100th Anniversary Memorial Church's Position on the Responsibility for the "Management of Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery Park"

100th Anniversary Memorial Church would like to announce its position on the matter of the management of the "Yangwhajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery Park". We want to address the false claim that "Seoul Union Church" was forced out of the chapel which it has used for the past 22 years.

On June 17th 1985, the Council For the 100th Anniversary of Korean Church (the "Council") acquired the ownership of Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery Park, which at that time was a crime-ridden place covered with trash and weeds. It was founded in 1981 by 20 domestic Christian denominations and 26 church-related organizations to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Korean Protestantism. The first Chairman of the Council was the late Pastor Han Kyung-chik of Youngnak Church. Taking note of the fact that the Foreign Missionary Cemetery Park had been totally neglected and that no maintenance work had been performed since 1890, the Council took the initiative, at its own expense, to remove some 150 truck loads of trash to Nanjido (a public rubbish dump), to locate numerous unnamed graves and to restore fallen tomb stones.

In honor of the missionaries and to commemorate the 100th anniversary of missionary work in Korea, the Council decided to construct the Mission Memorial. The Mission Memorial was constructed with generous contributions made by four prominent Korean entrepreneurs. They donated 700 million Won in total (approximately US$ 760,000 in present monetary value but worth significantly more in the 1980s) and were Mr. Chung Joo-young of Hyundai, Mr. Kim Woo-joong of Daewoo, Mr. Park Yong-hak of Dainong (200 million Won each) and Mr. Chang Chi-hyuk of Kohap (100 million Won). The funds raised from these Korean businessmen were spent on repairing the graveyard and completing the construction project in 1986. The Council planned to use the basement of the building as a missions reference room for the Korean Church, the first floor as the Council's office, and the second and third floors as the chapel. In addition, the Council invited Seoul Union Church, which did not have its own place of worship, to use the chapel and part of the first floor for worship purposes in return for Seoul Union Church managing the graveyard and the building.

Just before the construction was completed and the Council began moving in, Seoul Union Church requested the use of the basement as their meeting room and the whole of the first floor for education purposes. Although the board of directors were in strong opposition to this, Pastor Han Kyung-chik accepted the request, temporarily halting the Council's moving plan. Seoul Union Church went on to request a permanent written entitlement to manage the building and the graveyard thereafter. Pastor Han, however, categorically rejected this request because Yanghwajin is considered a sacred ground and the Mission Memorial hall is for the use of the entire Korean Church.

Despite the fact that the Mission Memorial was originally built for the Korean Church and ownership had never been transferred to Seoul Union Church, Koreans were unable to use the building without the permission of Seoul Union Church for the next 20 years. The name of the building was even changed to Seoul Union Church Chapel. As the members of Seoul Union Church of 1986 either passed away or returned to their countries, newly arrived members have come to regard the cemetery and the building as the property of the Seoul Union Church.

According to the "Law on Urban Parks and Greenbelt," "Law on National Land Planning and Usage," and "Law on Funerals and Burials," no burials can take place in a place designated as being a residential area. However, Seoul Union Church has been selling graves owned by the Council to foreigners in clear violation of Korean law. The church has also been pre-selling the cemetery land, with the number of pre-sold graves amounting to 37 by the time 100th Anniversary Memorial Church was founded two years ago. Yanghwajin, originally created as the most sacred land for Korean Protestants, has now become an extraterritorial area. Monuments with the names of well-known Korean church pastors started to appear on the land about 10 years ago and in recent years, a certain commercially orientated missionary society started visitor tours of the cemetery, doing serious damage to the graveyard in the process.

The Council decided to take action about this disarray and damage and, on July 10th 2005, established 100th Anniversary Memorial Church to properly preserve and manage Yanghwajin. This represented the foundation of a church with a specific and unique purpose. 100th Anniversary Memorial Church represents the firm resolution and determination of the Korean Church to recover, manage and preserve Yanghwajin. The resulting discord between 100th Anniversary Memorial Church, since its inception, and Seoul Union Church and groups that have been profiting from questionable activities may well have been unavoidable. But unless we are prepared to face these issues head on, restoration and preservation of the land will never be possible.

