Incheon Christian Social Welfare Center인천기독교사회복지관(여선교사합숙소)

About

This building was once the lodging house for women missionaries of the Methodist Church. Full-scale Christian missionary work in Korea began in 1885, when Underwood of the Northern Presbyterian Church and the Appenzellers of the Northern Methodist Church arrived through Jemulpo Port. Missionaries who came afterward needed a place to stay, and so this women missionaries' lodging house was completed in 1894. Its construction was led by Reverend Jones of Naeri Church, who was appointed to Incheon in 1892. In the late 19th century, it was used as a lodging house by women missionaries sent by the American Northern Methodist Church, and also served as a summer retreat for women missionaries based in Seoul and Pyongyang. The building has two floors above ground and one basement level, with a floor area of 142 pyeong. A lodging house for male missionaries was built next to it, and another building was used as Appenzeller's residence, among other purposes. The site of the male missionaries' lodging is now occupied by the Incheon Tax Office. Although the exterior is simple, the roof structure is distinctive, and the walls of red brick laid with lime mortar follow the early modern Northern European Renaissance style. It also stands out for its attempt to blend in traditional elements, such as yongja-sal lattice windows used in Joseon-era seowon (Confucian academies) and temple monks' quarters, with diagonal lattice patterns woven along the edges. Changyeong Church acquired the building in 2003, and Changyeong Methodist Church has managed it ever since.