언더우드의 글로벌 의식

Globalism of H. G. Underwood, D.D., LL.D., the Pioneer Missionary to Korea

H. G. Underwood, D.D., LL.D. was the pioneer missionary to Korea for 33 years. He was the missionary with the unique and noble sense of Christian globalism. His Christian globalism, first of all, seems to have sprung out of the solemn sense of his identification himself with the Christian missionary, for Christian mission is to be established on the idea of one-united world under the One and the Sovereignty of Jesus Christ. On the other hand, Underwood’s idea of Christian globalism was demonstrated abundantly in his The Call of Korea which was published in 1908, a missionary report sent to the American Christian Society. In this book, as the chair-person of the Society of Korea Propaganda in the U. S. A. from 1907 to 1909, Underwood was knocking ardently the doors of the hearts of the American Christians with a sincere call for Korea in the political, social and religious fields. In this book, his Christian globalism was expounded with four points. Firstly, Korea was understood as a part of the world in which God’s sovereignty was overwhelmingly dominating. In this case the global world was no more than a whole as the sum of local parts. Secondly, Underwood appreciated the ordinary mundane lives of Korean people no less than the religious life of the people. This fact points out that Underwood stressed the ordinary routine lives of the people which are to be dynamically transformed and activated by the faith. Simultaneously and thirdly it proves that his globalism has a sort of organic character because he did not set apart the religious life from the ordinary routine lives. Lastly, Underwood hailed the mission of Korea, id est, the divine mission called for the propagation of the Christian Gospel to the entire Asian countries. He recognized that this sacred mission was already inherent to Korean people. With this point, Underwood understood that global world united under the Gospel could be firmly established and only by performing faithfully its assigned mission whatever mission each country called for. Surprisingly, these four character of Underwood’s globalism appeared repeatedly in the process of founding Chosen Christian College, the predecessor of the present Yonsei University and the Biblical Course. That is, the global world as the sum of local parts, faith as reality, the organic union of society and church, and coordination of Japan, Korea and the U. S. A. as the citizens of Christian global world, who seeks His Kingdom and His righteousness with no regard to the differences of countries: east and west, yellow and white. The unique yet lofty idea of globalism of H. G. Underwood, the pioneer missionary to Korea will point the path upon which Korea and the Korean churches will march forward. For Korea and her churches has been set apart from above from the beginning, and now she is facing with the real global world which is united economically with its earnest call for Christian globalism.