한국에 온 서양 여성선교사들(1886년~1955년)의 삶과 사역에 관한 고찰 -미북장로교회, 호주장로교회, 미남장로교회와 캐나다장로교회를 중심으로

이정순 ( Chung Soon Lee ) 한국복음주의선교신학회 2012 복음과 선교 Vol.18 No.-

The Presbyterian Church America, the Australian Presbyterian Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Presbyterian Church in Canada are the root of the Presbyterian Church in Korea. To understand Western women missionaries begin at the root of Korean Christianity, The numbers of Western women missionaries reached60% during the early Protestant mission in Korea, The work of Western women missionaries has had an effect on religion, education, culture and society and history in Korea as they are evangelists, educators, medical workers, social workers, translators, Bible teachers, etc. Western women missionaries have contributed to the elevation of the status of women and gender equality, and have shed new light on Korean women and children who were excluded from society and human rights at that time. The difficulties of Western women missionaries included conflict with men missionaries, misunderstanding among other missionaries, loneliness, lack of sanitary facilities, loss of children to disease, bias against women, different lifestyles between Korean and women missionaries, uncomfortable transportation and means of communication, and heavy workloads. Korean women missionaries have been challenged and encouraged by Western women missionaries. Western women missionaries have been good examples to Korean women missionaries who serve the Lord in foreign countries. Today Korean Churches are recognized in the world, it could possible, because of the contributions of Western women missionaries as well as Western men missionaries in Korea. Now the Korean church should keep the Western woman missionary`s precious heritage and should discharge our debt of love to world mission.

식민지 초기 여성선교사의 교육 활동

이윤미 ( Yoon Mi Lee ) 한국교육사학회 2007 한국교육사학 Vol.29 No.2

이 논문은 식민지 초기 여성선교사들의 교육활동의 내용과 성격을 국내 선교사연합 잡지인 『The Korea Mission Field』의 기사를 중심으로 분석한다. 여성선교사들은 1885년 개신교가 한국에 들어온 시점부터 남성들과 더불어 활발한 활동을 전개하였고 여성을 대상으로 한 활동을 담당하였다. 여성선교사들은 크게 기혼여성과 미혼여성으로 구분되었으며, 이들의 수는 남성을 훨씬 상회할 정도로 다수였다. 여성선교사들의 교육활동은 주로 현재까지 존속하는 중등수준의 여학교들을 중심으로 인식되는 경향이 있지만 그들의 여성대상 교육활동은 훨씬 포괄적이었다. 그들의 활동은 한국여성들에게 신앙 뿐 아니라 문해력과 자의식 각성 기회를 제공하여 기독교적 교육의 저변을 확대하는 데 기여하였다. 한편, 여성선교사들의 여성 교육활동은 당시의 서구 기독교 가부장 이념의 기초 위에서 이루어지고 있었고, 종교적 범주안에서 이루어진 활동으로서의 기본적인 한계도 있었다. 이 논문은 식민지 초기 여성선교사들의 존재 형태, 교육관 및 여성관, 그리고 구체적 교육활동의 내용 등을 살펴봄으로써 식민지시기 선교사들에 의한 기독교 여성교육이 지닌 특성을 파악하고자 하였다. This paper focuses on the status and role of women missionaries in the structuring of women`s education during the earlier part of the Japanese colonial period, especially focusing on the 1910s. Up to the earlier decades of the colonial period, Christianity played a pivotal role in enhancing not only literacy but raising consciousness of Korean women by means of constructing girls` schools and expanding classes and institutes for bible studies all over the country. This paper seeks to explore the scope and content of the educational activities conducted by the women missionaries especially in the earlier part of the colonial period, when the nascent state of Christian education saw its peak in the enthusiasm. Establishing missionary Stations over the country, the Protestant missions vigorously expanded not only churches but also schools in various locations. The introduction of Christianity greatly contributed to the emergence of modern education for women. Christianity, in the early modern Korea was more than a religion, not only for reform-minded males, but also for women long suppressed under the Confucian patriarchal norms. Christianity often represented "modern" or "Western" civilization, for those who sought for a fundamental transformation of the traditional social order. Christian education for women in the early modern period was thus nuanced as "modern" as opposed to "traditional". In analyzing the status and roles of the women missionaries, the paper discusses the position of the women missionaries from the perspectives of gender and western modernity. The women missionaries outnumbered men in the Korean mission field but assumed a subsidiary position. While many of them actively engaged in missionary activities, their position remained ambivalent, especially for those who were in the field as married women. The typical way that their influence was featured was in their managing of the "missionary home". Based on the idea of the "cult of domesticity", prevalent among the nineteenth century Christians, the missionaries focused on educating Korean women for future mothers and wives of Christian homes. This idea of gender was reflected in their aims of education for women in Korea throughout the colonial period. Their evangelistic aims were complexly mixed with ethnocentric views on Korean traditional patriarchal ideas based on Confucianism. The missionaries` activities were often considered "modern", yet their focus was centered on conservative social movements such as mobilizing women for the cause of temperance movement. They often symbolized "Western modernity", yet in a much limited sense, not only by the Western standard of the time but also by the nascent feminism of Korea. It is of note that despite the educational agenda of the women missionaries which remained largely conservative, some of them actively called for higher education for Korean women, especially in the latter part of the Japanese colonization. The changes which appear in the goals for women`s education over time are evidences of the interaction and accommodation between the evangelistic goal of the mission and the growing needs for women`s education in the Korean society.

