Memorial to independence fighter opens in central Seoul missionary house
Between 1897 and 1938, 74 single women were sent as missionaries to Korea by the women's organizations within the Methodist Episcopal Church (South). Josephine Eaton Peel (1853-1920) was the first among them to set foot on this land. Born in the town of Waco, Texas, to Bryant Lorenzo Peel, a minister of the church, little information has been recorded concerning her early years. She became "Mrs. Campbell" upon marrying Rev. Alonzo M. Campbell, with whom she would have a son and daughter. However, tragedy struck in 1885 when her husband died from illness, followed by her children just a short time later. Only 33 years old and having already experienced such misfortune, Campbell enlisted as an overseas missionary. She was dispatched to China and served at mission hospitals in Shanghai and Suzhou for the next decade. In 1895, the church made the decision to enter Korea. Bishop E.R Hendrix and Dr. C.F. Reid, who had been working in China, arrived first with the help of the nobleman Yoon Chi-ho, who in that year returned to political office as vice minister of education. By 1897, the church
Aug 15, 2024By Jack Greenberg
