Korean Bible

This Bible, written in Korean, is a modern-day example of John Ross’s translation of the Christian Bible.   

In 1872, thirty-year-old John Ross was sent by the Scottish United Presbyterian Mission to Northeast China, where he founded the Dongguan Church in Shenyang and became acquainted with traders from Korea. It was this meeting that led Ross to create the first Korean translation of the New Testament.  

Nowadays, museums try to present balanced interpretations of the work of missionaries. Whilst missionaries provided western religious education and often sought to improve standards of living in the places they visited, in some they also had a detrimental effect on local religious beliefs and cultural traditions.   

However, it is known that John Ross formed a close bond with the Koreans he met and Ross continues to be celebrated today. The John Ross Centre is a key part of the history of the Seaboard villages.