Frank Schofield
Frank William Schofield was a British-born Canadian veterinarian, missionary, and Korean independence activist. He was also known by his Korean name Seok Ho-pil.
In 1916, Schofield moved to Korea as a Presbyterian missionary and lecturer at Severance Medical School. Korea was then under Japanese rule, and Schofield became known for openly criticizing Japan's repressive policies. In 1919, he became one of the only foreigners informed in advance of the March First Movement protests, now considered a seminal event in Korean history. Schofield photographed and documented the protests, and spread news of their violent suppression to the international press. His work is now considered historically significant, with his photos now displayed in textbooks and museums in South Korea. In 1920, he was pressured to leave Korea and returned to Canada. There, he continued donating to Korea and advocating for its independence.
Schofield returned to his alma mater, Ontario Veterinary College, where he would lecture and research until his retirement in 1955. He was then invited to return to South Korea by its president Syngman Rhee, and was made a professor at the veterinary college of Seoul National University. He continued being politically active; he publicly criticized the military dictatorships of Rhee and Park Chung Hee and advocated for a number of reforms in Korea. He was charitable, and donated much of his money to orphanages and scholarships. Among his beneficiaries and mentees was the later Prime Minister of South Korea Chung Un-chan.
Schofield has since become beloved in South Korea. He has been described as "an eternal Korean", and received a number of awards from the country. He was the first non-Korean to be buried in Seoul National Cemetery. He is also remembered for his contributions to veterinary and biological research.
Early life and education
Frank William Schofield was born on 15 March 1889 in Warwickshire, England, United Kingdom. He was the youngest of four siblings. His mother died when he was young, and his father remarried. Schofield's family has been described as lower middle-class. Schofield hoped to move to Canada, which he saw as a land of opportunity, and saved money by working as a farm laborer in order to move there after graduating from high school.In 1907, Schofield moved by himself to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He again worked as a farm laborer while there. In fall of that year, he was admitted to the Ontario Veterinary College. During his schooling, Schofield experienced not only financial difficulties, but also contracted polio, which left one of each of his legs and arms paralyzed. He completed his Bachelor of
Veterinary Science degree in 1910 and his Doctor of Veterinary Science degree in 1911. His thesis was entitled "The bacteriological analysis of milk being sold in Toronto". In 1912, he joined the faculty of his alma mater. In 1913, he married Alice, a piano student.
Korea
In November 1916, Schofield and his wife arrived in Korea as missionaries of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Schofield had been invited to go by the head of Severance Medical School, Oliver R. Avison, and became an instructor at that school. At the time, Korea was under Japanese occupation, and Korean activities and culture were subject to repression.Schofield worked to learn the Korean language upon his arrival, and by his second year was able to give lectures in the language. He adopted a Korean name: "Seok Ho-pil". The name's pronunciation resembles that of his surname. The Hanja characters in his name each have meaning; seok means stone, ho means tiger, and pil refers to assisting those in need.
Schofield has been described as a skillful and intelligent orator and researcher, and also as opinionated, outspoken, and intimidating. During his lectures, he occasionally made comments such as "no nation in the world can retain their colonies forever". He gained the trust of Korean independence activists.
March First Movement
Around early 1919, a series of events in Korea caused significant societal discontent against colonial rule. From 25 to 27 February, a series of secret meetings were held in Seoul by Korean independence activists, during which they produced a Korean Declaration of Independence and planned mass peaceful protests against Japan for 1 March. These protests persisted for months, and are now considered in South Korea to be a landmark event in Korean history.On 28 February, Schofield became one of the only foreigners to be informed of the activists' plans in advance. One of his students, Yi Gap-seong, gave him copies of the declaration and asked him to distribute them amongst his colleagues at the medical school and to foreign governments. Schofield, who owned a camera, was also asked to photograph the protests. Schofield warned Yi against conducting the protests. Yi replied "You are an Englishmen, so think like an imperialist, but we trust you". Schofield relented and helped them.
