Robert Koehler
Seung Dong Presbyterian Church
The forerunner of Seung Dong Presbyterian Church, Gondanggol Church, was established in what is now Taepyeong-no by American missionary Samuel F. Moore in 1893, some nine years after Korea’s first Presbyterian missionary, Horace N. Allen, arrived in Korea.
Moore was a rather interesting character — he was very passionate about his work, he learned Korean in about six months by living away from the usual foreigner haunts of the day, and he put a lot of his effort into spreading the word among Korea’s social underdogs, including women and baekjeong, the “untouchable” class of Joseon society.
As for the building, the church attained its present form — for the most part — by 1912. It’s an imposing, red brick Romanesque structure, although the white entrance area was added on in 1959.
www.rjkoehler.com/2007/07/26/seung-dong-presbyterian-church/
Seung Dong Presbyterian Church
The forerunner of Seung Dong Presbyterian Church, Gondanggol Church, was established in what is now Taepyeong-no by American missionary Samuel F. Moore in 1893, some nine years after Korea’s first Presbyterian missionary, Horace N. Allen, arrived in Korea.
Moore was a rather interesting character — he was very passionate about his work, he learned Korean in about six months by living away from the usual foreigner haunts of the day, and he put a lot of his effort into spreading the word among Korea’s social underdogs, including women and baekjeong, the “untouchable” class of Joseon society.
As for the building, the church attained its present form — for the most part — by 1912. It’s an imposing, red brick Romanesque structure, although the white entrance area was added on in 1959.
www.rjkoehler.com/2007/07/26/seung-dong-presbyterian-church/