Friends in Korea

Friends in Korea

Friends in Korea

Friends in Korea

by Haeng Woo Lee

Pendel Hill

May 1969

Acknowledgements

First of all, I thank the Friends World Committee and Pendle Hill for

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댓글 0 퀘이커 2013. 11. 3.

#Friends in Korea

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함석헌 퀘이커

함석헌과 퀘이커 사상 등에 관한 소식 나누기

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inviting me and giving me a chance to study Quakerism and also

giving me a chance to write this paper. I wrote this paper as a term

paper for Pendle Hill, and also for the record of Seoul Friends

Meeting. Seoul Meeting has some record, but it is not only incomplete

and lacking details, but inaccurate, even though the Meeting's history

is so short .

I would like to call this paper a record of the Seoul Friends Meeting

rather than the history of the Seoul Friends Meeting.

I greatly appreciate the advice and encouragement of Dan Wilson,

Jack and Janet Shepherd, Elizabeth Gray Vining, Howard and Anna

Brinton, Douglas Steere, and other Friends, especially the help of

Nancy Ewald in correcting the English throughout the many weeks it

has taken to write this paper.

Haeng Woo Lee

May 1969

Pendle Hill

Table of Contents

Part I. General.

1. Background

2. Birth of the Meeting

3. Growth of the Meeting

1958

1959

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1959

1960

1961

1962

1963

1964

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

Part II. Activities

1. Study

2. Publication

3. Sunday School

4. Visitation

5. Service

 a. Visits

 b. Emergency Food Supply

 c. Education and Religon

 d. Economic Self-support

 e. Accounting

 Conclusion

6. Supporting AFSC

Part III. How They Became Friends 1 Sok Hon Ham

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1. Sok Hon Ham

2. Churl Oh

Part I. General

1. Background:

We wonder if Friends like Rufus Jones, Gilbert Bowles, Howard Brinton

and others that once paid visits to Korea in the first part of the

twentieth century, received an inspirtion and saw a vision that a small

Friends group was to be born there some fifty years later.

It is interesting and not meaningless to realize that the tragic war

between the West and East, North and South in Korea, was a

historically important period for our meeting. This was the time when

AFSC and FSC sent a team of relief and medical workers to serve the

devastated refugees and orphans in Kunsan (1953-1958). Though they

did not come as Quaker evangelists or missionaries, their direct and

indirect influence did serve greatly to bring about the birth of this

Friends Meeting.

About the same time, an old Friends from Seattle, Washington, came

to Korea leading a team of welfare workers under the name of

"Houses for Korea," to build houses for needy refugee groups.

Through Floyd Schmoe, organizer and director of the team, some of

us came to know a little about the "Peculiar People" called Quakers .

2. Birth of the Meeting:

About the time when the Friends Service Unit withdrew from Korea in

the first part of 1958, some Koreans who worked with the FSU, and

others in Seoul who were seeking for a religious inspiration began

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others in Seoul who were seeking for a religious inspiration, began

growing in number. We believe that there was a will of God when He

helped us in finding Reginald Price from Washington Monthly

Meeting, and Arthur Mitchell from Honolulu Monthly Meeting, in this

remote land of Korea. They came to work under the International

Cooperation Administration, the American Government's agency to

help rebuild Korea.

It was the evening of February 15th,1958, when several people were

gathered in silence for worship which was follow- ed by discussion

about Quakerism at the home of the Mitchells in Seoul. We think that

this was the first gathering of our group. Regular weekly meetings

continued after that on Thursdays. We also remember Soodo Medical

College where we met together several times, but we usually met at

the home of Arthur and Shirley Mitchell. From March 22nd,1958, we

began meetings on Satudays. This tradition was kept for the following

three years. Meeting always began with silent worship for thirty

minutes, and about an hour was given for study and fellowship.

3. Growth of the Meeting:

In July 1958, Yoon Gu Lee and Shin Ai Cha made their decision to

commit their life together to the Quaker way of life and applied for

membership at Honolulu Monthly Meeting, and were accepted.

Present at their wedding in October 1958, were Herbert Bowles and

Don Bundy from Honolulu and Pasadena, California, who had come to

Korea to inspect the Kunsan area for AFSC and FSC. In the winter of

1958, we often met at Ham Bum Chung's home in Chungpa-dong, but

mostly the Meeting met at the houses of Arthur Mitchell and Reginal

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mostly the Meeting met at the houses of Arthur Mitchell and Reginal

Price. We remember warmly, with love and care, the two families, and

all the services they rendered for our Meeting.

AFSC energetically tried to bring some Koreans to the seminars and

work camps in Japan for many years, and for the first time, Boo Yung

Ahn of Taegu successfully went to the Program in the summer of

1958, and gave an interesting report to our Meeting in October.

In spring of following year, Hilary Conroy, director of the AFSC

seminar in Japan, came to Korea for a visit with us in Seoul.

In August 1959, the Meeting began using Dr. Byung Woo Kong's clinic

for worship.

Kap Son Whang, in spite of the difficult relationship between Japan

and Korea, was sent to the AFSC program in Japan in 1959, and came

back enriched by his experience. In February 1960, Rufus Jones'

Quaker's Faith was translated by Yoon Gu Lee and was printed for

distribution among members of the group. This was the first Quaker

leaflet in the Korean language.

In March 1960, Yoon Gu Lee left Korea for a year-long study at Pendle

Hill.

For the months of March, April and May, 1960, meetings for worship

were held at the home of Han Bum Chung, Reginald Price and Arthur

Mitchell. In the last part of May, Dr. Byung Woo Kong offered his new

building in Chung Jin-dong for our Meeting to use. Regular attenders

increased in number when the Meeting place was settled at one

definite location.

In June 1960 Reginald and Esther Price with their children left Korea

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In June 1960, Reginald and Esther Price with their children, left Korea.

The Meeting could not forget the contribution the Prices offered for

the birth and growth of the Friends Meeting in Korea. We believe that

Reginald Price ought to be called the Father of the Quaker movement

in Korea.

Because one member of the Meeting was blind, the Friends group

became interested in welfare activities for the blind from the

beginning. Some members of the Meeting gathered once in a while to

transcribe religious articles into Braille. In June 1960, the group

organized a week-end work camp at one of the homes for the blind,

repairing a road near their building. This was a rich experience for all

that participated in sharing fellowship and cooperation in service.

In June 1960, Dong Suk Cho,Chang Hoon Lee and Soon Kyung Suh left

Seoul for Japan to attend the AFSC seminar and work camp program.

This made the entire group happy, in view of the unhappy relationship

between Japan and Korea, The three participants came back with

much to share with us. A few weeks were spent upon their return in

reporting about their experience. As the result of their visits among

Friends in Japan, correspondence with some Japanese Friends began

taking place. Dong Suk Cho voiced his hope to join Friends while he

was in Tokyo.

In November 1960, it was felt by the Meeting that some formal

organization was necessary. Arthur Mitchell, Byung Woo Kong, Dong

Suk Cho, Churl Oh and Chang Hoon Lee were asked to prepare for a

conference in December to strengthen the Meeting by naming some

committees The following posts and persons were decided at the

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committees. The following posts and persons were decided at the

conference on December 18th.

General

Secretary:

Dong Suk Cho

Study and

Program:

Churl Oh

Service: Chang Hoon Lee

Visitation: Jae Kyung Chun

Advisors: Arthur Mitchell

Han Bum Chung

Byung Woo Kong

Dae Wi Lee

Sok Hon Ham

We also decided that we would call this meeting officially "Seoul

Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends." Letters about

th f t t i F i d i ti d

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the conference were sent to various Friends organizations and

concerned individuals. Many replies came from different part of the

world, congratulating and encouraging the Meeting.

In January 1961, the Meeting held its first business meeting. Children

of the University Meeting of Seattle, Washington, sent contributions

through Floyd Schmoe twice, and the Meeting gladly passed these

loving gifts to one needy family.

In March 1961, the Mitchells left Korea, finishing their four-year term

with ICA. With Reginald Price whom we call Father of the Meeting,

Arthur Mitchell's loving and tender care for all of us made us call him

the "mother" that gave birth to our Meeting. With Shirly, his wife, and

three children, the Mitchells did answer the divine call to bring forth

the child of Quakerism in Korea.

Study programs were actively carried out. Suk Dam Lee led the study

hour with "Why am I going to a Friends Meeting," Churl Oh with

"Quaker Practice," Hyun Yoon with "History of Quakers," and Dong

Suk Cho with "Life of George Fox" until May 1961.

The Meeting was glad to welcome Colin Morrison, a Friend from New

Zealand, who came to Korea to serve as the executive director of

Korea Church World Service. He arrived in April and presented a

minute from New Zealand General Conference in May, though he

never attended our meetings.

The Meeting was delighted and encouraged to learn that Dong Suk

Cho was accepted in membership by Tokyo Monthly Meeting in May

1961.

In the last part of May 1961 Yoon Gu Lee came back via Europe

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In the last part of May 1961, Yoon Gu Lee came back via Europe,

completing his study at Pendle Hill. For several weeks after his arrival

he reported about his long journey to the Meeting.

In June 1961, at business meeting, organization of the Meeting was

examined and the following committees were agreed upon with

friends to serve:

Secretarial

Committee:

Dong Suk Cho

Yoon Gu Lee

Study and Program

Committee:

Churl Oh

Hyun Yoon

Soon Jung Han

Service

Committee:

Choong Nae Ro

Jae Kyung Chun

Chang Hoon Lee

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In June 1961, Errol Elliott from Indianapolis, Indiana, paid an official

visit for the World Committee while on his way to Kenya to attend the

FWCC conference. His short visit was an inspirational encouragement

for our group.

At Errol Elliott's suggestion, the Meeting decided to request an official

relationship with FWCC for consultation and assistance to our Meeting

till we could organize a regular Monthly Meeting. This letter was sent

to Herbert Hadley, General Secretary of FWCC to be presented at the

Kenya Conference.

In August 1961, Friends gathered in Kenya in the name of FWCC

discussed our letter, and a warm reinly came from Herbert Hadley

including the minute adopted by the Committee on FWCC and Friends

in Korea. The minute recorded by FWCC is as follows:

Seoul Friends Meeting: A Minute has been received from the Friends

group in Seoul, Korea, signed by Yoon Gu Lee and Dong Suk Cho,

which requests a "direct and official relationship with FWCC."

Friends who know this group spoke highly of its life and enthusiasm

and of the value of the fellowship to members and attenders, whose

experience has been moulded by suffering. The Meeting has about

thirty regular attenders, and has already established contacts with

Japan and Pacific Yearly Meeting.

It was approved that the Central Office keep in touch with the group

at Seoul, help to nourish its spiritual life, and encourage it to

strengthen its links with Pacific Yearly Meeting, and with Japan

Yearly Meeting

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Yearly Meeting.

For the small and isolated group of Friends in Seoul, this was a happy

step of progress.

At the business meeting in August 1961, the Secretary Committee was

strengthened by asking Churl Oh to join the Committee. Churl Oh was

asked to serve as Presiding Clerk, Dong Suk Cho as Treasure Clerk,

and Yoon GU Lee as Recording Clerk and Correspondent.

Choong Nae Ro, Young Ki Kim, Soon Kwi Kwon and Young Ai Kong

participated at the AFSC seminar and workcamp program in Japan for

the month of August 1961. The Meeting received their report with joy.

Four young attenders of the Meeting married in October and

December 1961. Joon Shik Cha and Jae Hee Lee who met each other at

our Meeting and decided to make a home together, married under

the care of the Meeting. Joon Hwan Lee and Sung Ai Cha married after

attending our Meeting for some time.

On December 17, 1961, an annual conference was held to review the

life of the Meeting for the past year and to think about the next year.

Reports were received from the three committees. We were not at all

proud of the results, but were thankful that we could maintain this

Meeting and carry out some service activities for TB patients in the

year of 1961. In thinking of the coming year, the conference was

united in suggesting that we ought to give emphasis to learning at

our meetings and helping each other within the group to live better in

spirit in this chaotic part of the world. The conference approved the

following committees:

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Clerks Presiding: Churl Oh

Accounting: Dong Suk Cho

Recording &

Correspondent:

Yoon Gu Lee

Study & Program

Committee:

Choong Nae Ro

Tong Sul Cho

Chang Hoon

Lee Churl Oh

Service Committee: Jae Kyung Chun

Haeng Woo Lee

Yong Chul Kim

Lee Bok Han

In Jan ar 1962 e decided that attenders of the Meeting o ld

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In January 1962, we decided that attenders of the Meeting would

make monthly donations for the expenses of the Meeting and would

start raising funds for the Meeting House. Mss. Ro, Mrs. Dong Suk

Cho and Chang Bok Lee were appointed by the Meeting as the

members of the Fund-raising Committee, but this was not successful.

