Martinsburg statesman-democrat. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1906-1921, 1908-07-03
Korea: The Unique Mission fieia
BY William Z. Ellis, Editoriai o'aii
Of the PHILADELPHIA Press.

Gradually the truth is SINKING NV
the consciousness of Christendom tha'
Korea is not like the other mission
fields, and that the urgency OF hei
claim is not simrly another OF the Wig
orous appeals from foreign felds 70
which the ears Of the Churches have
become sadly dulled. Korea is unique
among the mission lands todayiit may
be questioned whether her case has
ever had parallel IN missionary his
tory.
My own experience has been akin 10
that of all other travellers IN TIE East
who have observed missionary condi-
tions. After year or rather through
Investigation into the mission work Of
the Orient, / have returned an enihu
mast for Korea. No other work ap-
peared TO me comparable with the
Korean work. This ia manifestly an
extraordinary instance Of the special
workings of supernatural Spirit.
Some aspects of Korea's missionary
history may be accounted for by the
sagacity and farsightedness of Mofiet
and Lee and Gale and Underwood,
those statesmanlike empire-builders.
Even tho thew, and the like minded
men and women who have come after
them for the Korean missions, both
Presbyterian and Methodist, have an
unusual personnel) be credited with
all that can be attributed to them, there
remains a great surplus of marvellous
achievement which can be accounted
for only by charging it up to the still
working Spirit of the Omnipotent God
Others may 90 into the history of
Korean missions, and recite tho'e NOV
ing statistics. My part is to tell plain
tale of traveller returned. What /
saw was learned in a sojourn of about
one mouth in the cities of Fusan Vaiku,
Seolu and Pyeng Yang, and itincrat-
ing among the country villages. Con-
siderable time was also given to Inves-
tigating political as well as to religious
conditions interviewing Marquis Ito
and lesser japanese officials, and the
nor-missionary body OF foreigners in
Seoul
On our arrival in Seoul, we called at
the home of missionary friend aud
found there, calling at the same time,
and old Korean peasant woman, who
had walked in several miles from the
country to plead with the over worked
missionary to come visit her village.
Her errand was, fear, as frultless, as
1t had been On preyious occasions After
this quaint, shining-faced old figure
had left the room, she returned, our
hostess explaining. "This old women
asked me, when we got out into the
hallway, If my friends are believers.
When she learned that you are, she in
sisted on coming back again to tell you
hew GLAD she is to NEE: you.
This experience was frequently re-
peated At the famous mid-week
prayer-meeting in the Central Presby-
terrain Church of Pyepg Yang, there
were twelve hundred worshippers
seated on the floor. The larger wing
of the building was filled with men !,
the women occupying the other, while
the boys-beautiful, olive-skinned lads
who reminded one that other Orien-
tai Boy who loved his Fathers house
were crowded up in front and even
on the edges of the platform. Apart
altogether from Its picturesqueness in
a visitors eyes, that was the most in
teresting Church congregation / ever
have seen. Alert, devout, radiant,
they were an argument for "old time
religion
How the aptitude of the Christian
Korean for personal evangelism shows
itself was i'll strated in that same vii
iage. The missionary and myself had
not unpacked our luggage upon our
arrival at nightfall before there came
an appeal from village, some ten Ii
farther on, fer him to go over there TO
hold a meeting, The village had never
been visited by missionary; yet it
contained group Of ten believing fam
lilies, evangelical by the church we
were at the moment visiting. OF
course we could not go, any more than
we could answer the many other APP
peals that came to US from all sides
during those few days of itineration. In
order to keep his engagement with the
Churches who had been notified of his
coming, the missionary was unable to
examine all the candidates for baptism
who awaited him at every appoint.
ment.
And such examinations 1 sat
through one for several hours, having
questions and answers interpreted, IN
til the atmosphere became too thick
for me, and the company too numer-