Rev. Henry Gerhard Appenzeller (February 6, 1858 – June 11, 1902) was a Methodist missionary and one of three American missionaries (the other two being Horace Newton Allen and Horace Grant Underwood) who introduced Protestant Christianity into Korea in 1885.
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He was born in Souderton, Pennsylvania, in 1858. He graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in 1882, and later attended the Drew Theological Seminary in Madison, New Jersey. He was ordained to the ministry in the Methodist Episcopal Church by Bishop C.H. Fowler in San Francisco on February 6, 1885 and was appointed as a missionary to Korea.[1]
Appenzeller arrived in Korea on April 5, 1885 with his wife Ella J. Dodge. 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 Middle and High School, and University.[2] 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 Yanghwajin Foreigners' Cemetery, the grave site of over 300 foreigners including over 80 missionaries from many denominations including those sent by the United Methodist Church and its predecessor denominations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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.
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