In July 1962, Yoon Gu Lee resigned as Clerk and he left Seoul in order

to run his farm in KangWon-Do. The Meeting asked Tong Sul Cho to

fill the position vacated by Yoon Gu Lee. We asked ourselves why the

number of attenders decreased for the last several months. We

agreed that the reason was as follows: The history of the Meeting was

short, the majority of attenders' religious experiences were weak, and

they had to neglect individual religious life because of the grim

realities of life. So we decided to ask the FWCC and FWC American

Section to send us a missionary who could help our difficult situation,

or a Friend who had a rich religious life and could get a job in Seoul to

support himself wile giving spiritual encouragement to the Meeting.

In October 14, 1962, we moved our meeting place from Dr. Kong's

typewriter manufactory to the Library for the Blind which was located

in ChongRo 3-Ka, because the typewriter manufactory became busy

and began working on Sunday too. We were thankful to Dr. Kong and

Elder Ro, Director of the Library, for their good will in offering the

meeting places.

Jae Kyung Chun suffered from feelings of guilt because of his younger

brother's suicide, and so resigned his position on the service

committee in October 1962.

In November (12-19) 1962 we were visited by David and Catherine

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In November (12 19) 1962, we were visited by David and Catherine

Bruner as official delegates on behalf of the Pacific Yearly Meeting.

They gave us much advice and encouragement.

Three attenders of the Meeting, Young Sook Kim, Won Kim and Yong

Chul Kim married in December 1962. The Meeting sent delegates to

their wedding ceremony to express congratulation.

In December 1962, we had a third annual conference to review the

past year and to think about and plan the coming year. We were

thankful that we could maintain this tiny meeting and carry out some

service activities and publication without undue trouble in the past

year, but we didn't do as much as we expected, considering the large

number of committees and members. So we decided to reduce the

organization, and the annual conference approved only a secretarial

committee as follows:

Executive

Secretary:

Tong Sul Cho

Associate

Secretary:

Accounting &

Public-relations:

Dong Suk Cho

Study & Program

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y g

and Recording:

Churl Oh

In January 1963, three members of the secretarial committee

presented their plan for the year of 1963 to the Meeting as follows:

1). There will be more emphasis on Bible study and the study of

Quakerism. 2). The pamphlets which have been translated into

Korean already will be published until end of the year. 3). Week-end

workcamps will be held in the coming summer. 4). Outdoor worship

and picnic with families will be held at least twice, in Spring and Fall.

5). Home visiting among the members will be continued.

In February 1963, the business meeting accepted Margaret

Utterback's proposal for Fund-raising for the Meeting House for the

Seoul Friends Meeting. Margaret Utterback, a member of the Oberlin

Monthly Meeting in Ohio, had visited our Meeting in February of 1962

on her way home from the FWCC Kenya conference. Before her

proposal, she talked about this with Sok Hon Ham while he was at

Pendle Hill.

In February 1963, Ingrid Bentzen who worked with FSU in Kunsan, and

had a personal friendship with several members of the Meeting,

visited us. She came to Korea to work for UNTAB. She helped us in

such ways as interviewing for selection of participants for the AFSC

seminar and workcamps in Japan and Okinawa. She left Korea in 1968.

In March 1963, we discussed a proposal which was to extend the

length of meeting for worship from 40 minutes to one hour, but the

sense of the Meeting was that it would continue for a while to be 40

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sense of the Meeting was that it would continue for a while to be 40

minutes, because of the difficulty of the environment at that time.

In April 1963, we talked about our religious life, growth of the Meeting

and study of Quakerism at the home of Lee Bok Han during a home

visit. We also discussed applying for individual memberships in the

Japan or Pacific Yearly Meetings, but the sense of the meeting was

that it would be better to wait for more individual inner preparation.

In May 1963, we had an outdoor meeting for worship and picnic at

SaeKumJung and more than ten families attended. We enjoyed

singing and volley-ball, and strengthened our friendships.

In June 1963, Sok Hon Ham came back unexpectedly early from a

round-the-world trip. He had left Korea for the USA on February 10,

1962, having been invited by the US State Department for its foreign

leaders exchange program for three months. After that he stayed at

Pendle Hill for Summer and Autumn terms. He lectured on "The Faith

of Lao-tse" in the summer term and his term paper, in poetic form,

was called "The Challenge of Korea." After Pendle Hill, he studied at

Woodbrooke for one term. He then traveled through many countries

in Europe. While he was traveling in Lebanon, he felt strongly that this

was not the time to travel in ease, but the time to do something for

his disordered country. He then gave up the rest of his trip, including

India, which was the country he most aspired to visit because it was

Gandhi's country, and came back to Korea. After returning to Korea

he reported to the Meeting why he stopped his scheduled travel and

addressed thousands of fellow countrymen in public meetings

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addressed thousands of fellow countrymen in public meetings

sponsored by the Sasangge Monthly, an intellectual magazine to

which he was a well-known contributor. The Korea Times headlined

his message: "People Want No More of Military Rule."

In July 1963, we received a letter from Herbert M. Hadley about Robert

Kohls. Robert Kohls and his wife, from New York, arrived in Seoul in

August to work with the Christian Children's Fund as Acting Director

for one year. During this one year he helped our Meeting spiritually

and materially, in ways such as supporting publication of Quaker

leaflets and hosting many foreign visitors in his large home.

In August 1963, Dong Suk Cho resigned as Secretary and left Korea for

USA to study at Pendle Hill. The Meeting asked Choong Nae Ro to fill

the position vacated by Dong Suk. Dong Suk attended the Pacific

Yearly Meeting and visited more than twenty Meetings on his way to

Pendle Hill.

In November 1963, we received Brewster Grace's second visit and

discussed, at the home of Yoon Gu Lee, the possibility of an AFSC

International Work Camp in Korea. It was agreed to have an

international workcamp in Korea, and later the Meeting sent a. letter

to the AFSC Tokyo Office saying that the Meeting would like to

support the program.

The Meeting was delighted and encouraged to learn that Friends in

Ohio and Michigan organized the Joint Committee for Korea of lake

Erie and Ohio Yearly Meetings to support our Meeting. The

Committee for Korea gave financial help for several projects including

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Committee for Korea gave financial help for several projects including

Jae Kyung Chun's study at Columbia University since 1966, the travel

expenses of Churl Oh's participation in the Friends World Conference

in 1967, and support of Tandong leper village.

The Meeting accepted John Anderson's offering, which was his

monthly contribution, of thirty-five dollars for the Meeting, and we

discussed how to use it. Several felt that- it should be used for social

work or a scholarship fund, but we agreed that it would be used for

materials of publication and correspondence such as photographs

and tapes for recording. The sense of the Meeting was that the most

important thing was to support growth of the Meeting.

The Meeting was fortunate enough to have three representatives,

Choong Nae Ro and his wife, and Mrs. Lim attend Japan Yearly

Meeting in November of 1963, Before they left Korea the Meeting

adopted an epistle which was sent with them, to the Japan Yearly

Meeting. They gave us a meaningful report upon their return in

December 1963.

In December 1963, Sang Heum Ko left for Australia to attend the first

Australia Yearly Meeting. He came back in May 1964 with an epistle

from Australia Yearly Meeting.

We intended to publish five Quaker leaflets in 1963, but we published

only three leaflets because of financial difficulty. We were thankful to

Robert Kohls for his special contribution of one hundred dollars for

this publication.

On December 29 1963 we had a fourth annual conference with two

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On December 29, 1963, we had a fourth annual conference with two

guests; Elise Boulding and George Willoughby.

We enjoyed very much George's speaking of his peace movement

experiences, especially the Friendship March in India. This speech was

given at the home of Robert Kohls several days before the conference.

We began with an annual report and then went on to plan the coming

year. Sok Hon Ham gave a lecture about religion and Elise Boulding

gave us insights which she had gained through her deep religious life.

The Meeting was united in the plans for 1964, which were as follows

(1) We should have weekly study meetings on certain evenings. (2) As

a service activity, we should build a house, through week-end

workcamps, for TB patients, and we should invite to these camps

Japanese young friends who hoped to visit our Meeting, should (3)

The Meeting do what ever it could in supporting AFSC for the first

international workcamp in Korea in summer. We also approved the

following committees:

Secretarial

Committee:

Tong Sul Cho

Churl Oh

Yoon Gu Lee

Treasurer: Choong Nae Ro

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Treasurer: Choong Nae Ro

Service: Haeng Woo Lee

In March 1964, we had a week-end workcamp to build a house for TB

patients, in accordance with the plan made at the last annual

conference. Mitsuo Otsu, a Japanese Young Friend, who was invited by

the Meeting for this camp, participated in this camp. This was the first

time that our Meeting invited a foreign Friend. Herbert Bowles and his

wife also visited us and participated in this camp. They also helped us

with the business of the Meeting, such as correspondence with FWCC

American Section, during their stay of one month.

In the spring of 1964, Elise Boulding visited us again with her

husband, Kenneth, and suggested to us strongly that the Meeting

should have Sunday School, and gave us some teach ing materials for

that purpose. At that time also we visited TB patients and had an

outdoor meeting for worship and picnic. In August 1964, Lee Bok Han

left for USA to live with her sons. She studied at Pendle Hill in 1965-66.

She has been the resident director of the Los Angeles Friends Center

since October 1968.

In August 1964, we had the first AFSC international work camp in

Korea. We were thankful that we could assist this workcamp without

undue difficulty. We were able to have fruit ful experiences in many

ways, through choosing the camp site, choosing Korean participants,

arranging homes for foreign participants to stay in during the

orientation period and after camp, and participating in the orientation

and the work camp itself We very much enjoyed it and felt that we

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and the work camp itself. We very much enjoyed it and felt that we

gained more than any other campers. During this camp, we were

visited by Japanese Friends Tayeko Yamanouchi and Seiichi Kondo,

and had meetings twice with them, also including Toshihiko Tanaka

and Yuri Fukunishi who were participating in this camp. It was a very

precious opportunity to talk about the relationship between Friends in

Japan and Korea and promote mutual understanding and friendship.

We missed the Kohls family when they left in the autumn 1964, but we

were happy to be joined by Keith Watson from Australia, who spent

eight months with us after participating in the AFSC work camp. He

later married Tae Soo Kim, one of our members, in 1966.

In the autumn of 1964, we had an outdoor meeting for worship and

picnic at KeumKok with Norman Wilson and his family, during his

second visit. We appreciated their sense of love and sincerity that

seems to come through their deep religious life.

In November 1964, Blanche Shaffer, as the first General Secretary of

the FWCC, visited us. We had special meetings during her stay of ten

days (Nov. 30- Dec. 10) and discussed official organization of the

Meeting, and the procedure of applying for official membership; and

we confirmed the minute of the ninth triennial meeting of FWCC held

in Waterford, Ireland, July 21-28, 1964. The Minute recorded by FWCC

is as follows:

347 Seoul Meeting, Korea: (Monday, July 27)

Minute (a). The Committee considered further developments

among Friends in Korea since the Eighth Triennial Meeting (Minute

237) noting with special appreciation the visit of Herbert and

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237), noting with special appreciation the visit of Herbert and

Gertrude Bowles on behalf of the FWCC as well as the visits and

contacts of other Friends. The Committee desires to give its loving

encouragement to the continued growth and strengthening of

Quakerism in Korea.

The Committee accepts the fact that to move forward in hope and in

faith always involves some risks, not least in a country so tragically

divided and so beset by tribulations as Korea.

The Seoul Friends Group will be advised that when, having

considered carefully the seriousness of the responsibilities involved,

they find themselves in unity under God's guidance on the

establishment of a Monthly Meeting, and when they have

completed their organization including whatever steps may be

necessary or desirable under Korean law, the FWCC will recognize

that Meeting in loving Christian fellowship as a Meeting of the

Religious Society of Friends not now part of any established Yearly

Meeting. The development of this Meeting and its relationship to

the FWCC, will be reviewed at each triennial session of the FWCC

until some permanent status in achieved. Considering the special

interest of Japan and Pacific Yearly Meetings, particular care will

taken to keep those Meetings informed of progress made and of

activities undertaken through or by the FWCC with respect-to Korea,

and it is hoped that strong bond s of fellowship may develop among

them.