개화기 서양 여성 선교사들이 개화기 여성의 외모에 미친 영향

김향숙 ( Kim Hyang Sook ) 한국복음주의선교신학회 2017 복음과 선교 Vol.40 No.-

This article will talk about the change of Korean women’s costume influenced by western women missionaries in Late-Chosen Dynasty. During the temporal background of this study, ranged from the late 1880s to the first half of the 1930s, this will show how western women missionaries enlightened reclusive Chosen women. At that time as male missionary’s wife, western women missionaries spent their time teaching Sunday school classes and guiding the Bible studies to korean women, visiting women in trouble with Bible women. Most of all, they established girls’ school and undertook women education, which was extremely difficult job to think under the male-centered society at that time. Consequently, Chosen women naturally got to understand as well as receive Christian idea inherent due to frequent contact with women missionaries. The Western women missionaries greatly influenced on the changes of appearances as well as the awakening of Chosen women. Contact with western women missionary laid the groundwork which directly influenced the change in Chosen women’s dress. Western women missionary played a crucial role in forming the social perception for practical function of women’s costume even if the change in the women’s way of thinking was processed gradually for the changes in dress. Chosen women who had an opportunity to come face to face with western women missionaries became acquainted with western women’s clothes and they took a leading role in modifying current fashions such as longer Jegori and shorter Chima of girls school uniform, Chochihurry, sports wears for running, baseball, tennis etc. Consequently, In order to develop practical discussion, this paper presents documents, data and photos of the time including western women missionaries’dairies.

실현되지 못한 가능성 : 19세기 전반 아프리카에 파견된 미국 감리교 여성 '선교사들'

박은진(Park Eun-jin) 한국아프리카학회 2003 한국아프리카학회지 Vol.18 No.-

Focusing on 11 American Methodist women 'teaching missionaries' and 9 'missionary wives'to Africa in the first half of the nineteenth century, the study argues that the African mission opened an arena in which antebellum American women could work outside family, a culturally prescribed sphere of women of the time. However auxiliary their positions were in the missionary enterprise, the women 'missionaries' perceived their role as much 'missionary' as the one their male counterparts assumed. Notwithstanding their object was limited to African women, the women missionaries also took a responsibility of evangelism, a 'regular' missionary activity usually given to men only. However, the study concludes that the potential which the Africa mission appeared to promise for women missionaries was not eventually realized for two reasons. A deep-rooted African custom partially accounts for it. An African girl was an important source of wealth for her parents since her future husband give them liberal presents upon engagement. Thus Africans were reluctant to send their daughters to the 'non-profitable' mission schools. No female missionary academy was able to overcome the cultural obstacle. It was hard to procure a substantial number of African female students. An inner problem of the women missionary workforce itself was all the more serious. Except for those six who worked in Africa for more than two years, all other Methodist women missionaries did not stay in the mission field long enough to provide any meaningful missionary labor. The 'African fever' not only took away the lives of two women missionaries, but also forced ten others to return to America. Even while in Africa, the sick women missionaries were not able to fulfill their missionary duty effectively.

