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From Returned Missionaries
Church Beginnings in Korea 1955-1962 Part One-B
Updated August 11, 2007.
By Paul C. Andrus, President of The Northern Far East Mission 1955-1962
From January 25, 1957, to January 30, 1957, I was again in Korea. I took with me to Seoul a printing machine. President Ho Jik Kim said a few words to the chief customs officer and the machine was passed immediately with no tax. I found the Missionaries in Seoul well and busy and happy in spite of their austere living conditions. They were living in the Yurak Dong building but the water pipes had been frozen solid for three weeks so they had to carry water in buckets from the bottom of the hill. The temperature was 13 degrees F. They had two charcoal briquette stoves which did give off heat but which also gave off fumes. The Korean members in Seoul were meeting in the Yurak Dong building with excellent attendance..
President Kim and I decided the church in Korea should proceed to form a legal entity (zaidan hojin) and then apply for official recognition by the Korean Government. Real property could then be registered in the name of the church. Title to the Yurak Dong property had been taken in President Kim=s name. We decided President Kim should serve as responsible officer in this legal entity (zaidan hojin). I instructed President Kim to proceed as quickly as possible. Through the miraculous help of the Lord and the hard work of President Ho Jik Kim, Elder Gail Carr, Elder Newel Kimball, Elder Larry Orme, Brother Se Chon Chang, and Brother Tai Pan Chung, approval was obtained and the church became officially recognized in Korea. A stirring firsthand account by Elder Carr giving the dramatic details of this achievement is found on pages 131-138 of the English version of Feed My Sheep, published by the church in Korea in 2001 in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the baptism of Ho Jik Kim.
On January 28,1957, Elder Carr and I flew to Pusan and met with the missionaries and members there. The missionaries were in good health and busy and happy. It is not as cold in Pusan as in Seoul but it nevertheless gets very cold. Living conditions for the missionaries in Pusan are even more austere than in Seoul. We also looked at property for sale in Pusan. Prior to returning to Seoul in the afternoon of January 29th, Elder Carr, Elder Detton, Elder Andersen, Elder Young Bum Lee and I held a street meeting in Pusan where we all spoke with Elder Young Bum Lee interpreting. A large crowd of Koreans listened intently and we passed out several hundred leaflets showing the time and place of meetings.
January 29, 1957, President Ho Jik Kim was not feeling well. His blood pressure was high and his nose had been bleeding for two days. Elder Carr and I visited him at his home and administered to him before my departure for Tokyo in the afternoon.
On Friday, May 17, 1957, Sister Andrus, Elder Don Lundberg, First Counselor in the Mission Presidency, and I flew to Korea. Elder Carr, Elder Kimball, Elder Newman and Brother Eldon Dye, Servicemen=s District President, brother Armstrong and brother Blair Hale met us at the airport in Seoul, President Ho Jik Kim was tied up at his university and was not able to meet us.
Brother (Lt. Colonel) Blair Hale drove us to the Bando hotel in his military staff car.
Elder Lundberg came to Korea to Help President Kim and Elder Carr with the book keeping and record keeping in Korea. We met together several times and made good progress.
On Saturday May 18th and Sunday May 19th The Korean District conference was held in the building at Yurak Dong with President Ho Jik Kim conducting.. There was an MIA session on Saturday night, Priesthood and Relief Society meetings at 9AM. followed by a general session on Sunday. There were 53 men in attendance at Priesthood Meeting not counting the missionaries. There were over 135 in attendance at the general session not including the missionaries. Elder Andersen, Elder Kimball, and Elder Orme spoke at the general session in Korean to the amazement of the Koreans. These were all spiritual and inspirational meetings.
On Sunday afternoon Sister Andrus and I attended and spoke at the LDS Servicemen=s District conference at the 8th Army Chapel in Seoul. There were over 70 in attendance and it was likewise a very spiritual and inspirational meeting. Sunday evening we attended a joint Korean-LDS Servicemen=s fireside at Yurak Dong.
Monday May 20, 1957, we met in testimony and report meetings with the missionaries. All the missionaries bore good, strong testimonies and all spoke of their joy in Korea. So far this year there have been 20 converts baptized in Seoul and 12 converts baptized in Pusan so it looks like there will be over 100 converts in Korea this year about 80% of whom will be men.
