Robert Jermain Thomas
Encyclopedia
Robert Jermain Thomas was a Protestant Christian
missionary who served with the London Missionary Society
in late Qing Dynasty
China
and Korea
.
While serving as a Welsh missionary to China, Robert Thomas developed a strong desire to work among the people of Korea. At the time, Korea was closed to foreigners because of the government's fear of foreign influence. Many Koreans had been converted by Catholic priests in the late 1700s, but the fearful government slaughtered 8,000 of those converts in 1863.
Thomas made his first visit to the Korean coast in 1865, making him the first Protestant missionary to Korea. He learned as much as he could about the people and their language during his two and a half months there, distributing tracts and New Testaments in Chinese because they were not available in the Korean language.
In 1866, Thomas took a job on an American trading ship, the General Sherman, as an interpreter for the crew. The leaders of the armed trading ship intended to sail to Pyongyang to establish trade between Korea and the United States, even though uninvited trade was forbidden. And Thomas intended to use his visit to Korea to spread the gospel.
As the ship sailed up the Taedong River loaded with cotton goods, tin and glass, Thomas tossed gospel tracts onto the riverbank. Not surprisingly, Korean officials repeatedly ordered the American boat to leave at once. When the ship ran aground on the muddy river bottom near Pyongyang, the Koreans attacked the ship with machetes. The Americans, who were armed with guns and cannons, held the attackers off for two weeks. The Koreans' cannon balls bounced harmlessly off the ship's ironclad hull.
Eventually, the Koreans launched a burning boat upstream, which in turn caught the General Sherman on fire. The crew had to jump ashore or burn to death. As the sailors fled, machete-wielding Korean soldiers killed them. Thomas leapt to shore carrying a Bible, which he offered to his attackers while crying, "Jesus, Jesus!" in Korean. Thomas was beheaded, and the ship's entire crew was killed.
According to accounts of the event, Thomas' executioner, convinced that he had killed a good man, kept one of the Bibles. He used its pages to wallpaper his house, and people came from all over to read the words on his walls. Eventually, a church was established in the area, and a nephew of Thomas' killer became a pastor.
According to Sungho Choi, lecturer at the Wales Evangelical School of Theology, Korean Christians may not know that Wales is a country with its own language and history, but they do know that Wales is the place from where Thomas came to them.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
missionary who served with the London Missionary Society
London Missionary Society
The London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...
in late Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and 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...
.
While serving as a Welsh missionary to China, Robert Thomas developed a strong desire to work among the people of Korea. At the time, Korea was closed to foreigners because of the government's fear of foreign influence. Many Koreans had been converted by Catholic priests in the late 1700s, but the fearful government slaughtered 8,000 of those converts in 1863.
Thomas made his first visit to the Korean coast in 1865, making him the first Protestant missionary to Korea. He learned as much as he could about the people and their language during his two and a half months there, distributing tracts and New Testaments in Chinese because they were not available in the Korean language.
In 1866, Thomas took a job on an American trading ship, the General Sherman, as an interpreter for the crew. The leaders of the armed trading ship intended to sail to Pyongyang to establish trade between Korea and the United States, even though uninvited trade was forbidden. And Thomas intended to use his visit to Korea to spread the gospel.
As the ship sailed up the Taedong River loaded with cotton goods, tin and glass, Thomas tossed gospel tracts onto the riverbank. Not surprisingly, Korean officials repeatedly ordered the American boat to leave at once. When the ship ran aground on the muddy river bottom near Pyongyang, the Koreans attacked the ship with machetes. The Americans, who were armed with guns and cannons, held the attackers off for two weeks. The Koreans' cannon balls bounced harmlessly off the ship's ironclad hull.
Eventually, the Koreans launched a burning boat upstream, which in turn caught the General Sherman on fire. The crew had to jump ashore or burn to death. As the sailors fled, machete-wielding Korean soldiers killed them. Thomas leapt to shore carrying a Bible, which he offered to his attackers while crying, "Jesus, Jesus!" in Korean. Thomas was beheaded, and the ship's entire crew was killed.
According to accounts of the event, Thomas' executioner, convinced that he had killed a good man, kept one of the Bibles. He used its pages to wallpaper his house, and people came from all over to read the words on his walls. Eventually, a church was established in the area, and a nephew of Thomas' killer became a pastor.
According to Sungho Choi, lecturer at the Wales Evangelical School of Theology, Korean Christians may not know that Wales is a country with its own language and history, but they do know that Wales is the place from where Thomas came to them.