How Koreans came
to call Toronto home*
How Koreans came
to call Toronto home*
By: Jung-Gun Kim
From: Polyphony Vol.6, 1984 pp. 176-180
© 1984 Multicultural History Society of Ontario
From: Polyphony Vol.6, 1984 pp. 176-180
© 1984 Multicultural History Society of Ontario
*This article is based on the last chapter of the author's
thesis, " 'To God's Country': Canadian Missionaries in Korea and
the Beginnings of Korean Migration to Canada," Ed.D., University
of Toronto, 1983.
The Canadian mission movement in South Korea had as its essence
pastoral, medical and educational work in the mission field; it
was not simply impersonal financial aid from abroad. Contact
between Canadian missionaries and their Korean faithful was
personal, and it extended over a period of time and in a variety
of capacities. What is more, until the establishment of bilateral
government relations between Korea and Canada, this contact
between the Canadian missionaries and Korean Christians was the
major point of encounter between the peoples of Korea and Canada.
Only in 1963, when Korea opened a mission in Ottawa, were formal
diplomatic relations between Korea and Canada begun. Only in the
fall of 1973, as a result of Canada's desire to intensify
relations in the Pacific Rim countries, was a Canadian Embassy
opened in Seoul.
Not surprisingly, the result of the intense personal contacts
between Canadian missionaries and their Korean flock was an
increasing flow of Korean Christian immigrants to Canada. In very
important ways this refugee group, so deeply influenced by
Canadian missionaries, pioneered Korean immigration to Canada. In
the 1940s a mission-sponsored student became the first permanent
Korean settler in Canada. Many other students followed him in
later years. In addition to the students who became immigrants, a
limited number of independent immigrants from Korea made their way
to Toronto by the 1960s. They too were, directly or indirectly,
missionary connected people; and they were most often people of
northern Korean origin. Finally, it was from among this refugee
group, known as "the Canadian Christians,'' that the initiative
and encouragement of the mass Korean immigration to Canada of the
late 1960s and early 1970s came. That mass migration includes
Koreans of every denomination and most political persuasions, but
the earlier community had a more precise origin in the missionary
experience. It is that earlier community which is described
here.
To identify the roots of Korean settlement in Canada, one must
focus on one man, Tae-yon Whang of Toronto. Whang came to Canada
in 1948 as a mission-sponsored medical intern. He opted to remain
in Canada after his training. Whang became the first recorded
Korean to settle permanently in Canada; many other
mission-sponsored students had tried earlier, but to no avail.
They had either to return to Korea under pressure from the
missionaries or cross the border to avoid that pressure. Whang,
who still resides and practises medicine in the Rosedale area of
Toronto, is regarded in the Toronto Korean community as ''the
first immigrant" and the pioneer of the present-day Korean
community in Canada. (1)
In becoming the first mission-sponsored student turned immigrant,
Whang set a precedent that many Korean students in Canada would
follow. Some Korean students stayed on as Whang did, changing
their status from visa student to immigrant, with or without the
missionaries' consent. Others returned to Korea upon completion of
their studies in Canadian institutes then; some time later,
re-entered Canada, this time as immigrants. In the history of the
Korean community in Canada, these students turned immigrants
formed a unique group of settlers. As an elite Canadian-educated
group, they provided institutional leadership in the community.
They also became the backbone of intellectual life in the
community, especially during its formative stage.
Just as Tae-yon Whang set the stage for those students who tried
and succeeded in "staying on" after their studies, David Chong's
case exemplifies the story of those who went back to Korea and
"re-entered" Canada in later years. David Chong was born in Kando
in 1917. His father, a Christian, was a teacher in a Canadian
mission school and later an ordained minister. In 1947 Chong was
selected by the missionaries and recommended for a scholarship to
study in Canada. One missionary explained: "His father has been
closely related with members of our Mission for over thirty years,
both as teacher and as minister, and has served successfully in
several pastorates. (2) The reward for the father's service was
the education of his son.
He was sent by the Canadian missionaries to Emmanuel College in
Toronto to begin two years of theological training. But, as soon
as he settled in Emmanuel, Chong declared that he would rather
pursue a Doctor of Theology degree which would require more than
two years study to complete. The field missionaries disapproved of
Chong's decision: "What we want to train is young men who will
come back in a short time to do some active work.''
