is heard 
 everywhere. Students in multiplied thousands await instruction. In the 
 past modern instruction has been practically in the hands of the church of 
 Korea. In the introduction of methods, the preparation of text-books, and the 
 training of teachers the leadership has been in the hands of Christians. The 
 government under Prince Ito is turning its attention seriously to education, 
 and if the church will arise to its opportunity, she can perform for the new 
 government of Korea a service of signal value through her cooperation in 
 this work of educating the Koreans. Every school that the Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church maintains is overcrowded. Mr. P. T. Collins, of Nebraska, Penn- 
 sylvania, is doing a monumental work in introducing schools among the 
 Koreans, and in Chemulpo, Seoul, Pyengyang, and Suwon he has erected 
 institutions whose influence will abide in Korea throughout the coming 
 centuries. The First Church of Wichita, Kansas, has a noble monument in 
 the school at Pyengyang. An elect lady in Illinois has come to the aid of 
 the Biblical Institute at Seoul. At this point a splendid opportunity awaits 
 the church, and not less than three hundred thousand dollars should be 
 invested in the work of education in Korea. If a group of one hundred of 
 God’s stewards would agree to give a sum of three thousand dollars each, 
 this sum could be easily raised. 
 
 With the general breakup of old prejudices and passing away of old 
 customs come also remarkable developments in the social conditions sur- 
 rounding womanhood. For centuries the women of Korea have practically 
 been prisoners in the inner rooms of their homes. But this condition is 
 rapidly changing. The old custom of seclusion is fast breaking down and 
 a new life socially opens before the womanhood of Korea. In preparation 
 for this new life the demand for education for girls is a very great and 
 insistent one. Christianity is making large progress among the women of 
 the land; it is the force which has brought the new liberty to them. Women 
 are freely permitted to be present at our church services and to take part in 
 them. Formerly they were never permitted to appear in public, but the 
 
The Outlook 
 
 31 
 
 church has been made an exception, and here they come in large numbers. 
 It is a remarkable fact that the church should be the first place to which 
 the womanhood of Korea should go when permitted to leave the seclusion of 
 her own home. 
 
 Few people realize the important position that Korea is destined to 
 occupy in the development of the Asiatic world. History has shown that a 
 people may lose their national independence without losing their influence on 
 the life of the world. The position occupied by Korea as first neighbor to 
 China will make her influence upon that country of the greatest moment. 
 With railroads running from the Yalu to all the large ports in the Japan 
 Sea, Manchuria will find her highway eastward through the Korean peninsula. 
 The capital of Korea is nearer to Peking than is Chicago to New York. An 
 American express could cover the distance between the two capitals in four- 
 teen hours. That means that any overwhelming influence which may obtain 
 in Korea will mightily affect China. 
 
 As has been shown in what we have said above, the Korean people are 
 perhaps the most religious people of the Far East, and all visitors who have 
 come under the influence of their great Christian congregations have been 
 deeply impressed by them. Already the line of railroad reaching into Man- 
 churia is lined the whole distance from Fusan with Christian communities, 
 and churches have been planted beyond the Yalu in Chinese territory. And, 
 again, the great revival in Korea has produced a deep impression upon the 
 Japanese church. A number of Japanese were converted in the meetings 
 held in Pyengyang although they were ignorant of the Korean language and 
 the contact was one altogether in spirit. The Japanese Christians who 
 were privileged to witness the effects of the revival on the Koreans were 
 profoundly moved and carried back the news to Japan, where in several 
 instances it resulted in greatly quickening the Japanese church. An instance 
 will illustrate this. One night there came into the meeting in Pyengyang 
 a Japanese army officer who appeared to be deeply interested in what was 
 taking place. When the Christians knelt in prayer he knelt with them, but 
 when they arose he continued prostrate before God. No one present could 
 speak the Japanese language, so it was not possible to communicate with 
 him. Shortly afterward he arose and left the meeting. The next day he 
 came with the pastor of the Japanese church in Pyengyang to see the 
 missionary. He told of how in the past he had had very little idea of God, 
 but in the meeting had been so impressed with what had taken place that 
 he could doubt no longer and there had given his heart to Christ. As he 
 was soon to return to Japan he requested baptism, and the following night 
 a little group of Japanese took their place in the midst of the vast audience 
 of Koreans. At the close of the service this soldier-Christian was baptized 
 into the Christian faith amid the common rejoicing of Japanese and Koreans. 
 The officer returned to his home with his heart filled with the divine passion 
 for souls. He preached the gospel of Christ in his native town with such 
 earnestness and flaming zeal that the entire community was deeply stirred 
 and many persons were brought to Christ. 
 
 This is but typical of the possible influence that Korea may exert upon 
 her neighbors. There can be no doubt that Divine Providence has destined 
 the three empires of the Far East — Japan, China, and Korea — to become 
 united in a relation of the most intimate character. The reaction of each 
 of these nations on the other two will necessarily be intense. If, as we firmly 
 
32 
 
 The Religious Awakening of Korea 
 
 believe, it should be Korea’s destiny to have a large part in molding the 
 religious sentiment of this great far eastern trinity of empires, who can 
 adequately measure the importance of the service that she will perform and 
 the imperative necessity that the Christian Church should hasten to Korea 
 with the help that the infant church in the peninsula needs? 
 
 The growth of the church in Korea furnishes a bright promise of the 
 speedy evangelization of this people. The first converts under the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church were reported in 1888 and numbered thirty-eight. In 
 1907 the total following of the church was 39,613 — an increase over the 
 beginning of over a thousandfold. An examination of the statistics of the 
 mission will show that the ratio of increase has practically been maintained 
 from the beginning, and all signs indicate that this increase may continue 
 for an indefinite time. It is easy to work out marvelous results with figures 
 in connection with any enterprise, but when one contemplates the numerical 
 growth of the church in the Korean field the result must be a great 
 strengthening of the faith of the church in the complete success of its mission 
 to the world. In Korea we have a field in which there is promise of the rapid 
 evangelization of the entire nation, and whose very condition constitutes an 
 imperative call to the church to concentrate her effort on the great work 
 of giving a people so ready for it the gospel of Christ. The results reported 
 in Korea have been achieved in the midst of a poverty of men and resources 
 which might well have daunted the best workers. The Korean Misssion has 
 had fourteen men, thirteen wives, and thirteen Woman’s Foreign Missionary 
 Society workers, or a total of forty. We are confident that if the church had 
 given Korea five times the number of missionaries the field now possesses, 
 the results in converts would have been many times what they are. There 
 has been in Korea only one native worker for each 660 of the church mem- 
 bership, and only one missionary (man) for each 1,630 church members. 
 Taking the past three years into consideration the average rate of increase 
 in Korea has been over 33 per cent. If this rate of increase is maintained 
 for a period of ten years, there will be in the care of our mission in Korea 
 a total church membership of over 400,000. 
 
 As far as human foresight can penetrate the future there is no reason 
 why this rate of increase should not be maintained and even exceeded. The 
 vital question is: Will the church in America meet the responsibility which 
 this condition of affairs imposes upon her? The crux of the missionary 
 question, as far as it relates to Korea, is not here on the field but is at home 
 on the threshold of the church in America. No obstacle appears ahead of us 
 to prevent the saving of hundreds of thousands of Koreans. It is only a 
 question of whether the church at home will make good the opportunity 
 which has been given her of God — to bestow upon one nation, during this 
 generation, the priceless boon of becoming Christian in its national and 
 individual life.