First Korean Bible - A’ Chiad Bhìoball Coirèanais
Bible for Korea
The National Bible Society reported that nearly fifteen million Koreans had no portion of the Holy Scriptures in their own language and bringing the Presbyterian Mission to Korea seemed an unattainable dream. In 1877, the Bible Society heard about John Ross’s clever and influential work translating the New Testament into Korean; they realised their vision was within reach. John was closely assisted by the Rev. John MacIntyre and Eungchan Lee, his Korean teacher. The Bible was God’s Word to Humanity and the foundation of John’s life, it was important to get it right. The translation of every word and phrase given careful thought and consideration, relying on John’s drive and determination to complete the enormous task.
New Testament
In 1879, after five years working in the Manchurian mission field John returned home to Scotland to see his family and report back about his progress to the Home Mission Board. He presented a Korean translation of the Gospel of Matthew to the National Bible Society of Scotland, requesting funds to print the rest of the translated Scriptures.
The committee agreed to print only one Gospel as an experiment, with the condition that further revision work was required. This arrangement was highly unsatisfactory and John, who was eager to start printing, approached the British and Foreign Bible Society instead. It would take another two years for the situation to resolve and after the Gospel of Luke was published by the National Bible Society of Scotland in 1882, the whole of the New Testament was eventually printed through the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1887.
1883 – 3,000 copies of Luke and Acts
1884 – 5,000 copies of Matthew and Mark
1885 – 5,000 copies of new edition of
John with Ephesians
1887 – 5,000 copies of the New Testament
“In 1881 a small “Columbian” printing press was set agoing in Newchwang (Yingkou), where an edition of several thousand copies of Luke’s Gospel in Korean was printed. Thereafter it was moved to Mukden (Shenyang), where it has been working for years in casting off Korean Gospels. The distribution of these books was chiefly confined to Western and Northern Korea, though not a few found their way into Central Korea and the Capital.”
The Mission Press in China by John Ross, 1895
“The Rev. John Ross and his dedicated team of translators and printers, Rev. John MacIntyre, Hongjoon Paik, Eungchan Lee, Sungha Lee, Chungsong Kim, Jinki Kim and Sangryun Seo, laid the foundation for the Protestant Church in Korea.”
Jacquie Aitken, Researcher, John Ross Visitor Centre, 2022
First Korean Bible
Finally, after ten years of translation work (1877-1887) John’s vision to bring the Bible to Korea was at last fulfilled. John chose to translate the Bible into the language which most people understood, rather than Chinese, which was spoken only by the educated classes, so that it would be accessible to all.
Although his efforts to make a Korean Bible had come to an end, it was the beginning of his Korean work in terms of God’s mission.
Missionary Lives
Overseas missionaries and their families led arduous lives, especially in the 19th century when about one-half of missionaries resigned or died after less than ten years of service. Mortality among children born to missionary couples was estimated to be three times that of infant mortality in rural Scotland.
In February 1881, John Ross (widower) married again to Isabella Strapp McFadyen in Glasgow during a return trip to Scotland. The role of the missionary’s wife was to support the ministerial work of her husband by looking after the family and running Bible classes from home.
Tragically, four of John’s nine children died in infancy and were buried in Newchwang (Yingkou), China. In happier times, the family enjoyed playing the piano and picnic outings.
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