근대 초기 기독교 여성과 기독교적 여성교육

김현숙 한국기독교교육학회 2019 기독교교육논총 Vol.0 No.59

Christianity and Christian education have in the past provided Korean women with opportunities for a new life, promoted social reform by way of modernization, and demonstrated the possibility of social transformation when facing national crises. Today’s Korean churches, however, do not adequately address contemporary situations in which women are encouraged to actively participate in the Korean society. Based on this awareness, this study attempts to show how Christian women, especially educated women, mothers of educated women, Bible women, and women missionaries, played active and cooperative roles in women's education during the early modern period(1885-1920). Their collegial relationships formed a solidarity between women missionaries and educated women, between mothers who supported daughters for their education and educated women, and between women missionaries and Bible women. This solidarity was built by moving beyond traditional hierarchical relationships between teachers and students, between mothers and daughters, and between missionaries and helpers. One historical example is that of the Bible women who taught illiterate women how to read and write the Korean language while they evangelized them. Another is that of education at the girl's academy where women missionaries, senior and junior students lived together and shared faith. These collegial relationships and solidarity made an important impact on Christian women's education in the early Modern period and can provide us with a good educational model in which women today may be encouraged and challenged to achieve their own identity in close relation to other Christian women. This study of early modern Christian women and Christian women’s education can impact Christian education today. Christian education for the 21st century needs to include women's experiences as educational content and to embrace diverse experiences of marginalized people. Christian education also needs to provide an educational environment in which students are encouraged to become "better Koreans and better Christians," based on cooperating with one another rather than on competing for success. 근대 초기 기독교와 기독교교육은 조선 여성들에게 다양한 삶의 기회를 제공하였고, 문명화를 통한 사회 변화를 주도하였으며, 민족적·시대적 과제에 직면해서 적극적인 개혁의 가능성을 보여주었다. 그러나 최근 여성 참여의 폭과 비율이라는 측면에서 볼 때 한국 교회의 상황은 시대적 흐름에 반하는 답답한 현실을 보여주고 있다. 이 같은 문제의식을 기반으로, 본 연구는 근대 초기의 기독교 여성들이 한국 교회와 선교여학교의 현장 속에서 어떠한 관계를 맺으며 기독교적 여성교육의 주역이 되었는가를 살펴보았다. 여성 선교사와 교육받은 여성, 교육받은 여성을 뒷받침하며 후원한 어머니, 여성 선교사와 전도부인의 모습은 단순한 교사와 학생, 딸과 어머니, 선교사와 조사라는 관계를 넘어서 동역자의 협력적 관계를 형성하였으며, 이 협력적 관계는 기독교 여성교육의 시작과 발전에 지대한 영향을 미치게 된다. 특히 문맹인 여성들에게 한글을 가르쳐가며, 동시에 신앙을 전수했던 전도부인의 모습은 여성적·협력적 연대의 가장 좋은 예이며, 여성선교사와 선배 그리고 후배가 함께 의지하며 생활뿐 아니라 신앙을 공유했던 선교여학교의 교육은 단순한 교사와 학생, 선배와 후배의 관계를 넘어서 미래를 함께 만들어가는 협력적 연대의 교육모형을 보여주고 있다. 또한 본 연구는 이러한 근대 초기 기독교적 여성교육에 관한 연구를 통해, 먼저 간과되었던 여성의 다양한 문제와 삶의 경험을 교육내용으로 포함하며, 여성뿐 아니라 경계에 있는 모든 사람, 즉 소외된 사람들의 경험까지도 포함하는 기독교교육을 제안하고 있다.

