St. Andrew Kim Taegon and the Korean Martyrs
St. Andrew Kim Taegon was the first Korean-born priest, and has his own feast day on the date of his martyrdom, September 16. However, he is also celebrated with the other 102 Korean martyrs, with whom he was canonized, on September 20. Lifetime: August 21, 1821 to September 16, 1846 Region: Korean peninsula Patronages: Korean clergy Iconograpy: Black gat hat; Red stole; Crucifix and Bible Feast Day: September 16; September 20 (with Korean martyrs) The victims of a mass persecution in the mid 1800s, 103 of the Korean martyrs have been declared saints in the Catholic church, and an additional 124 have been beatified. These martyrs were killed for practicing their Christian faith in the heavily Confucian country they lived in. When Christian missionaries first entered Korea, they were surprised to find thousands of faithful Christians already living there. Though they had never seen a priest, these Korean Christians had learned of the faith through books trad...