Copyright © 2014 Yeong Woo Liptak All rights reserved. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has permission to reproduce and disseminate this document in any form by any means for purposes chosen by the Seminary, including, without limitation, preservation or instruction. BIBLE WOMEN: EVANGELISM AND CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION IN THE EARLY KOREAN CHURCH __________________ A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary __________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy __________________ by Yeong Woo Liptak December 2014 APPROVAL SHEET BIBLE WOMEN: EVANGELISM AND CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION IN THE EARLY KOREAN CHURCH Yeong Woo Liptak Read and Approved by: __________________________________________ James D. Chancellor (Chair) __________________________________________ George H. Martin __________________________________________ David M. Sills Date ______________________________ To my husband, Steven G. Liptak, who has provided unwavering support and encouragement through my many years of education, and who has anticipated this achievement at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary with me. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . vi PREFACE . vii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION . 1 Thesis . 7 Background . 8 Methodology . 13 Definitions . 15 A Limitation and a Delimitation . 17 Outline of Study . 17 2. THE LIVES OF KOREAN WOMEN BEFORE THE PROTESTANT MISSION . 20 Traditional Religions and Korean Women . 22 Traditional Korean Society . 36 Catholicism and Donghak Influences in the late Chosŏn Era. 42 Women in the Chosŏn Dynasty Era and the Confucian Culture . 46 3. THE EMERGENCE OF BIBLE WOMEN . 47 Political Backdrop for Protestant Missions . 47 Protestant Mission Begins . 50 The Protestant Strategy for Women’s Mission . 51 Ministries of Women Missionaries in Chosŏn. 54 The Korean Bible Women . 68 iv Chapter Page Contributions of Bible Women in Mission . 76 Training Bible Women . 80 Cultural Transformation . 87 4. THE BIBLE WOMEN’S INFLUENCE ON THE CHURCH AND SOCIETY . 90 Bible Women in the Church . 90 Bible Women in Society . 108 Discipleship to Bible Women . 114 5. BIBLE WOMEN IN THE REVIVAL MOVEMENT . 126 The Revival Movements of the Early Korean Church . 126 Religious Experience of Church Women . 136 Change in Consciousness of Church Women . 143 Patriotism and National Prayer Movement . 151 6. BIBLE WOMEN IN CONTEMPORARY MISSIONS . 156 The Mission Opportunity for Indonesia . 157 Women’s Movement in Indonesia and Ibuism . 174 Mission Strategies for Women in Indonesia . 179 Bible Women Mission Approach to Islamic Missions . 181 Bible Women’s Approach Based on Transforming Women’s Worldview . 189 7. CONCLUSION . 196 Impact on Female Evangelization . 196 Effects on the Lives of Korean Women . 198 Suggestions for Future Work . 199 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 201 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ARKWC The Annual Report of the Korean Women Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church ARMEC The Annual Report of Methodist Episcopal Church, South BFBS British and Foreign Bible Society KF The Korea Field KM The Korea Methodist KMF The Korean Mission Field KR The Korea Review KRP The Korean Repository MRW The Missionary Review of the World SBTS The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary WWFW Woman’s Work for Woman of the Woman’s Presbyterian Board of Mission vi PREFACE “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19). I am thankful to Jesus, my Lord and Savior, for leading me on a spiritual journey that includes this academic endeavor. To Him be the glory. I enrolled in SBTS’ M.Div. program in 2002. At that time I had just become a woman Chŏndosa and the ministry and spiritual maturity grew together while attending SBTS. Classes included Church History I, Church History II and a class on Cults that were all taught by Dr. James D. Chancellor. He travelled from Louisville to Maryland each Monday to teach. Dr. Chancellor’s support and encouragement as my supervisor made it possible for me to continue into my doctoral studies in the Billy Graham School. I am truly thankful for his helpful advice and patience and for providing important feedback at every stage of the process, without which I would not have been able to complete this dissertation. Likewise, I wish to acknowledge my appreciation to both Dr. George H. Martin and Dr. David M. Sills. Their guidance and comments were instrumental in the completion of this body of work. I would also like to extend my appreciation to Mr. Jerod Harper in the Research Doctoral Studies office who helped me navigate the seminary’s processes. Additionally, special thanks go to Mrs. Betsy Fredrick whose expertise as an editor is only surpassed by her patience. She not only turned my rough documents into polished prose, she taught me much along the way. My colleagues in the doctoral program also served as important sources of vii inspiration and support. Both in the