Horace Underwood

Life

Underwood was born on July 19, 1859, in London, England, and emigrated to the United States with his family at the age of thirteen. He graduated from New York University in 1881. He then studied at New Brunswick Theological Seminary in New Jersey and was ordained to the ministry. In July 1884, while studying medicine in preparation for missionary service in India, he was appointed a missionary to Korea by the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (Northern Presbyterian). When the Gapsin Coup delayed his entry into Korea, he stayed in Yokohama, Japan, where he learned Korean from Yi Su-jeong. On Easter Sunday, April 5, 1885, he arrived at Chemulpo together with the Methodist missionary Henry Appenzeller. In 1889 he married the medical missionary Lillias Horton.

In his later years, the Japanese colonial authorities required those engaged in education to learn Japanese. In response, Underwood went to Japan in early 1916 to study the language, and around this time his health declined severely. He returned to the United States that same year and died in Atlantic City on October 12. He was initially buried in the United States, and in 1999 his remains were moved to the Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery in Seoul.

Ministry and Achievements

• Church planting: On September 27, 1887, he organized a church with fourteen Koreans in his own hanok (traditional Korean house) in Jeong-dong. Two elders were subsequently installed, giving the church a session. This church is today's Saemunan Church, and it is regarded as the first organized Presbyterian church in Korea (that is, the first with a session).
• Education: In the spring of 1886, with the permission of King Gojong, he opened a school for orphans. This "Underwood School" later became Kyungshin School. He led the founding of Chosen Christian College (Yonhi College) and served as its first president, and from 1912 to 1916 he also served as principal of the Pierson Memorial Bible School.
• Translation and writing: As a member of the Bible translation committee, he published a Korean-script edition of the Gospel of Mark together with Appenzeller. In 1890 he published an English–Korean dictionary, and his other works include The Call of Korea (1908) and The Religions of Eastern Asia (1910).
• Evangelism in the provinces: Although based in Seoul, he traveled throughout the provinces to evangelize. He also supported the opening of the Busan mission station and the founding of Noryangjin Church (1909).

Influence on the Korean Church

Underwood served as the first moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Korea (Joseon Yesugyo Jangnohoe). Many of today's Korean Presbyterian denominations emerged through divisions from this General Assembly (see Presbyterian schisms in Korea). For this reason, his work is regarded as a common starting point shared by many Presbyterian denominations.

He placed great importance on interdenominational cooperation. In 1885, together with Appenzeller, Horace Allen, William Scranton, and others, he began the missionaries' Seoul Union Church services, and he worked with Methodist missionaries on Bible translation. The missionaries reportedly went so far as to agree on establishing a single church under the name "The Church of Christ in Korea," but the plan was not realized because their home churches opposed it. His descendants, including his son Horace Horton Underwood (Won Han-gyeong) and his grandson Horace Grant Underwood II (Won Il-han), carried on work in education and missions in Korea in succeeding generations.

Assessment

Underwood is often described as "the first ordained missionary" and "the pioneer of the Korean mission." The term "first," however, requires careful qualification. The first Protestant missionary to arrive and settle in Korea was the physician Allen, who came in 1884. Underwood was the first missionary to enter Korea as an ordained minister.

Saemunan Church describes its founding as the joint work of Underwood and Korean believers such as Seo Sang-ryun. This reflects the view that the contributions of Korean believers should be recognized alongside, rather than overshadowed by, the achievements of a single missionary. Underwood also worked with other missionaries to ensure King Gojong's safety after the assassination of Empress Myeongseong, and in 1906 he received the Order of the Taegeuk from Emperor Gojong.