스코필드의 의료(교육)·사회선교와 3·1독립운동

Abstract

This manuscript examines the medical mission work and social mission activities of Dr. Frank W. Schofield(1889~1970), a medical missionary sent to Korea by the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Arriving in Korea in November, 1916, Schofield had a keen interest in the human rights of Koreans and their independence, and criticized the Japanese colonial policies. Actively supporting the March First Independence Movement as a foreigner, he was forced to leave and go back to Canada on April, 1920, for exposing the atrocities of the Japanese Government- General in Korea. After retiring from his work as a veterinary professor in Canada, Schofield returned to Korea in 1958 upon the invitation of the Korean government, taught at the College of Veterinary Medicine Seoul National University, and passed away in Seoul, April, 1970, at the age of 81. During the March First Independence Movement, Schofield strived to retain its living evidence, as well as assisting the wounded to hospitals and visiting prisons to encourage the jailed. He visited the horrendous remains of Jeam-ri and Suchon-ri, documenting the evidence with photographs and writings. Schofield also met with officials of the Japanese Government-General, opposing the torture of Koreans and denial of human rights and demanding policy changes. The changes in the jail system and prisoner life after the March First Independence Movement were the result of his persistent efforts. This is why he is dubbed "the 34th person of the March First Independence Movement."As Schofield collected and exposed data on the brutality of the Japanese, this led to changes in the Japanese Government-General policies. On July 10, 1919, along with other Canadian missionaries, he visited the Governor-General Hasegawa, opposing the cruel treatment of the March First Independence Movement participants. Schofield's data on the March First Independence Movement, which was sent to the Commission on Relations with the Orient, within the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America, was published in The Korean Situation, exposing the atrocities of Japan and inciting international uprise as well as strong pressure on the Japanese government. The change in Japan's policy after the March First Independence Movement, from a military dictatorial government to a so-called 'culture-oriented politics' -albeit intrinsically feigned- is related to the pressure of missionaries, foreigners, and international objection. Schofield was at the center of this pressure on the Japanese government, which is quite the comparison to the attitude of other missionaries who overlooked Japanese brutality on the premise of separation of politics and religion. With a puritan spirit and faith, Schofield taught at the Severance Medical School and led bible study with young Koreans. When Japan introduced a prostitutializing policy, he led the abolition movement against licensed prostitution for the moral purity of young Koreans, as well as supporting general improvement of the human rights of Koreans. This was because he considered this as another independence movement for Koreans.