Soda Kaichi

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Soda Kaichi (October 20, 1867 – March 28, 1962) was a Japanese Protestant missionary and social worker. He is best known for caring for more than 1,000 Korean orphans and for leading the Kamakura Orphanage in Seoul from 1921 to 1945, which later became Youngnak Borinwon.

Soda was born in Yamaguchi, Japan. He did many different jobs in his youth, including coal mining, teaching, and sailing. He also worked in Taiwan and visited Hong Kong and China. A turning point came after a Jordan-like moment in Taiwan when a Korean helped him while he was drunk. This experience inspired him to devote his life to helping others.

In 1905, Soda moved to Korea to help the country that had helped him. He taught Japanese at the Hwangsŏng YMCA (now the YMCA Korea) and became involved in Korean social and religious life. He converted to Protestant Christianity and promoted temperance. He befriended Korean activists, including future leader Syngman Rhee. In 1909, he married Ueno Takiko, who taught English at Korean girls’ schools.

Soda founded the Seoul branch of the Kamakura Orphanage in 1913, making it one of the first such orphanages in Korea. He cared for or supported Korean orphans through difficult times, including the 1919 March First Movement, when he provided medical aid and spoke out for the detainees. In 1939, he began renting land in Huam-dong, which became the site of Youngnak Borinwon.

Soda and his wife faced scrutiny from both Japanese and Korean communities. Some Japanese viewed him as a traitor, while some Koreans trusted and defended him. He was briefly arrested because of a child’s involvement in independence activities, but he also earned many loyal supporters. After World War II, he helped lead the Japanese community in Wonsan back to Korea and later returned to Japan.

In 1961, Soda returned to Korea to spend his final years at Youngnak Borinwon. He died there on March 28, 1962, at the age of 94 and was buried in Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery in Seoul, alongside his wife. He was the first Japanese person to receive Korea’s Order of Cultural Merit (awarded in 1962), and Koreans remember him as “the father to Korean orphans.”

Soda is remembered as a humble, private man who did not seek recognition. His life shows a deep care for vulnerable children and a bridge-building effort between Japan and Korea during a difficult period.