Religious Relations between Korea DACH The first religious
Religious Relations between Korea & D-A-CH
The first religious contact between Koreans and Germans was the meeting of Crownprince Sohyeon and the German Jesuit Johann Adam Schall von Bell in 1644 in Beijing/China. Jesuits are a catholic order who came to Asia since 1500. They are not only famous for relious reasons but also well known scientist. Religious Relations between Korea & D-ACH
Jesuits were very active in China, translated bibles and christian literature in Chinese language, and these books came also to Korea. Until 1832 only catholic contacts existed. Religious Relations between Korea & D-ACH
1832 the first protestant missionary visited Korea, the German priest and China-Missionary Karl Gützlaff. Three weeks he traveled along the Korean Westcoast with his ship, distributed bibles and learned the Korean alphabeth Hangul. He introduced potatoes and wine-grapes to the Koreans. He died 1851 in Hong Kong. Religious Relations between Korea & D-ACH
In the following years until 1871 christianty in Korea was forbidden, but some bibles and tractates were smuggled in from China, so the christian community grew. In the begin there were almoust catholics, but then also the number of protestants rose to higher numbers. Religious Relations between Korea & D-ACH
The first protestant missionaries were Europeans, French, Italians or Germans, but than more clergy men from the USA came to Korea, for ex. Horace Newton Allen, Horace Grant Underwood and the Methodist Henry Gerhart Appenzeller. Religious Relations between Korea & D-ACH
Henry Gerhart Appenzeller was born in Souderton, Pennsylvania, in 1858. His mother was from Swiss Mennonite stock, while his father was from Pennsylvania. His parents went to the German Reformed Church. His mother played an important role in his life. She influenced Henry's faith by gathering him and his two brothers to read German bible on Sunday afternoon. His mother speaks German but little English, therefore, German is his first language. Appenzeller was the founder of a Boy- School, “Paichai Hakdang “in Korea in 1887. Religious Relations between Korea & D-ACH
Related to this missionaries was the founding of more schools and later universities with christian background, for example Yonsei University (Methodist) or Sogang University (Catholics, Jesuits). Religious Relations between Korea & D-ACH
In 1909 German monks founded a monastery in Wonsan. One of them was Norbert Weber. They founded schools for poor families, but the highschools were later forbidden by the Japanese. After the dividing in North- and South-Korea 1949 the were send to jail, some of them died. Religious Relations between Korea & D-ACH
Another of these monks, who arrived 1909, was Andre Eckhardt. He founded schools for workers in Seoul and was also professor at the Kyeongseong-University in Seoul (now Seoul National University). 1929 he came back to Germany and wrote his dissertation about „Schools in Korea“. In 1957 he was the founder of „Korean Studies“ at Munich University, where he worked until 1974. Religious Relations between Korea & D-ACH
The survivors went back to Germany, but returned to South. Korea with some Swiss monks in the early 1950 and founded schools, churches or monasteries like Waegwan near Daegu. Religious Relations between Korea & D-ACH
In the 1960 es German nuns came to Korea, worked in houses for handicapped people or orphans. Religious Relations between Korea & D-ACH
One of them is Mechthild Hartmann (her nun-name is Sister Bertilde). She came 1967 to Korea and lives now in a house for handicapped people in Incheon. In 2011 she became honorary citizen of Seoul. Religious Relations between Korea & D-ACH
Today there two German speaking Christian communities in Seoul. Religious Relations between Korea & D-ACH
Religious Relations between Korea & D-ACH
There are many contacts and exchanges between Korean and German Churches. Kardinal Kim Sou-hwan studied social sciences from 1956 – 1965 in Münster/Germany. He spoke fluently German. Religious Relations between Korea & D-ACH
There are many contacts and exchanges between Korean and German Churches. Some German professors are teaching theology at Korean universities. Religious Relations between Korea & D-ACH
As there are living around 26. 000 Koreans in Germany, there also Korean Churches and religious institutions there. Religious Relations between Korea & D-ACH
Ende Religious Relations between Korea & D-ACH
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