Andrew Kim Taegon
1821 – 1846
Saint Andrew Kim Taegon was the first Korean-born Catholic priest and a martyr in 1846. Explore his September 20 feast, training, and lay-led church context.
A Church Formed through Lay Networks
Andrew Kim grew up within a Korean Catholic community that had already developed through lay study, relationships, and religious commitment. His importance as the first Korean-born Catholic priest should not obscure that earlier history. The distinction makes clear that a community existed before its first locally born priest and that its members exercised substantial initiative under difficult conditions.12
Training and the Work of a Priest
Kim pursued formation outside Korea and was ordained in 1845. Returning to ministry involved travel, clandestine communication, and the practical problem of connecting a persecuted church with clergy and resources. His career was short, but it joined local Christian networks to wider Catholic institutions. The context differs sharply from a later church with secure public buildings and unrestricted religious organization.1
Arrest and Death in 1846
Kim was arrested and executed in 1846. Catholic accounts interpret his death as martyrdom, while historical study places it within the Joseon state’s opposition to the Christian movement and its foreign connections. His life can be described without reducing Korean society as a whole to persecution or treating the experience of one Christian group as the entire religious history of the country.1
September 20 and the Companion Martyrs
The Roman calendar commemorates Andrew Kim, Paul Chong Hasang, and their companions on September 20. John Paul II canonized the group of 103 in 1984. Kim’s own death anniversary is September 16, so the shared liturgical date should not be mistaken for his execution date. The collective feast keeps lay and clerical witnesses within the same historical remembrance.123
Sources and further reading
- Institutional resourceSt. Andrew Kim Taegon and CompanionsCatholic Peace Broadcasting Corporation, KoreaKorean Catholic biographical resource supporting 1821–1846, priesthood, persecution, and September 20.Accessed .
- Institutional resourceSaint of the Day: September 20Vatican NewsCalendar context for Andrew Kim, Paul Chong Hasang, and 103 Korean martyrs.Accessed .
- Primary sourceFarewell Ceremony at Seoul-Kinpo AirportJohn Paul II, The Holy SeePrimary confirmation of the canonization of Andrew Kim and 102 companions in 1984.Published: 1984-05-07. Accessed .
Paragraph citations point to starting sources. They do not imply that every source is neutral or that sources agree with one another.
Editorial record
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- Contemporary evidence
- Material or textual evidence created near the person, place, or event.
- Tradition
- Later community memory, devotion, or institutional claim, attributed to its holders.
- Historical debate
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- Unknown
- The surviving record cannot presently establish a confident answer.
Known For
- First Korean-Born Catholic Priest
- Korean Martyrs
- Mission during Persecution
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