Mission in Korea (1875-1910)

The Joseon State was a weak kingdom trying to maintain its presence on the peninsula, seeing China as the centre of the world. İn ever-increasing cultural hegemony, for many years, she remained an unshakable believer to China. However, after the 15th century, the fact that India and China became the main targets of colonial activities in Asia changed the balance in Korea. Within this period, Joseon aimed to remain as a kingdom closed to outside. Yet first blows strake to Korea, with Japan's rise to power. The weakening of China due to the opium wars has prevented the support that could come to Korea. Moreover, Korea was the weak point of Asia, which the Western States, who wanted to seize commerce, found to use against China. Western states, planning to open Korea as a pioneer to infiltration into China, fought bloody battles, led by the French, to establish the Catholic faith in Korea. During the period, from the Kanghwa Agreement to the First Sino-Japanese War, Chinese influence in the country was eliminated step by step. While the social order began to change in Korea, the acceptance of Western influence through modernization increased the spread of Christianity among Koreans. In order to secure her monarchical power, the government opposed such elements as loyalty to the Papacy. However, the arrival of Protestants to the country was mediated in the taking very important steps for Christianity. While missionary activities proceeded to an extent planned and classified, the historical background of Korea and her ties with China-Japan were given in the first section of this thesis. In the second part, the influence of Western states on these ties and the changes in the country were discussed. An analysis of the Donghak Movement and the Christian faith in Korea was presented. In the third part, mission and missionary work, religion and its equivalents for the Korean society were discussed. Thus, an outline of where Christianity entered Korea, what methods were used, and how a new religion spread as a result were sketch out.