Ross Version과 韓國 Protestantism

The Ross Version and Korean Protestantism

In the years between 1882 and 1887, Ministers John Ross and John Maclntyre, the pioneer missionaries for the Protestant Church in Manchuria, published the New Testament in Hangul (Korean letters) at Niu-chuang(牛莊)and Shên-yang(審陽一奉天), Manchuria, which is commonly called the Ross Version. In 1882, the Books of Luke and John were published as the first Bible in Hangul, followed by the New Testament in 1887. Since it was translated by Yi Ŭng-ch’an (李應賛), Bek Hong-jun(白鴻俊), and other Ŭiju(義州) young men, the Ross Version is marked by the frequent use of the Ŭiju dialect. It is said to have been revised a number of times with the assistance of the diplomatic officials who visited Peking to pay tribute to the Chinese court on the winter solstice, but except for spelling, not much was changed from the original version. Since 1882, the Ross version was distributed widely throughout the country, starting from the Korean villages in West Chien-Tao (西間島), and before the entry of missionaries, about 100 baptized Christians and about 300 aspiring to be baptized were scattered in Ŭiju, Songch’ŏn(松川), Seoul, Pusan, and the Korean villages in West Chien-Tao. The early missionaries such as Underwood and Appenzeller established the Korean Protestant Church on the basis of the Ross : version. This fact is unprecedented in the history of the missions. And the contributions made by the Ross version to the revival of Hangul cannot be overemphasized.