This fundraising film from 1956 was made by the Missions and Methodist Committee for Overseas Relief (MCOR) to update donors and prospective donors on how funds were contributing to the rebuilding of South Korea and the spread of the Christian faith after the Korean War. Narrated by Bishop Richard C. Raines, the film takes the viewer around post-war South Korea detailing Korean culture, the hardships faced by Koreans, and the spread of Christianity in the country. The film was shot by Vernon Riddle, written by Bruce Williams and produced by John Clayton.

First Republic of Korea’s flag featuring Taegeukgi (0:44). Pedestrians walking busy street (0:49). Church tower with scaffolding (0:54). Men and women working construction site (1:07). City street (1:12). Rural village (1:15). Children playing in front of Hanok style building (1:26). US troops and Bishop Raines arriving on tarmac, US Air Force troop carrier (C-119 Flying Boxcar) in background (1:30). Car driving rural country road, narration begins (1:55). Mist from the Yellow Sea overtaking city scene and temple building (2:33). Gathering straw and highlighting its various uses (2:53). Villagers enjoying respite from labor (4:01). Highlighting Korean women and their hard work (4:40). Two women exemplify Dadeumi technique of ironing laundry (5:17). Ox-cart and automobiles share road (5:29). Buddhist shrine (5:53). Scenes from coastal port, importance of coastal ports for cultural and industrial development linking Empire to Japan and Western Powers (6:15). Destroyed T-34 tank highlighting North Korea invading South Korea (7:13). Korean soldiers and destruction caused by conflict (7:30). Women carrying supplies on their heads, refugee crisis (7:56). People trying to rebuild damaged homes and building makeshift ones (8:23). Encampment of shanties (9:10). Montage of tough living conditions and Koreans struggling in post-war time (9:19). Children of shanty town (9:42). War widows’ home program in Taejon (Daejeon) and Seoul built under MCOR supervision (10:43). Woman working with Hitachi sewing machine, sewing and weaving workshops set up to help widows (11:05). Woodcarving workshop to make prosthetics for war amputees at Taejon Amputee Center (11:56). Prosthetic legs designed specifically for rice farmers (12:35). Prosthetic fitting (12:45). Amputees using their prosthetics at the center (13:18). Scenes of doctors, nurses, medical technicians, and patients at Severance Hospital and Medical Center in Seoul (13:48). Construction of hospital addition gifted by the American Eighth Army (15:01). Facilities of Chosun Christian College (now Yonsei University) (15:19). Ewha Women’s University campus (16:03). Dedication ceremony of new auditorium, university president Helen Kim as interpreter (16:16). Construction of auditorium (16:51). Church and children’s Wesley club (17:36). Pai Chai School in Seoul (18:11). Bishop Raines meeting with President Syngman Rhee in his home (18:28). Children at Chennai Day Nursery school (19:24). Methodist Theological Seminary (Methodist Theological University) in Seoul (20:25). Construction of new Methodist churches across the country and the hard work undertaken by Koreans to get them built (20:55). Tent church along the 38th Parallel (23:18). Radio broadcast at HLKY station also known as Seoul Christian Radio (23:46). Scenes from the broadcasting studio (23:57). Korean Methodist Church HQ led by Bishop H. J. Liu in Seoul (24:11). Bishop Liu at his desk (24:19). Farm lands and plight of rural parishioners during war (24:49). Farm harvest (25:03). MCOR cow distribution program, introduction of dairy cows (25:22). Bishop Raines saying goodbye to Korean people to return to America (26:15). Montage of faces of everyday people (27:09).

MCOR, which is known today as The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), was originally founded as a relief agency at the 1940 General Conference of the Methodist Church in response to World War II’s devastating effects around the world.

The Eighth Army is a U.S. field army which is the commanding formation of all United States Army forces in South Korea.

President Syngman Rhee served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. He was educated in the United States receiving his BA from George Washington University, his MA from Harvard, and PHD from Princeton.

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com