The Catholics Who Would Not Quit

     "Please come. The church is there and the people need priests," pleaded Yun Yu-il. The year was 1789, and the young Korean had traveled to Peking to beg the Chinese bishop to send workers into a half grown field.

     The seed had been planted and begun its growth. On the beautiful mountain Ch'onjin, Korean scholars began to look for the eternal truth by themselves. With neither missionaries nor priests, the pagan scholars studied the Christian doctrine in 1779, and eventually founded the Catholic Church in Korea. Watered by the blood of martyrs for over a hundred years, the Catholic church is thriving in Korea today.

     In the histories of Christian countries, there are established patterns. From the time of Christ, intrepid apostles of the Word went forth. Through the centuries, dedicated religious entered new lands to spread the faith. Conquerors brought with them missionaries who began to establish the Church.

     The history of Korea's Catholic community is unique. Here the laity began to worship as Christians before missionaries came to prostelyze. A group of Korean scholars studied the Christian faith from the books that Lee Sung-hoon brought back from China. These lay Koreans began catechizing others and baptizing them. When the hoped-for religious evangelizers finally arrived, they found their work well begun. During the half century before the first European missionaries managed to sneak into this Confucian country, 50,000 lay people had already become Catholics. 

     Although a Catholic priest and a monk entered Korea in the 1590's, they were chaplains for the Japanese soldiers stationed there and could not have any contact with the native peoples. The first Korean contacts with Catholicism came through Korean diplomatic envoys who were regularly sent to China where they met Jesuit priests. The priests gave them some Catholic books which the envoys took home with them. A group of Korean scholars became interested in the books and began to study the new religion, comparing it with the Neo-Confucianism which was the traditional philosophy in Korea.

     Lee Sung-hoon traveled to China with his father and while he was in Peking was baptized with the name of Peter. This intelligent young man read many Catholic books and tried to imitate the virtues of the saints and to promote the Catholic faith among his friends. On his return to Korea, he organized the first Catholic community, baptizing the new believers himself. These Catholics called one another "believing friends," abolished class distinctions, stopped offering sacrifices to their ancestors and spread the faith using books written in the Korean alphabet.

     In 1785, the community was detected by the government and the Catholics were dispersed. Kim Bom-u who had allowed his house to be used as a sort of church was tortured and died two years later. Thus began the first of many persecutions suffered by the early Korean Catholics.

     Two years later, Lee Sung-hoon reorganized the group and he and five others made themselves priests and began to administer the sacraments. They soon realized that this was a mistake and sent Yun Yu-il to Peking in 1789 to beg the bishop for priests.

     The bishop at last assigned a Chinese priest, but he failed to enter the country having missed his guide. A second persecution had already broken out and Yun Chi-ch'ung Paul was sentenced to death for failure to sacrifice to his deceased mother. A Chinese priest was finally successful in entering the country in 1794, but he soon became the reason for a fresh persecution.

     In 1801, Queen Chongsun determined to eradicate all Catholics. She considered the religion a heresy harmful to the customs and traditions of Korea. She issued orders to imprison Catholics of all classes and to punish their relatives. Almost 300 Catholics were killed during this persecution. Those who survived escaped deep into the mountains where many starved to death.

     Here, in the beautiful mountainous areas, new Catholic communities were formed. The members shared what they had and practiced their faith without a priest for almost thirty years. During this time, the people continued to write, begging for priests. According to one letter sent to Pope Pius VII, there were more than 10,000 Catholics. A fresh wave of persecution in 1815, however, saw hundreds of Catholics in rural communities arrested and more than thirty killed.

     Two priests attempted to enter the country in 1817, but failed. The Holy See tried to send missionaries, but none could enter. A new persecution broke out in 1827 during which hundreds of Catholics were arrested and many were killed.

     During the severe persecutions, Chong Ha-Sang Paul and a few others visited Peking more than ten times to appeal for priests. Due to their efforts, the Vicariate Apostolic of Korea was formally established as of September 9, 1831, and the Paris Foreign Mission Society was asked to be in charge of spreading the faith in Korea.

     The first Vicar Apostolic of Korea tried unsuccessfully to enter the country and died in Mongolia in 1836. The second Vicar Apostolic, Bishop Imbert, successfully crossed the Yalu River and entered Korea in late december 1837. By the end of 1838, Korea had a bishop, two priests, and more than 9,000 Catholics.

     A new persecution began in 1839 and the three French missionaries were beheaded after severe tortures. Again the survivors fled to the mountains.

     In 1843, a new Vicar Apostolic, Bishop Ferreol, along with another French priest and Father Andrew Kim Tae-gon, the first Korean priest, entered the country by sea. Father Kim was arrested and beheaded a year later.

     Father Ch'oe Yang-ob Thomas, the second Korean priest, entered Korea in 1849 after many previous attempts. Other priests from France were able to enter in 1856 and 1857.

     There was a small persecution in 1860, and a major one in 1866. Now the Catholics numbered 23,000.

     In 1866, the Lord Regent had trouble with a threatened invasion by Russia. He attempted to get Bishop Berneux, the fourth Vicar Apostolic, to influence France to come to his aid. The Bishop did not want to be involved in the political matter, and he wrote the Lord Regent that although he wanted to help, he had no influence with the Russians.

