Choi Byung-hun

Life

Choi was born in 1858 into a scholarly family in Jecheon, Chungcheong Province. After he lost his mother and grandfather at an early age, the family fell into poverty. He studied Hanhak (Confucian learning in Classical Chinese) and sat for the civil service examinations but reportedly did not pass. Around 1888, at the missionary residence in Jeong-dong, Seoul, he met Henry Appenzeller and obtained a Bible in Classical Chinese. After several years of studying the Scriptures, he received baptism; sources differ as to whether this was in 1892 or 1893. Beginning in 1889, he taught Classical Chinese at Pai Chai Haktang.

In 1902 he was ordained to the ministry. After serving at Sangdong Church, in 1903 he succeeded Appenzeller as senior pastor of Chungdong Church (now Chungdong First Methodist Church), a post he held until 1914. From 1914 he served as district superintendent (an office responsible for the care and supervision of a "district" comprising several churches) for the Seoul and Incheon districts. After retiring in 1922, he taught comparative religion and Eastern thought as a professor at Hyupsung Theological Seminary (now Methodist Theological University). He died on May 13, 1927.

Ministry and Achievements

• Literary work: He edited and wrote for church periodicals such as the Korean Christian Advocate (Joseon Geuriseudoin Hoebo) and Sinhak wolbo (Theological Monthly), and he contributed to various newspapers. In 1894 he opened Daedong Seosa, a bookstore and private library, in Jongno.
• Bible translation: From 1898 to 1900 he served as a translator on the Bible translation committee, helping to complete the Korean translation of the New Testament. This work formed part of early Korean Bible translation.
• Social activities: He took part in the Independence Club. Together with Yi Sang-jae, Yun Chi-ho, and others, he also helped lead the Seoul Young Men's Christian Association (now the Korea YMCA).
• Theological writings: From around 1900 he published theological essays such as "Samin mundap" (Dialogue of Three Men) and "Joe dori" (The Doctrine of Sin). "Seongsan yuramgi" (Record of a Journey to the Holy Mountain), serialized in Sinhak wolbo in 1907, was later published in book form as Seongsan myeonggyeong (聖山明鏡, The Bright Mirror of the Holy Mountain); sources give its publication year as either 1911 or 1912. Written in dialogue form, the work depicts representatives of Christianity, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism who gather on a holy mountain to debate and who in the end all embrace Christianity. "Jonggyo byeonjeungseol" (Treatise on the Apologetics of Religion), serialized in Sinhak segye (Theological World) from 1916 to 1920, is reported to have been collected in 1922 as Manjong illyeon (萬宗一臠, A Taste of All Religions). In this work he compared various religions while offering an apologetic (a reasoned defense) for the truth of Christianity.

Influence on the Korean Church

A former Confucian scholar well versed in the Eastern classics, Choi sought to explain Christianity through the concepts and language of the traditional religions. His writings are regarded as reflecting a view of Christianity as the religion that fulfills what the traditional religions had long been seeking. This work is frequently cited as a precursor of later indigenization theology and of discussions of interreligious dialogue. In 2008 Methodist Theological University honored him by renaming one of its older campus buildings Taksa Memorial Hall. A statue of him stands in the front courtyard of Chungdong First Methodist Church.

Assessment

Within the Methodist Church he is often called "Korea's first theologian." He is highly regarded as an early leader in the history of Korean Methodism: the first Korean pastor of Chungdong Church and a contributor to literary mission work and Bible translation. Some scholars hold that he engaged early on with the theological questions of indigenization and religious pluralism from the perspectives of comparative religion and Christian apologetics. However, both Seongsan myeonggyeong and Manjong illyeon are evangelistic and apologetic works intended to lead adherents of traditional religions to Christianity. Accordingly, whether the emphasis falls on him as a forerunner of today's interreligious dialogue or as a Christian apologist varies with the reader's theological position.