Andrew Kim Taegon

Life

Kim was born into a family that had embraced the Catholic faith and grew up in Solmoe, Chungcheong Province. In 1836 he was baptized by Father Maubant, a French missionary working in Joseon, and was chosen as a seminarian. In December of that year he left Joseon with Choe Yang-eop and Choe Bang-je to study theology in Macau. Lay Catholics such as Paul Chong Hasang helped them leave the country. In 1842, seeking a route back home, he served as an interpreter aboard the French warship Érigone and broadened his knowledge of the world while traveling to the Philippines and various parts of China.

On August 17, 1845, he was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Ferréol, vicar apostolic of Korea, at the church of Gimgahang (Jinjiaxiang) near Shanghai. He thus became the first Korean Catholic priest. That same year he crossed the sea in a small boat with Bishop Ferréol and Father Daveluy, landing on October 12 in the area of present-day Nabawi Shrine.

Ministry and Accomplishments

After his return, he traveled between Seoul and places such as the Euni mission station (a small faith community without a resident priest) in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, administering the sacraments to the faithful. In 1846, on Bishop Ferréol's instructions, he was charged with opening a sea route by which other missionaries could enter the country. On June 5, however, he was arrested on Sunwi Island in Hwanghae Province. Even from prison he reported the results of his exploration to Bishop Ferréol by letter, and he wrote a farewell letter to the faithful. He refused to apostatize, and on September 16 he was executed at Saenamteo by gunmun hyosu (beheading followed by display of the head at the military gate). He was twenty-five years old. The persecution that began with his arrest is known as the Byeongo Persecution. He is also credited with helping to introduce Korea to Europe through a map he produced, the Map of Joseon.

Influence on the Korean Church

His body was buried at Mirinae in Anseong and was moved in 1901 to the Sacred Heart Seminary in Yongsan. He was beatified in 1925 (that is, declared Blessed, the stage of veneration immediately preceding sainthood). On May 6, 1984, in Yeouido, Seoul, Pope John Paul II canonized him together with 102 others, including Paul Chong Hasang. This canonization of the 103 martyrs is regarded as a major milestone in the history of the Catholic Church in Korea. At its 40th General Conference in 2019, UNESCO selected him as one of the eminent figures it would commemorate in 2021, the bicentennial of his birth. The Catholic Church in Korea observed the year beginning in November 2020 as a jubilee year (a year of special commemoration) marking the 200th anniversary of his birth.

Assessment

The Catholic Church venerates him as a model of faith and priestly ministry. The Joseon court treated him as a criminal dangerous to the state for having communicated with Westerners. For his part, he is reported to have declared shortly before his execution that his contact with foreigners had been solely for the sake of his faith. Protestantism does not accept canonization or the veneration of saints. Accordingly, Protestants regard him not as an object of veneration but as a historical figure representative of the period of Catholic persecution in Joseon before the beginning of Protestant missions.