Park Sin-il: Edit history

Life

A native of Gangseo in South Pyongan Province, she is said to have been the eldest daughter of Park Yong (朴鏞), a neighbor of the family of her husband, Sohn Jeong-do, in their hometown. No confirmed records of her birth or death dates exist. She reportedly married Sohn through an arranged match when he was about thirteen years old, and she is said to have been two or three years older than her husband.

Around 1902, Sohn Jeong-do converted to Christianity while on his way to Pyongyang to take the civil service examination. After he destroyed his Confucian family's ancestral shrine, he was driven from his home and continued his studies in Pyongyang. Park Sin-il is said to have been unable to endure life in her in-laws' household and to have gone to Pyongyang to join her husband. The couple had two sons and three daughters: Jin-sil (born 1901), Seong-sil (born 1905), Won-il (born 1909), Won-tae (born 1914), and In-sil (born 1917).

Sohn Jeong-do died in February 1931 in Jilin, China. Records indicate that Park Sin-il traveled from Beijing to attend his funeral on February 22. After Korea's liberation, she is known to have lived with the family of her son Sohn Won-il.

Ministry and Contributions

Most of what is known of Park Sin-il's activities has come down through accounts of her husband and children. In Pyongyang she worked as a menial laborer at a Christian hospital, paying the tuition of her husband, who was then attending Soongsil School, and raising their two daughters. Sohn Jeong-do later completed his studies at Hyeopseong Theological Seminary (the predecessor of today's Methodist Theological University) and became a Methodist minister.

While her husband was engaged in the independence movement abroad, she supported the household by working at the hospital during the day and sewing at night. She is also said to have endured surveillance and pressure from the Japanese police. According to the recollections of Sohn Won-il, during the family's years in Manchuria the Sohn household provided free meals to independence fighters who arrived bearing messages. During this period Park Sin-il reportedly kept the household going by working as a day laborer at a rice mill.

Influence on the Korean Church

Within Korean Methodism, Park Sin-il is remembered as an example of the colonial-era pastor's wife who took responsibility for the household and its livelihood while her husband devoted himself to ministry and the independence movement. Her children were also active in the church and in society. Her eldest daughter, Sohn Jin-sil, joined with members of Namsanhyeon Church in Pyongyang in 1919 to organize the Korean Patriotic Women's Association in support of the Provisional Government, and she was imprisoned for this work. Her elder son, Sohn Won-il, served as the first Chief of Naval Operations and as Minister of National Defense. Her youngest daughter, Sohn In-sil, served as president of the YWCA of Korea, among other positions.

Assessment

Park Sin-il is regarded as a woman who sacrificed herself for her husband and family and supported the independence movement behind the scenes. However, most of what is known about her appears only incidentally in Sohn Won-il's memoirs and in studies of Sohn Jeong-do. As a result, many basic facts, including her birth and death dates, the date of her marriage, and any independent religious activity, remain unconfirmed. Some details, such as the couple's ages at the time of their marriage, differ from source to source and require further verification.