Chong was sent back to Korea in September 1949. (3) He had been in
Canada exactly two years. After receiving a Ph.D. from Yale
University in 1958, he served in various academic and pastoral
positions, including the presidency of the Kon'guk University in
Seoul. In January 1968, Chong accepted a post as visiting
professor at Hamburg University, West Germany. In April of the
same year, he came to the Department of East Asian Studies,
University of Toronto, again as a visiting professor. What is
more, in July of that same year Chong accepted the position of
minister of the then fledgling Toronto Korean United Church. He
decided not to go back to Korea and has lived in Canada ever
since. Chong stayed on as pastor of the church for one year, but
then he moved to Ottawa where, in July 1969, he became professor
of religious studies at Carleton University, a position he still
holds. He remains one of the rare academicians within the Korean
Canadian community.
Expatriate students were not the only Koreans residing in Toronto
in the early 1960s. Other Koreans, intent on building new lives,
trickled into Canada as visitors, obtained work permits and
eventually became immigrants. The transformation from visitor to
temporary worker to immigrant was the common route taken by this
second stream of Koreans in Canada. Ch'ung-lim Chon and his
''trade company" were at the centre of this group. Chon initiated
a small-scale migration among his Christian friends and
relatives.
Ch'ung-lim Chon grew up in the original Canadian mission field in
Kando, Manchuria and spent his early years in close association
with missionaries. His father was once assistant to missionary
E.M. Palethorpe and also managed the Christian Book Room in
Yongjong city, Kando under the direction of Canadian missionaries.
Chon's father eventually became a minister himself. Chon believes
that his strong early association with Canadian missionaries
became the determining factor in his immigration to Canada. In
1962 Chon and his family of four were among the first non-student
Korean immigrants to Canada. Entering Canada on a visitor's visa,
Chon set out to establish a new life. His pockets were filled with
names and addresses of former missionaries to Korea.
The aid and welcome offered by these Canadians eased the Toronto
settlement process for Chon and his family. In September 1962, he
obtained a work permit from Canadian immigration authorities. Rev.
David Proctor of the Cliffcrest United Church in Scarborough and
son of a former missionary to Korea, accompanied him for the
interview with officials. Two years later Chon's whole family was
granted permanent visas. This was just the beginning. Chon's
letters back to Korea encouraged others to follow his lead. Soon a
chain of migration among Chon's friends and relatives in Seoul
developed.
By using the same entrance mechanism and the support available
from former Korea missionaries and their descendants, Chon's
friends from Seoul entered Canada one after another. Chon
instructed each would-be immigrant in turn on how the immigration
process worked and to whom one could turn for help. Ch'ang-wu Kim
arrived in 1963; Ch'ang'gun Yun followed in 1964 and Sun-ch'ang
Kim in 1965. Chon later set up "a trade company'' in Toronto and,
using the seal of the company, imported "a huge cargo of human
goods and a little of corduroy textile'' from Korea. Rev. David
Proctor and his Cliffcrest United Church made themselves available
as a reliable and efficient stepping-stone in the settlement
process for these ''imported human goods." Wherever there was
need, Rev. Proctor and his church members were ready to help; they
accompanied confused immigrants to immigration offices, social
workers' offices, employment offices and health insurance offices.
Once settled and granted permanent visas, these new immigrants,
like Chon, set about opening the immigration door to their own
relatives and friends. Thus they added new links in the chain of
migration.
By 1965 there were approximately seventy Korean immigrants in
Canada; the community was centred in Toronto. The mission
sponsored students, students who became immigrants, mission
connected independent immigrants who had ventured to Canada on
visitor's visas and succeeded in settling, and a handful of other
individuals, largely friends and families of the pioneers,
constituted the population of this tiny Korean enclave at the
time.
Important though it was, however, the missionary connection was
not the only factor attracting Koreans to Canada. The 1960s saw
Canadian immigration regulations altered from a regional quota
system, which had restricted immigration from Asia, to an
individual merit system. The doors were now open for qualified
Koreans to enter Canada on immigrant visas.
In 1966 about one hundred Koreans had settled in the Toronto area,
but a year later the community had more than doubled in size. This
group comprised the single major settlement of Koreans in Canada
at the time. (4) Once the new immigrants succeeded in locating
themselves in Toronto, their first collective move was to organise
a church. Until that time, many Koreans attended Sunday services
in Canadian churches. Korean churches served a dual purpose. They
became both a place for worship and the centre of social and
ethnocultural life.
