Paichai Haktang

Background

After Korea opened its doors to the outside world, Western missionaries began arriving in the 1880s, and modern schools that combined mission work with the spread of Western learning began to appear. Henry Appenzeller, a missionary of the Methodist Episcopal Church (the northern branch of American Methodism), reentered Korea at Incheon in June 1885 and settled in Seoul in July. He purchased a house from the physician William Scranton, who had arrived a month earlier, and knocked down the wall between two rooms to create a small classroom. According to accounts, after George C. Foulk of the U.S. legation informed King Gojong that Appenzeller intended to establish an English school, Gojong approved the undertaking.

Development

• August 3, 1885: Appenzeller began teaching English to two students, Yi Gyeom-ra and Go Yeong-pil. The school regards this date as its founding day.
• June 8, 1886: According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture and the school's official history, King Gojong bestowed the name "Paichai Haktang" (培材學堂), meaning "a hall for cultivating talent," along with a signboard bearing the name. The signboard was inscribed by Jeong Hak-gyo, a renowned calligrapher of the day, and was delivered to Appenzeller through Kim Yun-sik of the Foreign Office. The National Institute of Korean History's Uri History Net and other sources give the date on which the signboard was received as February 21, 1887, so accounts of the date differ. Paichai High School observes June 8 as its founding anniversary.
• 1889: Franklin Ohlinger, who had been serving as a missionary in China, was brought in to run a printing press, where Hangul type was cast and the Bible was printed. John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress and the Maeil Sinmun (Daily News) are also said to have been published there.
• 1895: A college division was established with departments of English literature, Korean and Chinese literature, and theology.
• 1896: Students organized a student association, the Hyeopseonghoe, and published its organ, the Hyeopseonghoe Hoebo.
• 1909: The school received official authorization as Paichai Higher School (Paichai Godeung Haktang).
• 1916: The school was divided into Paichai Higher Common School, offering secondary education, and Paichai Higher School, offering advanced education. In the same year, the red-brick East Hall was completed.
• 1925: The Japanese Government-General of Korea abolished the name Paichai Haktang, and Paichai Higher School was closed.
• 1937 and 1951: The school was renamed Paichai Middle School in 1937 and was divided into Paichai Middle School and Paichai High School in 1951.

The Joseon government also made use of the school. Historical records preserve an agreement under which the government was to send 200 students to Paichai Haktang for their education.

Outcomes and Influence

Paichai Haktang taught subjects such as the Bible, English, classical Chinese, astronomy, geography, physiology, and mathematics using Western methods. It introduced Western sports such as baseball, soccer, and tennis, and it encouraged students to practice expressing their views through debates and public speeches. The school motto, "欲爲大者 當爲人役" (yogwi daeja dangwi inyeok, "Whoever would be great must be the servant of others"), is drawn from Matthew 20:26. Alumni include Syngman Rhee, Ju Si-gyeong, Kim Sowol, and Na Do-hyang.

Paichai High School relocated to Godeok-dong in Gangdong District, Seoul, in 1984. The East Hall that remained in Jeong-dong was designated Seoul Metropolitan City Monument No. 16 in 2001 and opened as the Paichai Haktang History Museum on July 24, 2008. The educational foundation Paichai Haktang also operates Pai Chai University.

Assessment

Paichai Haktang is widely regarded as the first modern private school founded by foreigners in Korea. It is remembered as the birthplace of modern Korean education and as an institution that reflects the early mission work of Korean Methodism. Together with Ewha Haktang, founded by the Methodist mission during the same period, it is frequently cited as one of the earliest examples of a Christian school in Korea. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture states that the school contributed to the movement to save the nation through education during the Enlightenment period and to the Korean national movement during the Japanese colonial period. At the same time, materials from the National Institute of Korean History note that the Joseon government sought to use this mission school as a channel for training personnel needed for its own policies. Both 1885, when classes began, and 1886, when the school's name was bestowed, remain in use as the founding date.