Letters of Korea's first Catholic priest published in English

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

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Sat, September 23, 2023 | 21:24

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Letters of Korea's first Catholic priest published in English

Posted : 2021-09-09 16:00

Updated : 2021-09-10 13:24

Cover image of the book "The Letters of Saint Andrew Kim Dae-geon" Courtesy of Research Foundation of Korean Church History

By Park Ji-won

Marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of Saint Andrew Kim Dae-geon (1821-46), the Research Foundation of Korean Church History under the Archdiocese of Seoul has published an English translation of "The Letters of Saint Andrew Kim Dae-geon," one of the three memorial books on his activities as an important early figure in the Catholic Church in Korea.

"He was such a strong and interesting person. He was even cool with his execution. He scolded the executioner to cut his head well. There are so many interesting and inspiring episodes in this historic letters," Rev. Cho Han-gun, director of the foundation, told The Korea Times Wednesday.

Records show that Kim, Korea's first Catholic priest, wrote up to 21 letters dating from February 1842 to August 1846 when he tried to return to Korea from Macao where he had attended a seminary. He was ordained in 1845. The English book includes 19 of the letters, as two of them are missing. He wrote most of the letters in Latin, but wrote the 21st letter in Korean and 9th letter in Chinese characters. As they were written in the middle of the 19th century, near the end of the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom, it gives a look into what life was like in those days.

"How could my death not be felt acutely by your bodies and souls? But before long God will send you shepherds more reliable than I. Do not be sad, but practice love, so that after serving God as a single body, after death we shall meet eternally before God in bliss, as I hope a thousand, ten thousand times. Goodbye!" he wrote at the end of the last letter.

Some letters include stories of his travels in China in a tiny boat in which he was almost killed by a large wave, and his agony as a persecuted priest under the heavily neo-Confucianist regime of Joseon which forbade outside religions as well as travel without official permission.

"We hope that the book will share the deep faith of Saint Andrew Kim Dae-geon and his pioneering spirit with the world," Cho said. "The book could also inspire many, by showing a young Korean intellectual who was able to speak and write in many languages, and through his personality and strong mentality overcome difficulties in the historical context of Korean Catholicism."

He added that Korea is the only country where Catholicism arrived through books rather than missionaries, saying Koreans taught themselves and accepted Catholicism of their own free will.

To let readers better understand the meaning of the letters, the book also includes explanations of the historic background of the Joseon Kingdom. The book is available via the foundation.

jwpark@koreatimes.co.kr