Minute (b). The Seoul Friends Group will be advised of the

availability of funds already contributed for the purpose of helping

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availability of funds already contributed for the purpose of helping

them to obtain a property suitable for their use. They will be invited,

if they feel it right and practical to use such assistance, to indicate

what type and size of property may be obtained, upon what terms,

whether it can be maintained and utilized without further external

financial support, and how legal title may best be registered. In

order to give reasonable assurance that this plan will carry out the

wishes of donors of the funds, the FWCC Advisory Committee, or a

special committee they may appoint for the purpose, will review it.

Upon approval the needed amount, not to exceed the amount

donated, will be transmitted to the Monthly Meeting, or to Trustees

or to such other legal entity as may best serve the purpose as

determined by Seoul Friends.

Seoul Friends will be advised that, in accordance with what is

understood to be their own wish, no continuing financial assistance

for their normal operations, by the FWCC or other Yearly Meetings is

contemplated. Special projects requested by Seoul Friends Meeting,

or approved by them, will be considered by Yearly Meetings and

other Friends' bodies as needs and opportunities arise, care being

taken that a newly established Meeting must not be over-burdened

with activities taxing the time and energy of members even when

financial support is available.

The Executive Secretary of the FWCC and Clerk of Seoul

Monthly Meeting, by mutual agreement, will establish such channels

of correspondence and such of co-ordination as may seem to be most

suitable and all member Yearly Meetings will be asked to observe

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suitable, and all member Yearly Meetings will be asked to observe

such procedures strictly when established.

Blanche Shaffer gave a public lecture on the subject of "Faith and

Practice of the Society of Friends" at the YMCA with about eighty

people in the audience. This was the first public lecture for our

Meeting. We also discussed the purchase of a Meeting House, and

saw a building site and a house. We agreed to buy the house, which is

the present Meeting House. one reason for the decision to buy this

particular house was its nearness to both Yonsei and Ewha

Universities, where we hoped to find students interested in attending

the meeting. This hope was not realized due to lack of interest on the

campuses.

Finally in January 1965, the sale was finalized on the purchase of our

own meeting house for $3,150. The funds came from the following

sources: $476 raised by the Korea Committee of Oberlin Meeting,

organized by Margaret Utterback; $3100 through FWCC American

section, from an anonymous donor who heard of the project through

Margaret's Committee. The difference between the $3,150 purchase

price and the $3,576 raised was used to build a small building on the

corner of the property, for use by the First-Day School.

In the past six years and ten months, we had moved about ten times

from houses of the members to hospitals, Congress building, KoreaChina Association, Typewriter Manufactory, Library for the Blind, etc,

so a meeting house was urgently needed and deeply appreciated.

On December 20 1964 we moved into our own new meeting house

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On December 20, 1964, we moved into our own new meeting house

and had an annual conference. After meeting for worship, Sok Hon

Ham gave a lecture concerning search for truth and religion,

emphasizing a dual approach: one is to look at it as a distant place,

and the other is to be in it and feel the varieties of the shape of it.

Religion needs to be an unchangeable truth that changes. From the

distance a big mountain never changes, but to really know the true

being, one ought to be close to it to see the greatness and vitality.

Knowing truth and religion is one thing, and living a truth or a religion

is another matter. If religion looks always the same, like a dead

mountain from a distance, it has no life. We ought to seek to find that

unchangeable religion that constantly changes...."

We began our annual report with a cold self criticism and confession

of the weak life of 1964. We had regular meetings for worship, study

groups, week-end work camps, and we assisted the AFSC work camp,

yet we did not feel a fire burning amongst us. We had quite a few

visiting Friends from Japan, USA, Australia and England, that

strengthened us very much. Two booklets were translated and put

out with the financial help that came from Madison Meeting. As to the

plans for 1965, the Meeting was agreed that the emphasis should be

centering down our spirits and activities at the new Meeting House

for the internal growth of the members. Besides the regular worship

meeting we ought to continue the weekly study group with more

preparation and enthusiasm, Young Friends should start a separate

weekly study meeting, a children's Sunday School ought to be

initiated so that the members could bring children to the Meeting and

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initiated so that the members could bring children to the Meeting and

young ones could grow in the atmosphere of Friends Meeting and in

Quaker tradition, and, since the greatest part of the purchase of the

Meeting House was covered by the contribution of outside Friends,

we ought to offer our utmost services in maintaining the Meeting

House in good shape, and in paying the monthly installments

remaining on the mortgage of the meeting house, which totaled

about six hundred dollars.

Other projects that this meeting decided as the tasks of 1965 were: (1)

through Japan Yearly Meeting, the nuclear members of the Meeting

should apply for official membership of the Society of Friends; :(2)

with the help of the Madison Meeting, advancement or extension

work would continue; (3) with contributions from Australia, service to

TB Patients at the Rest-house we built would continue; (4) the

Meeting will do whatever it could in assisting the second AFSC work

camp in summer; (5) with close contact with and under the auspices

of FWCC, we should request Friends everywhere to include Korea

when ways open for visits. Particular efforts must be made to have

closer contact with Japanese Friends by intervisitation. We would like

to propose that Friends from Japan be invited to come to Korea when

this Meeting has new applications to join the Society of Friends, and

for our annual conference in December, 1965. From our side, we

should ask Japan Yearly Meeting to invite some Korean Friends to

Japan Yearly Meeting of 1965; (6) we should try to register at the

Ministry of Education as a religious group for official recognition; (7)

we should participate in the Christian efforts when necessary since

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we should participate in the Christian efforts when necessary since

NCC would like to have our representatives attend as observers to

consultation about such things as laity movement, youth work, etc.;

(8) we hope to be prepared to declare this Meeting as a constituted

Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends under the proper care of a

Yearly Meeting or FWCC.

The Meeting decided to send letters of gratitude to all the Friends

Meetings that helped Seoul Meeting in 1964. An epistle was prepared

to meet the above need and was read and adopted. Having approved

the plans for 1965, reorganization was done as follows:

Clerk Yoon Gu Lee --Till May

Treasurer

Tong Sul Cho --June to

December

Choong Nae Ro

Churl Oh

Resident

Director

Churl Oh

(Friends

Center)

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 Study Group Yoon Gu Lee - Till May

Churl Oh - June to December

Young Friends Jae Kyung Chun

Children's

Group

Tae Soo Kim

Shin Ai Lee

Keith Watson

Chung Bong Ro

Service

Activities

Haeng Woo Lee

Advancement Sung Kyoon Ahn

In March 1965, Churl Oh's family moved into the Meeting House to

become Resident Director. We were thankful to the Oh family,

especially Moon Ok for her toil in maintaining the Meeting House and

for her hospitality to many foreign guests for the year of their

id i th ti h

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residence in the meeting house.

In the spring of 1965, we started children's Sunday School, but it

continued only two years.

On July 25, 1965, we planned to have the dedication ceremony of our

Meeting House, Japan Yearly Meeting were to send their delegates,

Motoi Fukunishi and Yoshiko Tanaka, to this dedication, but they

couldn't get their visas in time. only Janice Clevenger, of Friends

School in Tokyo, arrived in time, with an epistle from Japan Yearly

letting and a letter of the delegates. When we learned of the difficulty,

we postponed the dedication 1 week. The Japanese delegates arrived

in Seoul on July 31, so the ceremony took place the next day. During

these three Friends' sojourn with us, we had precious discussions and

gatherings for the sake of improving friendship between Japanese

Friends and us, as well as discussing the problem of some of us

applying for membership in Japan Yearly Meeting. The visit of these

Friends with us led us toward immeasurably closer ties among the

Friends of the three countries through their living with Korean Friends

families for two weeks. After that Janice Clevenger visited us three

times in July 1966, she visited us and gave us an example of how to

work with handicapped people by teaching little children in Hankuk

Lip Reading School for one month in March 1968, she visited is again.

It was very helpful that we could open our hearts together and talk

about each member's particular agony. In the summer of 1968, the

Meeting desired to have Janice spend a year in Seoul as a "Friends-inresidence." This concern had been shared with the Friends School,

Esther Rhoads chairman of Japan Committee of Philadelphia Yearly

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Esther Rhoads, chairman of Japan Committee of Philadelphia Yearly

Meeting, Janice and Haeng Woo in Tokyo on September 9th 1968 and

with the Friends World Committee American Section in Philadelphia.

We are very glad to know that the plans are taking definite shape for

Janice to spend a year in Seoul. Tokyo Friends School has agreed to

release her for the last year (1970-71) of her present three-year term

as English Conversation teacher and the FWCC has decided to be her

official sponsor and will contribute $2,000 toward her basic support.

In December 1968, she visited Seoul, and then made a preliminary job

inquiry and strengthened friendship with members of the meeting.

We had also the pleasure of participating in the 1965 AFSC Summer

Program by helping .with preparations and the choosing of the

Korean participants for both the Korean and Japanese Programs.

In September 1965, Yoon Gu Lee and all his family left on his

assignment from Church world Service for Jordan, where he is still

working in Lebanon for Near East Council of Churches. Jae Kyung

Chun left for Pendle Hill after which he went to Columbia University to

continue his studies.

In November 1965, Japan Yearly Meeting invited four of our delegates

for their Yearly Meeting, but we couldn't attend the Yearly Meeting

because we couldn't get the passports and visas in time. Later our

two representatives, Choong Nae Ro and Haeng Woo Lee, visited the

Japan Yearly Meeting Office and several monthly Meetings in Japan

during a four-week visit made possible by the kind arrangement of

Japan Friends.

Margaret Utterback arrived Korea on December 18th 1965 in the

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Margaret Utterback arrived Korea on December 18th 1965 in the

bitterly cold weather of 16 degree below zero centigrade (3 degree

Fahrenheit) to spend a year with us. At this same time, Haeng Woo

Lee was returning from Japan after visiting Friends in Japan. Early one

morning in Kokura Japan, after the ship had been at anchor for two

days because of bad weather, Haeng Woo accidentally found

Margaret's baggage on the deck. When he knocked at her room, he

found her praying for a safe voyage and for someone to be waiting

for her upon her arrival at Pusan Port. The ship was two days late

already, and she had thirteen pieces of baggage. Margaret Said to

Haeng Woo, "God heard my prayer and sent me an angel --- you."

Margaret lived with us for 14 months. During this period, she did

various things for the Meeting such as helping with correspondence

with Friends in other countries, leading womens groups, visiting

Tandong leper village and participating in week-end workcamps,

helping carry out a study group on Thomas Kelly's Testament of

Devotion and his Autobiography, and other Meeting business and

activities. Margaret's loving and tender care for all of us made us call

her the "Grandmother" that gave growth to our Meeting.

On December 26, 1965, we had an annual conference. The meeting

started with silence. During the silence, Margaret Utterback delivered

the love of those Friends in Oberlin Monthly Meeting, Lake Erie and

Ohio Yearly Meetings and of other Friends in the United States who

have concerns for the young Seoul Meeting. Churl Ch made an annual

report and Margaret made a brief report on the Friends World

Conference to be held at Guilford College North Carolina in 1967

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Conference to be held at Guilford College, North Carolina, in 1967.

She further informed the Meeting that the Joint Committee for Korea

is a making fund raising campaign to buy a round-trip ticket to enable

a representative from Korea to attend the Friends World Conference

in 1967. Churl Oh was appointed by the Meeting as a delegate of the

Meeting to attend the Conference. Choong Nae Ro and Haeng Woo

Lee reported on their trip to Japan. Special contributions were made

to buy a complete set of printing equipment and we ought it later, but

several Japanese Friends gave a present of a whole set of printing

equipment in the summer of 1966. The meeting was united in the

plans for 1966 as follows:

(1) As our service activity, we should select a village in a rural area or

in a slum area in the city and supply medicines and drugs or do other

relief work in that village. Sung Jin Uhm asked to submit a more

detailed plan to the January business meeting. (2) The study group

which met every Thursday in the past should be continued. (3) A

womens group should meet every Tuesday and Friday from next week

on at the Meeting House to study English (led by Margaret). This

group might also attempt to do other activities in the future.

Appointed as Clerk and other conveners for 1966 were the following:

Clerk Tong Sul Cho

Treasurer Haeng Woo Lee

Publication &

Library

Young Sang Chin

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Sunday School Tae Soo Kim and

Yun Kim

Young Friends Churl Oh

Service Activities Sung Jin Uhm

Resident Director

(Friends Center) Haeng Woo Lee

In addition to the above appointments, Margaret Utterback

volunteered to help in corresponding with Friends in other countries.

