For nearly eight decades, the Rev. James T. Laney’s life intersected with Korea — first as a young American soldier, then as a Methodist missionary, later as U.S. ambassador to South Korea and, until late in life, as an advocate for peace and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula.
Laney, president emeritus of Emory University and former dean of Candler School of Theology, died Aug. 13 at age 98.
For many Korean Methodists, however, those titles tell only part of the story. They remember a pastor and teacher who stood with Koreans during difficult periods in the nation’s history, helped educate a generation of Christian leaders and used his influence to promote democracy, human rights and peace.
Some described him simply as an American who loved Korea as deeply as Koreans themselves.
“We are saying farewell today to a great light who devoted his life to peace on the Korean Peninsula and throughout the world,” said the Rev. Hwa-Young Chong, Prairie North District superintendent in the Northern Illinois Conference and chair of the Korea Peace Committee.
“In different eras and different roles, he remained steadfast in his commitment to peace and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula,” Chong said.
Laney’s relationship with Korea began in 1947.
A Yale University student studying economics, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and assigned to South Korea with the Counter Intelligence Corps. He was 19.
The experience changed the direction of his life. After completing his military service, Laney returned to Yale, finished his undergraduate degree and went on to study theology. Rather than pursuing a career in business, he entered ministry.
In 1959, Laney returned to Korea still recovering from the devastation of war, this time with his wife, Berta, and their family. As a Methodist missionary, he worked with the Korean Student Christian Federation and taught at Yonsei University.
Among the young Christians he influenced was the Rev. Jong Chun Park, who later became president of Methodist Theological University in Seoul and president of the World Methodist Council.
Reflecting on his teacher’s death, Park said Laney formed deep relationships with young Korean Christians, many of whom later played important roles in the church, Korean society and the country’s movement toward democracy.
After returning to the United States, Laney earned a doctorate in Christian ethics from Yale and taught at Vanderbilt Divinity School before becoming dean of Emory’s Candler School of Theology in 1969.
He became president of Emory University in 1977 and led the institution until 1993, overseeing its transformation into a major research university. But those who knew Laney said his vision for education went beyond institutional prestige.
Bishop Hee-Soo Jung of the Ohio Episcopal Area said Laney believed education should bring together intellect, spirituality and responsibility for the common good.
“The history of Emory University and Candler School of Theology and their role in developing countless global leaders for the church and society cannot be fully told without Jim Laney’s vision and dedication,” Jung said.
In 1993, President Bill Clinton appointed Laney U.S. ambassador to South Korea. Nearly three decades after leaving Korea as a missionary, he returned at one of the most dangerous moments on the peninsula since the Korean War.
Tensions over North Korea’s nuclear program brought the peninsula close to military confrontation in 1994.
Laney’s longtime relationship with former President Jimmy Carter became particularly significant. Carter traveled to Pyongyang that June and met North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, helping open a path toward negotiations.
Park said Laney played a critical behind-the-scenes role in encouraging dialogue rather than military confrontation.
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For Laney, diplomacy and Christian faith were not separate endeavors.
At the 2018 Roundtable for Peace on the Korean Peninsula at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Laney reflected on lessons from the 1994 crisis. Peacemaking, he said, requires people to stop demonizing the other side and move beyond distrust.
“Peacemaking is the actual activity of making peace happen,” he said.
The World Methodist Council presented Laney with its 2019 Peace Award for his lifelong work for peace, reconciliation and justice. At the time, Park — Laney’s former student — was serving as president of the World Methodist Council and helped present the award to his former teacher.
The Rev. We Chang, director of Connectional Ministries for the New England Conference and a longtime participant in the Korea peace movement, said Laney’s life demonstrated a distinctly Wesleyan understanding of faith.
“Rev. Laney showed Korean Methodists what social holiness in The United Methodist Church looks like,” Chang said when Laney received the peace award.
“As a missionary, he stood with Koreans in the midst of their suffering; as a Christian, he embodied Christian values; as an educator, he helped nurture Korea’s future leaders; and as a diplomat during a turbulent period in Korea’s history, he contributed to the country’s democratization and human rights.”
Park said Laney’s life ultimately transcended the office of U.S. ambassador.
“He was not an ambassador of an earthly superpower, but an ambassador of Christ,” Park said.
The Rev. Hyok-In Kwon, president of the Korean Association of The United Methodist Church and pastor of Korean United Methodist Church of Santa Clara Valley in California, recalled meeting Laney at a Korean Peninsula peace gathering about a decade ago.
“I still vividly remember Ambassador Laney’s gentle yet resolute gaze and the deep sincerity he showed toward Korea,” Kwon said.
“Even at the height of the 1994 North Korean nuclear crisis, when the Korean Peninsula stood on the brink of conflict, his determination to pursue a peaceful solution through diplomacy and dialogue rather than military confrontation planted seeds of peace that helped protect countless lives.”
Kwon said Laney’s lifelong commitment to Korea “will remain in the hearts of the Korean United Methodist community as an enduring signpost for peace.”
The Rev. James C. Kim, pastor of First United Methodist Church in Flushing, New York, and former chair of the Committee on Reunification of Korea, remembered Laney as remarkably approachable despite the prominent positions he held.
“People in positions like his can sometimes seem difficult to approach,” Kim said. “But perhaps because he was a Methodist pastor, Ambassador Laney had a kindness and humility that made anyone feel comfortable approaching him.”
Kim described Laney as warm and gentle but with eyes that conveyed strength and dignity.
“Just as the Rev. George Ogle loved Korea more than many Koreans did, Rev. Laney was that kind of person, too,” Kim said. “We have lost a beloved and respected elder.”
Jung said Laney’s greatness cannot be measured only by the institutions he led, the diplomatic crises he helped navigate or the international recognition he received.
He also remembered the way Laney cared for Berta, his wife of more than seven decades, during her long struggle with dementia.
Even when she awoke at night and did not recognize the husband beside her, asking where Jim was and whether he was coming, Laney stayed with her, Jung recalled.
“The faith of a man who spoke about peace for the world shone with even greater warmth and authenticity in the way he faithfully loved the person closest to him until the end,” Jung said.
Laney, he said, leaves behind not only extraordinary public accomplishments but “quiet dignity, steadfast friendship and a love that remains to the end.”
“The Korean church and Korean society, Emory University and Candler School of Theology, and his countless students and colleagues around the world owe him a profound debt,” Jung said. “We remember him with deep sorrow and immeasurable gratitude.
“You served well. You loved beautifully. Now rest in peace in the arms of God.”
A memorial service will be held on 2 PM Aug. 21 at in Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church on the Emory campus, followed by a reception. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that gifts be made to the Ruth W. Hughey scholarship fund at Candler School of Theology (https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/84557/donations/new) or the Wesley Campus ministry at Glenn Memorial UMC (https://www.glennumc.org/give).
Kim is director of Korean and Asian news at United Methodist Communications. Contact him at 615-742-5470 or newsdesk@umnews.org. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free UM News Digest.
