New Transnational Christian Partnerships and Shifting Power Dynamics in World Christianity during and after the Korean War: The Emergence of Korean Protestant Influence in the United States

In 1960, the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. held its one hundredth General Assembly in Jacksonville, Florida. A Korean minister, Duk Hwan La, traveled to the gathering as a representative of the Presbyterian Church in his homeland. He thanked the Americans for their mission work in Korea. As commissioners from the U.S. southern states celebrated denominational growth, La asked them to also remember the historic relationship between American and Korean Presbyterians. He prayed that the two groups would continue to “bind together the strong ties of friendship” in the future. 1 The choice of words was telling. La’s emphasis on friendship signaled an era in which the Americans and Koreans built partnerships marked by respect and reciprocity.