The Korean Christian Museum of Soongsil University was founded with the donation to the university from the late professor, Presbyterian reverend, and archeologist Kim Yang-sun (whose pen-name was Maesan) of his life-long collection of Christian-related documentation, archeological and arts artifacts, and ancient maps, as well as Silhak ( Practical Learning) and contemporary national movement sources. The museum’s founder, Prof. Kim Yang-sun, was born to a family, equivalent to the groundwork of the Korean Church, in Uiju, North Pyeongan Province, in 1907. He graduated from Soongsil Academy and Soongsil College in Pyeongyang. While attending Soongsil Academy, Kim Yang-sun began to collect and research numerous source materials relating to the Bible and Christian hymns left over from earlier translation works, along with other historical Christian artifacts.
History
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He also staged anti-Japanese activities on numerous occasions and was imprisoned as a consequence of his actions. Throughout the first forty-odd years of his life, he assembled a wide variety of Korean archeological and arts resources and researched the history of Korea’s national movements.
Kim Yang-sun’s collection forms the basis of the main archives of the Korean Christian Museum, which documents the development of the Christian faith in Korea, along with a wide range of patriotic and academic concerns, including the Korean archeological and arts heritage, and houses many other resources relating to the Silhak (Practical Learning), Western science, and Korean national movements. After Korea gained its independence from Japanese rule in 1945, Kim Yang-sun moved his collection from Pyeongyang to Seoul, and founded ‘the Korean Christian Museum’ and ‘the Maesan Archeological Hall’ on April 20, 1948. While transporting his collection, his wife Han Pillyeo and his youngest daughter were killed at sea, near Haeju, by North Korean soldiers. As such, the museum was founded in memory of the sacrifice of Kim Yang-sun’s family. By establishing the museum on the site of Joseon’s new palace°™where the colonial Japanese had intended to destroy Korea’s national identity and eradicate Korean Christianity°™he sought to revitalize the national spirit and the Christian faith. The Korean Christian Museum was closed in 1950 when the Korean War broke out, and opened again in 1953 after the armistice was signed However, the museum was temporarily closed on February 28, 1958, as the site was appointed as the site of the new National Assembly Hall, and the archives were moved to Professor Kim Yang-sun’s home. Some twenty years later, Prof. Kim Yang-sun donated about 3,600 pieces from his collection to his alma mater, Soongsil University, on July 21, 1967. The university, marking the 70th anniversary of its foundation on October 10, 1967, launched the Korean Christian Museum featuring five exhibition rooms on the first floor of the school’s recently opened Westminster Chapel. Later, on January 19, 1976, the museum was re-launched in a separate building near the university’s main gate. In July 2003, in response to the new requirements of the 21st century, the museum was moved to a new building equipped with modern exhibition facilities and storage space. On April 8, 2004, with the addition and rearrangement of existing and newly collected artifacts, the museum was newly launched as the Korean Christian Museum at Soongsil University.