Letter Of The First Korean Catholic Priest St. Andrew Kim Dae-geon Published In English

The statue of Saint Andrew Kim Tae-gon is located in the courtyard of Myeongdong Cathedral, South Korea. (Wikimedia Commons/pcamp)

JAKARTA - Marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of Saint Andrew Kim Dae-geon (1821-1846), the Korea Church History Research Foundation under the Archdiocese of Seoul published an English translation of the 'Letter of Saint Andrew Kim Dae-geon', one of the three books recorded his journey as an important early figure in the Catholic Church in South Korea.

"He was a strong and interesting man. He was even cool with his execution. He scolded the executioner for chopping off his head properly. There are so many interesting and inspiring episodes in these historic letters," Rev. Cho Han-gun, director of the foundation, told The Korea Times, as quoted Thursday, September 9.

Records show Kim, South Korea's first Catholic priest, wrote up to 21 letters dated from February 1842 to August 1846, when he tried to return to South Korea from Macau, where he attended seminary.

He was ordained in 1844. The English book includes 19 letters, as two of them are missing. He writes most of the letters in Latin, but writes the 21st letter in Korean and the 9th letter in Chinese characters. As written in the mid-19th century, towards the end of the Joseon Kingdom from 1392-1910, it gives a picture of what life was like at that time.

The cover of the book 'The Letters of Saint Andrew Kim Dae-geon'. (Source: Research Foundation of Korean Church Historyon)

"How can my death not be felt acutely by your body and soul? But soon God will send you a shepherd who is more reliable than me. Do not be sad, but practice love, so that after serving God as one body, after death we will meet forever in before God in happiness, as I wish a thousand, ten thousand times. Goodbye!" he wrote at the end of the last letter.

Some of the letters include stories about his travels in China in a small boat, where he was nearly killed by a huge wave, and his suffering as a priest who was persecuted under Joseon's highly neo-Confucian regime, banning foreign religions and traveling without official permission.

"We hope this book will share the deep faith of Saint Andrew Kim Dae-geon and his pioneering spirit with the world," said Cho.

"The book can also inspire many people, by showing a young Korean intellectual who is able to speak and write in many languages, and through his strong personality and mentality to overcome difficulties in the context of Korean Catholic history," he explained.

He added that South Korea was the only country where Catholicism came through books rather than missionaries, saying Koreans were self-taught and accepted Catholicism of their own free will.

In order for readers to better understand the meaning of these letters, this book also includes an explanation of the historical background of the Joseon Kingdom.