근대 기독교선교 출판문화의 맥락에서 살펴본 여성의 글쓰기와 연대

이고은 이화여자대학교 한국여성연구원 2020 여성학논집 Vol.37 No.2

19세기 말, 수백 년 동안 가정 내부로 활동 영역이 제한되었던 한국 여성들은 어떤 과정을 통해 공적 영역으로 진출하게 되었을까? 기존 연구에서 근대 계몽기 한국에서 페미니스트 의식이 발생하게 된 계기와 장을 여성 교육과 기독교계 여학교를 중심으로 설명했다면, 본 연구에서는 여성들이 근대 기독교 출판문화를 통해 “글쓰기”라는 행위로 공적 영역 진출과 여성의 연대 형성이라는 가능성을 발견하게 되는 과정을 고찰한다. 특히 미국 여성 선교사와 전도부인, 배운 여성의 연대를 주목하며, 당시 여성들의 인식 변화와 영역 확장 과정을 고찰한다. 먼저 조선조 여성의 글쓰기가 어떠했는지 간략히 서술한 뒤, 개화기 개신교계에 의해 근대식 출판문화와 인프라가 도입되면서 ‘여성의 대중적 글쓰기’가 실현되는 여건이 마련된 배경을 설명한다. 당시 미국 여선교사들은 전도문서와 교양서적을 번역·저술하는 한편 한국 여성을 교육하여 문해력을 증가시키고, 사역의 기회를 제공했다. 전도부인은 여선교사를 통해 문해력을 습득하는 한편, 자신의 인맥을 활용해 여선교사와 한국 여성을 연결했다. 그 결과 전도부인은 다른 여성을 교육하는 기회를 얻었고, 서적을 유통하며 여성 독자를 양성하는 등 여성의 활동 영역을 확장하는데 공헌했다. 이들의 노력으로 얻어진 배운 여성들은 여학교뿐 아니라 교회 공동체에서 조직 활동에 참여하거나 후원자가 되었으며, 성경과 잡지, 신문 등의 독자로서 민족적 정체성을 형성하며 전국 여성들의 연대를 형성하는 데 일조했다. 동시에 이들이 마주해야 했던 한계를 지적하여 이들의 연대가 제한될 수밖에 없었던 양상을 짚어본다. In the late 19th century Korea, how did Korean women reach out to the public domain, breaking from the long secluded women’s sphere? While many previous studies attributed to girls’ education from mission schools in explaining the change, this paper suggests that such a transformation could have been possible because of women’s writing, a behavior that had long been discouraged in Korea but gradually popularized after the introduction of Christian modern printing culture. Particularly, it will call for attention to the solidarity formed among the American women missionaries, Korean Bible women and the learned women educated by the two groups, which transformed women’s social awareness and expanded their domain to the public, such as writing for newspaper opinions. I first provide a brief overview of women’s writing during the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910), and then move on to explain the context, the introduction of modern printing culture in Korea focusing on the Protestant missionaries’ modern printing presses and distribution of books for the public, regardless of social classes, age and gender. At the center of this were women missionaries, who exemplified the possibility of women’s writing for the public by translating and writing evangelical books. Besides, they aided Korean women by providing education and job opportunities. In this way, Korean Bible women gained literacy and mediated women missionaries and other Korean women, utilizing their personal network. They also nurtured other women to become readers by teaching them how to read and distributing books for them. Under their leadership, the learned women became active participants of church communities and formed their identity as a social member of the country while reading the Bible, newspapers and periodicals. Meanwhile, there were institutional and social boundaries in those days that limited these women’s solidarity.

