Ju Nam-seon

Life

Ju Nam-seon was a Protestant leader from Geochang, South Gyeongsang Province. With O Hyeong-seon, Go Un-seo, and others, he was involved in founding the Geochang church in 1909. He also worked as a colporteur, traveling through the region to distribute the Scriptures. During the 1919 independence demonstrations in the Geochang area, he was among the leaders, together with his elder brother Ju Nam-jae and his younger brother Ju Nam-su (The March First Movement and Christianity).

He later became a minister and took charge of Geochang-eup Church. When the Japanese colonial authorities enforced Shinto shrine worship, he led the opposition in the Geochang area, teaching that such worship was wrong. On July 16, 1940, he was arrested by a detective of the Higher Police Section of the Jinju Police Station, and he remained in prison until liberation. After his release he returned to his pastorate at Geochang-eup Church. He died in 1951.

Ministry and Achievements

After liberation he served as moderator of the Gyeongnam (South Gyeongsang) Presbytery. In June 1946 the Southern General Assembly, meeting in Seoul, designated Chosun Theological Seminary as the seminary directly operated by the General Assembly. In response, Ju Nam-seon joined Han Sang-dong and others in an effort to establish a separate seminary. On June 5, 1946, a committee to establish Korea Theological Seminary was organized in Jinhae under the leadership of Ju Nam-seon, Han Sang-dong, and Son Yang-won. When the school opened in Busan on September 20 of that year, Ju Nam-seon became the first chairman of its board of trustees, and Park Yune-sun served as acting principal. Ju was also a founding trustee of Koryo Higher Bible School, and he founded Geochang Bible School, where he served as principal.

Influence on the Korean Church

Korea Theological Seminary later became the root of both Kosin University and the Presbyterian Church in Korea (Kosin). The Kosin denomination is generally regarded as having begun in September 1952, after Ju Nam-seon's death, when supporters of Korea Theological Seminary organized a general presbytery. Kosin circles honor him, together with Han Sang-dong, as a founder of Korea Theological Seminary. Some have argued that his influence was a major reason most churches in the Geochang area came to belong to the Kosin denomination after liberation. The government posthumously awarded him a decoration, as it did Ju Gi-cheol and others, and he was buried in the National Cemetery.

Assessment

Kosin circles hold Ju Nam-seon in high regard as a leader of faith who resisted Shinto shrine worship to the end. They also describe the founding of Korea Theological Seminary as an effort to train ministers in orthodox conservative theology. The seminary's founding was, however, also bound up with the division of Korean Presbyterianism after liberation.

• Korea Theological Seminary was established as a private seminary rather than as one directly operated by the General Assembly.
• The Gyeongnam Presbytery at one point revoked its approval of the school and later passed a resolution reversing that decision.
• The resulting conflict ultimately led to the division of the presbytery and the separation of Kosin.

Even within Kosin, some have reflected that a more flexible stance should have been taken toward the presbytery and the General Assembly. Others have judged that Ju Nam-seon's relationship with Korea Theological Seminary was largely symbolic, in contrast to that of Han Sang-dong, who directed its practical affairs.