No Distinction between Sacred and Secular: Horace H. Underwood and Korean-American Relations, 1934-1948

When the US Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) was established in September 1945 after the end of World War II, the United States was entering unfamiliar terrain and was struggling to manage the situation in Korea. Therefore, General John R. Hodge, the commander of USAMGIK, eagerly sought to obtain experts on Korea. Considering the lack of information about Korea, American missionaries were the only well-organized group who had affection for and information about Korea. Horace H. Underwood in particular was ideally qualified to act as advisor since he had managed the Chosen Christian College (CCC: today’s Yonsei University) as principal from 1934 to 1941. During the latter part of the colonial period, Shinto shrine worship, the ritual that the colonial government enforced upon all the schools, including mission schools, had become a controversial issue. It led to many internal tensions among missionaries, who were divided on the question of how to respond toward the colonial policy. Underwood argued that mission schools should follow the government policy on Shinto worship rather than closing mission schools, so as to maintain Christian influence in the schools. After Underwood returned to the US under an exchange of prisoners of war deal, he cooperated with the US military information agencies in providing Korea-related information. When the war ended, he became an influential advisor to General Hodge and to Archer L. Lerch, the military governor in Korea. Through his influence, he introduced many Korean elites, mostly conservative Christians, to USAMGIK and facilitated the reestablishment of missionary activities. His activities illustrate not only the characteristics of the relation between USAMGIK and Korea, but also the human aspect of Korean-American relations at this time of transition and upheaval.