Korean night May 2022
Early in 2022, the government of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) held a special ceremony in Seoul to honour three of our early missionaries to their country. Isabella (Belle) Menzies, Margaret Davies and Daisy Hocking had all travelled to South Korea to spread the Gospel particularly amongst women and children. Belle Menzies established the first girls’ school in the country, Margaret was appointed the principal and Daisy was a teacher.
These three women were supportive of the Koreans during the 1919 endeavours to gain their independence from the Japanese, who had taken over the country in 1910.
PWMU was approached by the South Korean Embassy asking if we could arrange a ceremony in Melbourne to present the family members of these women with medals of honour. PWMU and PCV worked together for several months and held a special service in The Scots’ Church, Melbourne, in May 2022. It was very meaningful to meet the family members, some of whom had travelled a long way to be there.
The medals were to honour the women’s support for the Korean Independence Movement but the Ambassador acknowledged that the women were primarily in the country as Christian missionaries.
Family members of the early Korean missionaries with the Korean delegation.
Medals given to the family members.
PWMU banner hanging in Assembly Hall.
Heritage of PWMU Missionaries celebrated in Busanjin Church, Korea in April 2023
호주선교회세미나 웹포스터 영문. The PWMU (Presbyterian Women's Missionary Union), Victoria, Australia, rejoices with you, the Busanjin Church, and the Presbyterian Church of Korea, that the church and some of the artefacts have been designated 'Historical Site and Heritage'. As the sending body for many of the Australian missionaries to Korea, and in particular to the Busan region, PWMU shares the memories to which those artefacts point. We are so grateful that God Almighty, through His Holy Spirit, prompted so many Australians to serve in Korea, bringing spiritual well-being - the good news of Jesus Christ's love, sacrifice and victory over sin and death, to the people of Korea. Those women, and men, accompanied this good news with works of mercy, especially in the medical and educational fields. The nearby Memorial Hall of the Gyeongnam Mission, established in 2009, reflects the esteem in which the people of Korea hold those servants of God. It is fitting that evidence of God's work be celebrated.
2009 opening ceremony outside the Memorial Hall of the Gyeongnam Mission.
Above top row: Left (with red writing): Monument to Miss Belle Menzies (the first Australian woman missionary to Korea and Sir Robert Menzies' aunt) and Miss Betsy Moore. Right: Grave of Joseph Henry Davies (the first Australian missionary to Korea - died 1890).
Above bottom row: Monuments to Catherine Margaret Mackenzie (1915-2005), Helen Pearl Mackenzie (1913-2009), Mary J Mackenzie (1881-1964) and James Noble Mackenzie (1867-1956).
Opening of Australian Missionary Graveyard in Busanjin, 2023.
On Saturday 13th January 2024 a Youth Ensemble from Busanjin Presbyterian Church, South Korea, presented a wonderful concert at the Assembly Hall, Collins St, Melbourne. It was an opportunity for our Korean friends to express their thanks for Australian Mission in Korea.
Korean Ensemble
Visit to South Korea by PWMU-Vic President, October 2024
On Sunday 13th October 2024, Busanjin Presbyterian Church celebrated their 133rd anniversary. They marked the occasion with a book launch, for which the PWMU-Vic President, Roslyn Brown, had written a foreword. The church welcomed Roslyn and her husband, Rev David Brown, with true Korean hospitality. David preached to the packed church on “Bringing Children to Glory”. Roslyn accepted a copy of The Pictorial History of Busanjin, which was the sixteenth book written by Rev Dr Myong Duk Yang on behalf of the PCK. Later, she spoke about the work of PWMU Victoria, whilst David spoke about the PCV.
Nearby lies Ilshin Hospital, now also known as Kosin University gospel hospital, where Australians have served until very recent times. Their chaplain was a gracious guide. Immense gratitude to Australian missionaries was evident in their well-presented museum and monuments.
The honour South Korea shows to the work of Australian missionaries is apparent elsewhere too. Headstones of several early Australian missionaries were relocated outside the church and to the northwest of Busan lies a vast regional cemetery mountain, where the amazing Memorial Hall of Gyeongnam Mission was established in 2009. Outside stand numerous relocated memorial headstones of missionaries. Also, in the region lies Masan, where another excellent museum is dedicated to the work of Australian missionaries. PWMU members can feel very thankful to be part of an extraordinary work of the Lord. At the cemetery of Busanjin PC itself are the actual graves of Australian missionaries who had died in Korea, including the nine-month-old daughter of one missionary couple.
APWM missionary, Hannah Davies, plays a key role at an institute that helps prepare Korean missionaries for service in many far-flung places around the globe, by offering a one or two semester English immersion program. The staff and students at MTI (Missionary Training Institute) welcomed us warmly. The principal, Mihyang, is a graduate of SMBC (Sydney Missionary Bible College). Each class takes a turn to lead morning devotions, complete with marvellous modern music and personal testimonies. MTI relies on volunteer English teachers from Australia or the US, who go for a term or two. Daryl and Soyoung Jackson were on the staff until they relocated to Victoria. Although Yeosu is an idyllic location, MTI is relocating to premises they are renovating further inland in Gwangyang. The semester is expected to open there in May 2025.
It was a great privilege to represent PWMU and the PCV in Busan, and elsewhere in Korea. We share so much with our Korean brothers and sisters, both in Australia and in Korea. Let’s thank the Lord together for the work of PWMU over the years. It is beneficial whenever history is made visible, and especially good when the story is so positive.
The “Pictorial History of Busanjin Presbyterian Church” (a hefty blue book), a gold and jade burial crown replica from the 5th Century Silla dynasty (a gift from the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea), the gospel story of Matthew illustrated in Korean style, can all be viewed at the PWMU office in Box Hill North, or at State level meetings (Country Rally and Annual General Meeting).