Horace Underwood

Horace Grant Underwood was born on July 19, 1859, in London, England. His father was a manufacturer of typewriters and ink, and the family was of some means. His mother died when he was young, and he was left to be raised in a household that did not give him much care. When he was twelve, the family moved to the United States, settling in New Jersey. He was a serious and quiet boy who attended a Dutch Reformed church. He was drawn to Christian work and felt called to be a missionary.

He studied at New York University and then at the New Brunswick Theological Seminary in New Jersey. He also studied medicine for a time, in the hope that this would be useful. In 1884 he was ordained as a minister of the Presbyterian Church. He had first thought of going to India, but he learned that Korea was open to missionaries after a treaty with the United States in 1882. He felt that God was calling him there. He was appointed by the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions as the first ordained Presbyterian missionary to Korea.

He arrived in Chemulpo, now Incheon, on Easter Sunday, April 5, 1885, together with Henry Appenzeller, the Methodist missionary. They found a country that was closed to the gospel. Public worship by Koreans was still forbidden, and the missionaries were not permitted to preach. Underwood worked as a teacher in a government hospital and school. He began to learn the language and to translate Christian literature. He was also quick to make friends with Koreans.

In 1887 he organized the first Protestant church in Seoul, at a place called Saemunan, with fourteen members. It was a historic moment. He baptized the first converts and trained Korean leaders. He also helped to compile a Korean-English dictionary and a grammar, which were important aids for later missionaries. In 1889 he married Lillias Horton, a doctor and missionary, who served as a physician to the queen of Korea. She was a woman of great strength and gentleness, and she supported her husband in all his work.

He took part in the translation of the Bible into Korean. He also did much for education, starting a school for orphans that grew into a large institution. In 1915, he founded the Chosun Christian College, which became Yonsei University, one of the leading universities in Korea. He said that the education of young people was the way to build a Christian nation. He also helped to found the Young Men's Christian Association in Seoul.

He had to endure many hardships. The early years were marked by political unrest, by wars between China and Japan and by the rise of Japanese power in Korea. He also lived through the death of several of his friends and the strain of overwork. His health declined in the early 1900s. He also faced conflicts with some of his fellow missionaries about methods and policy. He was criticized by some who thought that he was too ready to compromise with the authorities.

He died on October 12, 1916, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, at the age of fifty-seven, while on a trip to the United States for medical treatment. His body was returned to Korea and buried in Seoul. His life shows what can be done by a man of patience and good will in a land that is closed. The Korean church, now one of the largest in the world, owes much to the pioneers who came before the doors were open.