Meritorious Service Record

On February 28, 1919, a student from Severance Medical School secretly handed him a copy of the Korean Declaration of Independence. The following day, on March 1, independence activist Lee Gap-seong (李甲成) personally requested Schofield to photograph the demonstrations and smuggle the images abroad. Schofield captured images of the mass protests and later secretly sent them overseas, ensuring international awareness of Korea’s struggle for independence.
On April 18, 1919, after hearing about the Jeam-ri Church Massacre, where Japanese troops burned alive Korean civilians, Schofield traveled to the site to document the atrocities in Jeam-ri, Suchon-ri, and Hwasu-ri. His photographs and reports were sent to the Provisional Government of Korea in Shanghai and published in The Korean Independence Movement (1919) and the independence newspaper, The Independent (독립신문). The shocking images were also sent to Leo Bergholz, the U.S. Consul General in Seoul, who included them in a July 17, 1919, report to the U.S. Secretary of State.
In August 1919, Schofield traveled to Japan as a representative of Korean missionaries, where he denounced Japan’s atrocities before an assembly of 800 missionaries in East Asia. He also met with Prime Minister Hara Takashi (原敬) and other senior Japanese officials, urging them to end their inhumane policies in Korea.
By late 1919, Schofield began publicly condemning Japan’s licensed prostitution system (공창제도), which he believed was deliberately introduced to morally corrupt young Koreans. Through public lectures and writings, he urged Korean youth to resist this system. His outspoken anti-Japanese stance made him a target for threats and intimidation.
In April 1920, his missionary term expired, and he was forced to return to Canada. Even in Canada, he continued lecturing and writing articles about Korea, criticizing Japan’s inadequate reforms, and advocating for Korean independence.
Frank William Schofield passed away on April 12, 1970, at the age of 81. His funeral, held on April 16, 1970, was conducted as a state funeral organized by the Heritage of Korean Independence (광복회). His remains were buried in the Patriotic Martyrs' graveyard (애국지사 묘역) at the Seoul National Cemetery.
In 1968, the South Korean government awarded Frank William Schofield the Order of Merit for National Foundation (Independence Medal) in recognition of his contributions to Korea’s independence.