Rev. Kil Sŏn-chu was amongst the first generation of indigenous Protestant Christian leaders. In 1897 he was converted to Christianity at the age of 29 and served as a lay Christian leader while he took a course of study intended for native local preachers. In 1907 he was ordained as a pastor and began preaching in the Changdaehyŏn Church, the central church in P’yŏngyang. In Korea, until recently he is known as the evangelistic pastor who stuck to saving soul and was indifferent to the national issues like Korean independence and cultural changes. In this paper I try to show that Kil Sŏn-chu was not only a devout evangelistic pastor but also was concerned with issues related to Korean independence and cultural changes. This study is divided into the five sections. Following the introduction, the second section gives a historical overview of Korean society at the time in which Kil Sŏn-chu lived, and offers his vitae. The third section deals with the ways that he was conscious of the Korean nation and expressed his willingness to devote himself to the Korean nation in his political and cultural activities. The fourth section traces the motives behind the development of eschatological worldview or faith by Kil Sŏn-chu and thereby explains the way his patriotic concern with the Korean nation was reflected in his eschatological faith. In Kil Sŏn-chu’s life there are shown three different aspects inthree subsequent periods. The first period is from his conversion to Christianity to before his decision to save his soul. He identified the Korean nation as people bound together by a shared history and state. He was engaged in political activities for Korean independence. The second period is from the decision to save his soul to before he was in prison. He was interested in the cultural elementsof the Korean nation. He considered culture as the means for the Korean nation to survive or exist further in this world. The third period is from his release from prison to his death. In his Eschatology, he developed his own concept of eschatology and propagated the gospel of Jesus’ coming being followed by the millennial and eternal world.

• 백종구(관동대학교 기독교학과)