| In 1884 Suh Sang Ryun founded the first church, Sorae Church, in Hwanghae Province. In the same year Allen from the Presbyterian Church of North America arrived in Korea and started the medical ministry and then Rev. Horace G. Underwood came to Korea in 1885 to carry his mission work, which were the opening of the Presbyterian Mission in Korea. In 1901 Pyung Yang Theological Seminary (which is the Presbyterian College and Theological Seminary at present) in Pyung Yang was established. By 1907 the All-Korea Presbytery (Dok Presbytery) was organized which united all the presbyteries in Korea as one and the first seven graduates of the Pyung Yang Theological Seminary were ordained as the pastors of the Presbyterian Church.
In 1934, the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Presbyterian Church was celebrated. In the last period of Japanese imperialism, the General Assembly had sufferings concerning the worship at the Japanese shrines which eventually led to disorganization of the General Assembly. Due to the theological disputes and other causes, the one Presbyterian Church had to face its division into various denominations. In 1951, the “Koshin" group of the Presbyterian Church separated from the PCK, in 1953 "Ki-jang" group (the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea at present) and finally in 1959 the "Hapdong" group decided to go its own way. Since then we called our church “ The Presbyterian Church of Korea” as the Tong-hap group.
In 1984 in commemoration of the centennial anniversary of the PCK, the Korean Church Centennial Memorial Building was built and the PCK hold various commemorative events such as commemoration rallies and mission consultations, celebrating its centennial anniversary. In 1996, facing a new era the 21st century, the PCK adopted the church statement titled "The Proposal for Developing Church Policy to Enhance Growth in the 21st Century" which was adopted for the development of church at the 81st General Assembly. In 1998, the 83rd General Assembly adopted a new statement on policy - "For the Glory of God, Toward the Life Community which All Creation Lives Together in Harmony” facing the era of the new millenium.
With a vision for the unity of churches, “The Year 2000 Conference of the Presbyterian Churches in Korea” was held from September 1999 to September 2000. In September 2002, at the 87th General Assembly, "The Decade of Life Saving Movement" was declared to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the General Assembly of the Chosun Presbyterian Church. This campaign will carry out various kinds of programs according to 10 themes until 2012, the year of the 100th anniversary of founding of the Chosun Presbyterian Church. |
