Draft Modern Education and Christianity
| Title | Missionaries’ Contribution to Modernizing Education in Korea |
|---|---|
1차 원고
Education in Korea had been given based on Confucian classics for centuries. However, the traditional education in Korea began to be replaced by Western learning as the country started to contact with Western culture after the Ganghwa Treaty. Korea contacted with Western learning primarily through missionaries.
With ultimate goal of propagating Christianity in Asia, missionaries propagated the religion in indirect way by establishing mission schools instead of churches. Their school education played the role of bridge for transferring Korea’s traditional education into modern education. It posed diverse impacts on spreading modern education, such as popularization of Korean alphabet, or Hangeul, diffusion of modernism, abolition of caste system, gender equality and instillation of national consciousness.
Particularly, translation of the bible into Hangeul brought enormous impact to popularizing the language because missionaries propagated Christianity primarily to common people who had been alienated from aristocrats-oriented traditional education. With mass publication and distribution of the bible and Christian books made significant contribution to inspiring ideology of equality and humanitarianism, thereby changing feudalistic idea and arousing nationalism.
Some 900 mission schools were established between 1886 and 1909 by missionaries. Typically, H.G. Appenzeller, a Methodist missionary, founded the first mission school in Korea, Baejae Hakdang, in 1886 and missionary M.F. Scranton established Ewha Hakdang, the first mission school for girls, in the same year. These were followed by Gyeongsin Hakgyo (1886), and Jeongsin Yeohakgyo (1887). Mission schools for girls contributed to modernization of women education in Korea. In addition, introduction and education of Western learning through mission schools also contributed to forming modern identity by significantly influencing ideas of enlightenment-advocating intellectuals. Stimulated by establishment of mission schools, pioneering intellectuals began to set up private schools. Some of schools founded by these intellectuals, including Yangjeong Euisuk (1905), Boseong Hakgyo (1905), Hwimun Euisuk (1906), Jungdong Hakgyo (1906), Daeseong Hakgyo (1907) and Osan Hakgyo (1907), still remain to be leading middle/high schools. Moreover, Korean teachers who received higher education at these mission schools were more effective in teaching Korean students than missionaries. Coupled with these efforts of early missionaries, voluntary and active accommodation of Western learning by Korean people largely contributed to building foundation for popularizing and modernizing education in Korea. The experience of accelerating abolition of caste system and producing leaders regardless of family backgrounds through modern education further reinforced Korean people’s zeal for education.
감수본
Education in Korea was based on Confucian classics for many centuries, but then began to be replaced by Western-style learning as the country started to contact Western culture after the Ganghwa Treaty, primarily through Protestant Christian missionaries.
Towards their ultimate goal of propagating Christianity in Asia, missionaries proceeded indirectly by establishing mission schools along with their churches. Their schools played the role of bridges for transforming Korea’s traditional education into modern education. It had diverse impacts such as popularization of the Korean alphabet, or Han-geul, diffusion of modernism, abolition of the caste system, gender equality and instillation of national consciousness.
Particularly, translation of the bible into Han-geul greatly popularized it because missionaries propagated Christianity primarily to common people who had been alienated from aristocrats-oriented traditional education. With mass publication and distribution of the bible and Christian books made significant contributions to inspiring the ideology of equality and humanitarianism, thereby changing feudalistic ideas and arousing nationalism.
Some 900 mission schools were established between 1886 and 1909 by missionaries. H.G. Appenzeller, a Methodist missionary, founded the first mission school in Korea, Baejae Hakdang (a.k.a. PaiChai College) in 1886 and then missionary M.F. Scranton established Ewha Hakdang, the first mission school for girls, later in the same year. These were followed by Gyeongsin Hakgyo (1886), and Jeongsin Yeohakgyo (1887). Mission schools for girls pioneered modernization of women’s education in Korea. In addition, introduction and education of Western learning through mission schools also contributed to forming modern identity by significantly influencing ideas of enlightenment-advocating intellectuals. Stimulated by establishment of mission schools, pioneering intellectuals began to set up private schools. Some of schools founded by these intellectuals, including Yangjeong Euisuk (1905), Boseong Hakgyo (1905), Hwimun Euisuk (1906), Jungdong Hakgyo (1906), Daeseong Hakgyo (1907) and Osan Hakgyo (1907), still remain as leading middle/high schools. Moreover, Korean teachers who received higher education at these mission schools were more effective in teaching Korean students than missionaries. Coupled with these efforts of early missionaries, voluntary and active accommodation of Western learning by Korean people largely contributed to building foundation for popularizing and modernizing education in Korea. The experience of accelerating the abolition of the caste system, and producing leaders regardless of family backgrounds through modern education, further reinforced Korean people’s zeal for education.
