[LECTURE] Henry G. Appenzeller, 배재학당 & the Birth of Modern Scholarship in Korea

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PLEASE NOTE THAT the lecture will be held on SATURDAY (MARCH 14) at 5:00-7:00PM at the FAST FIVE Tower, located near Euljiro-1-ga Station (Metro Line 2).
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LECTURE TITLE: 'Henry G. Appenzeller, 배재학당 (Pai Chai Academy), and the Birth of Modern Scholarship in Korea'

SPEAKER: Kim, Jong-heon

DATE: Saturday. March 14, 2026. 5:00-7:00PM (Seoul)

VENUE: Fifth floor (Conference Room) of FAST FIVE Tower (Namdaemun-ro 9-gil 24, Jung-gu, Seoul), a short walk from Exit 1 of Euljiro-1-ga Station (을지로입구역, Line 2)
https://maps.app.goo.gl/gkKUr34iR2ECPPSt8

ADMISSION (Online & In-person): Free for RAS Korea Lifetime and Annual Members; W10,000 for Non-members; W5,000 for Non-member students (Student ID requested)

- If you would like to attend online Zoom,
RSVP by March 12 (Thursday). Zoom Link Request ☞ CLICK https://forms.gle/YLBtJuwmM9Wod6V36

We will email you the link on the morning of the lecture day.

For Non-member, payment to be remitted to the following account:
SHINHAN BANK ACCOUNT # 100-026-383501 (RAS-KB)

- To attend in-person, RSVP is not required.

SUMMARY:

This lecture explores the life and legacy of Henry G. Appenzeller, the American Methodist missionary who founded 배재학당 (Pai Chai Academy) in 1885, one of Korea’s earliest modern educational institutions. Established during a transformative period in Korean history, the school played an important role in introducing Western education, science, and new intellectual ideas to a generation of Korean students.

The talk will also examine the broader network of missionaries, educators, and scholars active in late 19th-century Korea. These same intellectual circles helped establish the Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch in 1900, creating the first international scholarly organization dedicated to the study of Korean history, language, and culture.

By tracing the connections between missionary education, early Korean reformers, and the birth of organized Korean studies, the lecture highlights how institutions such as 배재학당 and RAS Korea contributed to the emergence of modern scholarship on Korea.

BIO:

Kim Jong-heon is Director of the Pai Chai Hak Dang History Museum (배재학당 역사박물관) in Seoul. His research focuses on the history of modern education in Korea, Protestant missionary activity, and the cultural and intellectual transformations of Korea during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

As director of the museum, Kim oversees the preservation, research, and interpretation of the historical collections of Pai Chai Academy (배재학당), one of Korea’s earliest modern educational institutions founded in 1885 by the American Methodist missionary Henry G. Appenzeller. His work emphasizes the role of missionary education in the development of modern Korean institutions, the introduction of Western knowledge and educational practices, and the broader historical context of Korea’s modernization.

Kim has been actively involved in curating exhibitions, developing educational programs, and promoting scholarly research related to the history of Pai Chai Academy and early Protestant missions in Korea. Through his academic and public history work, he has contributed to expanding understanding of the interactions between Korean reformers, foreign missionaries, and educational institutions during a formative period in Korea’s modern history.