Schofield observed the protests and photographed them surreptitiously. His photos are now considered historically significant; they were republished in international newspapers, referred to by foreign governments when conducting investigations into the protests, and are now shown in South Korean museums and textbooks. Schofield also witnessed patients at the hospital arriving with injuries from the protests, and documented these sights. He visited Seodaemun Prison and met Yu Gwan-sun, who is now remembered as a martyr and symbol of the movement.
Schofield also personally intervened in a number of arrests. He would falsely claim the arrested person was his "maid" or "houseboy", and demand they be released lest the British Consulate become involved.
Documenting the Jeamni massacre
On 15 April, amidst an intense Japanese raid on the vicinity of Suwon and Anseong that left hundreds of homes burned down and dozens dead, the Jeamni massacre occurred. During this event, Japanese soldiers lured 20 to 30 Korean Christians into a church, opened fire on them, then burned the church down to destroy the bodies. Schofield learned of the massacre on 17 April, and departed to visit its location the following day. In spite of his disabled arm and leg, he rode a bicycle for parts of the journey through the countryside.He photographed the ruins of the church and other buildings. He conducted interviews with witnesses, and confronted Japanese authorities at the scene.
Publicizing information about the protests
Schofield compiled his findings into reports, including "The Massacre of Chai-Amm-ni" and "Report of the Su-chon Atrocities", and submitted them for publication in the international press. He also published articles in Korea during this time. An article was published in the colonial government–backed English-language newspaper The Seoul Press that favorably described conditions in Seodaemun Prison, which was notorious for mistreating its prisoners, as like those in a health resort. Schofield penned an anonymous response article that was published in the paper, in which he mocked the previous article and described in detail the methods of torture employed at the prison.That summer, Schofield and missionary Bishop Welch had a contentious meeting with Japanese politicians, among whom were the Japanese colonial governor Saitō Makoto. Schofield challenged them directly at the meeting. Afterwards, he penned response articles to Japanese statements about the protests, in which he mocked their efforts to cover up or downplay them, and described in detail the violence that Japanese authorities had perpetrated.
In August, Schofield traveled to Japan on behalf of the missionaries in Korea. He met with Prime Minister Hara Takashi and other prominent Japanese politicians, advocated for further autonomy for Korea, and asked them to take action to stop the violent suppression of the protests. He gave a public lecture to hundreds of foreign missionaries, in which he openly criticized Japan. As Japan enacted several reforms that eased restrictions on Korea, Schofield published criticisms that described the reforms as superficial appeasement efforts.
Expulsion
In December, Governor-General Saitō described Schofield as an "arch agitator" and "a most dangerous man, assiduously carrying on the independence agitation in Korea". The British consulate agreed with Japan's assessment, and issued Schofield a warning to cease his activism, which he rebuffed. During this period, Schofield began to draw comparisons between Japan's colonization of Korea and British rule in Ireland and India "as a calculated challenge to the British Foreign Office":The colonial government began attempting to pressure Schofield into leaving Korea. His wife's health was used as a pretext for his recall to Canada; while the recall was conducted by the Presbyterian Church in Canada, it has been described as an "apparent muzzling" effort to prevent him from damaging their relationship with Japan. Upon the conclusion of Schofield's contract in March 1920, he was made to leave Korea. During his return trip via Japan and after his return, he continued submitting articles for publication to the Korean, Japanese, and international press.
Schofield appealed his recall until 1923. In 1921, he wrote to the Presbyterian Church in Canada: "As to my getting into politics in Korea when I return, there is little danger. However should the Japanese do something very bad... then I might also do something bad, but there need be little fear on this account". His appeal was debated for several years; the church feared that his political activism would damage their relationship with Japan, and was also experiencing financial difficulties. Veterinarians Barbara Legault and John F. Prescott argue that Schofield himself ultimately declined to return to Korea, in consideration of his wife's health.
Schofield visited Korea again in summer of 1926. He submitted a number of articles to the Korean newspaper The Dong-A Ilbo during and after his trip. In a 1931 letter, he wrote that he had come to identify himself as a Korean, and felt that Korea was his homeland. He gave a number of recommendations to the Korean people to improve their situation.