Henry Appenzeller

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Rev. Henry Gerhard Appenzeller (February 6, 1858-June 11, 1902) was a Methodist missionary and one of two American missionaries (the other being Horace Newton Allen) who introduced Protestant Christianity into Korea in 1885.

He was born in Souderton, Pennsylvania, in 1858. He graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in 1882, and later attended the Drew Theological Seminary. He was ordained to the ministry and appointed as a missionary to Korea in San Francisco in 1885.

Appenzeller arrived in Korea on April 5 1885. The Pennsylvania native established the Methodist church in Korea and travelled throughout the country speaking about the Gospel of Jesus. He founded Pai Chai Hak Dang, the first modern Western-styled school in Korea and the predecessor of present-day Pai Chai University. He also participated in the translation of the Bible into Korean with other missionaries.

In 1902, at the age of 44, Appenzeller drowned while journeying to a southern port city, Mokpo, to attend a meeting for Bible translation. He was later buried at the Yanhwajin Foreigners' Cemetery, the grave site of 40 missionaries sent by the United Methodist Church and its predecessor denominations in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Since its founding in 19th century, the Korean Methodist Church has dramatically developed as one of major Protestant denominations in Korea. In 2001, the denomination comprised 5,262 churches, 1,394,514 members, and 7,298 ministers. There were six universities established under the Methodist model, including Pai Chai. In addition, the denomination had its own theological seminary, the Methodist Theological Seminary in Seoul. It also had six theological institutes and 54 junior high and high schools.

[edit] See also

• Christianity in Korea
• 19th Century Protestant Missions in China
• List of Protestant missionaries in China

Protestant Christianity was introduced into Korea in 1884. Five Koreans worked with Rev. John Ross in Manchuria to translate the New Testament into Korean, after teaching Korean language to Ross. Ross was a progressive missionary from The United Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Two churches of 300 members each already had been baptized by Ross afrter being established by two of his Korean colleagues in 1884.

Rev. Ralph Garlin Clingan, PhD

[edit] References

• Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1963.