Centennial Commemoration of the Death of Lillias Horton Underwood

OVERVIEW

On October 29, 1921, Lillias Horton Underwood passed away in Seoul, Korea. She had arrived in Seoul on March 27, 1888, after being sent by the Northern Presbyterian Church in the United States. This year, 2021, marks the 100th anniversary of Lillias' death, and also the 170th anniversary of her birth on June 21, 1851 in Albany, NY, United States (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. Lillias with her mother: private family archive.

Her initial plan was to serve as an unmarried medical missionary. However, that plan changed very quickly. Six months after her arrival in Korea, Lillias became engaged to Horace Grant Underwood, who was sent by the same institution and also the founder of Chosen Christian College (today's Yonsei University). The couple got married on March 14, 1889 and had one son, Horace Horton Underwood, in 1890 (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2. Wedding: private family archive.

Lillias' medical work was not only carried out to the upper-class people, such as Queen Myeong-Seong, but also to the marginalized people. Lillias continued to work on the establishment of Chosen Christian College and evangelism after her husband died in 1916 in the United States. Lillias returned to Korea with her son, like the wife of Christian, Christiana, in the second part of Pilgrim's Progress; it was as if she was on pilgrimage toward the celestial city “between the Valley of the Shadow of Death and Vanity Fair.”¹ In fact, she translated the Second Part of The Pilgrim's Progress into Korean, one of the literary materials she used for evangelism.

MEDICAL TRAINING AND WORK OF LILLIAS HORTON UNDERWOOD

Inspired by a British woman who presented the situation of women in India, Lillias (Sterling) Horton wanted to become a medical missionary to India. She graduated from a public high school and took a 6-month training course at Cook County Training School for Nurses in Chicago (Fig. 3). Afterwards, she trained as a medical doctor at the Woman's Medical College of Chicago and obtained a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1887.²

Fig. 3. In training as a nurse: Yonsei University archive.

After accepting the request of the Mission Board of North Presbyterian Church, Lillias came to Korea as the personal medical doctor for the Queen (The first female medical missionary was Annie Ellers, who arrived in 1886. However, since she was not fully trained in medicine, Lillias is officially recognized as the first female medical doctor among the Presbyterian community. Another female doctor, Meta Howard, an alumna of Lillias, had actually arrived in October 1887 with the support of the US Methodist Church and worked at the Salvation for All Women Institution, the first women's medical hospital that was founded by the US Methodist Church through the work of Mary Scranton.).³

Prior to her mission in Korea, Lillias had been working for women and children at the Mary Thompson's Hospital and Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago, as one of the limited number of female doctors practicing medicine in the US at the time. Although she was able to work professionally in the US, her goal was not to further develop her career but to serve as a medical doctor for the needy and marginalized people.

Lillias was well accepted when she first started working in the Women's Department of Chejungwon, as Dr. John W. Heron reported to Frank. F. Ellinwood, the general secretary of Board of Foreign Mission of the Northern Presbyterian Church in the United States:

“We are greatly pleased with Miss Horton. She is very satisfactory in every way, earnest and enthusiastic in her work, bent on acquiring the language which she is doing rapidly, spiritually minded and not likely to be led astray by the frivolities of fashionably life here, popular with Koreans and foreigners. The attendance at hospital has increased very considerably and we have done a number of operations since she came.”⁴

Lillias' initial task was changed due to the assassination of the Queen in 1895 as well as her own health condition. Her healing ministry at the Women's Department of Chejungwon was gradually reduced, while she worked at the Frederick Wills Underwood Shelter and the Hugh O'Neil Jr. Memorial Dispensary on the hill outside of Westgate. Those places became a cradle of physical healing ministry and spiritual nourishment,⁵ since Lillias offered not only cures, but also Christian songs, prayer, bible sharing and Christian fellowship. This dispensary played a significant role for the healing of marginalized people who lived outside the city wall when cholera spread in 1895. Oliver R. Avison assigned the Underwood couple the tasks of supervision and care of the shelter. They provided heated floors for sick poor patients even when the weather was not cold. Around 65% of the patients who were treated there recovered. According to Lillias:

“Under God we ascribed this large percentage of cures, mainly to the three following causes: the use of salol as early and in as large doses as possible, keeping the patients on the very hot floor till warmth returned and circulation improved, and the conscientious and untiring nursing of the native Christians.”⁶

This kind of voluntary loving action left a good impression on Christians. The Korean government expressed gratitude with a cash reward for the voluntary workers who participated in this healing ministry. They directed it for the construction of the First Presbyterian Saemoonan Church.⁷

Although Lillias worked in Chejungwon in the beginning, she eventually preferred to have her own dispensary and medicines due to the efficiency of time management. She made house calls frequently, not only in Seoul, but also in places outside of the capital. According to her report on May 5, 1889, on a trip to the countryside, Lillias saw nearly 160 patients over 4 days.⁸ No matter where she treated her patients, she combined medical treatment with evangelization for healing of the soul and mind. She did not want to use just medical knowledge to reduce people's suffering. She took opportunities of medical treatment to disseminate the Good News as spiritual nourishment, combining it with physical healing and access for women, especially in gender-segregated areas. One visit from the physician brought changes, as recorded here: “[…] Christianity has been welcomed almost with open arms. Prejudices that seemed iron bound and hatred that seemed bred in the bone have been broken and cast out by the practical Christianity that has been exemplified by medical missions.”⁹

Lillias later discontinued medical ministry even in the dispensaries while concentrating on evangelization.¹⁰ She took care of her community of faith, especially women, into her older years.¹¹

MULTIDIMENSIONAL LEADERSHIP IN PERSEVERANCE

Among the multidimensional works of devotion Lillias had shown to Korea,¹² we will highlight two examples that demonstrate her boldness, even as she was suffering from physical weakness and chronic rheumatism.

First, Lillias worked for gender justice for her Western coworkers and education for Korean girls and women.¹³ Her advocacy for medical missionaries related to the issue of housing is an example. Georgiana Whiting (MD 1869–1952) worked at Chejungwon and taught physiology, while Victoria Chalmers Arbuckle (1867–1911) and Anna Peterea Jacobson (1866–1897) worked as professional nurses, and these women lived in poor housing conditions. Lillias spoke out about this problem, citing improved medical work as well as equality with the male staff in the hospital.¹⁴

Moreover, Lillias intervened for Katherine C. Wambold (1866–1948), who worked as an evangelist.¹⁵ She insisted on providing equal access and housing rights for female missionaries, saying discrimination or disadvantage should not happen regardless of their work settings or marital status. As a married missionary, Lillias was compassionate about the living conditions of other single missionaries for the sake of carrying out diverse tasks. Even after having to quit her medical work at the hospital due to her health, Lillias advocated for the independency of female doctors as her successors.¹⁶ Her work for gender justice was not only limited for the Western colleagues, but also extended to Korean girls and women through educational classes and workshops.

Second, Lillias also shared her vision for higher education in Korea with her husband in their joint ministry. However, it became a personal sorrow after Horace Grant passed away at the age of 57. Since the colonial government had just authorized Chosen Christian College as an educational institution, there were still many needs to be met. In her time of private mourning, Lillias came back to Korea and continued to work for this college. The ceremony for laying the cornerstone of Stimson Hall, the first stone building on the campus, was a very symbolic and meaningful part of her work (Fig. 4). The event was held on April 19, 1919 at 4:30 p.m. when many of the young students were absent, since a “large number of the student body were under arrest”¹⁷ due to their participation in the March First Independence Movement of 1919. Under the shadow of tragedy, Lillias' splendid work was highlighted in this ceremony as she declared it, “well and truly laid.”¹⁸ Based on this strong foundation, the current Yonsei University was developed. She worked diligently to lift up the young generation mentally, morally, and socially through the rooted vital principle of the Christian spirit.¹⁹

Fig. 4. Stimson Building Ceremony of Laying the Cornerstone: Yonsei University archive.

In summary, it is valuable to recall Lillias' name and her multi-dimensional works on this dual anniversary in 2021. She was a devoted pioneer of a comprehensive healing ministry and a supporter of higher education in Korea.