In January 1966, we started publishing "Seoul Friends Meeting

Monthly Newsletter." We were thankful to Young Sang Chin and

Haeng Woo Lee for their toil in starting and continuing this

publication.

At a business meeting in January 1966, the meeting decided to take up

the leper village in Tandong as its main service project, after hearing

eye-witness reports on this leper village by Sok Hon Ham, Churl Oh

and Margaret Utterback (see service activities for details).

In February 1966, we were visited by distinguished Friends Clyde

Milner, who had served as the president of Guilford College where the

Fourth Friends World Conference was held in 1967, and his wife

Ernestine. They gave us rich with spiritual teachings in religious life

through their visit us and told us about Guilford College and their

experiences.

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We were thankful for their contribution of one hundred dollars for

this meeting.

In March 1966, we were informed that Friends of Oberlin Meeting

decided to fast one meal in every week to help Tandong leper village.

We were deeply moved by their faith and spirit of service, and we felt

we needed to improve our own spirit and to practice more burning

prayer. Silence without inspiration is dead prayer.

On April 22-23, 1966, eight members of the Meeting had a week-end

workcamp at Tandong leper village, doing leveling work on he

building site of a community center to be used both for meetings and

as a school. In Sunday morning we had a meeting for worship with

the villagers and Sok Hon Ham gave a lecture for the lepers.

On April 30, 1966, Haeng Woo Lee's family moved into the Meeting

House to become Resident Director. We were thankful to Soon Ae for

her toil in maintaining the meeting house and for her hospitality to

many foreign guests during the Lee's residence of two and a half

years in the meeting house.

In August 1966, we had several tresured occasions of sharing

friendship and concerns with four young Friends who participated in

the AFSC international workcamp: Joseph Edalia from Kenya, Rachel

Jackson from New Zealand, and Toshiko Isomura and Sadao Horino

from Japan. Five members the of the Meeting had participated in

preparation of the camp and three members also participated in the

whole camp. After the camp, on the 17th of August, we had a special

meeting for the campers at the Meeting House and discussed religion

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meeting for the campers at the Meeting House and discussed religion

and Quakerism with twenty campers.

In November 1966, we had a most unforgettable visit from friends

Norman Whitney and his sister Mildred, who gave us inspiring

lectures and teachings in Quakerism.

We appreciated so many of their religious experiences that were

expressed in very plain words and gave us such a great inspiring

guidance in our thinking about the religious way of life. They also

visited Tandong leper village and gave encouragement to the

villagers. When they left us, they gave us an epistle titled "To Stand in

the Gap." Quoted here is the last part of the epistle:

I have never forgotten the insight gained from a refugee from

Eastern Europe who had endured all the terrors of war and of

homelessness. He came to ask me, "How do you live without fear?"

I repeated to him the familiar words of Jesus, "If you continue in my

word... you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free..."

but it was not until, with great humility in the face of his experience,

I told him that my fear was overcome only when I had accepted

what, for me, is the truth: that I have no right to defend anything

that is my own at the cost of the destruction of another, that his

eyes lighted with understanding.

"Oh, yes," he said, "I see. Fear has something to do with defense.

The more ready we are to defend our own by destroying others; the

more certain we are that they are equally ready to destroy us."

Is not this a parable both of our interpersonal and our international

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Is not this a parable both of our interpersonal and our international

situations today? Hence, the relevance of the Gandhian doctrines of

non-violence and soul-force. Hence, the relevance of the love that

suffers long, is always kind, and never fails.

To find the political relevance of this principle is the supreme need

of this generation. To this search Quakers have a unique

contribution to make. God expects it at our hands.

I do not know, we do not know, what we could do in a future

circumstance; but I do know what I should do, and I will try to live in

the life and courage that takes away the occasion of all wars... and

all fears.

We were in deep grief when we heard of Norman's death one year

after they visited us.

We received a letter from Blanche Shaffer, General Secretary of FWCC,

concerning a FWCC interim meeting, held on November 18th 1966 in

the United States, in which the Status of Seoul Meeting was discussed.

At a business meeting in November 1966, we decided to apply to the

Korean Government for status as a juridical person (for official

recognition of the Meeting as a legal entity), but this decision was not

realized due to shortage of money. The expenses were estimated at

about five hundred dollars.

Sok Hon Ham was invited to attend Japan Yearly Meeting in November

1966, but delays in government documentation procedures made it

impossible to do so.

On December 18 1966 we had an annual conference attended by 26

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On December 18, 1966, we had an annual conference, attended by 26

members. The meeting was united in the plans for 1967 as follows: (1)

Every Sunday, Bible study will be led by Sok Hon Ham, and another

study group will continue to meet every Friday evening. (2)

Announcement of the activities of Seoul Meeting will be posted on

YMCA & YWCA Bulletin Boards. (3) Quaker literature and pamphlets

will be sent to College Libraries in Korea. (4) It was hoped that

Douglas Steere, Chairman of FWCC, would give a public lecture during

his visit to Seoul the following March.

Appointed as Clerk and other conveners for 1967 were the following:

Clerk Churl Oh

Treasurer

Haeng Woo

Lee

Publication & Library

Young Sang

Chin

Sunday School Myong Hee

Han

Soo Ja

Whang

Yun Kim

Young Friends Sung Jin

Uhm

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Service Sung Jin

Uhm

Resident Director

(Friends Center)

Haeng Woo

& Soon Ae

Lee

After business session, Sok Hon Ham gave a lecture on Future

Religion and Quakerism. Quoted here is the last part of his lecture:

"Finally we must think of our situation as Koreans. What is the

meaning of this historical event that we are divided into two by the

two fighting powers? We are the scapegoat on the Historical

Judgment Day. We are Isaac on the alter. It is our historical

obligation to listen to the New Word. At least, for us all these

institutionalized religions are no use, even though they may be

useful to others. The Christianity, or the Buddhism that blessed the

Vietnam War after they experienced the Korean War in 1950's, is not

necessary for us.

"Two thousand years ago, Jesus, like a young lamb, was killed by the

fighting between Hebraism and Hellenism, and there were only a

very few people who believed in the New Word which sprang out of

the blood that was shed from his ripped side. What did they believe

in? They believed in the Word, "I am in Father, and the Father in

me," that is, part is in the Whole, and the Whole in the part. They

believed in this. 

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"The Quakers are only a handful among 3 billion people in the

world, and the Korean Quakers are just like a very frail new bud,

however, if we can only drink, in communion, the blood flowing

from the victims of the 20th century caught between the two

principles of liberalism and totalitarianism, in right way, then can we

not receive the New Word that can save humanity from

punishment?"

At the end of December 1966, the Meeting installed a telephone. For a

long time, we had to put up with the inconvenience of no telephone,

especially when we had a foreign guest, because installation of

telephone was very expensive. The installation expenses were about

two hundred dollars. The telephone is regarded as a luxury in Korea.

In February 1967, we received a letter from Blanche Shaffer

concerning Seoul Meeting becoming a Monthly Meeting under the

care of the FWCC, and requesting us to send a delegate to the tenth

triennial meeting of FWCC which would be held at Guilford College,

North Carolina, August 3-6, 1967.

1967 was another year filled with many days of spiritual

encouragement. We had, as usual, several important visitors who

enriched and encouraged us in our spiritual life.

Above all, we have to mention the visit of the Chairman of FWCC,

Douglas Steere and his wife Dorothy. They stayed with us five days

after arriving on the 11th of March, 1967. They shared with us their

rich religious experiences and concerns. We had the second public

lecture for our meeting at the YMCA with about one hundred people

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lecture, for our meeting, at the YMCA with about one hundred people

in the audience.

Having noticed some prominent Christian leaders among the

audience, we felt Douglas Steere's lecture meant a great deal in

Quaker outreach. And on the night of the 14th, we invited nine

prominent Christian leaders of Korea to Sok Hon Ham's birthday

dinner. This dinner meeting had special significance, for it was a

golden opportunity for this small meeting to identify itself to leading

Christians of Korea.

Douglas and Dorothy also had the opportunity to visit Dr. George Paik

and Dr. Dae Sun Park, the former President and the President at

Yonsei University, and Dr. Won Yong Kang, Director, at Korean

Christian Academy. They also lectured at HanKuk Theological

Seminary. After the meeting for worship on the 12th, they visited the

Tandong leper village and gave encouragement to the depressed exleper patients at the village. There is no doubt that their visit to these

unfortunate people was very much appreciated, and endowed them

with more hope for their future.

On the morning the Steeres left Korea, Douglas gave us a written

message titled "A swift visit to Korean Friends."

Quoted here are several paragraphs from the message:

It is another thing to see it with our own eyes, as we have just done.

We feel that you have started in the right way by building up a small

intimate fellowship of committed people who are each ready to

make a personal witness to the spirit of love in the daily work that

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make a personal witness to the spirit of love in the daily work that

you are about. You have also undertaken a common concern in this

responsibility for the leper village and for Mr. Oh. Your Bible study

and study of the Society of Friends and its basic testimonies is just

the right supplement to the meeting for worship.

We note a few additional suggestions, we hope that you may

encourage the wives to take a more active part in the meeting and

its decisions and that you may draw more women into the worship

group and into the society generally.

The work campers might be personally invited to come and Teacher

Ham may now and then find students and younger friends whom he

could personally encourage to come along to the meeting. Each of

you might ask himself which of his friends he could feel ready to

invite to attend meeting. Attenders seldom come in the beginning

except by a warm personal invitation of someone that they know.

We know of few Quaker groups which in spite of their small

numbers have so much promise in them. However God has not

favored you with so many gifts without laying on you many tasks

and I believe you could be an instrument for the Holy Spirit to break

through into the inner life of Korea.

You are a "thin place" - a place where there is little between you and

God. We have been touched by your kindness to us and by the

promise that lies in you.

We were very glad to have William Prince, a friend from Southold

Meeting of New York State, join us in March 1967, and become active

and helpful in our meeting during his stay in Korea for one year He

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and helpful in our meeting during his stay in Korea for one year. He

helped in the preparation of AFSC work camp and also participated

very actively in the camp, He also played a part in bringing about a full

understanding and friendship between Southold Meeting and Seoul

Meeting.

In March 1967, Tong Sul Cho left for Vietnam with an offer of an

interim job until his immigration to Canada. on June 10-11, 1967, we

had a week-end retreat at the meeting house in the hope that we

might revive our power of inner spirit even though the participants

were only a handful of people. Through this living together for 2 days

and nights we were certainly brought to better mutual understanding

and a strengthening of personal ties. We prepared something for

Fourth Friends World Conference and the tenth triennial meeting of

FWCC, and made a report about Tandong leper village which was sent

to Douglas Steere. Five members, Sok Hon Ham, Churl Oh, Haeng

Woo Lee, Young Sang Chin and Sung Jin Uhm, attended this retreat.

We had another retreat in October 1967.

On June 15, 1967, Churl Oh left Korea for the USA to the attend the

Fourth Friends World Conference as an official delegate of our

meeting. He visited many Friends Meetings and Friends in Japan and

the United States, and studied at Pendle Hill for the summer term

during his travel before the and after the Conference. He came back

on September 3, and on September 8 gave us a report on his trip, on

the World Conference and on the tenth triennial meeting of FWCC.

On July 22, 1967, Sok Hon Ham left Korea for the USA to attend the

Greensboro Gathering and the tenth triennial meeting of FWCC After

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Greensboro Gathering and the tenth triennial meeting of FWCC. After

the meeting, he attended the Pacific Yearly Meeting, studied at Pendle

Hill for the Fall term, and visited many Friends Meetings and Friends

in the United States and Japan.

We felt fullest gratitude toward World Friends for their loving help for

our meeting to enable us send two delegates, and have them feel the

warmth of personal participation at the gatherings. The simple ｅ

xpression mentioned the by Churl Oh, "I felt a real sense of belonging

to the world Friends Family through the Attendance," indicates how

valuable the experience was.

At the tenth triennial meeting of FWCC, Seoul Meeting was officially

recognized as a Monthly Meeting under the direct affiliation of FWCC,

and what was more precious for us was the warm hearts of Friends

who offered special prayers for this meeting. We all felt this official

recognition carried more responsibility for us to live like Friends and

make constant efforts to seek for anything that we can contribute

toward His Kingdom in the future.