While the early settlers laid plans for their church, a former
Canadian missionary to Korea was actively pursuing plans to bring
these new immigrants into the United Church fold. Rev. W.A.
Burbidge harboured "a secret desire to see their numbers increase
and be prosperous in Canada.'' He encouraged the Board of Home
Missions of the United Church of Canada to take an interest in
these Koreans. "The numbers of Koreans coming to this country," he
explained, "make us think we should take a positive interest in
them.... We should do all we can to steer them to the United
Church. It is we who have spent time and effort on behalf of the
Presbyterian Church in Korea and would hope this will mean
something to the folk who come here." (5)
Koreans in Toronto soon began to gather at the home of former
missionary Mary Grierson where they were led in worship by a
Korean student studying at Emmanuel College. A week after Easter
1967, Rev. David Proctor's Cliffcrest United Church sponsored a
Korea Night for this group, and the first Sunday in May of the
same year Koreans were invited to the Manor Road United Church for
communion and a service in Korean. Rev. E.A. Nichol, a former
missionary to Korea, was minister at this church. (6)
This interaction among the Korean Christians and former
missionaries, stimulated by the support of the Home Missions Board
of the United Church of Canada, led to the organisation of the "Ad
Hoc Committee to Consider Ministry to Korean Christians in
Toronto-Hamilton Area" in March 1967. This committee was made up
of three groups: Korean Christians, former Korea missionaries and
representatives from the Home Missions Board. At its first
meeting, Ch'ung-lim Chon and Chae-pong Pak represented the Korean
Christians, W.A. Burbidge, E.A. Nichol and G.F. Bruce attended for
the missionaries, and the Home Missions Board was represented by
J.M. Boyd, E.M. Highfield, O. Howard and A.E. Mackenzie. The
planning of this committee resulted in the formation of the first
Korean congregation in the community. Its first Sunday service was
held on April 23, 1967, ministered by W. A. Burbidge at St. Luke's
United Church on Sherbourne Street. Sixty organising members
attended. The congregation, which started as the Toronto Korean
Church, was named the Toronto Korean United Church and became a
part of the United Church of Canada within two months of its
inception. Thus began the institutional life of the Korean
Canadian community. A year later, W.A. Burbidge, its first
minister, could report:
The first anniversary of the Toronto Korean United Church was celebrated on April 21st, with Dr. William Scott as preacher and an attendance at church worship of 109. The previous evening an anniversary party was held in St. Luke's church gymnasium with Dr. David Chung [Chong]- young man who grew up in United Church Mission in Korea and a distinguished scholar and leader-as speaker and an attendance of 125 persons.... There is no immigrant group I am sure that has as high an average educational standing as the Korean immigrants at this time. Recently I had baptisms, six families were involved. Every one of the fathers and mothers were graduates of some institution of higher learning above high school. We have doctors and dentists and Ph.D. in this congregation with scores of B.A. and B.Sc. Many are pursuing their studies or are planning to do so for higher degrees. We are dealing here with a very high calibre people -the cream of Korea. Our United Church of Canada is honoured to have a part in getting them settled and well settled in Canada. (7)
In recognition and appreciation of the former missionaries' help
in their initial settlement process, in the development of their
church and the community at large, members of the Toronto Korean
United Church sponsored a Korea Missionaries' Night in December
1967. A variety of entertainment was provided and citations
presented. Participating missionaries included: Rev. and Mrs. W.A.
Burbidge, Rev. and Mrs. D.J. Proctor, Rev. Proctor's mother, Rev.
and Mrs. E.A. Nichol, Mrs. Mary Grierson, Rev. and Mrs. William
Scott, Mr. and Mrs. G.F. Bruce, Rev. Elda Daniels Struthers, Miss
Ann Davison and Miss Frances Bonwick. On another occasion in 1979,
Mrs. Mary Grierson was cited by the same church. Affection for the
missionaries ran deep. When Rev. W.A. Burbidge died in Toronto in
1978 and Rev. William Scott in Brantford, Ontario in 1979, Korean
Christians mourned their passing. They had lost their "fathers in
faith."
The Toronto Korean United Church has since emerged as the centre
of the institutional life of the community. It continues both as a
community centre and as a church. It has sponsored an annual
public lecture series, Korean Caravan "Seoul House," and a Korean
language school. It established a Korean-language weekly
newspaper, the New Korea Times, which was in turn taken
over by one of its members, Ch'ung-lim Chon. This congregation
also published a monthly cultural and literary journal, Pioneer,
produced a weekly half-hour radio program of religion, news and
culture, called "Voice of Hope" and a television program, "Korean
Celebration." The church's fifty-member choir, directed by Dr.
