Exploring Chungjeong-no

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Every time I’d pass Aeogae Hill on the way from Gwanghwamun to Sinchon, I’d notice this old, red brick building atop the hill that appeared to be of missionary manufacture. I had no idea what it was, however, until Saturday, when a friend and I finally visited the site to discover — much to my delight — a very well-preserved former mission maintained by very friendly people who were only too happy to show us around the place.

In this post, we’ll visit a couple of the sites around Aeogae and Chungjeong-no, including:

• Historic Ahyun Evangelical Holiness Church, Old Seoul Theological University and the former headquarters of the Oriental Missionary Society
• Chungjeonggak, a turn-of-the-20th century German-style colonial residence now used as an art gallery and restaurant
• Some of Ewha Womans University’s older architecture

Ahyun Evangelical Holiness Church, Old Seoul Theological University, Former Headquarters of Oriental Missionary Society

As I noted earlier, as you drive along the elevated road running from Gwanghwamun to Sinchon, you’ll pass a hill near the Bukahyeon-dong Furniture Market and Ahyeon Methodist Church. Atop the hill, which is named Aeogae, are a couple of old red brick buildings which, if you’ve been spending as much time doing this crap as me, you’ll immediately recognize as missionary structures. Just below the buildings is a stately granite church built right after the Korean War. Welcome to Ahyun Evangelical Holiness Church, which was founded in 1913 by the Tokyo-based Oriental Missionary Society.

Any discussion of the Ahyun Evangelical Holiness Church — and its mother church, the Korea Evangelical Holiness Church (KEHC) — must begin with the Oriental Missionary Society (OMS). Part of the holiness movement, the OMS was founded in 1901 in Japan by Western Union executive-turned-missionary Charles Cowman and his wife Lettie (Lettie would grow famous as a writer after her husband worked himself to death in 1924), Western Union colleague Ernest Kilbourne and his wife Julia, and Japanese preacher Juji Nakada and his wife Katsuko. The three had met at Grace Methodist Episcopal Church in Chicago, where Nakada was studying at the Moody Bible Institute. Setting up shop in Tokyo, the Cowmans, Kilbournes and Nakadas established a church and the Tokyo Bible Institute (now Tokyo Biblical Seminary).

Serving as a chaplain with the Japanese army during the Russo-Japanese War (1904—1905), Nakada used the opportunity to preach to Koreans and Chinese. Two Koreans — Chung Bin and Kim Sang-jun — were impressed with what they heard, and in 1904, they showed up in Tokyo to attend the Tokyo Bible Institute. In 1907, they returned to Korea (accompanied by Cowman and Kilbourne), where they founded the Gospel Mission Hall, the progenitor of the KEHC. Whether Chung and Kim were members of the OSM is a matter of some debate (.doc), apparently, but what is known is that the KEHC and OMS enjoyed, at the very least, a very close partnership, with the OMS providing much needed financial support and Western missionaries.

In 1910, Welsh OSM missionary Rev. John Thomas came to Korea, and in the following year established Kyungsung Bible Institute, today’s Seoul Theological University. In 1914, two Korean students from Kyungsung Bible Institute — Kang Si-yeong and Kim Seok-jun — founded a church on Aeogae Hill. That church is today’s Ahyun Evangelical Holiness Church.

The current chapel — named the Hazel M. Kilbourne Memorial Chapel in honor of the wife of the son of OMS cofounder Ernest Kilbourne — was completed in 1955, replacing a previous chapel that had been destroyed in the Korean War. The architect was American, and construction was assisted greatly by the US 8th Army (many churches built in the immediate post-war era were constructed with help from either the US or ROK armies) and Dr. Bob Pierce, the founder of World Vision. Characteristic of churches of its era, it’s a simple, granite chapel, although its unusually shaped dormer windows are certainly eye-catching.

This is a gorgeous piece of work, ain’t it?

In 1921, Kyungsung Bible Institute (see above) moved from its original location near what is today Seoul City Hall to Aeogae Hill. To house the school, OSM — at an investment of US$60,000 — constructed a grand, five-story brick building which, at the time of its construction, was one of the largest buildings in Seoul. So spectacular it was for its time that people would come in from the countryside to see it.

In 1940, the school became Kyungsung Theological Seminary, which became Seoul Theological Seminary after Korea’s liberation from colonial rule in 1945. In 1974, however, the seminary moved to a new campus in Bucheon, and the old campus changed hands a couple of times before it was acquired — or reacquired, if you will — by Ahyun Evangelical Holiness Church in 1997.

The church now uses the old seminary building as a lecture and performance hall. It’s in exceptionally good shape for a building built in 1921 — as you can see, even the interior has been largely preserved in its original state. The arches, in particular, are a thing of true beauty. The only unfortunate thing, really, is the new dormitory building that blocks one of the wings of the old building.

After Korea’s liberation from Japan, control of the seminary became a point of contention between the OMS and their Korean partners, the independent KEHC. This was representative of a broader problem affecting many churches in Korea, namely, managing the relationship between Western missionaries — who were sometimes reluctant to give up control — and developing local churches, who were eager to assert their authority. In the Wesleyan Theological Journal, Park Myung-soo has a wonderful essay on the dynamic relationship between the OMS and KEHC (.pdf), including the conflict over Seoul Theological Seminary.

