The Orthodox Book Publishing House of the Korean Diocese has published a book in Korean, "The Missionary Activity of the Russian Orthodox Church among Koreans," dedicated to the history of the activities of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Korea in the first half of the twentieth century.
The author of the book is Archbishop Theophan of Korea. The book tells about the difficult twists and turns in the work of the Spiritual Mission in Korea, which from the very beginning of its existence has faced many difficulties associated with the changing political situation in both Russia and Korea. Tragic events in the history of the two countries, such as the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905, the annexation of Korea by Japan in 1910, the revolution in Russia in 1917, as well as the division of Korea into North and South after the Second World War, followed by the civil war on the Korean Peninsula in 1950-1953, somehow affected life The Spiritual Mission in Korea and eventually led to the fact that its activities were discontinued.
The main content of the book is a description of the activities of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Korea. Russian Russian missionaries on the Korean peninsula would be more correct to consider as a continuation and an organic part of the huge missionary work among Koreans that the Russian Orthodox Church began to conduct since their resettlement to the Russian Far East in the second half of the XIX century, the second part of the book contains an article by Bishop Innokenty of Ussuri about the history of the spread of Orthodoxy among Koreans of the Ussuri region since the middle of the XIX century.
Both parts of the book testify that Orthodoxy is not a religion alien to the Korean consciousness, but a faith with which Koreans have been familiar for a very long time.
The author expresses the hope that this work will benefit readers interested in the history of missionary work and Russian-Korean relations, and also thanks the Foundation for the Support of Christian Culture and Heritage, with whose participation the publication of the book became possible.
The edition of 350 copies is distributed in online bookstores of the Republic of Korea.