Meritorious Service Record

George Shannon McCune arrived in Korea in 1905 as a missionary of the Northern Presbyterian Church.
While serving as principal of Sinseong School in Sunchon, he became involved in the 105-Man Incident, a fabricated case orchestrated by the Japanese colonial government in October 1911. Many teachers and students of Sinseong School were arrested, and McCune himself was implicated. He reported the incident to the Presbyterian Mission Headquarters and actively worked to secure fair trials and the release of the detained Koreans.
On January 12, 1915, he was summoned by the Pyeonganbuk-do Police Department and reprimanded for instilling anti-Japanese sentiments through religious revival meetings.
In early February 1919, Kim Won-byeok (金元壁), a student from Yonhee College, approached McCune for advice on the student-led independence movement. McCune responded:
"Nothing can be achieved without action. If you only contemplate and hesitate, nothing will ever be accomplished."
His encouragement helped Kim Won-byeok commit to the independence movement.
On March 8, 1919, the March 1st Movement spread to Sunchon, where Japanese authorities violently suppressed protesters. McCune documented the events in his own handwriting and sent the report to The Continent, a Chicago-based magazine, which later published his account.
On September 1, 1920, Park Chi-ui (朴致毅), a Sinseong School student, was arrested for attempting to bomb the Sunchon Police Station. McCune defended Park, arguing that he was a kind-hearted student unlikely to commit such an act and that any confession obtained was likely a result of police torture. His public allegations of torture spread widely.
On November 14, 1935, during a North Pyeong’an Provincial Principals’ Meeting, Governor Yasutake Naoo (安武直夫) proposed that all school principals first participate in a Shinto shrine worship ceremony before continuing with the meeting. McCune, along with Jeong Ik-seong (鄭益成), acting principal of Soongui Girls' School, and H.M. Lee (李希滿), principal of Sungan Euimyeong School, refused, citing Christian doctrine and lack of precedent.
On January 18, 1936, McCune formally submitted a written statement declaring:
"As a Christian, I cannot participate in Shinto shrine worship, nor can I force my students to do so."
In response, the Japanese Government-General of Korea immediately revoked his principalship at Soongsil School, and on January 20, 1936, he was also dismissed as principal of Soongsil College.
With his missionary furlough year approaching, McCune left Korea with his family on March 21, 1936. On his way back to the U.S., he stopped in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he publicly condemned Japan’s forced Shinto shrine worship policy.
After returning to the United States, he continued his anti-Japanese activism through lectures and publications. He became an advisor to The Korean Students League of North America, supporting Korean independence activists.
In January 1938, he published an article in The Presbyterian Tribune titled "Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Me," in which he firmly opposed Shinto shrine worship. This led to a heated public debate with H.H. Underwood, then president of Yonhee College, who argued that complying with Shinto worship was necessary to keep Korean schools open.
George Shannon McCune passed away on December 4, 1941, at Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago.
In 1963, the South Korean government posthumously awarded George Shannon McCune the Order of Merit for National Foundation (Independence Medal) in recognition of his contributions to Korea’s independence.