For those with into missionary family history, the Kilbournes are, I believe, the most famous of the missionary clans associated with the church. I don’t know if any are left in Korea, although I did learn that one of the Kilbournes is a singer-songwriter and minister in South Carolina.

This two-story structure was built at the same time as the seminary (1921), and in addition to being a missionary residence, it also served as the headquarters of the OMS when it moved from Tokyo to Seoul in 1921 (note: another source says 1923). The headquarters would move again to Shanghai in 1929 as the OMS boosted its efforts in China.

As you can see, the area around the old mission has developed somewhat since the 1940s.

The interior is remarkably well preserved, especially the doors and windows. As you can gather, the house is used primarily as a music room now. Coincidentally, the map on the wall in the last photo is from the 1960s.

Chungjeonggak

A not-particularly-far walk from the old OMS mission compound and Ahyun Evangelical Holiness Church in the direction of Chungjeong-no Station, Line 5 is Chungjeonggak, an architecturally significant historical property now used as an art gallery and Italian eatery/wine bar. You may recall that I’ve posted on the building before.

The house is said to have been built around 1910 by a German architect commissioned by a Japanese national. Perhaps its most notable feature is the turret, which strikes me as a bit Jugendstil.

There was some debate over the future of the building, which stands in the middle of a potential redevelopment zone. Chances are it won’t be going anywhere, but you never really know. For that matter, there’s a lot of redevelopment going on in Ahyeon-dong, where Ahyun Evangelical Holiness Church is located, and neither it nor Chungjeonggak are listed as protected buildings.

The interior has been renovated for use as a gallery and restaurant, but there’s a lot preserved and/or restored, including the windows and the fireplace — the latter is original and still works.

Old Architecture of Ewha Womans University

While we were in the neighborhood, we decided to swing on over to Ewha Womans University, a favorite of the Marmot and the subject of a previous photo essay.

The most architecturally significant building on campus is Pfeiffer House, the old main hall of the university. Completed in 1935, it was designed by the absolutely fascinating William Merrell Vories, an American-born architect who operated out of Japan. As I said about Vories earlier:

It was designed by W.M. Vories & Company Architects Ichiryusha, a Japan-based architectural firm founded by William Merrell Vories (1880—1964), a very interesting character who is, or should say was, living proof that even English teachers can make something of their lives. The Kansas-born Vories went to Japan in 1905 as an English teacher/missionary, settling as a teacher in Ōmihachiman, Shiga Prefecture (which seems to have a ton of Western-style architecture). Something of an amateur architect, he was asked to inspect the YMCA building in Kyoto in 1908, and so started for him a profitable career in architecture. Together with an American architect he brought to Japan, Lester Chapin, he founded W.M. Vories & Company Architects Ichiryusha, which is still around today. In 1917, he married the daughter of Viscount Suenori Hitotsuyanagi, and in 1941 — yes, 1941 — he became a naturalized Japanese citizen.

Now THAT’s dedication to your adopted home.

There’s some photos of his architectural work in Japan here, and more general biographical info here. The Japanese Wiki page also has a lot of cool photos of his architectural work.

For an absolutely fascinating read, however, download “An American in Japan: William Merrell Vories (Hitotsuyanagi), 1905-1964” (.pdf) — particularly noteworthy is his poetry written around and during WWII. Seriously, read it.

Anyway, Pfeiffer Hall is very much in the Tudor Gothic (or, as we Americans like to think of it, Collegiate Gothic) tradition, with its Tudor arches and tracery around the windows.

The most beautiful part of Pfeiffer House, however, is the Ada Prayer Chamber, a small prayer room on the third floor. Named for Kim Ada, who died of an illness in 1931 while a student at Ewha, this is — IMHO — one of the most beautiful pieces of Protestant religious architecture in Korea, in large part thanks to the way it utilizes the light that comes in through the front windows.

Besides Pfeiffer House, there are many other older stone buildings on campus, too. The Yeonggugwan Hall, seen above, was first built in 1938 and rebuilt in 1953. Constructed in a style typical of 19th century residences, it was used until the 1970s as a residence for foreign missionaries and professors. It is now used by university research groups. Its English name, “Long View,” refers to the fact that when it was built, you could see from it all the way to the Hangang River. Sadly, this no longer appears to be the case.

Located on a forested hillock, the Yeonghakgwan Hall was built in 1936 as an English-speaking living hall for students. It was also used by students studying for the gosi exam. It is now used by a university research institute.

Built in the 1930s and complete with a lovely garden, the Chancellor’s Residence is, in fact, no longer used by the university chancellor, but instead is used as a residence for visiting VIPs.

Named for the school motto, “Truth, Goodness and Beauty,” the Jinseonmi Hall was — and still is, at least partially — a student dormitory.

And we finish with a rare piece of nice modern architecture — designed by French architect Dominique Perrault, the ECC (Ewha Campus Complex) leads like a valley from the front gate to the Main Hall, and contains administrative offices, classrooms, shops and rest areas. It was completed in 2008.

Tagged as: Ahyun Evangelical Holiness Church, Chungjeonggak, Ewha Womans University, Oriental Mission Society, Seoul Theological University