The Minute recorded by FWCC was as follows:

Minutes of the tenth meeting FWCC August 3-6, 1967

Guilford College, Greenboro, North Carolina.

394 SEOUL MEETING, KOREA: OH CHURL, Clerk of the Meeting in

Seoul, Korea, reported on the progress of that group of Friends

since 1964 when the proposal was before us that it be officially

recognized as a Monthly Meeting by the FWCC. Friends from all over

the world have visited the Meeting since 1964 greatly enriching the

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the world have visited the Meeting since 1964, greatly enriching the

life of the group. Political factors make relationships between the

Japanese and Korean people difficult, but a breakthrough is now

occurring partly as the outcome of an AFSC work camp near Seoul

participated in by Japanese Friends. The Seoul group has sponsored

a relief and rehabilitation project at the leper colony of Tandong and

has translated a number of Quaker pamphlets into the Korean

Language. Since 1966 they have published a monthly newsletter.

After about nine years of thought and prayer, the Seoul group is

agreed on requesting official recognition as a Monthly Meeting. Oh

Churl reported three requests from the group:

they would welcome (1) financial help to make possible more

translations of Quaker literature into Korean; (2) scholarship help

for their members to study Quakerism in England and America, and,

(3) continued visits from Friends outside of Korea, particularly longrange visits, and Friends who might have some regular employment

in Korea and would share in the life of the Meeting.

Florence Sidwell reported for the Joint Committee for Korea of Ohio

Yearly Meeting (Conservative) and Lake Erie Yearly Meeting, which

has served as a clearing house and information center for

assistance to Korean Friends, in co-operation with many other

Friends in other Meetings around the world.

It was agreed officially to welcome the Seoul Friends group as a

Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends under the care

of the Friends World Committee for Consultation. It was agreed that

specific requests from the Korean Friends be referred to the

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specific requests from the Korean Friends be referred to the

American Section's Quaker Aid Program, and for educational

fellowships to Woodbrooke in England and to Pendle Hill in the

United States, and requests for financial help toward translations, to

the Central FWCC office.

Sok Hon Ham brought greetings from Seoul Friends and

commented on the future of Quakerism in Korea where a heavy

weight of responsibility rests on a tiny group. At the suggestion of

the General Secretary, we entered on a period of silent worship in

which our hearts went out to the new Meeting in Korea and brought

it into the circle of our Christian love.

In August 1967, we had the pleasure of participating in the 1967 AFSC

summer program by helping with preparations and the choosing of

Korean participants as well as participating in the camp itself. The

camp was held at the Tandong leper village, Seoul Meeting's service

project. The camp gave birth to a great new phase in the village life.

About two and a half acres of land were reclaimed by the camp and,

what is more valuable, this international work camp convinced many

surrounding community people to reconsider their attitude toward

lepers: if not to respect them, at least not to practice segregation

against them.

In November 1967, we were visited by Robert and Margaret Blood and

their two sons, who shared with us their concerns about our meeting

and social problems in Korea.

On December 23, 1967, we had an annual conference, attended by 23

members The meeting was started with silence

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members. The meeting was started with silence.

Messages from Sok Hon Ham (Pendle Hill), Margaret Utterback and

Janice Clevenger were read. The final part of Sok Hon Ham's message

follows:

"This year there was a devastating drought in the southern part of

our land. It seems something symbolic of the instance I cited above.

We are living in an age of difficulty. Now, let us act. once we start to

dig into our hearts, it will not be long before we discover the well

spring from which "new religion" emanates. In order to quench our

thirst we must dig a well. Otherwise there is no alternative but to

wait to die. But what is meant by digging? In other word, how

should it be done? The answer is, we should look into our hearts

first. We use a shovel when digging the soil, but it is with thinking

that we dig into our heart. We know that it would be of no avail if we

went about here and there in digging. Therefore, concentrate your

mind on one thing. This is what we call "centering." Looking into

one point, you will see it magnifying and also getting ever deeper.

Finally it will be exploded out into our consciousness when no more

resistance is felt. There is, however, one thing still more important

left. The fact is, that no one can carry on this work by himself. There

needs to be an assembly. Each individual can not be separated from

others. Individuality is a mere ｅxpression of one's being. It

envisages the whole being known as the extended self. In an

assembly where each person devotes himself, the hole in the spring

can be detected and be opened. Power might be gained through a

personal worship but it will fade away soon Why? Because it is the

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personal worship, but it will fade away soon. Why? Because it is the

water stagnant in the well. It should become part of the well spring

of life. It is only when each individual opens what is within that we

can detect the spirit lying underneath. The number of a group is of

no importance. The attitude is the most important factor."

The meeting was united in the plans for 1968 as follows: (1) we agreed

to encouraging more intervisitation among the Friends and their

friends. (2) an organ for the Sunday School will be bought whenever

sufficient money is collected by special contribution for this cause. (3)

lively discussion was held on reconsidering the location of the

Meeting House; the main trend of the discussion was that the

meeting house is too inconvenient to reach and sometimes, to many

of us, the bus fare matters very much. Most of the attenders agreed

that we reconsider moving into a more convenient place by renting

out our meeting house if possible. No one, of course, thought we

definitely had to move in the near future, but the matter should be

kept open.

Appointed as Clerk, and other Conveners of Committees, were the

following:

Clerk Churl Oh

Treasurer

& Service

Young Sang Chin

Publication

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Publication

& Library

Bong Soon Chun

Young

Friends

Joong Chul Shin

Sunday

School

Soo Jung Oh

Resident

Director

(Friends

Center)

Haeng Woo Lee,

after August and

Young Sang Chin

In February 1968, Peter and Nancy Ewald visited us on their way back

from their assignment on the AFSC VISA program in Vietnam. To us as

a people whose troops have been dispatched there, hearing of

experience in South Vietnam was very helpful in understanding the

present conditions there and in increasing our awareness of the

importance of a peaceful solution there. Nancy gave a speech on

Vietnam to a meeting of former AFSC campers.

In March 1968, Mr. & Mirs. Parl Welch visited us again. They attended

our meeting for worship, and visited Tandong leper village and

encouraged its inhabitants and significantly helped them financially.

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encouraged its inhabitants and significantly helped them financially.

In March 1968, Sung Jin Uhm left Korea for study in Australia. After

one year there, he came to the United States and now is studying at

Howard University in Washington D.C.

In May 1968, Paul Sekiya of Japan Yearly Meeting visited us in order to

participate in a good-will Conference between Japanese and Korean

Christians. He had a meeting with former AFSC campers at the

meeting house and exchanged Views on the peace problem, which is

his main concern. He also gave lectures at Choongang Theological

Seminary and Yonsei University.

On June 29-30, 1968, we had a two-day retreat at the meeting house,

in which we could exchange our ideas and thoughts.

We agreed especially that every effort should be made that the AFSC

Korea work camp program, which was scheduled to be terminated

because of budget cuts, should continue in Korea. As a result of this

concern, plans were laid for a work-study project to be held in the

summer of 1969 in Korea. Through the combined efforts of Young

Friends and AFSC staff, meetings of former AFSC campers have been

held from time to time. There were 6 such meetings in 1968, and it

was decided to continue them on a monthly basis.

Harold and Betty Snyder, Quaker International Affairs Representative

for South Asia, came in July 1968. At a supper meeting with them we

discussed our meeting's problems and learned much about

conditions in India and Pakistan. They attended meeting for worship.

It was an unforgettable memory.

In July 1968 Young Sang Chin participated in the international

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In July 1968, Young Sang Chin participated in the international

students seminar sponsored by AFSC in Kyushu, Japan. After that he

visited seven Friends Meetings in Japan and also attended a Japanese

Young Friends' retreat.

In August 1968, we had the pleasure of participating in the AFSC work

camp by helping with preparations and the choosing of Korean

participants, and attending the orientation.

During the camp period, DeWitt Barnett and Tayeko Yamanouchi of

AFSC Tokyo Office visited us to investigate the possibility of an AFSC

program in Korea in 1969. They also had a concern about general

Korean problems as well as the Seoul Meeting's problems. In addition

to sincere discussions with us which greatly deepened our friendship,

they had wide contact with government officials, politicians, scholars,

educators, journalists and former participants of AFSC programs.

DeWitt, Tayeko and Haneg Woo visited Prime Minister Il Kwon Chung

and talked about general Korean problems, especially the

reunification of Korea, and about AFSC's program in Korea, both past

and future. A special concern was mentioned about the problems of

Korean government documentation procedures for the foreign

participants for AFSC programs in Korea, and for Korean participants

in AFSC programs outside of Korea.

We hope that from their contact with notables representing various

departments of Korean society, DeWitt and Tayeko will be able to

advise us well on new directions and growth for our meeting. DeWitt

made two other visits to Korea in February and in November 1968

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made two other visits to Korea, in February and in November 1968.

On September 7, 1968, Haeng Woo Lee left for America to study at

Pendle Hill for one year, and following that, another few years in

graduate study of Mathematics. He visit the ed the AFSC Tokyo Office,

Friends Meetings and Friends in Tokyo, Honolulu, Los Angeles,

Chicago, and Cleveland. He also attended a meeting of the Joint

Committee for Korea at Kent, Ohio, on his way to Pendle Hill. on

February 14-15, 1969, he attended the FWCC executive committee

meeting at Sandy Spring, Maryland, and reported Seoul Meeting's

activities to the meeting.

The end of September 1968, Hikaru Shimojima from Tokyo Monthly

Meeting came to Korea for a peace seminar in Pusan. He attended the

meeting for worship twice and discussed the future relations between

Japanese and Korean Meetings. This visit increased our mutual

understanding and friendship.

On December 22, 1968, we had an annual conference, attended by 14

members. After meeting for worship, a taped message from Nancy

Ewald and a letter from Haeng Woo Lee were shared. The general,

financial and service activities reports were made, and appointed as

Clerk and other conveners of committees were the following:

Clerk Churl Oh

Treasurer Young Sang Chin

Publications Duk Young Chun

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Young

Friends

Joong Chul Shin

Resident

Director

(Friends

Center)

Young Sang Chin

The meeting was united in the plans for 1969 as follows: (1) We

agreed that the emphasis in 1969 should be on publication for

outreach of the meeting. (2) The Bible lecture should be more

accessible to a wide number of people. (3) A system of membership

should be put into effect and a system of monthly contribution should

be formulated. Also discussed was the situation at Tandong leper

village. In answer to the meeting's query as to what his plans were, Je

Chun Oh replied that he expected to get a job teaching in a middle

school near Tandong and thus be able to continue supervising there

as needed. He also expressed the need for some continued support.

Young Sang Chin had visited Tandong in December 1968 and made

the recommendation that a way be found to supply a ceiling and

chairs for the school, because the floor was concrete and with no

ceiling it was very cold there. It was agreed that further discussion on

Tandong was needed

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Tandong was needed.

After the business session, a taped lecture by Howard Brinton which

Haeng Woo had made and sent from Pendle Hill was played.

Quoted here are several paragraphs from Dr. Brinton's lecture, titled

"The history and doctrines of the Society of Friends."

"I think that Quakerism is especially suitable to people of Asia. In

the West, as we call it sometimes, most of our attention has been on

the world around us in the development of science. We have

developed science more than we have developed anything else. But

in Asia there has been more attention, especially in religion, to the

Inward life, and Quakerism is a religion which puts the main

attention on the development of the Inward Life. Also, Quakerism is

based entirely on religious experience and not on creeds and

theories and ideas. So, because it is an experimental religion, it is

very much in accord with modern ways of behaving and thinking...

"Friends emphasized the Spirit which produced the Bible rather

than the Bible itself. They emphasized the Bible, however, as a

means of checking the truth of their inward revelation. They

believed that the Christ of history spoke in the same words as the

Christ Within. Accordingly they endeavored to carry out all the

commands of the Sermon on the Mount and the other sayings of

Jesus. They were called perfectionists because they believed that it

was possible to live in the Kingdom of God, a world of perfection,

although surrounded by a part of an imperfect society. When they

were told that their perfectionism was not practical they said that

the Kingdom of God must begin with some individual or individuals

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the Kingdom of God must begin with some individual or individuals

and they were willing for it to begin with them, and to take the

consequences even though it led to suffering and imprisonment. A

Quaker method of dealing with those who oppose them is not by

the use of violence but by appealing to that of God in their

opponents. This of course does not always work, but history shows

that the non-violent method when properly used has been as

successful as the violent method. If the Quakers lived up to what

they fall God required of them, they were able to attain an inward

peace of mind such as did not exist to the same extent in other

Christian sects...

