Henry Appenzeller

Henry Gerhard Appenzeller was born on February 6, 1858, in Souderton, Pennsylvania, in a family of German descent. He grew up in a devout Christian home and was converted in his youth. He studied at Franklin and Marshall College and at Drew Theological Seminary in New Jersey. At Drew he was drawn to missions, and he volunteered for service in the Far East. In 1885, he married Ella Dodge, and a few days later the young couple sailed for Korea under the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Korea at that time was known as the Hermit Kingdom. It had been closed to the outside world for centuries, and Christianity was banned. Many Koreans had been killed for their faith in the previous decades. The country had signed a treaty with the United States in 1882, which opened the door a little. Appenzeller and his wife arrived at the port of Chemulpo, now Incheon, on Easter Sunday, April 5, 1885, together with Horace Underwood, a Presbyterian missionary. They could not enter the country at once because of unrest, and they stayed in Japan for a time. They returned in June.

He began his work in Seoul by opening a school for boys. In 1885, he took in a few students and began to teach them English. He called it Pai Chai, which means a hall for rearing useful men. The school grew to be one of the leading schools in Korea and trained many of its future leaders. The government honored his work and gave the school a place in the new education of the nation. He also helped to build a church, which later became the Jeongdong First Methodist Church, the oldest Protestant church in Seoul. He preached and held services in Korean, and soon a small congregation was formed.

He took an interest in the translation of the Bible into Korean and served on a committee for that purpose. He believed that the Scriptures in the native tongue would be the foundation of the church. He also founded a printing press and published tracts and a newspaper. He taught the Korean people and sought their friendship. He loved the country and became deeply involved in its welfare. In the turbulent years of the 1890s, when Korea was caught between China, Japan and Russia, he stood with the people.

He was a man of tireless energy and was often tired. His family also knew hardship, as they lost children in infancy to disease. His wife, Ella, supported him in all things. He also had to deal with the opposition of some officials and the rivalries of other missionaries, as well as the pressures of the political conflict. He sometimes felt that he was not doing enough. His records show that he was a humble man who prayed for guidance.

On June 11, 1902, he was traveling by ship to Mokpo, in the south, to attend a meeting of the Bible translation committee. The ship collided with another vessel in the dark and began to sink off the coast. He gave his own life jacket to others and tried to save a Korean girl and her teacher. He was last seen holding on to the girl as the ship went down. He was forty-four years old. His body was recovered and buried in Seoul.

He had been in Korea for seventeen years. Today the Methodist church of Korea is one of the largest in the world, and Pai Chai school is still in operation. His life shows what a young man of faith can do in a land that is closed. He gave his life in the service of the Korean people, and his death was a final gift.