- In Jae Lee was born on January 4, 1906 in Mil-yang, South Korea, as the oldest son of ten siblings in a farmer’s
family.
- At age five he learned Chinese characters from his grandfather who also taught him about his royal lineage
(belonging to Prince Ho Ryung, the brother of King Sae Jong who ruled between 1418 and 1450).
- He enjoyed and excelled in learning the history of China and Korea.
- In 1914, at age 8, he enrolled in a suh-dang, a Chinese style private tutoring school. He read and excelled in
the classics of Confucianism, Taoism, and in Chinese history.
- As an oldest son however he had to help his family farm and thus had to stop attending suh-dang (private
tutoring school) as "the new [Western] knowledge” (shin haak moon) was entering Korea.
- In 1922, at age sixteen, he tried to enroll in the elementary school, the only western style school in the area
administered by a Japanese principal, to learn "the new knowledge” (shin haak moon). Due to his age, he was
denied the admission.
- In 1923, at age seventeen, he enrolled in a city run academy and matriculated the six-year program within a
year and half.
- In 1924, at age eighteen, he enrolled in Mil-yang Agricultural Middle School (nong jam haak kyo). In 1926, he
graduated in the first graduating class.
- In 1924, he attended Mil-yang Masan Church (founded in 1896) for the first time and was soon baptized. He
was attracted by the elder Park Soo-min’s preaching and thought that the teachings of Jesus was comparable, if
not superior, to the Confucius teachings. On the first Sunday of his attendance, Park Soo-min gave him a warn
out Bible with the missing cover leather, knowing that In Jae was a reputed Confucius scholar who can read. In
Jae was fascinated by the teachings and stories in the Bible and started studying and attending the church in
earnest.
- In 1926, at age twenty, he obtained a job as the township secretary (myun suh gi).
- In 1930, at age twenty four, he became the first anointed deacon in Mil-yang Masan Church.
- In 1935, the Japanese government decreed the observance of Shinto worship in all schools and public
institutions.
- In 1938, at age thirty three, In Jae was forced to decide: to observe the Shinto worship and keep his township
secretary job, with the assured prospect of being promoted to become the township commissioner within the
next two years (after 15 years of service); or to refuse the Shinto worship and as a result lose his job and
jeopardize his career prospect forever. (He supported his wife, his three children; and as the eldest son he was
somewhat responsible for his ten siblings as well.) He chose to oppose the Shinto decree and decided to
devote the rest of his life to the ministry of the Gospel. The decision was a turning point in his life, as it was for
many other Christians in the history of Korean church.
- In April 1938, he enrolled in Pyung Yang Theological Seminary, the only seminary in Korea at the time, founded
by an American missionary, Samuel Moffett.
- In September 1938, Chosen Presbyterian Synod, under the Japanese pressure, adopted the Shinto edict and
decided to participate in the Shinto worship as the church as a whole.
- In opposition to the Shinto edict, Pyung Yang Theological Seminary was forced to close in December 1938, after
In Jae’s first semester there.
- The seminarian In Jae and other Christians, under the leadership of Rev. Joo, Ghee Chul and Rev. Han, Sang
Dong, began their active opposition campaign against Shinto worship. They believed that Shinto worship was in
violation of the first three Commandments. Additionally, In Jae and others personally believed that Shinto
worship was an act of defaming God’s name and honor.
- On May 13, 1940, In Jae and several others colleagues were arrested for their opposition to Shinto worship and
were imprisoned in Pyung Yang police jail. He and others endured malnutrition and inhumane conditions of the
prison. In Jae was not tortured as few other colleagues were. Some were released due to sickness; a few died
in the prison due to malnutrition and illness.
- On August 17, 1945, after five year and four moths of imprisonment, he was finally released along with several
other colleagues (photo) amidst the awaiting fellow Christians and amidst the nationwide celebration of the
Korean Independence (after the thirty six years of Japanese occupation).
- In 1947, he completed his seminary training and graduated Korea Theological Seminary (established in 1946) in
Pusan as one of the three first graduating class members (along with Cho, Soo Hwan and Hwang, Chol To).
- On March 6, 1951 In Jae was anointed a pastor along with six other colleagues.
- Thereafter he founded and pastured some ten churches throughout South Korea before emigrating to America
in 1974 at age sixty eight. (photo)
- On February 8, 1978, he was elected the first President of Korean-American Presbyterian Church Synod in
Philadelphia.
- In America he continued to found and pastor churches, some five churches in total in Chicago, New Jersey, Erie
(PA), Philadelphia, and Denver, until his death in early Sunday morning on April 30, 2000 at age ninety four in
Philadelphia.
- Till his death, Rev. In Jae Lee remained a scholar who loved studying the Bible and a preacher who loved to
proclaim the Gospel. He was, as one of his imprisoned colleagues described, "gentle and meek" but was also a
man of principles. The Shinto worship was to him a clear violation of God's Law and Christian conscience.
However, he did not think much of his courageous act of Shinto opposition, even though it almost cost his life.
He thought that as a Christian anyone could have done what he did, as he states in one of his sermons: “We
could all courageously give up our life for Christ one day when the opportunity presents itself and as result
obtain the glory of martyrdom. But the greater glory lies in dying with Christ everyday” (The Visitors from
Heaven, 176).
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