구한말 기독교 여성의 삶과 여성교육운동 - 여메례를 중심으로 -

윤정란 ( Yoon Jeong-ran ) 한국여성사학회 2009 여성과 역사 Vol.- No.11

본고에서는 구한말 미국의 여선교사를 통해 근대여성으로 성장한 후 여성지도자로서 활동했던 여메례가 어떠한 계기를 통해 일제강점기 잊혀 진 인물이 되었는지에 대해서 파악하고자 하였다. 여메례는 12세 이후에 부모와 떨어져 외국 여선교사들과 함께 지냈다. 이러한 환경하에서 여선교사들의 삶의 방식, 간호학에 대한 기초지식 등을 배움으로써 근대적인 여성으로서 성장하였다. 이후 그가 여성지도자로 성장할 수 있었던 것은 엡윗청년회 활동이었다. 청년회 활동은 기독교 문제만이 아니라 사회 전반에 대한 문제에 관심을 가지고 활동하였다. 이러한 활동을 토대로 자신이 직접 여자청년회를 조직하고 활성화하였다. 성실함, 포용력, 교제력등을 갖추어야만 여메례처럼 여성지도자가 될 수 있는 것이었다. 직접 조직을 만들고 지도했던 여메례는 을사늑약 이후 국가의 안위를 위해서는 여성들도 주체적으로 참여해야 한다고 주장하였다. 다급해진 여메례는 일본 시찰을 통해 여성교육의 현장을 둘러보고 한국에서도 여성교육기관이 필요하다고 생각하였다. 정부에서도 서두르지 않았기 때문에 자신이 직접 여아들을 모아 놓고 가르쳤다. 이러한 준비를 하고 있을 때 황실에서 여메례를 불렀다. 진명여학교를 설립한 후 총교사로 활동하면서 그는 서북지역을 돌아다니며 여성교육의 중요성을 강조하였다. 그 결과 평양에도 진명여학교를 설립할 수 있었다. 그러나 1910년 일제 강점 이후 더 이상 그는 여성교육운동을 지속할 수 없었다. 여성지도자로 성장한 여메례가 일제강점기 다른 여성지도자들과 함께 활동을 하지 못했던 것은 1907년 이후 친일여성들과 교류를 하면서 애국지사들과 더 이상 교류를 하지 못했기 때문이었다. 한국이 일제에게 강점되고 엄귀비가 세상을 떠나면서 여메례는 자신이 활동할 수 있는 공간에서 조차 쫓겨나야 하는 상황이 되었다. 이후 그가 가야할 곳은 없었다. 과거 그가 활동했던 곳은 돌아갈 수 없었다. 그래서 찾았던 것이 다른 교파의 기독교였다. 반면에 조신성은 평양진명여학교의 교장을 그만 둔 이후에도 지속적으로 평양의 애국지사들과 교류하면서 자신의 활동 영역을 확장해 나갔다. 조신성은 이후 근우회의 집행위원장으로서 한국 여성운동을 이끄는 지도자가 될 수 있었다. 그러나 여메례는 진명여학교라는 틀에 갇혀서 일제에게 협력하는 동안 더 이상 한국 여성지도자로서 권위를 인정받지 못하게 되었다. 이러한 요인은 결국 여성지도자로서 일제 침략에 대한 자신의 성찰이 부족했기 때문이었다고 볼 수 있다. This study purposed to examine how Yeo Me-rye, who had grown into a modern woman by American women missionaries in the late Yi Dynasty and acted as a woman leader, was forgotten through the period under Japanese imperialism. Yeo Me-rye parted from her parents at the age of 12 and lived together with foreign women missionaries. In this environment, she learned women missionaries` lifestyle, basic knowledge of nursing, etc. and grew into a modern woman. What transformed her into a woman leader were her activities at the Epworth League. In her activities as a member of the league, she took interest not only in Christian issues but also in general social problems. Based on these activities, she organized the Young Women`s Association and activated it. Only one equipped with sincerity, broad mind, and sociability could be a woman leader like Yeo Me-rye. After the 1905 Protectorate Treaty, Yeo Me-rye, who initiated and led organizations by herself, maintained that women should also participate actively in works for the safety of the country. Driven by this idea, Yeo Me-rye visited sites for the education of women in Japan and came to believe that Korea also should establish institutions for the education of women. Because the government was passive in this matter, she gathered girls and taught them by herself. When she was preparing for the education of women in this way, the Imperial government called Yeo Me-rye. She founded Jinmyeong Girls` School and worked as a general teacher of the school, and at the same time, she travelled around the western region and emphasized the importance of the education of women. As a result, she could found Jinmyeong Girls` School in Pyeongyang. With colonization by Japan in 1910, however, she could not continue her movement for the education of women. The reason that Yeo Me-rye, who had grown into a woman leader, could not work together with other women leaders during the period under Japanese imperialism was that her relation with patriotic leaders was disconnected due to her association with pro-Japanese women from 1907. As Korea was occupied by Japan and her sponsor Princess Eeom passed away, she was on the verge of losing ground for her activities. She did not have any place to go. She could not return where she had worked in the past. The last resort that she found was the Christianity of another denomination. On the contrary, Jo Shin-seong, even after she resigned as the principal of Pyeongyang Jinmyeong Girls` School, continued to expand the area of her activities through associating with patriotic leaders in Pyeongyang. Jo Shin-seong could become a leader of Korean women`s movements as the chairwomen of the Executive Committee of Keunwoo-hoi. However, Yeo Me-rye was not recognized as a Korean woman leader because she was confined in the frame of Jinmyeong Girls` School and cooperated with Japanese imperialism. This suggests that she lacked self-reflection on Japanese imperialism as a woman leader.

