Elisabeth Johanna Shepping (September 26, 1880 – June 23, 1934) was a German-born American nurse and missionary who served in South Korea for 22 years. Shepping was born in a Roman Catholic family but later converted to Protestantism after emigrating to America and becoming a nurse. Shepping was named one of the "Top 7 Greatest Missionary" by the Department of Foreign Missions of the Southern Presbyterian Church and described by the former Minister of Health and Welfare as the "Pioneer of [the] Korean feminist movement". Shepping founder the Neel Bible School which became the Hanil University and Presbyterian Theological Seminary. She also founded the E-il school for women.

Shepping made a significant, diverse impact on the Korean communities she served, ranging from establishing and teaching schools, building churches, working as a nurse, translating nursing textbooks and publishing her own works, and rescuing hundreds of girls from prostitution. While some missionaries lived lavish lives separate from the underserved communities, Shepping did the opposite. She actively sought to become a member of the Korean communities she served. She did so by communicating with others only in Korean, living with poor widows while raising orphans, and changing her name to Korean: Seo Seo-pyeong.

Early life 
Elisabeth Shepping was born into a Roman Catholic family in Germany on September 26, 1880. When she was a year old, her father was killed and her mother emigrated to the U.S., leaving Shepping with her grandmother to raise her. Her grandmother died when Shepping was nine years old, so Shepping emigrated alone to New York to meet her mother and finish schooling. At nineteen years old, Shepping obtained her U.S. citizenship and at twenty-one years old, she became an official nurse. While working as a head nurse on night shift at New York Jewish Hospital, Shepping took religious-related coursework during the day at the Biblical Teacher Training School (currently known as the New York Theology School). Shepping met Wilbert Webster White, the founder and former president of this school. White taught Shepping how to interpret the Bible, and she carried this knowledge into her missionary work. This led her to explore nursing studies, theology studies, and education studies, which inspired her to become a missionary. Shepping decided to dedicate her life to a life of self-sacrifice. She was exposed to many different movements throughout her life, such as the Student Volunteer Movement, the social gospel movement, and ecumenism which promoted worldwide Christian unity. Shepping was also introduced to Protestantism by one of her nurse colleagues. She eventually converted from Roman Catholic to Protestant, which led her mother to disown her.

Mission

Calling
As a nurse, Shepping combined her knowledge in nursing, theology, and education as a missionary who sought to treat the poor and neglected. During seminary, she heard that there was an urgent need for nurses in Korean hospitals. This eventually led to her decision to join a Southern Presbyterian Church mission trip to Joseon when she was 32 years old. During this time, Korea was unstable because the Empire of Japan had taken over Korea two years earlier in 1910. The government and most of society left the weak even more neglected. As a result, an increased number of beggars, lepers, and sick patients died of hunger and disease. Shepping wanted to help improve their lives. In 1912 at 32 years old, after traveling with the mission trip, Shepping dedicated the rest of her life to service there.

Nursing 
From 1912-1934, Shepping worked in many provinces in Korea ranging from Gwanju, Gunsan, Busan, and Seoul. In particular, Shepping made an effort to help the poor and neglected: "women, widows, orphans, lepers, etc."  Shepping placed most priority on her nursing work. After arriving in Korea, she worked in Jejungwon, Guam Jesus Hospital, Severance Hospital, and other hospitals in Korea. As a nurse, she was also in charge of training and supervising the nurses. Shepping published and translated many nursing textbooks to promote health and education while in Korea. Some of the nursing textbooks that she wrote are translated to Nursing Textbook, Practice Nursing Studies, Nursing Guideline, Simple Hygiene Law She is known as the founder of the Chosun Nurses Association in 1923 which became the Korean Nurses Association. She served as pressident for 10 years and successfully applied for KNA to become part of the International Council of Nurses.

Education 
On top of nursing, Shepping highly valued education, so she established schools in South Korea. For instance, Shepping established the first women bible school in Korea (the Neel Bible School) which at one point educated 30,000-40,000 women every year. This school became later known as Hanil University and Presbyterian Theological Seminary, which still runs today. From its establishment to her death, Shepping personally taught 5–6 subjects at this school. Some of the topics that she covered related to reading, writing, hymnody, and biblical education as well as medicine and nursing to prevent disease from spreading throughout the community. While promoting education, Shepping's main commitment was towards educating women in Christianity to become effective Bible women. Additionally, Shepping established a lady's school called E-il, where women were taught how to support themselves and make a living. Shepping made sure that the school was self-sustaining by raising silkworms and educating the women on how to sew. During the day, Shepping was a teacher but at night, she held evangelistic events and trained women to become evangelists. Since Korean women were usually addressed based on their family members or village, Shepping gave them Christian names. By doing so, the women more strongly identified as Christian and empowered them to spread the Bible.

