Rev. Henry Gerhard Appenzeller (February 6, 1858 – June 11, 1902) was a Methodist missionary

Missionary

A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...

 and one of three American missionaries (the other two being Horace Newton Allen

Horace Newton Allen

Horace Newton Allen was a Protestant medical missionary and a diplomat from the United States to Korea at the end of the Joseon Dynasty.-Biography:He was born in Delaware, Ohio on April 23, 1858. He lreceived his B.S...

 and Horace Grant Underwood

Horace Grant Underwood

Horace Grant Underwood was a Presbyterian missionary, educator, and translator who dedicated his life to developing the Korean society and Christianity.-Early life:...

) who introduced Protestant Christianity into Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

 in 1885.

Early life

He was born in Souderton, Pennsylvania

Souderton, Pennsylvania

Souderton is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The population was 6,618 at the 2010 census.Souderton hosts the end of the annual Univest Grand Prix, a professional bicycle race.- Geography :Souderton is located at ....

, in 1858. He graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in 1882, and later attended the Drew Theological Seminary in Madison, New Jersey. He was ordained to the ministry in the Methodist Episcopal Church

Methodist Episcopal Church

The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...

 by Bishop C.H. Fowler in San Francisco on February 6, 1885 and was appointed as a missionary to Korea.

Work in Korea

Appenzeller arrived in Korea on April 5, 1885 with his wife Ella J. Dodge. The Pennsylvania native established the Methodist church in Korea and travelled throughout the country speaking about the Gospel

Gospel

A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...

 of Jesus. He founded Pai Chai Hak Dang, the first modern Western-styled school in Korea and the predecessor of present-day Pai Chai Middle and High School, and University. He also participated in the translation of the Bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 into Korean

Korean language

Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...

 with other missionaries.

Death

In 1902, at the age of 44, Appenzeller drowned while journeying to a southern port city, Mokpo

Mokpo

Mokpo is a city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea, on the southwestern tip of the Korean Peninsula. Mokpo has frequent train service to Seoul and is the terminus for a number of ferry routes serving islands in the adjacent Yellow Sea...

, to attend a meeting for Bible translation. He was later buried at the Yanghwajin Foreigners' Cemetery

Yanghwajin Foreigners' Cemetery

Yanghwajin , also known as the Hapjeong-dong International Cemetery, is a cemetery overlooking the Han River in the district of Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea. Designated in 1890 as a site for foreign missionaries by King Gojong, the site is currently open to the public from 9:00am to 6:00pm and is...

, the grave site of over 300 foreigners including over 80 missionaries from many denominations including those sent by the United Methodist Church

United Methodist Church

The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...

 and its predecessor denominations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Legacy

Since its founding in 19th century, the Korean Methodist Church has dramatically developed as one of major Protestant denominations in Korea. In 2001, the denomination comprised 5,262 churches, 1,394,514 members, and 7,298 ministers. There were six universities established under the Methodist model, including Pai Chai. In addition, the denomination had its own theological seminary, the Methodist Theological Seminary in Seoul. It also had six theological institutes and 54 junior high and high schools.

See also

• Christianity in Korea
  Christianity in Korea
  The practice of Christianity in Korea revolves around two of its largest branches, Protestantism and Catholicism, accounting for 8.6 million and 5.1 million members respectively. Roman Catholicism was first introduced during the late Joseon Dynasty period...
  
  
• 19th Century Protestant Missions in China
• List of Protestant missionaries in China