     Frustrated in his attempt to use France to repel Russia, the Lord Regent decided to use the Catholics as scapegoats to suppress nationwide complaints. The French missionaries and leading lay Catholics throughout the country were arrested. The persecution continued for six years. Whenever foreign ships appeared in Korean ports, the persecutions broke out anew.

     The exact number of martyrs killed for their faith during this long persecution will never be known. According to one report of the Paris Foreign Mission Society, 8,000 suffered hardship and death by 1870, excluding those who starved to death. This persecution was one of the most severe of any in any country throughout the centuries.

     There are thousands of unknown martyrs of Korea. Their blood is the seed of the Korean Catholic faith. As they gave their lives for God and for the Church, Korean Catholics today attempt to live their lives for the same ideals.

     The physical tortures endured by the sturdy Koreans are too barbaric and grim to enumerate. All those who were beheaded were first made to undergo torture, often more than once. In a short article, the stories of all 103 martyrs cannot be told. A few examples will suffice to illustrate the overwhelming faith of these Korean saints.

     Saint Andrew Kim was born in 1821. Both his father and his great grandfather were martyrs for the faith. At the age of 15, he became a seminarian and was sent to Macao to complete his studies for the priesthood. After being ordained a deacon, he entered Korea alone in 1845. Later he traveled to Shanghai in order to lead French missionaries back into Korea by sea. He was ordained a priest by Bishop Ferreol on August 17. Father Kim was arrested in June of 1846. From prison, he wrote a last letter addressed to his people. In the letter he pointed out that the Church was founded on the pain and suffering of Christ and that for the entire history of the Church in Korea there had been persecutions. He acknowledged the agony of the suffering and the human sadness in parting. Then he cautioned his followers, "You must love and help one another, and wait hopefully for the time when Our Lord in His mercy will relieve our sufferings. Whatever happens, behave in such a way that God will be glorified.... Be steadfast, and let us meet in Heaven." After three months in prison, Father Kim was beheaded on September 16, 1846, at the age of 26. Just before his death, he made a farewell sermon saying "My eternal life is beginning now."

     Damian Nam Myong - hyok was born into a noble family and led a prodigal life with bad companions in his youth. He became a convert at the age of 30 and from that time he became a catechist and did good works with his wife. Betrayed by one of the catechumens, he was imprisoned and tortured. After being sentenced to death, he wrote a letter to his wife in which he said, "This world is nothing but an inn we pass through. Our real home is Heaven. Follow me and become a martyr; I wish we could meet again in the kingdom of eternal glory."

     Lucy Kim Nusia was a beautiful and talented young woman. After the death of her parents, she lived with a Catholic family and made a vow of virginity. After surrendering herself to the authorities in 1839, she was tortured and interrogated. When asked if she were not afraid to die, she replied, "Yes, I am afraid to die, but I would rather die than deny my Lord." When asked if she had seen God, she answered, "Can a country man who has never seen the king believe that there is a king ? When I see all the creatures on earth, I know that there is a Creator." While in prison, Lucy cut and sold her beautiful hair to buy food which she shared with her fellow inmates. She was beheaded at the age of 22.

     Anne Pak A-gi had a poor memory and it was difficult for her to memorize the catechism and prayers. She said, "Although I don't know God as much as I want to, I wil try my best to love Him." Anne was especially devoted to the Passion of Our Lord and often meditated with tears in her eyes about His wounds. After her arrest, her family begged her to renounce her faith and come home. Overcoming the temptation courageously, she said, "Why should I risk my eternal life in order to live here just a few more days ?" She was beheaded in 1839 at the age of 57.

     Peter Yu Tae-ch'ol was the youngest of the martyrs. He was only 13 when he was put to death for the faith. He was interrogated and tortured 14 different times. In spite of this, according to the testimony of many witnesses, he displayed a miraculous courage. Peter was strangled to death in prison in October of 1839.

     In 1886, the Korea-France Treaty ended the persecutions which had lasted for more than a hundred years, although minor regional persecutions continued. One example is that in 1901 in Cheju Island, more than 700 Catholics were murdered during a period of only a few days. During the Korean War which began in 1950, many religious and lay Catholics were massacred and expelled, and the Church in North Korea remains underground today.

     The blood of Korean martyrs has become fertile seed of the faith which now flourishes in South Korea. The outstanding characteristic of the 200 years' history of the Catholic Church in Korea is the fact that the Church was founded by the Korean lay people themselves and they have admirably kept their faith, at times with no priests, despite the long cruel persecutions. The more the Catholics were persecuted and martyred, the more the people became Catholics.

     In 1984, during the bicentennial of the Korean Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II traveled to Korea to canonize 103 of some ten thousand martyrs of Korea. This group included 92 lay persons, 45 men and 47 women, from nearly every walk of life. Also included were ten French missionaries and the first Korean priest, Saint Andrew Kim. This was the first canonization outside Rome since the thirteenth century. The Pope came as a pilgrim to witness to the Church which suffered in the past and is still suffering in the northern half of the country. At the time of the canonization, there were over one and a half million Catholics in Korea.

     The activity of the laity in the Church in Korea has always been phenomenal. Truly they can be styled the Catholics who would not quit. •