ABSTRACT
Prior to the arrival of Protestant missionaries in the mid-1880s, a small body of Protestant Christians already existed inside the boundaries of the Kingdom of Choson. From the first third of the nineteenth century onwards, various attempts had been made to enter the 'Hermit Kingdom'. In 1832 Karl Friederich August Giitzlaff (1803-51) made an exploratory trip along the Manchurian and Korean west coasts. He seems to have made contact with some Catholics, and he did distribute copies of the Scriptures in Chinese. Robert Jermain Thomas (1839-66), taking the advice of Alexander Williamson (1829-90), who represented the National Bible Society of Scotland in North China, was aboard the American trading vessel the 'General Sherman' in September 1866 when it ventured up the Taedong River to p'yongyang. The recklessness of the captain led to the destruction of the ship and the death of all aboard including the young Revd Thomas. While dying, Thomas attempted to distribute copies of the Chinese Bible. Alexander Williamson himself attempted to discover something about the situation in Korea and in 1867 made a visit to the customs barrier with
Korea known then as the Corean Gate or the Kao-li Men. None of these attempts had any long-lasting impact on Korea.
