Early missionaries Calvinism first arrived in Korea in August of 1866, when pastor
Robert Jermain Thomas was captured and
martyred during the
General Sherman incident. The first Korean Presbyterian church was founded by
Seo Sang-ryun in
Hwanghae Province in 1884. Large-scale missions began two decades later, when
Horace Newton Allen of the
Northern Presbyterian Church entered the royal court of
Joseon as a physician. In 1885,
Horace Underwood and
John W. Heron arrived to establish a formal Presbyterian mission in Korea. Although the first Korean Bible was translated by
John Ross in the 1870s, it was later printed by the
British and Foreign Bible Society and the
Scottish Bible Society in 1886. Soon after, Canadian missionary
James Scarth Gale and Australian Joseph Henry Davies came in 1889, followed by American
Samuel Austin Moffett in 1890. In 1891, teachers Isabella Menzies, Jean Perry, and Mary Fawcett arrived from Australia. Dr. James MacKenzie landed in 1893, and in 1898, Dr.
Robert Grierson, pastor W. R. Foote, and Duncan MacRae from the
Presbyterian Church in Canada joined the missionary effort. McKenzie died a year and a half after his arrival while working in
evangelism and medical care at
Sorae Church,
Hwanghae Province. His efforts led to the organization of the Korean mission church for the Presbyterian Church in Canada () in
Wonsan. Pastors
William D. Reynolds and Lewis B. Tate arrived in 1892 and organized the Korean mission church for the Southern Presbyterian Church () in
Jeolla Province. (, also known as the Council of Missions). Both councils consisted solely of foreign missionaries. In 1901, Samuel Moffett established the
Pyongyang Theological Seminary and became its first principal. The spread of Presbyterianism was further intensified by the
Great Pyongyang Revival of 1907. On June 20, 1907, Kil Sŏn-chu, Yang Chŏn-paek, , , Sŏ Kyŏng-cho, , and Pang Kich'ang became the first graduates of the Pyongyang Theological Seminary. That same year, the United Council decided to appoint a party committee member to oversee church affairs for the five local councils of
Pyeongan, Gyeongseong, Jeolla, Gyeongsang, and Hamgyeong. On September 17, 1907, with the approval of four presbyters from the Mission Council, 33 missionaries and 38 presbyters organized the Presbyterian Church of Korea into an independent church. The five local councils were reorganized into the seven sub-presbyteries () of
Pyeongbuk,
Pyeongnam,
Hwanghae,
Chungcheong,
Jeolla,
Hamgyong, and
Gyeongsang. The PCK was also known during this era as the "Independent Council" (). On September 17, 1911, during an assembly at Nammoon Church, Daegu, the Independent Council agreed to establish a General Assembly and convert the seven sub-presbyteries into official presbyteries. On September 1, 1912, the first General Assembly of the PCK took place in Pyongyang. In 1916, the Presbytery of Gyeongsang was divided into the presbyteries of
Gyeongnam and
Gyeongbuk, and the presbytery of
Pyongseo (west Pyongan) was separated from the presbytery of Pyongbuk. Tensions between Christians and the colonial government led many Korean Presbyterians, such as
Kil Sŏn-chu, to become closely involved in the
March First Movement of 1919. The
persecution of Christians intensified as a result of the movement. Police forces frequently destroyed Presbyterians' properties, and many missionaries were placed under scrutiny. By the end of June 1919, 1,461 Presbyterians had been arrested by Japanese police; within less than four months, the total number of Presbyterian arrests increased to 3,804. 41 of the Presbyterian leaders were killed, and twelve churches were destroyed.
Horace Underwood made detailed accounts of the
Jeam-ni Massacre during a trip to
Suwon with his colleagues. Presbyterianism in Korea was reconstructed after
World War II, and the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church was re-established in 1947.
Schisms in the 1950s In the 1950s, the Presbyterian Church of Korea suffered from a series of schisms over issues of
theology,
ecumenism, and worship. The first of these divisions was connected to a controversy that began in the 1930s, when Korea was still under Japanese rule. At that time, university students were instructed to bow to the
Shinto shrine in worship, which was theologically and politically controversial amongst Christians. While many complied, some Christians at
Pyongyang Theological Seminary adamantly opposed it, holding that the Bible prohibited such actions. After Korea's liberation from Japanese rule and subsequent division, many northern Koreans relocated to the south. Those who formerly opposed the
Shinto shrine worship established a new seminary, Koryo Theological Seminary (now
Kosin University) in 1946, and eventually formed a new denomination, the
Presbyterian Church in Korea (Kosin) in 1951. The second division occurred in 1953, when progressives separated to form the
Presbyterian Church of the Republic of Korea (KiJang). In the 1970s, the KiJang Presbyterians would produce some of the key leaders of
minjung theology, a movement advocating social justice under the dictatorship of
Park Chung Hee. In 1959, at the 44th General Assembly, a third schism divided the Presbyterian Church of Korea into two equal branches: the
Presbyterian Church of Korea (TongHap) and the
Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapDong). The main issue was whether the Church should be a part of the
ecumenical organization, the
World Council of Churches (WCC). Park Hyun-nyon, President of the Presbyterian Seminary of the General Assembly, led the formation of the Evangelical "HapDong" (the union body), whereas those who supported relations with the WCC formed the ecumenical "TongHap" (the united body). Today, TongHap and HapDong represent the largest factions of Korean Presbyterianism. ==General assembly==