classroom settings and staying connected electronically we shared information and offered views on each other’s work. These conversations stimulated, challenged, and affirmed the direction of my research. I must finally express my appreciation to my loving family. My husband has been my partner in this Ph.D. process. Words cannot express the thanks I have for our son, Nathan, who supported me with prayers and encouragement and our daughter, Stephanie, who proofread so many of my papers into the late hours of the evening; they are both recently married and pursuing their own careers with plans of starting families. I am proud of each of them and am grateful for their patience and cooperation in allowing their mom to attend classes, write papers, and read books while they were still at home. Lastly, I wish to mention my parents. They dedicated their time and treasure throughout my childhood always emphasizing the importance of education. Their reinforcement of its importance established a firm foundation in my heart with the Word of God for a lifetime of learning. Yeong Woo Liptak Bethesda, Maryland December 2014 viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Under the late nineteenth century Chosŏn dynasty, which had just begun opening its doors to the West, Protestant missionaries possessed only limited freedom to engage in direct mission activities. Under these circumstances, missionaries resorted to indirect initiatives, such as education and health projects, as a means to establish contact with the Korean people, among whom their influence rapidly spread. 1 Kenneth M. Wells describes the decade from 1895 to 1905 as a time of growth and Protestant mission for the church in Korea. 2 He likens it to the time as being ‘like a chapter from the Acts of the 1On December 4, 1884, Young Ik Min, a cousin of the Empress Min in the Chosŏn Dynasty, was seriously injured in the Gapsin Coup. Min’s life was in danger after significant blood loss, but he was saved by a Protestant medical missionary, Horace N. Allen, who began work in Korea in 1884. Min’s healing was indebted to Allen’s skillful surgery and careful nursing for three months. With this service, Allen earned credence with the emperor, empress, and governors of the Chosŏn Dynasty. In return, Emperor Gojong offered to help missionaries. Allen responded to Gojong by asking permission to build a modernized hospital and provide his services without pay. Gojong accepted his proposal and donated the house of late governor Hong, who had been removed from office and executed for his involvement in a coup. On April 10, 1885, Allen opened Gwanghyewon , the first modernized hospital in Korea. The name of the hospital means “a place that widely spreads grace.” After several weeks, Gwanghyewon was renamed Jejoongwon , which means “a place that saves many common people.” Jejoongwon came to serve as a center for missionaries arriving in Korea. Upon arriving at Inchon port, Horace G. Underwood stayed in Jejoongwon and learned the Korean language and Henry G. Appenzeller proceeded to Korea in 1885. William B. Scranton, a Methodist missionary, worked at Jejoongwon during his missional service. In addition John William Heron of Northern Presbyterian Missions (1885) and Annie J. Ellars, the first woman medical missionary, used Jejoongwon as their point of contact for Korean missions (1886). Mu Yeol Choe, “Korea as Holistic Mission Model: The Initial Mission,” Mission and Theology 2, no. 11 (2011): 137; Allen D. Clark, History of the Korean Church (Seoul: The Christian Literature Society, 1971), 60-62, 96; Lak Geoon Paik, The History of Protestant Missions in Korea , 1832-1910 (Seoul: Yonsei University Press, 1971), 97-107. 2Kenneth M. Wells, New God, New Nation: Protestant and Self-Reconstruction Nationalism in Korea, 1896-1937 (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1990), 29. 1 Apostles,3 since baptized believers increased from 528 to 12,500 during these years. 4 One of the key evangelistic forces responsible for this nearly unprecedented success was an unassuming group of apprenticed, largely nameless Korean women, known by the term “Chŏndo Puin” (Bible Women). 5 The Bible Women evolved as part of the first Korean Christian generation when Protestant missionaries first entered the nation in the mid- 1880s.6 3Lak Geoon Paik, The History of Protestant Missions , 263. 4C. C. Vinton, “Statistics of the Protestant Churches in Korea,” The Korean Repository 2, no. 10 (1895): 383; Roy E. Shearer, Wildfire: Church Growth in Korea (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1966), 166. 5Martha Huntley, Caring, Growing, Changing: A History of the Protestant Mission in Korea (New York: Friendship, 1984), 126-27; Mi Kang Yang, “The Early Bible Women’s Faith and Activities,” The History of Korean Christian Women 2 (1992): 91-92. 6Lee describes the history of Christianity in Korea along with the three generations of early Christians: “One-hundred-thirty years of Korean Protestant mission history can be divided into three periods in relation to Korean national history.