Sts Andrew Kim, Paul Chong

September 20

Sts Andrew Kim, Paul Chong and Companions Korean Martyrs (1839, 1846, 1862, 1867)

TheChristian Faith first sprouted in Korea when Yi Sung-hun started to study Christian doctrine by himself and was eventually baptized as Peter in 1784. In the beginning, because of their belief in God, the early Korean Christians were constantly persecuted, rejected by their own families, and subjected to loss of not only their social rank but even their fundamental human rights. Nevertheless, the Faith continued to spread.

The Christian community in Korea which had begun without any priestly ministers finally got the assistance of two Chinese priests. But their ministry was short-lived, and another forty years passed before the Paris Foreign Mission Society began its work in Korea with the arrival of Fr Maubant in 1836. Until then the Christian community consisted only of lay people.

In the meantime, moved by an ardent desire .for the graces of the sacraments, the Christian community of Korea appealed to the Bishop of Peking and to the Holy Father in Rome to send them bishops and priests. Serious dangers awaited those missionaries who dared enter Korea. In fact, until the granting of religious liberty in Korea in 1886, there was a multitude of “disciples who shed their blood in imitation of Christ Our Lord, who submitted to death joyfully, for the salvation of the world” more than 10,000 martyrs died in persecutions which extended over 100 years. They included 103 martyrs, consisting of Il priests and 92 lay people, who were canonized on 14 May 1984 by Pope John Paul II, foremost among these being Andrew Kim Tae-gon and Paul Chong Ha-Sang.

Andrew Kirh Tae-gon, the first Korean priest, prompted by his faith in God and his love for the Christian people, found a new way to achieve the difficult task of making a missionary entry into Korea. However, within just 13 months of his priestly ordination, he was put to death by the sword, barely 26 years old and the oil of chrism still fresh on his hands.

Paul Chong Ha-Sang, Augustine Yu Chin-gil and Charles Cho Shin-Chol had made several visits to Peking seeking more effective ways of introducing missionaries into Korea. Since the persecution of 1801, there had been no priest to care for the Christian community. Finally, they succeeded in opening a new chapter in the history of the extension of the Church in Korea with the arrival of a bishop and some priests of the Paris Foreign Mission Society.

Among the 103 martyrs were 15 virgins, including the two sisters, Agnes Kim Hyo-ju and Columba Kim Hyo-in, who loved Our Lord with undivided hearts. These women, in an era when Christian religious life was unknown in Korea, lived in community and cared for the sick and the poor. Similarly, the martyr John Yi Kwang-hyol also lived as a celibate in consecrated service to the Church.

Some of the other martyrs deserving of special mention are: Damien Nam Myong-hyok and Mary Yi Yon-hui who were models of family life; John Nam Chong-Sam who, though of high social rank, was a marvellous example of poverty, chastity and justice; John Pak Hu-Jae who, after he lost his parents in the persecutions, maintained himself by making straw sandals; Peter Kwong Tugin who devoted himself to meditation; Anne Pak A gi who, although lacking a deep grasp of Christian doctrine, was wholly devoted to Jesus and Mary; and finally PeterYu Tae-chol who, at the tender age of 13, bravely confessed his faith.