Modern History as Seen Through Gwangju's Landmarks 》The Influence of Western Missionaries in the Early Japanese Colonial Period

Story

Looking at Gwangju's landmark buildings, the 1910s and 1920s are marked by buildings associated with Western missionaries, namely those of the U.S. Presbyterian Church, all centered around Yangnim-dong Village.
Owen Memorial Hall
- Owen Memorial Hall was built in 1914 to commemorate the American medical missionary Dr. Clement C. Owen (1867-1909), one of the first Protestant missionaries in Jeollanam-do Province, and his grandfather William Owen.
Clement Owen came to Korea in 1898 on behalf of the Southern Presbyterian Church and began his missionary work in Mokpo. In 1904, he moved to Gwangju and died in 1909 due to acute pneumonia.
When he was alive, Owen planned to establish a building in memory of his grandfather, but failed to do so. After Owen’s death, his relatives living in America sent a $4,200 donation to commemorate his missionary work. These funds were used to build the Owen Memorial Hall, thus fulfilling Owen’s wish.
Owen Memorial Hall is a two-story square building with a grey brick exterior and a wooden interior. Inside the building, a pulpit is placed at one corner with the pews oriented toward it, creating a diagonally symmetrical interior layout.

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S2023-207a	Story	Episode		The Influence of Western Missionaries in the Early Japanese Colonial Period			The Influence of Western Missionaries in the Early Japanese Colonial Period	http://dh.aks.ac.kr/~gwangju/wiki/index.php/S2023-207a	http://dh.aks.ac.kr/~gwangju/icon/episode.png