Cultural assimilation 
Unlike many other missionaries, Shepping actively tried to assimilate to Korean culture and identified herself with the Korean people. Shepping did not consider herself superior to the communities she served, and this is evidenced by the way she lived her day-to-day life. She dressed in traditional Korean clothes, ate Korean food, spoke Korean fluently, and followed Korean customs, cultures, and beliefs. There were people who called Shepping "a foreigner who is more Korean than Koreans". Shepping had a very modest life in Korea; she lived with 34 poor widows, adopted 13 daughters, only ate soybean soup & barley food, and lived in a mud house with a tin plate roof. This is contrary to missionaries who lived lavishly in mansions separate from the communities they served. Additionally, Shepping changed her name to Seo Seo-Pyoung and communicated with others only in Korean even when the Japanese established a policy to prohibit speaking Korean. Shepping served in Korea for 22 years until her death, and she died from malnutrition. Her last words were to use her body for dissection at the Severance Hospital.

Legacy 
Shepping was appointed as the "Top 7 Greatest Missionary" by the Department of Foreign Missions of the Southern Presbyterian Church. She was known for spearheading a crusade against smoking, alcohol, and prostitution in Gwangju. Additionally, Shepping made a significant impact on the women who attended the schools she established such as the Neel School (previously mentioned). During this time, a majority of Korean women were illiterate and were unaware of how the economy functioned. Women's education was restricted, and Shepping wanted to bridge this gap by providing Korean women with the opportunity to learn and grow. The Neel School became known for its role in women's education in its province. Many of the women who graduated from here were a part of the vanguard of enlightenment movement and new women's movement. Shepping was considered a selfless pioneer of women's enlightenment by promoting women's education and literacy. Kim Moim, a former Minister of Health and Welfare, stated that Shepping was a, "Pioneer of Korean feminist movement and a true descendant of Nightingale, the disciple of love". In 2017, a Christian documentary depicting her life of service was released, entitled 서서평, 천천히 평온하게 (Seo-Seo Pyeong, Slowly and Peacefully).

References

American people of German descent
American nurses
American missionaries
Medical missionaries
Presbyterian missionaries in Korea
1880 births
1934 deaths
서서평(徐舒平, 1880년 9월 26일 ~ 1934년 6월 26일)은 독일 출신의 미국 선교사이다. 본명은 엘리자베스 요한나 셰핑(Elisabeth Johanna Shepping 또는 Johanna Elisabeth Schepping)이다. 셰핑(Schepping)은 이디시아어로 샘에서 무엇을 끌어내다(Shep), 그로부터 큰 기쁨을 얻고 매우 자랑스럽게 여긴다는 뜻이다.

생애

어린 시절 
1880년 9월 26일 독일 비스바덴 프랑켄 거리(Frankenstrase) 정원 막사(Gartenhause)에서 태어났다. 어머니는 안나 셰핑(Anna Schepping, 혼인명 Schepping Schneider)이다. 3세일 때 어머니가 미국 뉴욕으로 홀로 이민가고, 조부모에게 맡겨진다. 할아버지는 안드레아스 셰핑(Andreas Schepping), 할머니는 엘리자베스 화버(Elisabeth Faber 혼인명 Elisabeth Schepping)이다.

9세에 할머니를 잃고, 주소가 적힌 쪽지 한 장을 들고 엄마를 찾아 미국으로 떠난다. 가톨릭 미션 스쿨에서 중고등학교를 마치고, 성마가병원 간호전문학교를 졸업한다. 뉴욕시립병원 실습하던 중 동료 간호사를 따라 장로교회 예배에 참석하고 개신교로의 전향을 결심한다. 유대인 요양소, 이탈리아 이민자 수용소 등에서 봉사활동을 하였으며 간호전문학교 졸업후 브루클린주 이시병원에서 근무한다.

1904년 뉴욕 성서교사훈련학교(Bible Teacher Training School)의 여행자를 돕는 선교회(Traveler's Aid Missionary)에서 1년 동안 봉사하였다. 1911년 졸업 이후 동료 선교사에게서 조선에 환자가 제대로 치료를 받지 못하고 길에 버려질 정도라서 의료 봉사가 절실하다는 말을 듣고, 한국 선교를 지원한다. 1912년, 미국 남장로교 해외선교부 모집에 지원하여 간호선교사로 파송을 받는다.