Tuesday May 21, 1957, Sister Andrus and I, Elder Lundberg, Elder Carr, Elder Andersen, Elder Orme and Elder Lee traveled by train to Pusan. Sister Andrus and I stayed in the Mijin hotel and found the accommodations to be almost unbearable. Elder Karl Fletcher has Hepatitis and has been in the German Red cross hospital in Pusan for three weeks. We visited Elder Fletcher in the evening. Dr. Fahnemuller recommended that Elder Fletcher return to America so we set up a plan for him to fly to Seoul May 30th, to Tokyo on May 31st, and to the USA on June 2nd.
The Pusan Branch conference was held beginning at 6PM with President Ho Jik Kim who arrived this afternoon conducting. There were 129 in attendance and we enjoyed another spiritual and inspirational meeting.
Before returning to Seoul on May 22, 1957, President Kim, Elder Lundberg, Elder Carr, Elder Orme and I met with the real estate agents and the landlady and finalized the leasing of a home in the nicer west side of Pusan to serve as missionary quarters and meeting house. The Pusan missionaries will be much more comfortable in these new quarters.
President Kim and Elder Carr have located an excellent property in Sam Chung Dong in Seoul.
We looked at this property upon our arrival in Seoul on May 18, 1957, and on May 24th President Kim. Elder Carr, Elder Lundberg and I met with the owner, Dr. Kang, and agreed to buy this property for $44,000. This is about one acre of land with good buildings for missionary quarters and church meetings. On my return to Tokyo, I recommended to the First Presidency that the church buy this property and The First Presidency wrote back requesting a legal opinion which we obtained and sent to them on July 2nd. On July 10th I received a telegram from the First Presidency authorizing the purchase of the Sam Chung Dong property. I immediately contacted President Ho Jik Kim and Elder Carr and gave them the good news and they proceeded to consummate the purchase.
On Friday, October 11, 1957, Sister Andrus and I flew to Korea for a five day visit. We found all eight missionaries well and happy and we enjoyed an inspirational testimony and report meeting with them on October 12th at the Sam Chung Dong property in Seoul. The next day, Sunday, we attended sessions of the Korean District conference conducted by President Ho Jik Kim and held at the Sam Chung Dong property. In the afternoon we attended the LDS Servicemen=s District conference at the 8th Army chapel. President Eldon Dye returned to the USA during the summer and I installed Lt. Colonel Denmark C. Jensen as the new president of the LDS Servicemen=s Korean District. We also flew to Pusan and met with the missionaries and members there.
On Sunday, October 27, 1957, at 6AM, Elder Ezra Taft Benson of the Council of the Twelve, who was serving as USA Secretary of Agriculture, arrived in Tokyo on a trip around the world on US government business. He was accompanied by his two daughters. They were in Tokyo for only about ten hours and continued on around the world Sunday evening, He met with the Japanese members in a special conference in the morning and with the LDS Servicemen at a special conference in the afternoon. There were about 400 Japanese members in attendance and also about 400 LDS Servicemen in attendance. Unfortunately he was not able to visit Korea.
Brother Charles Schmidt, the church auditor, arrived in Tokyo on October 23,1957, and stayed at Mission Headquarters until October 28th setting up the new accounting system that is being put into effect throughout the foreign missions of the church. Unfortunately Brother Schmidt was also not able to go to Korea. In December, 1957, and again in January, 1958, I made short visits to Korea to install the new financial procedures. Elder Gail Carr completed his mission in January, 1958, and I appointed Elder Dean Andersen to replace Elder Carr as Supervising Elder.
Summer 1958. The most serious threat to the health of the missionaries in Korea proved to be hepatitis. In the spring of 1957, Elder Karl Fletcher who was laboring in Pusan came down with hepatitis and was hospitalized in Pusan for three weeks. The doctor recommended that Elder Fletcher return to the USA for treatment. I concurred and Elder Fletcher was honorably released and returned home on June 2, 1957. During the spring of 1958 Elder Robert Stout and Elder Wallace Bowman came down with hepatitis and the doctor recommended they return to the USA for treatment. I arranged for them to fly to Tokyo on July 9,1958, and I placed them in the Catholic hospital in Tokyo. They both began to improve rapidly and in a few days were feeling very well. They continued to improve and were released from the hospital on August 8, 1958. Elder Stout finished his mission in Japan and Okinawa but Elder Bowman suffered a recurrence of hepatitis and was honorably released and returned home.
The number of missionaries with hepatitis grew until five more of the missionaries laboring in Korea were afflicted. Hepatitis is a serious disease and can be life threatening. I was concerned, and I was sure the parents of the missionaries were concerned, so in August, 1958, I made a special trip to Korea to find out how the missionaries themselves felt about this problem. This turned out to be one of the most spiritual and inspiring meetings of my entire life. The missionaries unanimously bore testimony of their great joy in bringing the gospel to their Korean brothers and sisters and each expressed their desire to continue their work in Korea even if they should die while serving as missionaries in Korea. For more information on this meeting see my article Korea Missionary Hepatitis Meeting.