Chae-hun Pak, matured into the Toronto Korean-Canadian Choir,
which has performed in various halls and auditoriums, including
Toronto's Massey Hall in 1982.
Many former and present members of this congregation-pioneers in
the community and with deep links to both former missionaries and
the United Church of Canada-advanced into prominent positions in
the intellectual, political, cultural and social life of the
community. As noted, former minister of the church David Chong, a
graduate of Emmanuel College, has been a professor at Ottawa' s
Carleton University since 1969 . The present minister, Sang-ch'ol
Yi, a graduate of Union College of Vancouver, has been a board
member of the Korean Canadian Association of Metropolitan Toronto,
editorial member of the weekly New Korea Times, chairman of the
Korean Human Rights Council of Ontario and vice president of the
Korean Christian Scholars Association in North America. Yi has
also distinguished himself in the hierarchy of the United Church
of Canada, where he has served as member of the executive of the
Division of World Outreach, member of the executive of the General
Council and chairman of the Task Force for Minority Ministry. The
present assistant minister, Ik-son Kim, a graduate of Pine Hill
Divinity College, Dalhousie University, is considered the foremost
Korean spokesman on matters of second-generation education.
Chae-jun Kim, former president of the United Church-supported
Hankuk Seminary and former moderator of the Presbyterian Church in
the Republic of Korea, with which Canadian missionaries are
associated, has also been a prominent member of the community. He
has been the editor and publisher of the monthly, theThird
Day, a Korean religious and cultural journal. Chae-rin Mun, an
Emmanuel College graduate, was the leader of the Thursday Evening
Prayer Meeting, a human rights group, and founder and first
general secretary of the Korean Senior Citizens' Association in
Toronto. Taek-kyun Chon was the president of the Korean Canadian
Association of Metropolitan Toronto and remains a community elder.
Ch'ang-yol Kim, formerly a mission sponsored student at McGill
University, founded and has been the long-time executive director
of the Korean YMCA of Toronto. Ch'ung-lim Chon, who graduated from
Yongsaeng Academy in Hamhung, has been the editor and publisher of
the weekly community newspaper, the New Korea Times. Ha-kyu
Pak and Hi-sop Kim, awarded Doctor of Theology degrees by Emmanuel
College and Knox College respectively, were prominent ministers in
the United Church's work in Canada. It would not be an
exaggeration to say that these and many other Korean community
leaders, all belonging to the same congregation, set the structure
and tone of Korean communal life in Canada. As of 1982, a dozen
Korean United Church congregations are operating in different
regions of Canada; half of them are located in the Toronto area.
Each performs a similar leadership role in its respective town or
city. (8)
In recognition and support of the leadership role of this
particular Christian Korean group, Canadian religious educational
institutions, through the intervention of Korea missionaries and
the United Church of Canada, have so far granted four honorary
doctorates in divinity to group members. Granting honorary degrees
is a time-honoured tradition of the United Church of Canada,
rewarding those loyal to the church. It is also a means of keeping
its influence alive in the Korean community. In 1958 Chae-jun Kim
was honoured by the Union Theological College in Vancouver,
British Columbia. Chae-rin Mun's and Sang-ch'ol Yi's degrees were
granted by Emmanuel College, Toronto in 1973 and 1979
respectively. All of these men have played a prominent role in the
Korean community in Canada. Kwan-sik Kim, a mission-sponsored
student at Knox College from 1922-24, was also honoured by
Emmanuel College in 1947. One cannot underestimate the importance
of these degrees. Within the Korean community they are not only
prized as a sign of recognition by the non-Korean community, but
are coveted for the prestige and influence they invest in the
award holder. In many respects they bestow a greater status than
those degrees earned through study. (9)
An image of Canada as "God's Country" remained a dominant theme in
the minds of the Korean Christians who chose to emigrate to
Canada. Through their experiences with Canadians, especially
Canadian missionaries, they developed a perception of the
missionaries' country, Canada, as "God's Country." Once uprooted
and alienated in their own land as refugees in South Korea, they
were prime candidates for emigration. When conditions allowed,
particularly with alterations in the power structure of South
Korean society and changes in Canadian immigration regulations,
they were already prepared to cross the Pacific and become
immigrants in Canada.
