[RAS Korea] James Scarth Gale: Literary Giant, Steadfast Missionary Educator

By Steven L. Shields
royalasiatickorea@gmail.com

James Scarth Gale's graduation photo, University of Toronto, 1888 / Courtesy Yoo Young-sik

Korean historians have not been kind to the Rev. Dr. James Scarth Gale (1863-1937). Some have either ignorantly or deliberately misinterpreted or mistranslated Gale's writings. Such is true especially regarding the Japanese takeover of the Korean Empire in 1905-10. These same Korean historians had a clear agenda. They wanted all Western missionaries in Korea to be overtly anti-Japanese or outright independence fighters. In truth, Western missionaries could not be either and still be faithful to the pastoral care of their flocks, many of whom were first-generation Christians. The missionaries were placed in an awkward position.

For example, Homer B. Hulbert, an early missionary and educator, has been lionized at the expense of others. Hulbert was vocally anti-Japan, but having been deported from Korea in 1907 by the Japanese authority in Seoul, he could only pontificate about them from the comfort of his home in the United States. Hulbert was far from the Japanese Imperial Army's reach and had no direct congregation in Korea for which he was responsible. The single fact that Hulbert outlived Gale by more than 10 years meant that he could see the defeat of Japan and return to Korea at the invitation of the newly minted president of the republic, Syngman Rhee. Nothing more, nothing less.

It was Gale who baptized Syngman Rhee at Youndong Church on Daehangno in Seoul and mentored the young man, encouraging him to travel to the U.S. for education and meeting American politicians and dignitaries. Gale himself was born in Canada and a proud subject of the British Empire (for in his day, Canada was not fully independent). Had Gale survived until the end of the Pacific War, no doubt he, too, would have been invited by Rhee to bask in the freedom of the newly independent republic.

When Gale arrived in Korea in 1888, he was a young, recent college graduate and missionary of the University of Toronto Young Men's Christian Association, which sponsored Gale and funded the first few years of his work. It's hard to say why Gale's travel to Korea was set for the brutal winter months on the peninsula. He arrived in late December and lived in a small house in Seoul among the missionary community at Jeong-dong (where the British Embassy was located and still is). By spring of 1889, he realized it would be impossible to learn the language by living among foreigners and set off for places far to the north.

Gale's early years in Korea were spent in Sorae (Songcheon), Hwanghae Province, then in Seoul, Busan, Wonsan, and finally back in Seoul by the turn of the century, where he remained until his retirement and departure from Korea in 1927.

At Songcheon, Gale lived in a Korean house, learned to eat Korean food, learned to sleep on a Korean floor and began learning the language. A determined bachelor in those early years, he paid little attention to the needs of comfort and sanitation. Dr. John Heron, missionary and physician, visited him in Busan and encouraged him to return to Seoul, where the conditions were more healthful. Heron worried that Gale would meet an untimely demise. Ironically, while visiting Gale in Busan, Heron took sick and died. A year or two later, Gale married Heron's widow and took the two young Heron daughters under his wing. They moved to Wonsan, where they ministered for several years and where Gale was highly productive in his literary pursuits.

Finally settling in what was then called Yeonmotgol (lotus pond village), not far from Dongdaemun (the Great East Gate), Gale became the first pastor of the church there (now Youndong Church). A missionary who was not an ordained minister had started the congregation several years earlier.

Youndong Church and neighborhood around Seoul's Daehangno, as seen from the window of the RAS Korea office. / Courtesy of Steven L. Shields

Gale was not only a founder of the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS) Korea but a founder of two Christian schools in Seoul that still exist. He also was a founder of the YMCA and was a mentor to dozens of early Independence Club members. Several of the co-signers of the 1919 Independence Declaration had been mentored by Gale or were members of Youndong Church. Gale also baptized Horace G. Underwood, the grandson of another RAS Korea founder, Rev. Dr. Horace G. Underwood. The younger Horace, who became my dear friend, would later serve several terms as RAS Korea president (1957, 1992-93, 2000-01).

Gale's contributions to the knowledge of the Korean language, the introduction of Western literature to Korea in the Korean language and the introduction of Korean literature to the West through translations into English had value and positive repercussions for decades after Gale had left this mortal plane. He was a literati par excellence. Not only did he master the Korean language, but he also mastered Chinese characters and translated many Korean books from classical Chinese used during the Joseon era. Gale also improved on Korean-English dictionaries of the time, including Underwood's first primary attempt. Gale's dictionaries were published in several editions. His work was not superseded until the late 1960s by what would become the modern Korean-English/English-Korean dictionaries.

Gale's bibliography of books written in English, Korean translations of English-language books, English translations of Korean-language books, original writings in Korean, hundreds of newspapers articles in local and foreign newspapers, both in English and Korean and a complete translation of the Bible (published in 1925) make for dozens of pages of entries. Among the Westerners ever to set foot in Korea, Gale outstrips them all in the sheer volume of his work and his mastery of the language. So far, no one has been able to compile a complete bibliography of his newspaper and magazine articles, since many of them were published anonymously and complete files are either hard to find or simply no longer exist.

James Scarth Gale late in life / Courtesy Yoo Young-sik

The most definitive biography of James Scarth Gale was published in a two-volume work in 2013. Written by the Rev. Dr. Yoo Young Sik, the book's title is "Chak-han mok-ja: Gae-il-ui salm-gwa seon-gyo" (The good pastor: the life and mission of Gale). The work is available in Korean from Jinheung Books in Seoul. An English-language summary is included in the second volume. Professor Yoo is also a graduate of the same University of Toronto that produced the young, exceptional missionary to Korea more than 130 years ago. Gale was nothing short of heroic.

RAS Korea has published several works by Gale, including his "History of the Korean People" (available for sale from the RAS Korea office). His scholarly papers have been published in RAS Korea's journal "Transactions," which can be accessed from the website.

Memorial to James Scarth Gale in the courtyard of Youndong Church in Seoul. The RAS Korea office is in the building behind, on the level just to the right of the head. / Courtesy of Steven L. Shields

By happy circumstance, the RAS Korea office, in the Korea Christian Building at Daehangno 19 in Seoul, is directly across the street from Gale's church.

Rev. Steven L. Shields is president of the Royal Asiatic Society Korea (www.raskb.com) and columnist for The Korea Times. Visit raskb.com or email royalasiatickorea@gmail.com for more information about the society.