On October 31, 1958, I again visited Korea. Saturday evening I attended the MIA session of the Seoul Central Branch conference at Sam Chung Dong with President Ho Jik Kim where we enjoyed an excellent drama presented by the members. Sunday morning I attended the Seoul Central Branch conference with President Kim. There were 102 present at Priesthood Meeting and over 200 at the general session. President ( Lt. Colonel) Denmark Jensen departed Korea during the summer and was replaced by brother (Major) Claud Mangren as president of the LDS Servicemen=s District. President Mangren attended this morning=s session of the Seoul Central Branch conference. On Monday I enjoyed another spiritual and inspiring testimony meeting with all eleven missionaries laboring in Korea. Wednesday President Kim, Elder Andersen, and I met with the owner and negotiated the purchase of the 444 square foot piece of land adjoining the
Yurak Dong property which we have been trying to buy ever since we bought the Yurak Dong property over two years ago. The seller agreed to sell and we agreed to buy for $5,650.00. In the afternoon I flew to Pusan where I found the Missionaries well and happy. Next day we met with the owner of the Pusan property the church is leasing and agreed to pay for the repair and upkeep of the property during the term of the lease. We also looked at property for sale in Pusan before I flew back to Seoul in the afternoon and on back to Tokyo the next day..
My next trip to Korea was Friday, January 30th to Wednesday, February 4, 1959. President Kim and Elder Andersen met me at the Kimpo Airport and drove me to the District Headquarters at Sam Chung Dong in President Kim=s jeep. On Saturday we looked at property in the west part of Seoul and I agreed we should lease it for a deposit of 15 million whan which is $22,000.00 We will then be able to immediately open up the Seoul West branch. On Sunday with President Kim conducting, the Seoul East Branch (Yurak Dong) was divided and the Seoul East Gate Branch was organized bringing the number of branches in Seoul to three. As soon as we open the Seoul West Branch we will have four branches operating in Seoul and one in Pusan.
On Tuesday, I flew to Pusan where Elder Kimball and I met with the owner of the property the church is presently leasing and discussed the possibility of the church buying this property. The owner is willing to sell and I agreed to recommend that the church purchase this property. I returned to Seoul by overnight train in a comfortable sleeper berth.
On Wednesday, February 4, 1959, President Ho Jik Kim used his influence to solve a very difficult problem that had arisen regarding visas for missionaries to enter Korea. Until now we have been submitting applications for visas to the Korean Diplomatic Mission in Tokyo and on the strength of a letter of guarantee from President Ho Jik Kim the visas have been approved. However when we made applications for Elder Bradshaw and Elder Jenkins in Tokyo recently we were told that applications for visas must be submitted from someplace in the USA and that in addition to a letter of guarantee from President Kim, bank references and a clearance from the Korean police must also be submitted. President Kim made arrangements for a meeting with Mr. Han, head of the Immigration Bureau at his office in Seoul. President Kim, Elder Andersen, Elder Brown, and I went to Mr. Han=s office where President Kim explained our situation to Mr. Han. No doubt due to the presence of Vice Minister of Education Ho Jik Kim, Mr. Han was very friendly and after listening to President Kim=s explanation stated that it was not necessary for applications for visas to be submitted from the USA and applications could continue to be submitted to the Korean Diplomatic Mission in Tokyo. Mr. Han said that bank references and police clearances will not be necessary because the church guarantees that the missionaries will not become a burden to the government. Mr. Han also agreed to approve applications from Elder Bradshaw and Elder Jenkins as soon as they are received. This is another excellent example of how President Ho Jik Kim used his influence to help get the church established in Korea.