Medical missionaries in Guangzhou: The initiators of the modern women’s rights movement in China

Xu Guangqiu 이화여자대학교 아시아여성학센터 2016 Asian Journal of Women's Studies(AJWS) Vol.22 No.4

Some work has been done on the medical missionaries in China, but medical education for women in Guangzhou (Canton) by missionaries has not received very much scholarly attention. This article seeks to assess their impact on Chinese women, focusing on how western male doctors broke the prohibition on Chinese women from entering public places. Thereafter, women could go to college, and the medical missionaries created a new class of women medical professionals in Canton. I argue that by making a deliberate move for social change, medical missionaries in Guangzhou initiated a significant transformation in the social status of Chinese women. They were not only agents of changes but also the initiators of the modern women’s rights movement in China.

강원지역 기독교 여성교육사업과 3.1운동

윤정란 ( Yoon Jeong-ran ) 한국여성사학회 2009 여성과 역사 Vol.- No.10

본고의 목적은 강원지역 기독교 여성의 교육사업과 3.1운동의 관계에 대해 살펴보는 데 있다. 연구 결과를 보면 다음과 같다. 3.1운동에 참여한 여성 중 피검자 중심으로 살펴본 결과 여성들의 역할이 크게 드러나지 않았다. 그러나 선교사들의 증언에 의하면 교회를 다니던 많은 여성들이 참여했다는 것을 알 수 있다. 그러나 그들이 피검되지 않았기 때문에 자료상으로는 찾아볼 수가 없었다. 대표적으로 드러난 여성들은 대부분 기독교인들이었다. 다른 지역의 기독교인들과 비교했을 때는 약간 저조한 편이다. 이러한 배경에는 미감리회 선교사가 있었기 때문이었다. 1919년 3월 13일 독립운동을 추진하기 위하여 서울에서 몇 명의 연락자가 왔는데 선교사가 일본 관헌에 고발하여 체포하게 만들었다. 선교사들은 3.1운동이 일어나자 전도사 회의를 중지하고 예배 때는 헌병을 임석시켰다. 이러한 선교사의 태도로 인해 강원 지역 기독교인들의 3.1운동은 자발적·산발적으로 일어났다. 기독교인들의 3.1운동은 전국조직망을 통해 연결되었는데, 강원 지역에서는 그러한 조직망을 끊어 놓았기 때문에 고종의 장례식에 참가한 후 귀향하여 만세운동을 벌이거나 지역의 한국인 목사 중심으로 운동이 전개되었다. 강원 지역 여성들을 위해 여성 선교사들이 많은 근대적인 교육을 실시했으나 크게 대중화되지는 못하였던 것으로 보인다. 강원 지역의 역사적·지리적 조건 등으로 타 지역에 비해 여러 가지로 제약이 따랐다. 그럼에도 불구하고 몇 몇 지역에서는 여성들이 남성들보다 더 적극적으로 만세운동에 참여하는 모습을 보여주었다. 일제시대 강원지역 여성들의 3.1운동을 제대로 평가하기 위해서는 3.1운동 이후 어떠한 활동의 모습을 보이는가라는 부분까지 모두 살펴보아야 한다. 이와 더불어 강원지역의 여성사의 지평을 넓히기 위해서는 신문화운동을 받아들이는데 가장 앞장섰던 기독교 여성들의 활동도 더 구체적으로 발굴하고 분석한다면 강원 지역 여성사의 지평을 넓힐 수 있을 것이다. The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between Christian women`s educational projects in Gangwon-do area and the 3.1 Independence Movement. The outcomes of this study are as follows. When women who participated in the 3.1 Independence Movement and were arrested were examined, their roles were not conspicuous. According to missionaries` testimonies, however, many church-going women participated in the movement. Nevertheless, because they were not arrested their activities were not recorded. Most of notable women were Christians. Compared to Christians in other areas, those in Gangwon-do participated less in the movement. One of the reasons was the presence of missionaries from the Methodist Church in the U.S. On March 13, 1919, a number of liaisons came from Seoul for promoting independence movements, but they were reported by the missionaries and arrested by Japanese police. As the 3.1 Independence Movement broke out, the missionaries suspended the evangelist