This article is to examine of Duncan M. MacRae’s early missionary work in Korea and its characters. Duncan M. MacRae was born at Cape Breton Island in Canada. In 1897, the Foreign Mission Committee of Canada Presbyterian Church advertised for two missionaries to proceed to Korea. At its February 15 meeting the applications of Dr. Robert Grierson and Mr. William Rufus Foote were received and their appointment was made. Because of the financial difficulties, the application of MacRae was rejected. But when Maritime congregations sent the required funds, the F.M.Committee appointed him to the third member of the first group to go to Korea.
Eventually, following graduation from the Presbyterian College in Halifax, Duncan M. MacRae ventured to Korea to do missionary work. MacRae arrived at chemulpo in Korea on September 7, 1898 and arrived in Wonsan Mission Station on February 10, 1899. And then, he constructed Hamheung Mission Station on the northeast coast of Korea in 1904 and lived on Dragon Mountain for almost forty years. In this station, he did the missionary itinerancy around the city of Hamheung to establish church and managed the Christian academy to educate the Korean Christians.
The characters of MacRae’s early missionary work at Hamheung Mission Station can be summarized as follows. Firstly, he theologically was a conservative. Through the Canada Presbyterian Church and his mother, MaRae was affected by the traditional Calvinistic doctrines of the sixteenth century and Puritanism of the seventeenth century. Secondly, MacRae faithfully was a vigorous evangelist. Although he did encounter with many danger in a journey, he frequently had gone to the missionary itinerancy to evangelize Koreans. Thus, his vigour and courage for the spread of Gospel made him a legendary figure among koreans. Thirdly, MacRae ecclesiastically aimed at the establishment of independent and indigenized church governed and managed by the native christians. And also, he was quite interested in the Korean traditional culture and religion in order to indigenize Christianity in the Korean soil. Finally, MacRae has an anti-Japanese Sentiment. He has a forceful personality who did not hesitate to risk a security and reputation when he saw Christian beliefs or his beloved Korea jeopardized by the Japanese authorities. For his courage and passionate concern for Koreans, he was respected and admired by Christian and non-Christians.

• 김명배(숭실대학교) | Kim, Myung Bae