A Study on the Curriculum of Church History in the Early Korean Presbyterian Seminary
This is a study on the curriculum of church history of the Korean Presbyterian Seminary from 1901 to 1935. The Korean Presbyterian Seminary was established in 1901. The seminary was built for the spread of the gospel not for the research of theology. W. L. Swallen was one of the founders of the seminary and he wrote the first textbook of church history in the Korean language in 1913. The book was entitled Kyohoisaki (敎會史記) : the Book of Church History. The editorial system of the Kyohoisaki was a dictionary of history. The theological foundation of the book was evangelical.
A new text of church history of Presbyterian Seminary was published in the 1930’s. The new text’s theological foundation was evangelical, the same as Swallen’s text. But the level of study of church history was developed further. The new text included the advanced objectivity of historical description, methodology of history and the system of editing. The Presbyterian seminary could offer the academical curriculum of the church history in the 1930’s.