"Recently my wife Anna and I attended Pacific Yearly Meeting in

California. Of the thousand attenders more than half were under 30

years of age. It is a young people's movement. That meeting is

typical of the way Quakerism is growing today in various parts of the

world. The so-called West which has put so much attention on the

outer world of science, is now beginning to realize that it must pay

more attention to the inward world of the heart and mind; and that

is what Quakerism seeks to do...

"The Quakers did not set up an institutionalized religion, that is, a

religion with hard and fast forms of procedure. They wanted

flexibility. No human being was to be in a position of power, no one

was authorized to tell Quakers what to do or to hold them together.

They believed that the Word of God, the Spirit of Christ which

existed before creation, according to John's gospel, was the uniting

principle through which all things were created It is the spirit which

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principle through which all things were created. It is the spirit which

birds one man to another; when the early Friends referred to the

Spirit of God in them, they said, 'that which unites us to God also

unites us to one another.' They believed that the Spirit of God could

hold them together in one body without any human authority...

"The Spirit which unites us not only with one another in the same

religious society or in the same meeting, but also with human

beings all over the world, and enables us to respond to something

in them. No matter how different our culture and way of behavior

from others may be, nevertheless the same divine Spirit is in all, and

this divine Spirit, if we allow it to work, can unite us; and gradually,

in spite of many reverses and many setbacks, can make of us one

people, not divided into races and nations but one human family."

As of the writing of this paper, we still have no official membership in

the meeting. In February 1969, we printed application forms for

membership and sent them to all the Friends who had ever attended

this meeting. Probably, by end of 1969, the long-standing question of

whether there can be membership in the Society of Friends through

the Seoul Meeting, will be settled.

Part II. Activities.

1. Study:

a). Quakerism

The younger a meeting is in age and the weaker it is in spiritual

aspect, the more effort to be strengthened in spirit should be made.

And so, in 1962 and 1963, our Meeting began meeting for study on

Sunday after meeting for worship Among the subjects chosen for

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Sunday after meeting for worship. Among the subjects chosen for

study were The Use of Silence, Penn and The Quaker's Faith.

In 1964, we decided to study Quakerism on Thursday evenings, and

chose as our study guide the London Yearly Meeting's Faith and

Practice.

In 1965, we could not meet to study regularly because Meeting were

too busy with their most of the members of the official and private

lives.

In 1966, we were determined to have study meetings regularly, and so

every Friday evening we met at the meeting house for study on No

Time But This Present and other books, and every Wednesday

evening we also met at Margaret Utterback's to study Thomas Kelly's

Testament of Devotion and his Autobiography. Margaret was a great

help to this group.

In 1967 and 1968, we studied Howard Brinton's Friends for 300 Years

and some other Quaker literature.

When we look back, we realize that the study program was not as fully

utilized for the original purpose as we had wanted.

b). Bible

In the first part of 1962, we studied an outline of the New and Old

Testaments led by Yoon Gu Lee and Byung Nun Choi, after meeting

for worship on Sunday, But we could not continue this Bible study.

Beginning in February 1968, Sok Hon Ham gave us a Bible lecture

after meeting every Sunday in the meeting house (with the exception

of the third Sunday each month) Not only our own members but also

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of the third Sunday each month). Not only our own members but also

numerous others, with other church affiliations, have felt that these

lectures should be made more widely accessible to the public.

Fortunately this hope has been realized during the time in which this

paper has been written. Beginning in the spring of 1969, we have had

a public Bible lecture every Sunday afternoon at the ChoongAng

Theological Seminary.

2. Publication:

In 1960 we translated and printed only 50 copies each of the following

Quaker Pamphlets: Guide to Quaker Practice by Howard Brinton, John

Woolman's Teaching, Some Questions about Quakerism and The

Quaker's Faith by Rufus Jones. In 1963, we published The Quaker's

Faith by Rufus Jones, The Origin of Quakers by Irie Yukio and The

Quaker's Belief by the Japan Yearly Meeting, 500 copies respectively.

In 1964 and 1965, we published Rufus M. Jones by Jane Rushmore,

Guide to Quaker Practice by Howard Brinton, The Use of Silence by

Geoffrey Hoyland, John Woolman's Teaching, Preparation for Meeting

for Worship and Beliefs and Practice of AFSC, 500 copies respectively.

In January of 1966, we began to publish The Seoul Friends Meeting

Monthly Newsletter. The first several issues were published regularly,

but after that we were not able to publish them regularly: nine times

in 1966, five times in 1967, not at all in 1968, due to shortage of

manpower.

As mentioned, we have only a small number of Korean translations of

Quaker literature. Sok Hon Ham is now translating Howard Brinton's

Friends for 300 Years which will be published in the near future

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Friends for 300 Years which will be published in the near future.

3. Sunday School:

In 1965, a small building was erected on the corner of the property for

First Day School from the contribution of Joint Committee for Korea of

Lake Erie and Ohio Yearly Meetings.

Here seven children started their Sunday School under the guidance

of Tae Soo Kim. But our children were soon disappointed when their

teacher, Tae Soo, left Sunday School in the spring of 1966 to go to

Australia to get married to Keith Watson.

We were not able to replace her because there was no other

responsible person willing and able to teach. Soo Ja Whang and Yun

Kim took over the responsibility temporarily, but did not continue for

very long.

We feel quite frustrated because our Sunday School has been closed

for the last two years. There are two children at present in the

meeting, and no teacher.

It is expected that the same condition will continue to exist for some

time, so it has been suggested that we reopen the Sunday School, if a

teacher and some equipment could be found, and invite the

neighborhood children.

4. Visitation:

a) Among our members. From the beginning, we emphasized home

visiting among our members for mutual understanding and

maintaining friendship. We had home visiting four times in 1963,

three times in 1964 three times in 1965 four times in 1966 four times

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three times in 1964, three times in 1965, four times in 1966, four times

in 1967, and six times in 1968. This will be continued.

b) Abroad.

Besides those mentioned in Part I, several other members of our

meeting visited abroad.

In August 1962, Tong Sul Cho traveled to Japan on his own business,

and so was able to attend an AFSC International Student Seminar, and

visit the Friends Meeting in Tokyo.

In August 1963, Jae Kyung Chun and Ha Jin Lee participated in the

AFSC workcamp in Japan, and visited the Friends Meetings in Japan.

In 1964, Heung Ki Baik left for USA to study. He is still studying at

Brigham Young University, Utah. Chang Bok Lee also left for Japan to

study.

In 1965, Kyu Chul Chai for Denmark to study for one year and Won

Kyoo Park for study at Columbia, South America. Won Kyoo Park is

now studying at the Hiram Scott College, Nebraska.

In 1966, Jong Moo Kim left for study in Switzerland and Mrs. Tong Sul

Cho left for work in the United States. In 1967, Myong Hee Han left for

study at the East West Center in Hawaii.

In 1968, Young Ck Lee left for study in the USA.

c) From Abroad.

Besides those mentioned in Part I, we had a number of other Friends

from. abroad. Their visits have been a great honor and

encouragement.

In 1962, Catherine Paine, English Friend, member of the Friends

Meeting in Australia visited us in December

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Meeting in Australia, visited us, in December.

In 1963, Douglas.Riebe, from Philadelphia Yearly Meeting visited us, in

December.

In 1964, Sybilla Sprenkel, from the Camberra Meeting, visited us in the

spring and Delia Domingo, Philippines Friend who worked at Friends

School in Tokyo, visited us in August. We also had visits from Eugene

Boardman from Madison Meeting and Sally Abbott, introduced to us

by Margaret Utterback. We also met two couples, the Spuriers and the

Richies, while they were staying in Seoul to adopt children.

In 1965, we were visited by Daniel Southerland, a UP correspondent

introduced by Norman Wilson; Jackson Bailey of Earlham College, and

Fleder Jones from Columbia University Campus Meeting.

In 1966, we were visited by Takuro Isomura, the Clerk of Toyama

Monthly Meeting in Tokyo in May

In 1967, we were visited by Robert Kohls, the former acting director of

children's fund in Korea, who had been very close to us; M. Je Quier, a

Friend from Switzerland on her way home from the World

Conference, who shared with us her concern over repairs to the

meeting house; Gwen Catchpull from England, who shared us her and

her husband's experiences with work in Germany; and Fred Reeves,

an American Friend.

Richard and Rose Lewis of AFSC Tokyo Office attended meeting for

worship several times during their stay in Korea while organizing the

AFSC Korea work camp. We were also visited by Lavanam from India,

introduced by George Willoughby in October.

In 1968 we were visited by Carl Strock who was with Peter Ewald in

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In 1968, we were visited by Carl Strock, who was with Peter Ewald in

the AFSC VISA Program in Vietnam. Carl stopped in Seoul on his way

back to Vietnam in December. He visit ed Tandong leper village, met

with our meeting two times, and met former AFSC campers.

5. Service:

From the beginning, we emphasized service work, But we did not

know how or where to start, because Korea has so many difficult

problems, and we were very poor both spiritually and materially.

Nevertherless, we felt we had to start some where, so as a first step

we supplied medicines to two Tuberculosis Patients beginning in

December 1961, for two years.

In April 1962, we had a week-end workcamp at Zion Orphanage and

gave the orphans presents such as school supplies. We also had a

week-end workcamp in Tuly at HanKuk Lip Read ing School, leveling a

field for new building.

In June 1963, we collected used clothes and sent them to the flood

sufferers. In December 1963, we also gave financial assistance (10,500

Won) to the family of Dong Suk Cho, a former Clerk of the meeting

who left to study in America.

In 1964, after the Korean War, the number of T.B. Patients was

increasing day by day. About 20% of the whole population of Seoul

was taken ill because of poverty, and about 7% of them required

emergency treatment in hospitals. But for these poor people, to be

treated in a hospital was an unattainable dream. Of course, the

government has a free hospital but the beds were very limited Every

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government has a free hospital, but the beds were very limited. Every

day, many T.B. Patients waited in front of the government hospital in

hopes of being admitted. Some of them had no home, no money and

no relatives, so that they had to live under bridges or in caves.

We decided to build a small house for them, but we also did not have

enough money to buy the materials for the house. So we asked Korea

Church World Service f or some money for this work, and we got

58,500 Won ($217).

In March 1964, we had a week-end work camp, leveling a field for the

house. About thirty people participated in this camp, including Mitsuo

Otsu from Japan, Herbert Bowles and his wife from Honolulu Meeting,

and two girl students of International Christian University in Tokyo

introduced by Elise Boulding.

We decided to continue the weekend work camp until we had

completed the house, but at the second camp we had only 6

participants and at the third we had only 4 participants. We didn't

know exact reason why number of participants the decreased; of

course, most of the members were very busy. Anyhow the house was

completed in September after the person responsible for service

activities of the Meeting, Haeng Wee Lee, took charge of this work for

a few months, supervising professional carpenters and builders. The

house consisted of seven two-bed rooms and a toilet.

Keith Watson reported about this to his Meeting in Australia and

Friends in Australia contributed 17,077 Won (24 Pounds) for this

project So we were able to provide for the patients a heating system

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project. So we were able to provide for the patients a heating system

and some smokeless coal.

And we also supplied brought some medicines for them. Herbert

Bowles brought some used clothes from Honolulu Friends, and we

distributed this loving gift to the T.B. patients and to other needy

families through home visiting.

 In 1965, we continued the visits and some poor and isolated people.

At a business meeting in January 1966, the meeting decided to take up

the leper Village in Tandong as its main service project, after hearing

reports on this leper village by Sok Hon Ham, Churl Oh and Margaret

Utterback.

The leper colony, situated in Tandong, DaeDuk-Kun, Choong Nam

province, was started by Je Chun Oh, who was a Baptist preacher. one

day Preacher Oh found a leper among the congregation. He tried to

do what he could to look after him. The leper was soon moved into

the leper asylum. Mr. Oh, however, continued to help his family. When

this news spread, many lepers came to him from far and wide for

help. Every time he gave what little he had to each one. The number

inevitably increased. They needed a place to be settled. Finally, he

bought a small house to accommodate them. The housing problem

was thus settled, however, they still had to make their living by

begging. once again, he was asked to help by providing them farming

land on which they could live without help from. others. He sold out

his inherited property. This was, of course, not enough, and he

managed to borrow some money from one of his supporters

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managed to borrow some money from one of his supporters.

