Horace Grant Underwood

Term Paper # 101373

Asian Studies > East Asian Cultures
Religion and Theology > Christianity

This paper looks at American Presbyterian minister Horace Grant Underwood as missionary in Korea.

1,284 words () | 10 sources | MLA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the American Presbyterian minister Horace Grant Underwood's profound effect on Korean society to which he went on mission in 1884. The paper describes how Underwood strove for a long-term, practical role that was suitable for Korea.

From the Paper:

"The Korea to which Underwood went in 1884 faced grave political instability, which helped open it to missionaries. Earlier, Korea had persecuted missionaries, the earliest of whom were Catholic priests.4 By the 1880s, however, the political situation compelled a change in attitude. Korea was a weak and poverty stricken nation, and her neighbors, China and Japan were competing to reduce her to colonial status. Recognizing his nation's vulnerability, a progressive Korean diplomat urged the king to open relations with the United States. He argued that with its democratic traditions and its comparative isolation from Korea, America might be an ideal patron for Korea."

Sample of Sources Used:

Cumings, Bruce. Korea's Place in the Sun. New York, New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2005.
Durant, Will. Our Oriental Heritage. New York, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1935.
Edwards, David L. Christianity: The First Two Thousand Years. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1997.
Hoare, James & Susan Pares. Korea: An Introduction. London, England: Kegan Paul International, 1988.
Kim, James Jin-Hong. "Bible versus Guns: Horace G. Underwood and the Evangelization of Korea." Asia Pacific: Perspectives. University of San Francisco Center for the Pacific Rim. Dec. 2004, accessed Dec. 17, 2006. Available at http://www.pacificrim.usfca.edu/research/perspectives/app_v5n1_kim.pdf>. Internet [cited as "Kim"].