The March First Movement: A Turning Point for North American Protestant Missionaries in Korea

Although frequently viewed as mere proselytizers, North American Protestant Missionaries in Korea played a crucial role during the Korean March First Independence Movement, an event that was a turning point in how they served Korean society and politics. Already doctors, teachers, and translators, these American and Canadian missionaries assumed new roles influenced by the outbreak of the independence movement on March 1, 1919. Research on the duties and achievements of North American Protestant missionaries before and after the movement is widespread but often fails to investigate and include the causes, development, and consequences of the revolutionary event on the missionaries. By gathering information from reports and letters from the time, interviews conducted with descendants of the missionaries, and previous studies by religious experts, this paper seeks to analyze the long and short–term impacts of the March First Movement on the activities of North American Protestant Missionaries in Korea. Unbeknownst to many, the missionaries who arrived in Korea during the late 19th century underwent significant changes in their mission after the independence movement, and the effects of these changes have influenced the entire Korean population unto the present day. Protestant evangelism in Korea and the nation’s rise to global significance assumed notable growth thanks to the efforts of North American Protestant missionaries during and after the March First Movement.