Charles Corfe
Charles John Corfe was the inaugural Anglican Bishop in Korea from 1889.Biography
Corfe was one of the four "Bible Clerks" educated as an undergraduate at All Souls College, Oxford. After graduating he had a brief spell teaching at St. Michael's College, Tenbury before being ordained in 1866. For the next 22 years he was a Royal Naval Chaplain.
In 1889 he was consecrated by Archbishop Edward White Benson as missionary bishop of Chosun in Westminster Abbey and was awarded an honorary DD on his appointment in Korea. In 1890, he established the Church of St Michael and All the Angels in Seoul and started three hospitals, two in Seoul and one in Jemulpo. Until 1891, he was also the bishop of Manchuria before the area was converted to the Chinese diocese of North China. In 1897, he baptized the first Anglicans and performed the ritual in Korean. On his retirement he published an account of his pioneering efforts entitled The Anglican Church in Corea.
