Andrew Kim Taegeon (21 August 1821 – 16 September 1846), also referred to as Andrew Kim in English, was the first South Korean

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

priest and is the patron saint of Korean clergy.

Biography

In the late 18th century,

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

began taking root in Korea, having been introduced by scholars who visited China and brought back Western books translated into Chinese. In 1836 Korea saw its first consecrated missionaries (members of the

Paris Foreign Missions Society The Society of Foreign Missions of Paris (, , MEP) is a Catholic Missionary order, missionary organization. It is not a religious institute, but an organization of secular clergy, secular priests and Laity, lay persons dedicated to missionary wo ...

) arrive, only to find out that the people there were already practicing Korean Catholics. Born of

Yangban The ''yangban'' () were part of the traditional ruling class or gentry of dynastic Korea during the Joseon period. The ''yangban'' were mainly composed of highly educated civil officials and military officers—landed or unlanded aristocrats wh ...

, Kim's parents were converts and his father, uncles, and grandfathers were subsequently

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

ed for practising Christianity, a prohibited activity in heavily

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...

Korea. After being baptized at age 15, Kim studied at a seminary in the Portuguese colony of

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

. He also spent time in study at Lolomboy, Bocaue,

Bulacan Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan (; ; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, where today he is also venerated. He was ordained a priest in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

after nine years (1844) by the French bishop Jean Joseph Jean-Baptiste Ferréol. He then returned to Korea to preach and evangelize. During the

Joseon Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

period, Catholicism was suppressed and many were persecuted and executed. Catholics had to practise their faith covertly. Kim was one of thousands who were executed during this time. In 1846, at the age of 25, he was tortured and finally beheaded near Seoul on the Han River. His last words were:

Legacy

Before Ferréol, the first bishop of Korea, died from exhaustion on 3 February 1853, he wanted to be buried beside Kim, stating, "You will never know how sad I was to lose this young native priest. I have loved him as a father loved his son; it is a consolation for me to think of his eternal happiness." On 6 May 1984,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of sa ...

Kim along with 102 other Korean Martyrs, including Paul Chong Hasang, during his trip to Korea. The feast day of Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang and companions is celebrated on 20 September. A historical drama depicting Kim's life, ', was released in 2022.

References

Bibliography

"The Lives of the 103 Korean Martyr Saints (2): St. Kim Tae-gon Andrew
," ''Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea Newsletter'' No. 27 (Summer 1999).

External links

Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang and CompanionsSaint Kim Dae-gŏn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Tae-gon 1821 births 1846 deaths Expatriates in Macau Korean expatriates in China Korean Roman Catholic priests Korean Roman Catholic saints Martyred Roman Catholic priests 19th-century Roman Catholic martyrs 19th-century Christian saints 19th-century executions by Korea Executed Korean people People executed by Korea by decapitation Christian martyrs executed by decapitation People from Dangjin Gimhae Kim clan 19th-century Roman Catholic priests Joseon Christians Korean martyrs

Biography

Legacy

See also

References

Bibliography

External links