In June 1964, they purchased 21,060 pyong (16 acres) of land for

900,000 Won ($3,333). But the land alone could not provide enough

for them to live on. The lepers had no means other than the land.

They were compelled to go begging once again.

In the meantime, it happened that Je Chun Oh met Keith Watson, an

Australian Friend, at PoolMoo rural school, in December 1964. Mr Oh

was working at the .school as a part time lecturer of music. Keith

Watson was very much concerned over the Tandong leper colony, and

promised to offer help. He sent 50,000 Won on Christmas, 1964, and

again, 200,000 Won in 1965. With some of that money, Oh paid back

his debt borrowed for buying the land, and the rest he put into

getting livestock such as cows and small pigs. In spite of all this, the

lepers had to continue their miserable way of life.

Oh came up to KCWS to ask for a food supply, but was refused on the

grounds that among the leper group there was no administrator to be

trusted.

In August 1965, Mr. Oh moved into YooSung, near the colony, with his

family, determined that he would take charge of the colony himself.

Thus, he could get the food supply from KCWS.

But it proved to be insufficient to sustain these people, because the

supply came only once every three months, and besides, the quantity

was barely enough to last 20 days.

Such being the case, the witnesses, Sok Hon Ham, Churl Oh and

Margaret Utterbach, suggested that we devote our efforts to help this

leper colony And so the meeting decided on Tandong as our service

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leper colony. And so, the meeting decided on Tandong as our service

work site.

At first, we didn't expect any other help from outside. We thought we

would try to help in whatever way circumstances permitted. Even

though we could not give material help abundantly, we would back

them up spiritually. In the course of discussion, Margaret noticed how

we stood. on behalf of the meeting, Margaret called for help from the

Friends in USA. We had lots of contributions, and other supplies

began to reach us one after another. In consequence, our work

enlarged to an unexpected scale.

We continued this project for three years, until December 1968. The

emphasis in 1966 was frequent visiting both by meeting members and

their visitors from abroad, in order to break down the prejudice and

segregation against the lepers in the surrounding community. Also

emphasized was material construction as a basis for future selfsupport, such as the school building, housing, and shelters for

livestock. In 1967 and 1968, we emphasized the providing of materials

for self-support.

Following is a chronological list of activities concrrning the Tandong

Leper Colony:

a) Visits:

1. on March 1, 1966, Haeng Woo Lee and Sung Jin Uhm took the first

survey trip.

2. on April 22nd-23rd, eight members (Sok Hon Ham, Tong Sul Cho,

Haeng Woo Lee Hee Joong Moon Sung Jin Uhm Chang Bok Lee

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Haeng Woo Lee, Hee Joong Moon, Sung Jin Uhm, Chang Bok Lee,

Kwang Ja Oh, and Margaret Utterback) had a work camp, doing

leveling work on the building site of a community center to be used

both for meeting and as a school.

3. In June 1966, Hee Joong Moon went down to help them build rabbit

barns.

4. on July 30-31, 1966, Margaret Utterback, Janice Clevenger, and

Haeng Woo Lee participated in erection of the main frame work of the

community center structure, and had a meeting for worship.

5. In September 1966, Tong Sul Cho went down alone to see what was

going on.

6. on October 23, 1966, Margaret, Haeng Woo, Young Sang Chin, and

Sang Yon visited.

7, on November 9, 1966, Mildred and Norman Whitney (from USA),

Margaret, and Haeng Woo had a meeting for worship with the

villagers.

8. In January 1967, Churl Oh, Haeng Woo Lee, Ok Kyung Paik, Chong

Hee Limb, Byung Ho OH, and Sang Yon Lee visited and had a meeting

for worship with the villagers.

9. on March 12-13, 1967, Douglas and Dorothy Steere visited to

encourage them, along with Sok Hon Ham, Sung Jin UHm, and Haeng

Woo Lee.

10. In May 1967, Richard and Rose Lewis and Haeng Woo Lee visited

the village on a survey trip to find a site for AFSC International Student

Summer Work Camp

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Summer Work Camp.

11. on July 7, 1967, Haeng Woo Lee visited the village and the made

preparations f or the AFSC work camp.

12. During the AFSC work camp, July to August 19, 1967, Sung Jin Uhm,

Soo Jung Oh, Kyu Chul Chai, and William Prince visited the village and

participated in the camp for 3 to 10 days. Haeng Woo Lee also

participated in the whole camp.

13. In February 1968, DeWitt Barnett and Sok Hon Ham visited the

village with encouragement.

14. In April 1968, Parl Welch and his wife, visited the village with Young

Sang Chin to encourage them, and helped them financially.

15. In May 1968, Richard and Rose Lewis visited the village to renew

old friendship and to see what was being planted in the field that the

AFSC International Work camp had helped to reclaim.

16. on August 27, 1968, Haeng Woo Lee and his family visited the

village.

17. on December 17, 1968, Carl Strock and Young Sang Chin visited

the village.

As a result, these people, once isolated and ill-treated, began to be

looked on with heart-felt concern by the surrounding community

people. Now the people of surrounding community employ the lepers

for their farming work. The local government official who had once

been planning for their compulsory removal, now came to help this

community.

We regret that we could not visit more frequently, but possible

because Tandong is located too far from Seoul (about 130 miles) and

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because Tandong is located too far from Seoul (about 130 miles) and

poor public transportation makes it necessary to take two days for a

visit. And also trip expenses quite expensive. For instance, Haeng Woo

Lee used about 10% of his monthly salary for a trip.

b) Emergency Food Supply:

The meeting supplied them with rice four times, in February and

March 1966, January 1967 and January 1968, to save them from

starvation.

c) Education and Religion:

There were eight school-aged children, in 1966; two for each grade

from first to fourth, who were turned away from regular schools. The

community itself should have been responsible for their education,

too. Most of the people at Tandong are Christian, but there was no

place to have a meeting. So we built a house (18X48X9 ft), which was

to be used as school and church.

Now, there are nine children, who are being taught in this new

classroom, and on Sunday, they have a meeting for worship led by Je

Chun Oh. There are two teachers. The equipment, such as

blackboards and desks, is very poor compared with other schools, but

the parents (leper patients) are very enthusiastic that their children

are receiving an education, which more than offsets the meager

equipment. Two junior high school boys who are attending public

school one hour away on foot have been helped with school fees by

the meeting.

d) Economic Self-support:

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d) Economic Self support:

First of all, they must be self-supporting economically. We therefore

helped them raise Angora rabbits. In May 1960, they began with 10

rabbits. Rabbit barns (12X45'9 ft) were built. By the end of 1966, there

were about 70 rabbits on hand, but by the end of 167, the number

was reduced to 50.

The reason was that the villagers were disappointed because they

could not gain satisfactory profit out of the rabbits raising. Rabbit

raising was a good business when they began, but the boom soon

passed, so that they didn't pay enough attention to the rabbit raising.

They began chicken-raising, too, in 1966. This livestock project was

originally started in the hope that it would eventually become the

main income resource for all the households in the village, because

the land area is not sufficient to meet their entire needs in the future.

They also started cow raising from 1967. Now, the community consists

of the following;

1. Each of the 14 families has 1,000 Pyongs (5/6 acre) of farming land

and a house of its own. Most of the houses were rebuilt and roofs

were changed from the original thatched roofing to tile roofing.

2. There is one school for the community, which is also used for

meeting activities, and one barn for the raising of rabbits.

3. Eleven head of beef cattle, 21 pigs, 100 rabbits, 100 chickens, 6

goats and 2 geese.

4. Food and Clothing;

Minimum food for 10 days per month.---from the county government.

Food for 10 days per month--- wheat flour from KCWS

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Food for 10 days per month wheat flour from KCWS.

In 1968, the community could produce barley, vegetable, beans sweet

potatoes, and sesame which they ate or used for food for their

animals. This is enough for the 10 days per month for the people and

for 7 month per year for animals.

The Southold Meeting in New York State sent clothing for children in

Tandong. So the children's clothing is much improved.

e) Accounting:

The Meeting spent the total amount 1,403,480 Won ($5,198) for

Tandong project for three years; 547,450 Won in 1966, 208,500 Won in

1967 and 647,530 Won in 1968.

Conclusion:

As the meeting membership is now greatly reduced, the meeting

itself was unable to do much. Most of the funds coming from

overseas come through the Joint Committee for Korea of the Lake Erie

and Ohio Yearly Meetings, or directly from others. We regret that we

could not do more ourselves, but we feel very much thankful to the

foreign Friends for their help. And we can not forget the efforts of Je

Chun Oh as a director of Tandong.

Formerly, the lepers were driven to despair; begging, drinking, and

violence constituted the whole of their lives. It goes without saying

that they were disregarded by the surrounding villagers. Of late, the

community has altered its attitude, both spiritually and materially.

Last December 1968, visits were made by Young Sang Chin and Carl

Strock. After the visit Chin reported as follows;

"After walking about 20 minutes through the quiet country as we

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After walking about 20 minutes through the quiet country, as we

approached Tandong, we could hear the various cries of the

animals. Visiting the families, Carl remarked jokingly that the Seoul

Meeting made the village noisy. I replied, 'We are not helpers. We

are disturbers, if we do not want to be real disturbers of the village,

we should have a continuing deep concern spiritually for the welfare

of the village.'"

We know very well that the lepers are not entirely self-supporting, but

we are joyful to see signs that they are well cn the way to being selfsupporting. We wish to show our continuing interest and concern in

the community, although we are not able to give more vigorous aid

due to our small membership at present.

During that time, In December 1966, Haeng Woo Lee visited the

PoolMoo Rural School on behalf of the Meeting, and delivered 80,000

Won (about $300) to buy a typewriter for the school. In late 1966 and

early 1967, we gave some financial help for the SeeAl Farm.

We revisited the T.B. village, which we stopped supporting in 1966, in

order to support to Tandong, by Churl Oh's urging to continue at the

T.B. village as well. Meanwhile, William Prince became interested in

the T.B. village.

Ok Kyung Paik, Gui Sook Bae, Sung Jin Uhm, William Prince, Young

Sang Chin, Churl Oh and Haeng Woo Lee have visited them several

times, and helped their flower growing and chicken raising financially.

In November 1967, we had a week-end workcamp at Agnes and David

Kim's farm. It was a good refreshing experience to become apart of

their humble rural life through our work together

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their humble rural life, through our work together.

In late 1967 and early 1968, Ki Hon Song, one of the attenders of the

meeting became ill with inflammation of the liver (Hepatitis). So the

meeting helped him by giving him 3,000 Won per month for several

months.

During the time Nargaret Utterback was with us, Senator Stephen

M.Young of Ohio adopted a Korean girl. He wished to continue

sending financial assistance to the girl's aged grandmother, but was

hampered by language problems. Margaret helped arrange the

exchange of money and counseled the grandmother while she was

with us, and after she left Haeng Woo Lee took on this job. After

several months, Sung Jin Uhm and his wife Young Ok took over this

responsibility, until the transactions were completed.

* * *

And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge,

And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge,

And all knowledge is vain save when there is work,

And all work is empty save when there is love;

And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself,

and to one another, and to God.

...Kahlil Gibran.

6. Supporting AFSC International Work Camp:

For our meeting, the most important activity was supporting the AFSC

International Work Camps and Seminars in Korea and Japan. This

work was a heavy burden for this tiny and young meeting, but we

have very much enjoyed it and have been able to learn in many ways

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have very much enjoyed it and have been able to learn in many ways.

It has been a very good chance for out-reach, especially for young

people, and the meeting has gotten many fine young members

through this work.

In January 1964, Norman Wilson and Brewster Grace of AFSC Tokyo

Office visited us and, after discussion with us decided to have an AFSC

International Workcamp in Korea.

The preparation committee was organized. Some of the meeting

members participated in this committee and assisted in choosing the

camp site, in choosing Korean participants for both Korean and

Japanese Seminars and work camps, and arranged homes for foreign

participants to stay in before and after camp.

The first AFSC Korea Work Camp was held at the Yang-Jee Orphanage

in EuiJungPu in August 1964. The work project was reclaiming a large

field. for farming for the orphanage.

This workcamp site was very close to Seoul, so that most of the

members of the meeting were able to visit the camp and participate

for a -few days. This camp was directed by Brewster Grace and Peter

& Nancy Ewald of the AFSC Tokyo Office.

Through this camp, we were able to learn much in many ways. Ile felt

very thankful to the staff of the AFSC Tokyo Cffice for bringing this

camp to Korea, and to some of the government officials for their help

in making the camp possible, and especially their great help of Ingrid

Bentzen and Dong Jae Lee.

