**Saints Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang, and Companions**, collectively known as the **Korean Martyrs**, are 103 Catholic saints canonized by Pope John Paul II on May 6, 1984, in Seoul—the first canonization ever held outside the Vatican. Their feast day is celebrated on **September 20**. They were martyred during the severe persecutions of the 19th century (primarily 1839, 1846, and 1866-1867) under the Joseon Dynasty, which viewed Christianity as a subversive foreign religion that undermined Confucian values and loyalty to the king. ## Principal Martyrs **Saint Andrew Kim Taegon (1821–1846)** was the first native Korean Catholic priest. Born in Solmoe to a family of converts (his father, Ignatius Kim, was also martyred), Andrew was baptized at age 15 and sent to study at the seminary in Macau, China. After ordination in Shanghai in 1845, he returned to Korea to minister secretly to the faithful. Arrested while arranging safe passage for foreign missionaries, he was tortured and beheaded at the Han River near Seoul on September 16, 1846, at age 25. His final letter to his parish proclaimed: "We have received baptism and the honor of being called Christians. Yet what good will this do us if we are Christians in name only and not in fact?" **Saint Paul Chong Hasang (1795–1839)** was a lay apostle and catechist who worked tirelessly to bring priests to Korea. The nephew of a renowned philosopher, Paul served as a government interpreter, which allowed him to travel to Beijing where he petitioned the Holy See to establish a vicariate in Korea. His written defense of the faith so impressed his judges that they acknowledged its truth—yet still demanded he renounce Christianity. He refused and was martyred in 1839. ## The 103 Canonized Martyrs The canonized martyrs include: - 3 bishops (all French missionaries from the Paris Foreign Missions Society) - 7 priests (including Andrew Kim Taegon) - 93 laypeople (47 women and 45 men of all ages, from nobles to commoners) Among them were: - **Columba Kim**, age 26, who endured being pierced with hot awls before beheading - **Peter Ryou**, a boy of 13 whose flesh was torn so badly he threw pieces at his torturers - **Agatha Kim**, who was skinned alive - Entire families who chose death together rather than apostasy ## The Unnamed Thousands Beyond the 103 canonized saints, an estimated 8,000-10,000 Korean Catholics were martyred during the 19th century. At Haemi alone, over 1,000 Catholics were buried alive between 1866 and 1882—most of them nameless commoners whose only recorded act was crying "Yesumaria" (Jesus, Mary) as they died. In 2014, Pope Francis beatified 124 additional Korean martyrs, including Venerable Paul Yun Ji-Chung (1759-1791), considered the first Korean martyr. ## Unique Character of the Korean Church As Pope John Paul II declared at the canonization: "The Korean Church is unique because it was founded entirely by lay people. This fledgling Church, so young and yet so strong in faith, withstood wave after wave of fierce persecution. Thus, in less than a century, it could boast of 10,000 martyrs. The death of these martyrs became the leaven of the Church and led to today's splendid flowering of the Church in Korea." ## Patronage and Veneration Saint Andrew Kim Taegon is the patron saint of Korea and of Korean clergy. The feast day of Saints Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang, and Companions is celebrated on **September 20** in the universal Roman calendar. Their relics are venerated at numerous sites throughout Korea, including: - **Jeoldusan Martyrs' Shrine** (Seoul) – Houses the relics of St. Andrew Kim Taegon - **Haemi International Catholic Martyrs' Shrine** – Vatican-designated International Pilgrimage Site honoring the nameless martyrs - **Seosomun Martyrs' Shrine** (Seoul) – Execution ground of 44 canonized martyrs - **Solmoe Holy Ground** (Dangjin) – Birthplace of St. Andrew Kim Taegon ## Closing Quote > *"My dear brothers and sisters, know this: Our Lord Jesus Christ upon descending into the world took innumerable pains upon and constituted the holy Church through his own passion and increases it through the passion of its faithful... Now, however, some fifty or sixty years since the holy Church entered into our Korea, the faithful suffer persecutions again."* > > *— Saint Andrew Kim Taegon, Final Letter to his Parish, 1846*