Foreword: Recovering Shared Histories
Dr. Myong Duk Yang has been to the forefront of a radical initiative in the writing of a cross-cultural history. Living in and between Korea and Australia has given him a deep familiarity with contexts and the importance of recovering shared histories. In a way that perhaps not so well known in his Korean homeland Dr. Yang has described the waves of Korean migrants to Australia.
The other side this coin has been the retrieving the history of Australian missionaries to Korea. This account of Jospeh Henry Davies is long overdue, given the attention that has so often been given to missionaries from other countries. This neglect is in one sense understandable. Davies’ mission might be seen as failure: he landed in Korea in October 1889 and died six months later on Easter Day, 1890. This brevity of presence in Korea is misleading, though. It fails to capture the passion and determination of Australia’s first missionary to Korea (although it should be noted that he was, in fact, born in Aotearoa New Zealand).
What was it that inspired him to
make the long journey to what was known at the time as ‘the hermit kingdom’? In
what ways did his death prepare the way for future Presbyterian missionaries
from the southern state of Victoria? Dr. Yang’s writing shows the ecumenical benefits
of two countries learning just that little bit more about each other’s
histories.
Dr. Clive Pearson(Professor, Charles Sturt University)
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