중국 산동성 선교

Shantung Mission - The First and Only Cross-cultural Mission Work of the Korean Church

This study seeks to understand why Shantung mission was the only cross-cultural mission work done by the Korean church in 1913-1957 while the focus of other mission works was the Diaspora Koreans and its implications for today's mission work of the Korean church. The Korean church clearly demonstrated its evangelistic zeal by sending its missionaries to Jeju Island, Manchuria, Russia, Japan, Hawaii and Shantung. However, it is interesting that it was only Shantung mission that was cross-cultural in nature, while all others were targeting Koreans living overseas. This study briefly looks at those early missionary enterprise in different regions, which at the end points to the foundational difference between Shantung mission and other missions in other places. They share many things in common, they both were initiated by the church, they both show the missionray zeal, they both were done while they did not have sufficient resources, they both have sacrificial indiviuals. However, Shantung mission stands as the only cross-cultural mission work. While fully agreeing that Shantung mission was exclusively ministered, gorverned and financed by the Korean church, this study suggests that Shantung mission was the only cross-cultural mission enterprise because it was initiated by a missionary, possibly with the help of a missionary board. Some previous studies seem to overlook the fact that W. B. Hunt took a significant role in planning and preparing Shantung mission, mediating between mission boards, the Chinese church and the Korean church. This study, then, goes further to discuss what the Korean church may learn from this historical event.