A new biographical series published by the Korean Church Council profiles early Protestant missionaries who helped introduce modern education, medicine and Christianity to Korea. The Underwood family’s motto — “Laughs at impossibilities and says it shall be done” — guided Horace Underwood (1859–1916), the first Presbyterian missionary, who helped establish schools and churches. Methodist missionary Henry Appenzeller (1858–1902) emphasized education as a path for moral and spiritual change and famously said “it is the duty of foreigners to trust Koreans”; he also introduced Western-style weddings in Korea. Other volumes highlight language experts like William Reynolds (1867–1951), who mastered Korean in six months and helped translate the Bible, and William Linton (Indon, 1891–1960), founder of Hannam University, who left practical instructions for academic discipline. The series (now over 20 volumes) collects letters, photos and histories that show how these missionaries influenced Korea’s modernization and Christian institutions.
