Oliver R. Avison (June 30, 1860 – August 29, 1959) was a Canadian doctor, physician, humanitarian, missionary and professor, who spent over four decades spreading Western medical knowledge in Korea during the Kaehwagi or Enlightenment Period. Avison was recognized for founding and opening the Severance Hospital and the Severance Medical College in Seoul in 1904, two interlinked institutions that sought to treat the sick and expose the Korean natives to the practical teachings of Western medicinal sciences. Through fundraising efforts across North America prior to the opening, Avison received a series of donations from American philanthropist Louis H. Severance, the namesake for the teaching hospital.
Avison was most known for his innovative ecumenical approach to combine the efforts of medical missionaries across various denominations, pushing against the prevailing modus operandi of foreign medical missionaries in Korea at the time. Focused on increasing collaborative efforts, Avison believed that spreading the love of God was best achieved through educational missions alongside medical ones. Avison's influences were drawn from Methodist philosophies as well as an admiration for his role model, Horace Underwood, the first Presbyterian missionary to work in Korea.
Early life, education, and personal life
Oliver R. Avison was born on June 30, 1860, in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England, the third child in the family. In 1866, Avison and his family moved to Brantford, Ontario. By 1869, Avison moved to Almonte, where he graduated from Almonte and District High School. He became a teacher at Hutton's School House, a public school close to Smiths Falls. After spending a year teaching, Avison enrolled in a preparatory school for university, with the ultimate goal of studying and teaching at the University of Toronto, from which he graduated in 1887. Avison met his wife, Jennie Barnes, while working at a drug store in Smiths Falls. They were married on July 28, 1885. Together, they moved to Korea in July 1893 under the board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church of the USA. They lived in Korea for forty years until 1934 when they were expelled by the Japanese invaders.
Avison was awarded a Gold Medal for Pharmaceutical Proficiency for his excellence in the Ontario College of Pharmacy's (OCP) qualifying examinations. Upon graduating from OCP, Avison was offered a role as an instructor. In 1887, Avison graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Medicine, M.B.
Missionary Work
Work in Korea
Avison was always involved in missionary work. He worked as a lay-preacher in Toronto, and by 1885, had helped found the YMCA at the University of Toronto, where he served as its president. Avison was also the chief editor of the Medical Missionary, a Toronto-based publication first published in 1890. Avison's missionary service experience was inspired primarily through his relationship with and admiration for Horace Underwood, his role model. Underwood was the first American Presbyterian Missionary to work in Korea in 1885. In November 1892, Avison extended an invitation to Underwood to visit him in Toronto and discuss his missionary work. Inspired by Underwood's tales, Avison contacted the Methodist Church of Canada in the hopes of being sent to Korea. His proposal was rejected. In response to this, Underwood applied on behalf of Avison to the American Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions in New York without his permission. Frank Ellinwood, the Secretary of the Board, invited Avison to New York to discuss the application Underwood had submitted.
Despite the fact that Avison was originally a member of the Sherbourne Street Methodist Church, he decided to work with the Presbyterian Board. By 1893, he was appointed as an official medical missionary. Avison was also inspired by the poor state the Korean health system was at the time, as well as the inefficiencies of the lacking collaboration between missionaries of different denominations.
Avison packed up his bags and arrived in Pusan, South Korea, with his family in June 1893. By August, the family had moved to Seoul. Avison began working at Chaejungwon, the Royal Hospital. He was first appointed as a private physician to King Kojong, whose trust Avison earned upon successfully diagnosing and treating him for lacquer poisoning. Through this post, Avison was seen as governmentally endorsed by the Koreans.