William Alderman Linton (February 8, 1891 – 1960) was an American Presbyterian missionary and

Korean independence activist The Korean independence movement was a military and diplomatic campaign to achieve the independence of Korea from Japan. After the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910, Korea's domestic resistance peaked in the March 1st Movement of 1919, which w ...

. He moved to Korea in 1912 and engaged in various charitable activities there.

Early life

William Alderman Linton was born February 8, 1891, in Thomasville, Georgia. William Linton's brother and sisters died and his parents separated in the first 10 years of his life. Cynthia McLean, Sunday School teacher, and M.M. Hull influenced his early life. Linton lived with Hull while he attended college and through this association met John Fairman Preston, who invited Linton to become a missionary to Korea.

Educational ministry in Korea

To be an educational missionary in Korea, Linton conducted self-directed research and study, including Korean pronunciation training and earning additional degrees from Columbia Teacher's College and Columbia Theological Seminary. Linton's key accomplishment as an educational missionary in

Korea under Japanese rule Between 1910 and 1945, Korea was ruled as a part of the Empire of Japan. Joseon Korea had come into the Japanese sphere of influence with the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876; a complex coalition of the Meiji government, military, and business offic ...

was fighting for the rights of Korean students and participating in the anti-Japanese colonization movement as principal of Jeonju Shinheung High School. As a result of the school's refusal to participate in Shinto shrine worship, it was forced to shut down in 1937. Linton continued to seek the classification needed from the Japanese Government-General of Korea's Bureau of Education that would enable Korean students to continue their education without losing the opportunity to pursue higher education. Following

Japanese colonial rule of Korea Between 1910 and 1945, Korea was ruled as a part of the Empire of Japan. Joseon Korea had come into the Japanese sphere of influence with the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876; a complex coalition of the Meiji government, military, and business off ...

and the Korean War, in 1956 Linton founded Daejeon College in Daejeon, and served as its first president. The college ultimately became known as Hannam University in 1982.

Family

Even after Linton's death in 1960, his family has continued to serve Korea and is currently impacting Korean society in Christian missions, medical care, and public service. Two of William Linton's sons, Hugh Linton and Thomas Dwight Linton, served as Christian missionaries in Korea. Hugh Linton planted more than 600 churches in South Jeolla province, served in the Korean War, and during the 1960s established several tuberculosis clinics. Dwight Linton planted churches in the

Gwangju Gwangju () is South Korea's sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Province until the provincial office ...

area and later, while living in the US, served on the board of Christian Friends of Korea for over a decade. Two of Hugh Linton's sons have made significant contributions to Korea in medical care.

John Alderman Linton Ihn Yo-han (; born 8 December 1959), born John Alderman Linton, is an American and South Korean physician. He is the director of Yonsei University's International Health Care Center at Severance Hospital. On October 23, 2023, he was appointed a ...

is director of Severance Hospital's International Care Center located in Seoul, and whom invented a new type of ambulance for Korea in 1993. In 2012, he was granted Korean citizenship in recognition of his contribution to Korean Society. In 1995, Dr.

Stephen Winn Linton Dr. Stephen Linton (born 1950) is a humanitarian and an expert on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ( North Korea). He has visited North Korea over 80 times since 1979 and twice met the country's late president, Kim Il Sung, as an adviso ...

established the

Eugene Bell Foundation The Eugene Bell Foundation is a U.S.-based foundation that provides medical humanitarian assistance to rural North Korea. Focusing on multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, the foundation currently sponsors 12 treatment centers, drawing patients fr ...

, named for William Linton's father-in-law who also served as a missionary in Korea. This non-profit organization provides medicine and medical equipment to North Korea and has provided treatment to more than 200,000 North Korean tuberculosis patients."Eugene Bell's Roots"
Eugene Bell Foundation. Retrieved 2014-02-22.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Linton, William Alderman 1891 births 1960 deaths Presbyterian missionaries in Korea University and college founders Presbyterian missionaries in South Korea American Presbyterian missionaries American expatriates in Korea American expatriates in South Korea American missionary educators Foreign supporters of Korean independence