A Sculpture, “Baptism on Shipboard”

A Sculpture, “Baptism on Shipboard”

Lee, Deokju. The Tear Story of Ganghwado. Seoul: The Christian Literature Society of Korea, 2002.

KMC, Ganghwado Gyosan Korean Methodist Church. 1994.

http://www.gsch.co.kr/

The sculpture of baptism on the shipboard represents how early Korean Christianity in Ganghwado was formed. At that time, many Koreans and royal families had an extremely exclusive policy and antagonistic attitudes towards Christianity associated with Western cultures so it was almost impossible for people to accept Christianity even if they were willing to. In around 1892, Seung-hwan Lee, an early believer in Joseon Dynasty(current Korea), wanted to be baptized but as a filial son he refused to be baptized until his mother receives her baptism since he learned baptism meant the rebirth in Jesus Christ and it was the proof of salvation to go to heaven in the afterlife. Thus, he asked George H Jones, UMC missionary in Joseon, also successor of Appenzeller, to baptize his mother. As a result, Lee and Jones came up with an idea that they can baptize the mother on a ship since they were not allowed to enter the land of Joseon. This baptism inspired people, resulting in the beginning of the formation of the very first local church in Ganghwado. The church community developed their institution, culture and systems based on equality regardless of age, social status, and gender. In addition, Gyosan Korean Methodist Church, as it expanded in size and members, started to financially and communally support the local community to build other churches across Ganghwa city. Furthermore, Jones also sponsored and helped those Chosun people from Ganghwa who wanted to emigrate to Hawaii. In order to remember the early church community in Ganghwa, Incheon city built a Christian history gallery, which has been designated as a holy place for Korean pilgrimage. In this gallery, the sculpture of “Baptism on Shipboard” is located, which thousands of people visit every year.

Korean