어머니의 신앙인 가톨릭을 따르지 않고 개신교로 개종했기 때문에 집에서 쫓겨났다. 3세 때, 10대 때, 마지막으로 40대에 어머니에게 모두 세 차례 버림당한다. 어린 시절이 불우했지만 바람, 햇살, 숲과 함께 자랐다고 고백했다. 빗속에서 춤추는 것을 좋아했다.

선교사 생활 
1912년 2월 20일 한국으로 파송된다. 여객선 S.S.Korea호를 타고 20여 일 여행 끝에 한국에 도착한다. 광주선교부 제중원(원장 우월순)의 간호사로서 병원과 주일학교를 돕는다. 한국어를 배우고, 옥양목 저고리와 검정 통치마를 입었으며, 남자 검정 고무신을 신고, 된장국을 좋아했다. 온전한 조선인이 되고자 했고, 평생 독신으로 살며, 미국으로 돌아갈 생각을 하지 않았다. 평생 가족처럼 지낸 입양아로 박해라, 문안식, 문천식이 있다.

32세인 1912년부터 1934년 54세로 소천하기까지 22년 동안 일제점령기에 의료혜택을 받지 못했던 광주의 궁핍한 지역을 중심으로 제주와 추자도 등에서 간호선교사로 활동하였다. 미혼모, 고아, 한센인, 노숙인 등 가난하고 병약한 많은 사람을 보살폈다. ‘나환자의 어머니’라 불릴 정도였다. 임금 대부분을 빈민과 병자, 여성을 위해 사용했다. 입양하여 키운 고아가 14명, 오갈 곳 없는 과부를 가족처럼 품어 집에서 같이 지낸 사람이 38명이다.

광주 양림동에서는 여성의 자립을 위해 양잠업을 지도했다. 뽕나무를 더 심고 시설을 세우기 위해 미국에 기금을 요청했다. 제주에서는 여성의 자립을 위해 고사리 채취를 도왔다. 임종 때에는 자신의 시신을 의학용으로 기부하였다. 장례에 자신의 세운 이일학교의 학생이 운구 행렬을 이루고 그 뒤로 수많은 여성이 소복을 입고 뒤따랐다. 광주 최초의 시민사회장이었다고 기록하고 있다.

관련 작품

영화 
 《서서평, 천천히 평온하게》 2017년 | 다큐멘터리 | 2017.04.26 개봉 | 78분 | 전체 관람가 | 감독 홍주연 | 출연 하정우, 윤안나, 안은새, 정혜윤

책 
 《조선의 작은 예수 서서평(천천히 평온하게)》 백춘성 저
 《조선을 섬긴 행복 (서서평의 사랑과 인생)》 양창삼 저
 《그대 행복한가요? (행복을 잃고 살아가는 바보들에게 주는 서서평의 편지)》 (양국주 저
 《조선을 섬긴 행복 (서서평의 사랑과 인생)》 양창삼(대학교수) 저
 《천국에서 만납시다 (선교사 서서평 일대기)》 백춘성 저 | 대한간호협회
 《목포 기독교 이야기 (목포 기독교 120년사 초기)》 김양호 저
 《바보야 성공이 아니라 섬김이야 (엘리제 쉐핑 이야기)》 양국주 저
 《더러는 옥토에 떨어지는 눈물이고저》 임형태 저
 《행복한 만남 (믿음의 다음 세대를 세우고자 하는 꿈과 비전)》 김호진 저
 《자작나무 (김상배 세번째 시집)》 김상배 저
 《생명봉사적 통전선교》 임희모 저
 《참으로 해방된 평신도》 폴 스티븐스 저
 《본향을 떠나 약속의 땅으로》 한일장신대학교 정년퇴임기념논문집 발간위원회 저
 《시온의 빛고을 광주》 백춘성 저
 《빛과 소금(2017년 4월호)》 두란노 편집부 저
 《광주 1백년 1 (개화기 이후 광주의 삶과 풍속)》 박선홍 저
 《호남사람 이야기 (우리가 꼭 알아야 할 역사인물 150)》 남성숙 저

1880년 출생
1934년 사망
비스바덴 출신
미국의 기독교 선교사
한국에서 활동한 기독교 선교사
독일계 미국인
미국의 간호사