Elder Mark E. Peterson, of the Quorum of the Twelve, and his wife toured the Northern Far East Mission for two weeks from May 9th to May 25th, 1959. Elder and Sister Peterson and Sister Andrus and I visited Korea from Friday, May 15th to Monday, May 18th. In the evening of May 15th, Elder Peterson and President Ho Jik Kim and I met and discussed the organization of the church in Korea. At this meeting Brother Byung Sik Hong was approved to be installed as First Counselor and Brother Ho Nam Rhee was approved to be installed as Second Counselor to President Kim. Elder Peterson also suggested that Elder Lowell E. Brown, who was serving as Supervising Elder, be installed as Second Counselor in the Mission Presidency. On Saturday, May 16th, in our missionary meeting, Elder Peterson set Elder Brown apart as Second Counselor in The Northern Far East Mission. On Sunday May 17, 1959, Priesthood, Relief Society, and General Sessions of the Korean District Conference were held in Seoul. There were 115 men in attendance at Priesthood meeting and over 250 in attendance at the General Session. At the General Session Brother Byung Sik Hong was sustained as First Counselor and Brother Ho Nam Rhee was sustained as Second Counselor to President Ho Jik Kim in the in District Presidency. In the afternoon Elder and Sister Peterson attended the LDS Servicemen=s District conference with over 70 in attendance. In the evening Elder and Sister Peterson attended a District Fireside with the Korean members. All these meetings were spiritual and inspiring and it was a great and historical day. During this visit Elder Peterson also authorized making a down payment on the purchase of the property in Pusan. About sixty members came to the Bando hotel to say goodbye to Elder and Sister Peterson when they departed from Korea on Monday, May 18th, 1959.
On Monday August 31, 1959, Elder Brown telephoned from Seoul to let me know that President Ho Jik Kim had died this morning from a cerebral hemorrhage he suffered a few days ago. This was a great shock to me and to all of us. I would liked to have attended the funeral for President Kim in Seoul but I didn=t have a visa and could not get one in time. Also the church auditor arrived in Tokyo on August 31st and his presence required my presence in Tokyo even if I had had a visa. Accordingly I asked Elder Brown to represent me at President Kim=s funeral. For three and one-half years it was my privilege to know President Ho Jik Kim and to work closely with him in establishing the church in Korea. I count him as my dear friend forever and I look forward to a joyful reunion with him when I pass to the other side.
Time Line
July 28, 1955 The Northern Far East Mission organized.
August 2, 1955 Korea dedicated for the preaching of the gospel by President Joseph Fielding Smith.
August 2, 1955 Ho Jik Kim set apart by President Joseph Fielding Smith as president of the Korean District of the Northern Far East Mission.
November 1, 1955 Paul C. Andrus set apart as president of the Northern Far East Mission and given the responsibility to move ahead in Korea.
January 20, 1956 President Andrus, President Kim, and President Groves meet in Seoul to lay plans for missionaries to enter Korea.
February 29, 1956 President Andrus, Colonel Robert Slover, and President Ho Jik Kim meet in Tokyo. President Ho Jik Kim is assigned to translate the Book of Mormon into Korean and to form a translation committee to assist him. Translation of the Joseph Smith Story pamphlet is completed and will be published in Seoul. President Kim expects to finalize missionary quarters in Seoul by April. President Andrus agrees to have missionaries ready.
.March 17, 1956 Elder Don Powell and Elder Richard Detton assigned to go to Korea.
March 23, 1956 President Ho Jik Kim finalizes lease of missionary quarters in Seoul.
April 20, 1956 Elder Don Powell and Elder Richard Detton arrive in Korea.
June 4, 1956 Elder Dean Andersen and Elder Newell Kimball arrive in Korea.
June 5, 1956 Elder Richard Detton and Elder Dean Andersen assigned to Pusan.
August, 1956 Elder Gail Carr, Elder Larry Orme, Elder Karl Fletcher, and Elder Claude Newman arrive in Korea..
September, 1956 Elder Don Powell returns home to his wife and daughter.
Elder Gail Carr appointed Supervising Elder.
Brother Young Bum Lee called as first Korean full-time missionary.
October, 1956 Purchase of land and building in Yurak Dong in Seoul.
January 1957 President Andrus and President Kim meet in Seoul and decide to gain recognition of the church by the Korean government. They decide to form a religious corporation according to Korean law and register the church with president Ho Jik Kim as Responsible Officer.
July, 1957 Church purchases Sam Chung Dong property in Seoul.
August, 1958 President Andrus meets with Korea missionaries in Seoul and discusses the hepatitis threat to the missionaries health.
January, 1959 Elder Dean Andersen appointed Supervising Elder succeeding Elder Carr.
February 4, 1959 President Ho Jik Kim, Elder Dean Andersen, Elder Lowell Brown, and President Andrus meet with Mr. Han, Chief of the Korean Immigration Bureau, in Seoul and resolve the visas for missionaries problem. .
May 15-18, 1959 Elder and Sister Mark E. Peterson visit Korea.
Elder Lowell E. Brown appointed Second Counselor in The Northern Far East Mission Presidency. Brother Byung Sik Hong and Brother Ho Nam Rhee appointed counselors to President Ho Jik Kim.
Purchase of property in Pusan authorized.
August 31, 1959 President Ho Jik Kim Dies.
End of Part One