Andrew Kim Taegon

St. Andrew Kim Taegon
A statue of Saint Andrew Kim Taegon, the first Korean Catholic priest.
Patron Saint of Korea
Born	(1821-08-21)August 21, 1821 Solmoe, Dangjin, Korea
Died	September 16, 1846(1846-09-16) (aged 25) Han River, Hanseong, Joseon (now Seoul, South Korea)
Venerated in	Catholic Church Anglican Church
Beatified	1925
Canonized	6 May 1984 by Pope John Paul II
Major shrine	Chŏltusan (Martyr's Mound), Seoul, South Korea
Feast	16 September 20 September (Roman calendar, along with The Korean Martyrs)
Attributes	Hanbok and gat, crucifix, a red stole
Patronage	Korean Clergy

Saint Kim Taegon Andrea (Hangul: 김대건 안드레아, Hanja: 金大建) (1821–1846), generally referred to as Saint Andrew Kim Taegon in English, was the first Korean-born Catholic priest and is the patron saint of Korea. In the late 18th century, Roman Catholicism began to take root slowly in Korea and was introduced by laypeople. In 1836 Korea saw its first consecrated missionaries (members of the Paris Foreign Missions Society) arrive, only to find out that the people there were already practicing Korean Catholics.

Born of yangban, Kim's parents were converts and his father was subsequently martyred for practising Christianity, a prohibited activity in heavily Confucian Korea. After being baptized at age 15, Kim studied at a seminary in the Portuguese colony of Macau. He also spent time in study at Lolomboy, Bocaue, Bulacan, Philippines, where today he is also venerated. He was ordained a priest in Shanghai 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 Dynasty, Christianity was suppressed and many Christians were persecuted and executed. Catholics had to covertly practise their faith. Kim was one of several thousand Christians who were executed during this time. In 1846, at the age of 25, he was tortured and beheaded near Seoul on the Han River. His last words were:

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.”