When 100th Anniversary Memorial Church¡¯s rightful status as the main body for management of Yanghwajin was affirmed, false incriminations were made by Seoul Union Church. The Seoul Union Church falsely claimed that the Council and 100th Anniversary Memorial Church had tried to expel the Seoul Union Church and exhume the graves of the missionaries. These claims are completely groundless, unequivocally false and without merit. If anything, 100th Anniversary Memorial Church and its members faithfully restored and preserved the cemetery in honor of the missionaries. Despite 100th Anniversary Memorial Church¡¯s selfless efforts to honor and preserve the cemetery, Seoul Union Church publicly made false accusations against the Council and 100th Anniversary Memorial Church in universities established by missionaries, in Christian organisations, in church denominations and even to the families of the deceased missionaries. Having neglected Korean law and illegally pre-sold graves at their own discretion over the last 20 years, it seems Seoul Union Church saw itself with no option but to defend itself in this manner.

However, the false incriminations and wrongful behaviors have been excessive. When 100th Anniversary Memorial Church requested an office room within the Mission Memorial, Seoul Union Church provided a basement storage room with no heating system or windows. Therefore while four staff members endured the winter and worked through to the following spring. Seoul Union Church locked the kitchen doors, saying that they did not want the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church members to use their tea spoons or cups. Moreover, they also insulted respected members of the Council. The late Pastor Kang Won-yong, who was the 2nd Chairman of the Council and Pastor Chung Jin-kyung, the incumbent Chairman, are both honored members of the Korean Church. However Seoul Union Church criticized, incriminated, and distorted the messages of these pastors and even acted impolitely in their presence. They made disparaging remarks about Korean history and debased the dignity of our members. It seems the present Seoul Union Church bears no relation to the missionaries now buried in Yanghwajin, who loved Korea so. It also seems that Seoul Union Church represents a small number of foreigners who are in Korea for their own interests.

In order to guarantee the 9:30am Seoul Union Church service, we willingly endured the inconveniences involved in meeting at 3:00pm until the end of November 2006 and at 11:30am as of last December 2006. Furthermore, the office expenses of Seoul Union Church are still paid for by 100th Anniversary Memorial Church. The Seoul Union Church has not contributed to the costs of the management of the cemetery park since the establishment of 100th Anniversary Memorial Church. Even the sweeping has all been done by the members of 100th Anniversary Memorial Church. So long as Seoul Union Church continues to regard such provisions as their deserved right, the fundamental problem facing us can never be resolved.

At the end of last May, therefore, Seoul Union Church was advised to change its service time to after 4:30 pm. This was not been done to in any way imply that Seoul Union Church are not welcome. We want to accept them in Christ and bring resolution by clarifying the proprietor-guest relationship. This new arrangement was also unavoidable if the two churches were to provide services efficiently in the limited space available. Because of this new arrangement, the Seoul Union Church is again speaking ill of 100th Anniversary Memorial Church. However, it must be understood that our just desire and determination to re-establish and preserve Yanghwajin for historical purposes as well as for the benefit of future descendants is very strong. We will always be willing to exist in harmony with Seoul Union Church. Just as it is our mission given by Christ himself to re-establish order in Yanghwajin, so also it is our duty to embrace those who want to stay with us.

The focal issue is how we are going to manage and preserve Yanghwajin, the most sacred land of Korean Protestantism for generations to come. 100th Anniversary Memorial Church will try its best to not only resolve its friction with the Seoul Union Church through Christian love and tolerance but also to keep practicing its given vocation. To fail to protect this sacred site and to allow it to be damaged again, would be committing a sin against not only our descendants but against Christ himself.