meetings and held the worship service in the presence of Japanese military police. Because of the missionaries` attitude as such, Christians in the Gangwon-do area had to participate in the 3.1 Independence Movement only individually and sporadically. The 3.1 Independence Movement by Christians was executed through a nationwide network, but the Gangwon-do area was isolated from the network. For this reason, in Gangwon-do, the movement was led by those who had attended King Gojong`s funeral and returned home or local Korean pastors. Women missionaries performed a lot of modern education for women in the Gangwon-do area, but their education seems not to have been popularized sufficiently. Compared to other areas, the Gangwon-do area was under many restrictions due to its historical and geographical conditions. In some areas, nevertheless, women participated in the independence movement more actively than men. In order to evaluate women`s role in the 3.1 Independence Movement in the Gangwon-do area, we need to investigate all aspects including women`s activities after the 3.1 Independence Movement. In order to expand the horizon of the history of women in Gangwon-do, moreover, there should be more specific investigation and analysis of activities by Christian women who led new cultural movements.

Korean Bible Women’s Success: Using the Anbang Network and the Religious Authority of the Mudang

Lee-Ellen Strawn 서강대학교 종교연구소 2012 Journal of Korean Religions Vol.3 No.1

Korean Bible Women were successful in their work of evangelization because they utilized the women’s anbang network and borrowed the authority of other female religious figures in the anbang, specifically that of the mudang (female shaman). Bible Women shared their new package of western Protestant ideas with Korean women by entering into the women’s quarters, borrowing the accepted female mudang’s religious authority in that sphere, and coherently merging traditional women’s practices and perspectives with modern Protestant views regarding women and their roles in society. In this respect, the work of Korean Bible Women was thoroughly Korean and thus effective despite the conservative Confucian milieu that circumscribed female activity. This paper illuminates the culturally authentic work of Bible Women in Korea by presenting an overview of the Bible Woman system, by examining the importance of the anbang in women’s daily lives, by discussing the exorcisms by Bible Women that occurred therein, and by analyzing the functional similarities between female mudang and Korean Bible Women. In fact, the presence of the Bible Woman, as a female religious leader meeting needs previously met by mudang, was easy enough to assimilate for many Korean women because of the presence of female mudang in the women’s anbang for centuries. In some regards, the similar functions between mudang and Bible Women may have made Bible Women’s Christian work seem more Korean and less western.