William John McKenzie (15 July 1861 – 23 June 1895) was a Canadian missionary to Korea. He was born at West Bay, western

Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...

and studied at Pictou Academy,

Dalhousie College Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus in Saint John, New Brunswick. Dalhousie offer ...

, and the Presbyterian College in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

. He served as a missionary to

Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...

in 1888–89, and was ordained as a minister of the

Presbyterian Church of Canada The Presbyterian Church in Canada (french: Église presbytérienne du Canada) is a Presbyterian denomination, serving in Canada under this name since 1875. The United Church of Canada claimed the right to the name from 1925 to 1939. According to ...

in 1891. McKenzie resolved to go to Korea as a missionary, but he was unable to obtain denominational support, so he went as an independent missionary. He arrived in Korea on 12 December 1893. He witnessed both the

Donghak Peasant Revolution The Donghak Peasant Revolution (), also known as the Donghak Peasant Movement (), Donghak Rebellion, Peasant Revolt of 1894, Gabo Peasant Revolution, and a variety of Donghak Peasant Revolution#Role played by Donghak, other names, was an armed ...

and the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the po ...

. McKenzie worked in Songchon "completely isolated from Westerners... he dressed as a Korean scholar, ate only Korean food and set up residence in a Korean house, even sleeping on the traditional Korean ''

ondol Ondol (; , Hangul: 온돌, 溫堗, ) or gudeul (Hangul: 구들, ) in Korean traditional architecture, is underfloor heating that uses direct heat transfer from wood smoke to heat the underside of a thick masonry floor. In modern usage it refers ...

''." McKenzie instilled a self-supporting spirit in the Korean Christians; Young-sik Yoo calls this "the most remarkable contribution McKenzie made to Korean mission history". He also started a school which taught boys and girls together, "an unheard practice in a

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...

society." In June 1895, McKenzie became ill from sunstroke and typhus, and shot himself. Young-sik Yoo cites the American medical missionary, J. Hunter Wells:

About the first duty as a doctor I was called upon to perform was to investigate the suicide of Mr. McKenzie who was possessed of the erroneous idea of the appropriateness of isolation, exile, Korean food and so forth... when he shot himself he was a victim to the 'isolation-exile' theory.

McKenzie's suicide is often omitted in biographical descriptions. Elizabeth McCully's 1903 biography ''A Corn of Wheat'' makes no mention of it, but says:

Through that hard night and the Sabbath morning following, he fought bravely for life; but the release was near and the "good soldier of Jesus Christ" was done with his earthly battles. While Mr. Saw and the other Christians were at morning service and a young boy watched beside him, death came.

W. Hamish Ion suggests that McKenzie's death "became part of the mythology surrounding missionary work in Korea," and that to Presbyterians in

the Maritimes The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of Ca ...

, he had "died a martyr's death." Yoo notes that

His suicide in 1895, after less than two years in the field, prompted the Presbyterian Church Council of the Maritime to assume stricter control over the movement. From this time onwards, only "regular", i.e. officially-sanctioned, missionaries were dispatched to Korea. This change marked the formal beginning of organized Canadian Presbyterian mission work in Korea, which started in 1898.]

After Mckenzie's death, the Foreign Mission Committee (Eastern Division) sent William Foote, Robert Grierson (Missionary), Robert Grierson, and Duncan MacRae to officially establish mission work in Korea.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKenzie, William John 1861 births 1895 deaths People from Cape Breton Island Colony of Nova Scotia people Canadian Presbyterian ministers Canadian Presbyterian missionaries Presbyterian missionaries in Canada Presbyterian missionaries in Korea Canadian expatriates in Korea Dalhousie University alumni Suicides by firearm in Korea