In August 1965 the second AFSC Korea workcamp was held at

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In August 1965, the second AFSC Korea workcamp was held at

KwargAm-R i, JinDon-Myon, ChangWon-Kun, Kyung-Nam Province.

The camp site was a fishing village and the work project was helping

the village to develop a "hanging oyster" project This camp was

directed by Peter Ewald, Churl Oh and Chung Soo Kim. We didn't do

much of the preparation for this camp because Peter Ewald did

everything. He was a marvelous person; he went everywhere through

the country without anyone's help, found an excellent camp site,

found good campers, and made good friends. He was a very quiet

man, but we felt him to be very warm, and deep friendships

developed between us even without words. This camp site was

located in the southern part of Korea, and it took one day to get from

Seoul to the camp site, so only two members of the meeting, Chang

Hok Lee and Haeng Woo Lee, visited the camp.

In August 1966, the third AFSC Korea Workcamp was held at SuhSang

Elementary School, HamHae-Do (Island), Kyung-Nam Province, again

in the southern part of Korea. The work project was making rice fields

for the elementary school, by piling up the soil by the seaside. This

camp was directed by Peter Ewald, Churl Oh, Haeng Woo Lee, and

Chum Soon Song. Five members of the meeting participated in

preparation of the camp, and three friends, Sok Hon Ham, Churl Oh,

Haeng Woo Lee, also participated in the whole camp.

 After the camp we hosted the foreign campers in our homes.

In 1967, the fourth AFSC Korea workcamp was held at the Tandong

leper village, the Seoul Friends Meeting's service project, and the

work was to reclaim a hillside of about 2 4 acres This was the most

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work was to reclaim a hillside of about 2.4 acres. This was the most

difficult camp because the circumstances were very bad, such as not

enough water for baths due to a spell of dry weather, so that one of

the two wells we used for drinking, baths, and laundry was dry, and

the weather was exceedingly hot. one of the problems, most

members of the preparation committee worried about, was the fact

that this camp was in a leper village, and two Japanese canceled their

participating in this camp, because of the leprosy. This camp was

directed by Richard & Rose Lewis, Ok Kyung Paik, and Haeng Woo Lee.

From the meeting, Sung Jin Uhm, Soo Jung Oh, Kyu Chul Chai, and

William Prince visited the camp and participated in the camp for

several days.

One of the most valuable results of this camp was that this

international workcamp convinced many community people to

reconsider their attitude toward lepers, if not to respect them, at least

not to discriminate against them.

After this camp as in 1966, we had the foreign campers stay with us in

our homes.

In 1968, the fifth AFSC Korea workcamp was held at Mae-Bong san,

HwangJee, KargWon Province. The camp site was located in deep

mountains, 600 meters above sea level, so it was not hot even in the

summer. There are 42 families, most of them refugees who came

from north Korea during the Korean war. The Korean-American

Foundation built the houses and school for them and continue to

help. Around this community there are no villages within three miles.

There was a road but not good enough to use for cars The campers

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There was a road, but not good enough to use for cars. The campers

improved this road to use for cars. There is no doubt that the camp

for these poor and isolated people was very much appreciated, and

endowed them with more hope for their future. This camp was

directed by Richard & Rose Lewis, Sung Youn Hong,and Hae Kyung

Kim. We arranged home visits with Korean families for the foreign

campers during the orientation held at Yonsei University for two days

and another a few days after the camp. Some of the members of the

meeting, Sok Hon Ham, Churl OH, Young Sang Chin and Haeng Woo

Lee participated in the preparation of the camp and orientation.

* * *

Work is love made visible ... Kahlil Gibran.

Part III. How they became Friends:

I would like to write here how two of my beloved and respected

friends, Sok Hon Ham and Churl Oh, became Friends. It is a very

difficult task but it is perhaps very interest ing and not meaningless.

Our meeting is very young and tiny, and its subsistance in the Korean

society is in a very poor way. only limited people know the word

"Quakers," only some of them know what Quakerism is, and few of

them know there :. is a Friends Meeting in Korea. Sok Hon Ham is very

famous in Korea. He is known widely as a patriot, a pacifist, a writer,

and a religious leader of Korea. But only limited people know that Sok

Hon Ham is a member of the Religious Society of Friends.

I wonder how I can introduce these two friends. I Know something

about them as an intimate friend, but there is much I don't know

about Sok Hon Ham and Churl Oh because they are very deep men

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about Sok Hon Ham and Churl Oh because they are very deep men.

I appreciate their permitting me to write about them. and I hope that

they shall forgive me if I misinterpret them there.

1. Sok Hon Ham:

Sok Hon Ham was born in a rural community near the Yalu River in

1901. He completed his elementary education in the Presbytarian

school which was begun as part of their newly introduced missionary

activity in Korea. He grew up in an atmosphere of strong nationalism.

His thinking was very much changed alter the March 1st

Independence movement in 1919, his age then being 13.

lie thought that education was the best way of saving his broken

country. So he went to Tokyo, and entered the Tokyo Higher Normal

School (famous college far teacher's training) in 1923, giving up his

interest in fine arts.

In the first year of his life in Tokyo, he had a bitter experience: the

great Tokyo earthquake disaster because of which so many Korean

residents in Tokyo were massacred by

the Japanese. Of course the reason for the massacre was that there

was a groundless rumour abroad that the Koreans set the fires which

in reality were caused by the earthquake.

At the time, Korean public thought was divided, socialism was

pervading the thinking of most students and intelligentsia, and the

youth were torn in the agony of indecision. While in Japan, he entered

the "non-church" movement led by Kanzo Uchimura who had been

influenced by American Quakers and started this movement as a

protest against the corrupt formal church emphasizing bible study

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protest against the corrupt formal church, emphasizing bible study

and "primitive" Christianity. Thus Sok Yon Ham ended a long agony of

worry about which was the right way: "Christianity or Socialism?" He

was convinced that the way of religious faith was the best way to

improve the spiritual life of the Koreans, to unite the people in

apposition to the Japanese occupation: of Korea, and to give the

people strength to resist the Japanese.

In 1928, he came back to Korea after finishing his study of five years in

Tokyo. For ten years, he taught History and English at Osan school

which was very famous High School for its Anti-Japanese pacifist

teaching. He did his best to guide the students into the non-church

movement -there. He Vials

greatly influenced by the famous Christian pacifist teacher, NamKang,

who taught at Osan. In 1938, he had to resign. from the school

because the Japanese militarist government oppressed him too hard.

After that, he was imprisoned by the Japanese several times and later

by communists in North Korea,

and still later by Shyng Man Rhee's government in South Korea. In

prison, he read many books about Buddhism and Taoism which

gradually changed his thought in some degree. He began to doubt

the doctrine of redemption. After long thinking, he was convinced

that, "I, my truth, am an eternal Christ."

After World War II, Korea was divided into two countries, North and

South, by the great powers. For a while, he lived in North K=orea

under the communist government, but he came

down into South Korea perhaps because there was no religious

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down into South Korea, perhaps because there was no religious

liberty in the North.

After coming to South Korea, he gave Sunday lectures, and was active

in the non-church movement and other activities. These Sunday

lectures and the non-church movement were very famous, so that

many people knew him as a leader of the non-church movement then,

and still do. He lost most of his friends in the non-church movement

as it became more conservative and his own thinking liberalized. He

stopped the Sunday lectures and meetings. He attempted a religious

movement through running a farm. This farm was called the "SeeAl"

farm, SeeAl means "the Seed." He thought, from the Osan period,

that three main components: Faith, Education, and Rural

Communities, should be coirbined. At that time, eighty percent of the

whole population of Korea were farmers and most of them were

illiterate, school was limited, the influence of Confucianism and

Buddhism had deteriorated, and popular religion was in a primitive

state.

While he was leading a solitary life after losing his friends of the nonchurch movement, he met the Quakers, especially Arthur Mitchell. He

was delighted to meet the Quakers because he already knew of them

from his reading of Thomas Carlyle's books at Osan, and he was very

much interested in the Quaker's Conscientious Objection movement

which he knew about through Mr. Dong Wan Hyun who was Executive

Secretary he YMCA after World War II.

Previously at the time he had been studying in Tokyo he had been

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Previously, at the time he had been studying in Tokyo, he had been

much impressed by Tagore's thought and later he became influenced

by Gandhi's thinking. This influence is evident in the Korean history

which he wrote while at Osan. He is now widely thought of as "the

Gandhi of Korea." He also read the Outline of History by H. G. Wells

and felt a deep sense of unity with Wells' concept of world

nationalism. All these influences combined and his thinking became

much like the Quakers." But his personal feeling at that time was that

he didn't like sectarianism. At the beginning of World War II he

thought that this war was a prelude to violent fluctuations of

mankind, and that the social structure would be fundamentally

changed, therefore the religion would be changed. He thought about

"New Religion" continuously and he didn't want to belong to any

certain sect. At the beginning of his attending the Friends Meeting, he

wanted to remain as an attendee, but after he came back from Pendle

Hi11, he decided to become a member of the Religious Society of

Friends because the Quakers were so kind and sincere to him and he

felt a personal responsibility to the Quakers.

I asked him. "What is your new religion?" Several days ago I got the

following answer from him:

"I don't know in fact, I only began to feel the need for "New

Religion" at the beginning of World War II. The final truth of religion

never changes, but verbal ｅxpression must be constantly renewed.

I simply thought that religion would be entirely different only in its

new style of verbal ｅxpression because the human social structure

would be changed fundamentally through this war I am a man who

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would be changed fundamentally through this war. I am a man who

while waiting for the new religion can not tell about it. But I can tell

the following conditions; first it will be more reasonable than the old

religion which was emotional and subconscious. Second, it will be

more democratic. Sometimes, I express it as 'scientific religion,' but

I can not put it in concrete terms. In my opinion, we have no

conception of something like the new religion because religion is

not made by man but revealed by God. If we found religion by the

thoughts of human beings, it would not be religion, but a synthesis.

For instance, "Bahaism is just that, It was synthesized from the good

concepts which were selected from various scriptures, it was not

inspired.

"Real new religion must be revealed by God to human beings

without explaining the reason at the beginning. Later we interpret

it. Then, the most important thing is how to interpret it."

"My thinking has been thus, but after reading Howard Brinton's

Friends for 300 Years I felt as follows: I am not sure that Quakerism

will become the new religion of the next age, but Quakerism is the

most 'young' religion among the religion of today. So I tend to lean

to the Quakers."

2. Churl Oh:

Churl Oh was born in a rural community near Kunsan in 1927. He

completed his elementary education in a rural community school, and

secondary education in the capital city of ChunPuk Province. He grew

up in a Presbyterian family; his parents were quite active lay people in

a Presbyterian church during his boyhood and he attended the church

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a Presbyterian church during his boyhood and he attended the church

under the influence of his parents. He started wondering about the

religious lives of the church people and their implementation of

biblical teaching when he entered junior high school at his age of 14.

He had many unsatisfied questions about religious life, and finally he

kept himself from attending church for almost 10 years, until the

Korean war in 1950.

After his graduation from high school, he worked as a clerk at the

Transportation Bureau for three years, and then worked as an

interpreter for US Army units during the Korean war for three years.

Through the bitter experiences of the Korean war, raving witnessed

such a cruel calamity, he started to wonder whether We should not

rely ,' upon a Mightier Power that could have control over human

disaster. Finally he felt he should entrust his soul with God, believing

His mighty power is the only resource that would lead human beings

toward peace. And in the midst of his wondering period he happened

to work with people called 'Quakers' in Kunsan right after the Korean

war, whom he did not, until they withdrew from Korea, know to have

been Quakers. He had been so deeply moved by their way of living

and serving for the needy of his country, that this was the direct

motivation for him to become interested in knowing about Quakers.

He worked with FSU for one and a half years. After that, he worked as

an English teacher at a High School in the country side for five years.

He started to come to our meeting after he moved to Seoul, where he

taught three years more.

After he joined the Quakers he was appointed Clerk Resident

1/30/2021 Friends in Korea

https://blog.daum.net/wadans/7787976 84/85

After he joined the Quakers, he was appointed Clerk, Resident

Director of the Friends Center, and convener of several committees of

our meeting. Having studied about Quakerism he gradually became

interested in becoming a Friend and committing himself to follow the

patterns of Quaker life. Since 1963, he has been working as

Community Affairs Director at Korea Church World Service as well as

Clerk of Seoul Friends Meeting.