Shoghi Effendi's monumental world-embracing spiritual crusade, commencing in
1953, was destined to take the Bahá'í Faith to all the remaining
countries and island sovereignties which the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh
had not yet reached. The Ten Year Crusade, as it was called, ended in success
and coincided with the first World Congress in London in 1963. During the Ten
Year Crusade the Guardian assigned certain areas of the world to the
then-existing National Spiritual Assemblies. The Assemblies were to supply the
areas with pioneers and to give whatever assistance was needed to establish the
Faith.
Korea was assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'is of
the United States as a consolidation goal. In 1953 Korea already had some
resident Bahá'ís but the Faith was a long way from being firmly
established. The first resident Bahá'ís in that difficult
post-war period were young men in the United States Armed Forces. Due to the
dedication and determination of those young men, who were praised by the
Guardian, the Faith became established with Koreans declaring their belief in
Bahá'u'lláh.
The title of this book is taken from words written by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in a
Tablet to Miss Agnes Alexander shortly before His passing. He hoped that "in
Korea thou wilt raise the banner of the Greatest Guidance."
We must express our deep appreciation to Hand of the Cause Miss Agnes B.
Alexander for her carefully preserved documents, papers, letters, etc. Much of
the material in this book came directly from her collection, which is held in
the National Bahá'í Archives of Japan. Miss Alexander, as an
Auxiliary Board Member from April 1954 to March 1957, and after that as a Hand
of the Cause, was in touch with the pioneers in Korea, some of whom sent
detailed reports. She also visited Korea several times in the 1920s and
1950s.
The transliteration of Korean names was a cause of slight difficulty. Rather
than attempt to follow a uniform transliteration, the compiler has written the
names as they appeared in letters, reports, photographs, etc., and as the
individuals themselves wrote their names, with preference for the latter way,
though a few inconsistencies remain.
Barbara R. Sims
Tokyo, Japan, 1996
Introduction
Korea was under Japanese rule from 1910 to 1945. In the aftermath of World War
II, Korea was divided into northern and southern political and military zones.
In 1947 South Korea held a national election and in 1948 the Republic of Korea
was formed. It is in South Korea that the Faith has flourished.
In 1960 the population of South Korea numbered nearly 25 million. By 1970 it
had climbed to about 31.5 million. In 1990 the population was 42 million. The
land area, including off-shore islands, comprises about 99,000 square
kilometers.
Although the influence of Chinese civilization has been great over many
centuries, Korea has a distinct language, script, and culture. Among the major
religions, Buddhism is followed by about 20% of the population and Christianity
by about 20%.
