Introduction

World War I, which raged from July 1914 until November 1918, brought fear to the nations of the world and left tens of millions of people dead and wounded. The Great War (as it came to be known) began in Europe as a conflict between Austria and Serbia, but gradually spread to the surrounding nations and ultimately became a global confrontation, the effects of which no continent escaped. It could thus be distinguished from any previous conflict. As a result of the First World War, the existing global order collapsed and the world was reorganized so as to guarantee the interests of the victorious powers. From a religious perspective, the defeat of Turkey, a leading nation among the Islamic powers, signified the removal of a major impediment to the emergence of Christianity as the central world power. At the same time, the war was an eschatological event portending the end of human history as we have known it.

As these historical events were unfolding, one race of people inhabiting the easternmost part of our planet's largest land mass, Eurasia, were being aggressed by a totalitarian power. These were the Koreans, known as the people of white cloth for their preference for white clothing. Japan, a nation that had for generations worshipped its Shinto gods, had long nurtured imperialistic ambitions. Seeking the conquest of Korea, the Japanese had stationed their army on the Korean peninsula in 1894, and crushed the revolt of the rural Tonghak army.

After emerging victorious in two wars-the Sino-Japanese War and Russo-Japanese War-j apan forced the 1905 protectorate treaty of Ulsa on Korea, effectively depriving her of the right to conduct her own foreign affairs. Thus began Japan's de facto colonial rule. Five years later in 1910, Japan's forcible annexation of Korea made her the corridor for the invasion of the Asian continent. The interests of the cultured Korean people were disregarded and they suffered great humiliation and anguish. Eventually, numerous Koreans, unable to endure the cruel rule of Japan, abandoned their fertile motherland to their oppressors and emigrated to the barren Manchurian pastures and the maritime provinces of Siberia to seek out a way of life. There, they confronted many hardships with perseverance and determination, while at the same time striving from afar for their nation's independence.

Towards the end of the decade, on March 1, 1919, the Sam-Il Undong ("March First Movement") began and spread across the Korean peninsula. The uprising, planned and initiated by thirty-three people from diverse religious backgrounds, was to have powerful repercussions. Well over two million Koreans participated in this movement to reclaim their nation's sovereignty. The uprising spread to Korean immigrants living in Manchuria and the maritime provinces of Siberia. Its violent suppression by the Japanese resulted in more than 7,500 dead, 16,000 wounded and 47,000 arrested.

For what reason were the Koreans destined to experience such agonizing days and nights? Could it be that the Korean people had inherited the four hundred years of excruciating toil endured by the descendants of Jacob? Had the torment of the Jewish people captive in Babylon also come to be visited on this land?

In fact, the First World War, together with the March First Movement, constituted the birth pangs of a precious baby's arrival. Only God Himself knew of the approaching birth of this child, who was to be called Kalki, Mahdi, the Maitreya, True Man, the Lord of the Second Advent.