The Glocalization of Methodist Christianity in Colonial Korea

Abstract

AbstractModern Protestant missions were launched in East Asia based on previous experiences in South and Southeast Asia. Regional nations, including Japan and China, encountered the Christian movement within the context of the global phenomena of colonialism and imperialism in the 18th and 19th centuries. While Joseon Korea had not been fully known among outsiders, the US Methodist Church, along with the Presbyterian and Baptist churches, did send pioneers in 1884. What, then, was the influence of the Methodists’ work? Who was Victor W. Peters (1902–2012)? Why was he unique compared to his other colleagues? What was his cultural philosophy in colonial Korea (1920s–1940s)? This article explores these questions through the historical records of the Christian mission to establish the Korean Methodist Church, focusing especially on the principles that Peters applied. The article argues that, unlike other Americans, Peters endeavoured to promote the indigenization of Western religion through his personal experience of entering a cross‐cultural marriage with a Korean woman. The philosophy of regionalism, in terms of a “soft power,” is likewise demonstrated by Peters’ Korean lifestyle – living in a hanok (Korean house), wearing hanbok (traditional Korean dress), eating hansik (Korean food), and speaking Hangul (Korean) – while he voluntarily involved himself in church planting and advocating for Simeon Lee Yongdo (1901–33).