The aim of the thesis is to describe and assess the contribution of <i>chŏndo puin</i> (Korean Bible Women) to the growth of Protestant Christianity in Korea during the second half of the 19<sup>th</sup> century (late <i>Chosŏn</i> period) to the end of the Japanese occupation of Korea in 1945. The thesis will question western missionary perceptions of the <i>chŏndo puin,</i> and challenge their ignorance in contemporary Korean historiography. It will demonstrate that <i>chŏndo puin</i> were active subjects in the development of Korean Protestant Christianity, rather than the passive objects of evangelism. The research seeks to bring into visibility the “micro-histories” of the <i>chŏndo puin</i> through a critical re-reading of missionary archives, and oral research. Part One provides a critical reconstruction of the cultural landscape from which the <i>chŏndo puin</i> emerged. Chapter One re-assesses the leadership roles that Korean women were able to exercise in traditional Korean society, and corrects missionary misperceptions that denigrated the image of Korean women. Chapter Two examines the interaction between American missionary women and <i>chŏndo puin</i>. Part Two examines the diverse roles that the <i>chŏndo puin</i> fulfilled in the growth of Protestant Christianity from 1895 to 1937-45 when they played an important role in resistance of Japanese military imposition of Shinto practices. Chapter Three features the contributions of <i>puin kwonse</i> (as the <i>chŏndo puin </i>were originally known) to the early development of Protestant Christian mission in Korea. Chapter Four analyses the roles that <i>chŏndo puin</i> played in the period of Protestant Christianity’s most rapid growth in Korea. Chapter Five widens the analysis to include the role of <i>chŏndo puin</i> in Korean society through education and medical institutions, organisations of social outreach, and social-political movements for and against Japanese occupation. The main argument of the thesis is that the <i>chŏndo puin</i> were creative agents of mission in the development of the Protestant Church in Korea, and that their significance has been neglected or ignored in Korean Protestant historiography under the influence of western missionary and Korean male perspectives.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:642736 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Chang, Sung-Jin |
| Publisher | University of Edinburgh |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://hdl.handle.net/1842/19615 |
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