Johann Bolljahn

Johann Bolljahn (born February 20, 1862 in Paske ; † October 25, 1928 in Swinoujscie ) was a German teacher, rector of the imperial German language school in Korea and the founder of German teaching in this country.

Life

Johann (also Johannes) Bolljahn grew up in simple circumstances. His father was inshore fishing and grain trading. At the age of 15 the boy went to a simple teacher training college; in September 1878 then to the school teachers' college in Kammin .

Three years later he passed the examination to become a primary school teacher with the qualification to serve as a cantor and organist. In Selz near Treptow on the Rega in Western Pomerania, he got his first job as an elementary teacher. From September 1882 to May 1884 he worked as a teacher in his home town of Usedom.

In September 1884 Bolljahn went to England and took a teaching position at the secondary school for girls in Manchester . With the first savings he financed a subsequent four-month French course in Paris and then passed the examination for secondary school teachers in Germany, in order to give German and French lessons at the boys' secondary school in Angermünde from November 1888 to April 1889 .

In June 1889 Bolljahn traveled to Japan and took a job as a teacher at the Evangelical German School in Tokyo . He also gave classes at various other institutions, e.g. B. at the University of Tokyo. Contemporaries describe him at the age of 27 as being very talented in education and music.

In 1898 Johann Bolljahn went to Korea. In September 1898, in consultation with the Korean authorities, a German language school was opened there, and he became its director. Korean diplomats who were later to be employed in Germany also received their training at this school.

In Korea, Bolljahn communicated with German compatriots (including the court doctor of Emperor Richard Wunsch , with the conductor Franz Eckert and a German merchant family). He brought his younger brother (AKW) to Korea, who became the assistant to the customs director in Pujan (1900-1908).

The Japanese protectorate policy in Korea finally led to the closure of the Imperial German Language School in 1905. Bolljahn continued to work as a language teacher in Korea.

Johann Bolljahn did not return to Germany until 1919. He bought a villa in Świnoujście and took a position as a teacher at the marine technical school in Osternothafen. On September 15, 1922, Bolljahn married the widow of a merchant in Swinoujscie.

According to his wish, Johann Bolljahn was buried in the cemetery of his birthplace Paske. In the city of Usedom, on the building of the municipal administration Amt Usedom-Süd, Markt 7 opposite the church, a plaque commemorates Johann Bolljahn and his meritorious work.

Fonts (selection)

• Johann Bolljahn: Japanese school system, its development and its current status . A. Haack, Berlin 1896.
• Johann Bolljahn: The Korean School System. In: German magazine for foreign education. R. Voigtländer, Leipzig 1900, pp. 193-209.
• Johann Bolljahn: Korean manners and customs . In: Journal for Mission Studies and Religious Studies (ZMR), vol. 15 (1900) pp. 55–77.
• Johann Bolljahn: The Japanese School System. In: German magazine for foreign education. R. Voigtländer, Leipzig 1900, pp. 289-310.
• Johann Bolljahn: The beginnings of the Protestant mission in Korea and its current status . In: Journal for Mission Studies and Religious Studies (ZMR), vol. 15 (1900) pp. 257–264.

literature

• Sylvia Bräsel: Johann Bolljahn (1862-1928): Founder of German teaching in Korea. In: Baltic Studies . Vol. 95 NF (2009). Kiel 2010, pp. 133-150.

Web links

• Literature about Johann Bolljahn in the state bibliography MV
• Sylvia Bräsel: Johann Bolljahn - founder of German teaching in Korea. 2008, accessed March 29, 2016 .