THE KUKMIN DAILY

A rare copy of the early Korean Bible is now being shown to the public. This 130-year old book was secretly passed on to Korea from China in 1884, the year missionary H.N. Allen first stepped on the land of Korea.

Early this month Eunpyeong History and Hanok Museum was opened on Yeonseo-ro in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul. On October 21, “Treasure Hunting at Home - Exhibition of Belongings of Eunpyeong District Residents” was under way at the special exhibition room on the third floor. The most attractive items included the original score of Korea Fantasy (the national anthem) by the composer An Ik-tae, and the early Korean Bible, exhibited in the center of the hall.

This Bible is particularly meaningful because it is one of the books that were translated by missionary John Ross (1842∼1915), the first Korean Bible translator, and published by Donggwan Church in Shenyang, China. Prior to this, he had published the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of John in 1882 and the Gospel of Luke in 1885. In 1887, he published the entire New Testament in Korean.

The appearance of the book is unique: one side is filled with Chinese characters, as if that side was another book. Director Shim Han-bo (67) of the Institute of Korean Church History and Literature, who submitted this item for the exhibition, explained, “In the 1880s, the import of foreign religious books was prohibited. Therefore, often the title “Bible” was intentionally scribbled over, or the book itself was disguised as a Chinese book. This looks like one of those cases.”

Right next to the copy of the Gospel of Matthew was a copy of the New Testament published in 1900 in Yokohama, Japan. Museum volunteer Han Jun-seob (77) said, “This is a very valuable resource for studies of the Korean alphabet and printing technology, not to mention the history of Korean Bible translation.”

Director Shim was able to obtain these items from a used bookstore through a pastor friend about 10 years ago. He has been collecting Christian literature for more than 30 years now, and these are his favorites.

He said, “Even though you’re not a Christian, learning how difficult it was to reproduce and spread the Bible alone is very touching… I hope this exhibition will be an opportunity to cherish and love the Bible.”

Article and photo by reporter Jaechan Park (jeep@kmib.co.kr), with Yeara Ahn-Park (yap@kmib.co.kr)


Click here for the original article in Korean