George Heber Jones

George Heber Jones (August 14, 1867 – May 11, 1919) was an American Christian missionary in Korea.[1] Jones, who grew up in Utica, New York, is notable as the first Protestant missionary in Korea who took an academic approach to the research of Korean religions.

George Heber Jones
Korean name
Hangul
조원시
Hanja
趙元時[1]
Revised RomanizationJo Won-si
McCune–ReischauerCho Wǒnshi
Phonetic transcription
Hangul
존스
Revised RomanizationJonseu
McCune–ReischauerChonsŭ

Mission in Korea
George Heber Jones (front center) during a 1906 visit to the Honolulu Methodist Church

He arrived in Korea in 1887 as a Methodist minister; while there, he not only made major contributions to the spread of Christianity in Korea, but also founded three academic journals: The Korean Repository, The Korean Review, and Shinhak Wolbo (Theology Monthly).[2][3] He also played a significant role in encouraging Korean immigration to Hawaii; of the first ship of Korean migrant laborers bound for Hawaii to work on sugar plantations there, which departed on December 22, 1902, more than half came from his church in Incheon.[4][5] In July 1907, he was the subject of a murder attempt; Yale University professor George Trumbull Ladd attributed the attack to opinions Jones had expressed in an article he wrote about the suppression of a Korean riot, in which he praised the Japanese police.[6] In general, Jones had a high opinion of Koreans but not of the conditions in Korean society; in particular, he wrote high praise for Korean migrants in Hawaii, attributing their success in their adopted land to their liberation from "the oppressive weight of past tradition, language, [and] association".[7] He died in Miami, Florida on May 11, 1919 after a long illness; his funeral was held in Leonia, New Jersey four days later.[8][9] His Korean name was 조원시(Jo Won-si).

Works

Personal life

He was married to Margaret Josephine Bengel.[10]

References
  1. "George Heber Jones, 1867.8.14-1919.5.11" (in Korean). The Korean Methodist Church. December 1, 2005. Archived from the original on December 19, 2012. Retrieved September 29, 2007.
  2. Kim, Chong-suh (1994). "Early Western Studies of Korean Religions". In Dae-sook Suh (ed.). Korean Studies: New Pacific Currents. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 148–150. ISBN 082481598X.
  3. Anderson, Gerald Harry (1999). "Jones, George Heber". Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. pp. 340–341. ISBN 0802846807.
  4. Hurh, Won-moo (1998). The Korean Americans. Greenwood Press. p. 22. ISBN 031329741X.
  5. Lee-Murabayashi, Duk-hee (2002). "Early Membership of Korean Methodist Churches in Hawaii" (PDF). Centennial Celebration of Korean Immigration to the United States. Center for Korean Studies, The University of Hawaii at Manoa. Retrieved September 29, 2007.
  6. Ladd, George Trumbull (March 26, 1908). "Koreans a Bloody Race; Attempted Assassination of Mr. Stevens Not an Isolated Case". The New York Times. Retrieved September 21, 2007.
  7. Patterson, Wayne (2000). The Ilse: First-Generation Korean Immigrants in Hawaii, 1903-1973. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 31–33. ISBN 0824822412.
  8. "Obituary #1". The New York Times. May 13, 1919. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
  9. "Obituary #2". The New York Times. May 14, 1919. Retrieved September 29, 2007.
  10. The diary of Rosetta Hall 2, p229
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