Kang Shin-myung

Life

Kang was born in 1909 in the village of Naemae, Cheonbon-ri, Pyeongeun-myeon, Yeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, the eldest son of the Rev. Kang Byung-ju. After completing Naemyeong School, he attended Soongsil Middle School in Pyongyang, Yeongmyeong School in Gongju, and Paichai School in Seoul before graduating from Keisung School in Daegu. He graduated from the English department of Soongsil College in Pyongyang in 1934 and from the regular course of the Presbyterian Theological Seminary of Korea in Pyongyang in 1938. In 1940 he studied at Tokyo Theological Seminary in Japan.

In 1947 he became a minister at Youngnak Church, and in 1948 he became principal of Dongheung Middle School. In 1951 he went to the United States, where he completed graduate studies at Princeton Theological Seminary. In 1955 he left Youngnak Church for Saemoonan Church, where he served as senior pastor for about twenty-four years, until the end of 1979. In January 1980 he became the first pastor emeritus in the history of Saemoonan Church. He died in 1985 while serving as president of Soongjun University.

Ministry and Achievements

• Pastoral ministry and denominational work: Saemoonan Church is regarded as the first organized Presbyterian church in Korea. Kang served as its pastor for many years. He is reported to have served as the 48th moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Korea (Tonghap) (1963–1964).
• Theological education: After the Presbyterian schisms of the 1950s, a second division of the Presbyterian Theological Seminary—an evening seminary—was established at the proposal of the General Assembly. In 1962 Kang became principal of this school, which was burdened with debt and struggling to operate. He renamed it Seoul Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and from 1969 to 1979 the school used the Saemoonan Church education building as its temporary campus. For this reason some called it the "Saemoonan Seminary." He led the school for more than twenty years as principal and chairman of the board, and it later became today's Seoul Jangsin University.
• Leadership of Christian schools: He served as chairman of the boards of trustees of Soongsil University and Yonsei University and as president of the Korean Christian Education Association. In January 1982 he was inaugurated as the fourth president of Soongjun University, a post he held until his death. In recognition of his contributions to education, he received the Order of Civil Merit, Moran Medal, in 1970.
• Missions and cooperative work: He served as president of the Korea Council of Christian Mission Organizations and as director of the World Missionary Training Center. In 1953 he took part in founding the World University Service and served as its president.
• Children's songs: Interested in children's songs as a young man, he compiled and published A Selection of Three Hundred Children's Songs (아동가요곡선 삼백곡집) in 1938.

Influence on the Korean Church

Saemoonan Church remembers Kang as a leading figure in the ecumenical movement (the movement seeking unity and cooperation among churches across denominational lines). The church also regards him as the pastor who laid the foundations of the present-day congregation. Another major contribution attributed to him is his role in strengthening the foundations of theological education for the Tonghap branch after the Presbyterian division. In 2009, the centennial of his birth, Seoul Jangsin University published his biography, issued a commemorative stamp, and dedicated a new building named Kang Shin-myung Hall.

Assessment

His denomination, his church, and the schools he founded regard him as a respected elder who contributed broadly to pastoral ministry, education, and cooperative work. His career, however, is also reported to have included political and social activities, such as serving as a member of the Legislative Council under the new military regime in 1980 and as chairman of the Korean Christian Committee Against the Withdrawal of U.S. Forces from Korea. Because sufficient verified sources on how the church community has assessed these activities are lacking, such assessments have not been included in this draft and require further verification.