Welsh Journals

century sources, a Ph.D dissertation has been drawn to my attention. It is entitled 'Western and Asian Portrayals of Robert Jermain Thomas (1839-1866), Pioneer Protestant Missionary to Korea A Historical Study of an East-West Encounter Through his Mission' and is written by Moo Song Goh. This is a thorough account of the events leading up to Thomas's death, the manner of his death and the effects of his death on political developments in Korea and beyond and the lasting influence that his demise had on Christian missionary thinking in Korea. The work reflects extensive research in Korean (including North Korean), American and United Kingdom sources, including both primary and secondary, and is probably the most exhaustive attempt at unravelling the events surrounding the assassination of Thomas. Great attention is given to the commercial and political tensions of the time in that part of the world. It is a balanced piece of historical writing and although the author writes from a Christian viewpoint he is at pains to be objective. Western and Korean Christians have made a powerful martyr figure of Thomas but a new generation of Korean historians has looked more critically at the events and are in the process of reassessing his significance. Others, especially the Marxist scholars of North Korea, have been at pains to emphasize his role as an early representative of Western Imperialism. But this has meant that Robert Jermain Thomas's name has become central to the question of Korean identity. I have quoted extensively from Dr Goh's thesis. What follows attempts to summarize his findings. He corrects, with a copy of his birth certificate, the mistaken view that Robert Jermain Thomas was born in 1840 and finds that his date of birth was 7 September, 1839. He attended Llandovery College soon after it opened, for three years between 1852 and 1855 (It is plausible to suggest given that there was probably a good relationship between Robert Thomas, senior, and the Lady of Llanofer, Augusta Hall, whose personal estate bordered the chapel and recalling that her ladyship was one of the founders of Llandovery College in 1847 that she encouraged the bright and promising child to become one of its earlier students). He proved to be an exceptional student of languages whilst at the college and this was to be one of the hallmarks of his life subsequently. Following this he spent twelve months as assistant master at Alfred Newth's school in Oundle, Northamptonshire, before matriculating in the Principal Academy (a preparatory college) in London. He then returned home and there preached his first sermon before proceeding to New College, London where he was to remain for six years. Dr Goh comes to the conclusion that he was an erratic but gifted student who did not sit easily under college discipline. He was strong willed but equally he had a keen sense of duty towards the call that he felt he had received earlier to serve as a missionary in China. He again exemplified great linguistic abilities: a college friend wrote, 'I remember he had a high reputation for the acquisition of foreign languages'. But there was a recklessness about him that got him branded as a 'trouble maker' and he was certainly impetuous by nature, shown by his request to