Chungdong First Methodist Church () is a historic church in

Jeong-dong Jeong-dong is a legal '' dong'', or neighbourhood of the Jung-gu district in Seoul, South Korea and governed by its administrative dong, Sogong-dong. It is an historical area with Deoksu Palace from the Joseon Dynasty and some of Korea's first m ...

, Jung District,

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

, South Korea. The church claims a number of historic firsts within Korea. It is the first

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

church and one of the earliest

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

churches, as its congregation (albeit in a different building) was founded on October 11, 1885. In Korea, the church performed the first Methodist baptism on July 24, 1887, started the first Christian women's group in 1889, had the first pipe organ, and built the first Western-style chapel. The church's first building was built in 1897, and is the oldest extant church in Korea, as well as the only one originally built during the 19th century. The church was founded by American missionary

Henry Appenzeller Rev. Henry Gerhard Appenzeller (February 6, 1858 – June 11, 1902) was a Methodist missionary. He and four other missionaries, including Horace N. Allen, Horace G. Underwood, William B. Scranton, and Mary F. Scranton introduced Protestant Chr ...

. In September 1887, he purchased a small '' hanok'' (traditional Korean house) to house the church, and deemed the building "Bethel Chapel". As the congregation grew, the church leadership decided to construct a larger building. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on September 9, 1895, with notable Korean leaders

Soh Kwang-pom Soh Kwang-pom or Seo Gwang-beom (8 November 1859 – 17 July 1897) (Hangul: 서광범, Hanja: 徐光範) was a Korean reformist and politician of Korea's late Joseon Dynasty. Soh Kwang-Pom, sometimes Pom Kwang Soh or known by his English name: Ke ...

and Yun Chi-ho present. A dedication service was held for the new building on December 26, 1897, which they also dubbed "Bethel Chapel". The church was expanded in 1926, changing from a

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described ...

(cross-shaped) church to a rectangular building. The newspaper served as the headquarters for several early publications in Korea, and was host to the Trilingual Press publisher. Publications include '' Tongnip Sinmun'' (first private newspaper in Korea), '' The Korean Christian Advocate'' (first Christian newspaper in Korea), '' The Christian News'', and '' The Korean Repository'' (first English-language monthly magazine). The church acquired the first privately-owned printing press in Korea for these publications. The architecture is a simplified American gothic style, with arched window frames. Bethel Chapel was made Historic Site of South Korea No. 277 in 1977. It currently holds worship services in both Korean and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. It also maintains a Mangon Christian History Reference Room for historical materials. The church opened a history museum on November 12, 2023.

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{{Commons category, Chungdong First Methodist Church * http://chungdong.org/html/main.asp (homepage in Korean) Jung District, Seoul Churches in Seoul Buildings and structures completed in 1898 1885 establishments Coordinates on Wikidata Historic buildings and structures in Seoul 19th-century churches in South Korea Buildings and structures in the Korean Empire

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